Album Review: Body/Head- Coming Apart
An Open Letter to The Members of Sonic Youth-
Dear Sonic Youth,
What the fuck? Seriously you guys. I don't even know where
to begin with this.
I've been a fan of yours for twenty years. I WAS 11 YEARS
OLD when I got a copy of Experimental Jet
Set, Trash, and No Star on cassette. It was weird. But I loved “Bull in The
Heather,” and it was an early introduction to noisy alternative rock.
I guess like many artists who put out a shitty album, I like
to pretend it didn't happen. So Sonic Youth, I really liked your 2006 LP, Rather Ripped. And we’re just going to
act like The Eternal wasn't a thing.
And we're going to act like that it wasn't the last thing you'll ever do as a
band.
Hey Thurston—sorry you can't keep your dick in your pants B.
You probably shouldn't have fucked some groupie bitch. Because then Kim
divorced you and the band is pretty much over now. Nice work. Now Lee Ranaldo
is going on making cool dad rock. And Thurston, you made an incredibly bad
record with your new band, Chelsea
Light Moving.
And hey Kim has a new project too. Body/Head.
When I heard about how it was an experimental/noise guitar
duo, I was all like, “fuck yeah that’s going to be awesome.”
But I was wrong. So so wrong.
Kim Gordon—what is your deal? Oh my god. Seriously. Why did
you think releasing this album is a good idea? Because this is just straight up
embarrassing and I feel really bad for you when I listen to this.
Who is this album intended for? I mean I love experimental
noise music just as much as the next person, but god damn. Like i cannot
refrain from wincing every time you open your mouth and shout some weird shit
that I can’t understand over perfectly enjoyable guitar droning and feedback.
When are you going to release just an instrumental version of this record? Because
I’d buy the shit out of that. But this…oh my god. No. Just stop. Shut it down.
Like by the time you get to your fucked up yelping in “Last
Mistress,” I just have to wonder what was going through your mind when coming
up with song ideas—did you bounce this idea off of your musical partner in
crime Bill Nace? “Ok, we'll play some detuned notes, and I'll just be spooky
and weird and artistically yelp for the last minute of this song. Sound good?”
Kim, are the song titles on this album intentionally shots
at your divorce from Thurston or is it just coincidental? “I Can Only Think of
You in Abstract?” “Last Mistress?” “Can’t Help You?” “Ain't Got No Life?” I mean
it’s clever to an extent. It stops being clever when you realize this isn't a “divorce
record,” and it’s just you yelling unintelligibly, grunting out phrases and
sounds like you are constipated and desperately trying to shit.
Musically speaking—sure this record is about dissonance. So if
you're looking for something melodious and easy on the ears, look elsewhere. Coming Apart is harsh. But musically it’s
harsh in a good way. Vocally, it’s harsh in a very very bad way.
So to the members of Sonic Youth, I’m sure you all have
vanity Google alerts set up, and will certainly jump at the chance to read
something about yourself on a stupid blogspot site—Sonic Youth…you're probably
never getting back together. And hey, that’s okay. We've got some great
memories—Daydream Nation, Washing Machine, “Song For Karen.”
But
please for the love of dog, stop ruining your legacy with these new projects.
All you are doing is tarnishing the good name you’ve left behind.