7: chapel hill-- sonic youth

more chapel hill-relatedness. perhaps i am pining for the past. or whatever. i have listened to this song approximately 73,542 times. which is quite a lot. part of this has to do with an old tradition i had where i would put this song on every time i drove into chapel hill (somehow the album 'dirty' was always on hand, i guess since i have both the originial and special editions). but this song, especially the initial part, reminds me of a sunrise coming up over the ancient oaks off franklin street. and it grooves well and builds and builds and rocks out incredibly (which worked well with driving up the 'hill.') if you learn only one thing from this list, it should be that songs with a monumental climax alter my dna more than those without one. this song, quite interestingly has a denouement after the climax, which is also quite nice.

this was not the first sonic youth song i heard or even the one i think is their best. i got 'dirty' sometime after i got 'washing machine' which is sometime after i started thinking sonic youth was really groovy. what got me about this song was its ability to rockout, change pace, create mood, and twist lyrics into fascinating puzzles (and i was very proud to know what was hinted at by the line "throw me a cord and plug it in and get the cradle rockin'"). it also has signature sy guitar tricks that my novice mind cannot comprehend, but it makes sounds that grip you differently, stuff that is maddeningly enthralling. and there is a memory that goes along with this song. when i was a junior in high school, one night upon finding out that classes were cancelled the next day, my friends and i decided to trash my room for the hell of it. i mean topple bunkbeds, rip sheets, tear things off walls, throw books, etc. (ah, youthful rage). well we played this song on the stereo several times over with the volume up and it overtook me with madness, jumping around and the like. which is pretty cool.

this song affected me because it is a good rockin song with nods towards artistic sensibilities and musical complexities (in some ways a good bullshit summation of my musical taste). i also realized through this song how music could make me explode, and when turned to the correct volume, made trashing things much more enjoyable. while i was already into sonic youth, this song certainly did nothing but deepen my fascination with a band i will probably never get over. i also appreciate this song for representing a time and a place, which is what makes music such an amazing thing anyway. and whenever i'm in the mood to jump around and throw my shoes (there's no more tossing of mattresses) this song feels as appropriate as it always has.

this is not a vid, but it is the song, with pictures: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CBivMTOOZFo