Top 10 Sublime Sonic Youth Songs: Proof that Noise Can Be Gorgeous

Sonic Youth is noisy. Kim Gordon is tone deaf. Their gimmick is to sell albums by not knowing how to play their guitars. Sonic Youth should have hung up their guitars long ago. Some people just do not get it.

One underrated quality of Sonic Youth is how pretty their brand of noise can sound. They famously play with their guitars de-tuned and deconstructed to create a clatter that they can use to punish listeners, a technique they do often employ. What is often overlooked is how many of their songs shimmer with an off-kilter beauty. Age has lent virtuosity and convention to the band, which has helped to stock this list with more recent songs from their repertoire.

(1) Superstar (If I Were a Carpenter Compilation, 1994)

What other Sonic Youth song could possibly be number one? Here, they cover The Carpenters. It is a moment of dramatic restraint and a strangely fitting companion for the original song. Karen Carpenter was a drummer before a singer and she would undoubtedly approve of Sonic Youth's tasteful treatment of one of her best songs.

(2) Little Trouble Girl (Washing Machine, 1995)

One can imagine Kim Gordon and her guest Kim Deal singing karaoke to a long lost girl group track. The performance is sassy and fun and the bass and guitars are simply groovy.

(3) Hits of Sunshine (A Thousand Leaves, 1998)

Sonic Youth write one long haiku here. Thurston peppers his lyrics with color imagery such as "green is my goal", "blue is bashful", "yellow girls", "falling colors", and "shadows dream of light". He sings in a whisper before the band lay down an eight minute roll of gently patterned wallpaper.

(4) Skink (Experimental Jet Set Trash and No Star, 1994)

When Kim Gordon sings kiss me on the lips, one feels obliged to lean in and do so.

(5) Theresa's Sound-World (Dirty, 1992)

Imagine a conductor standing in front of an orchestra frantically waving his arms one moment and then letting them down to ease the tension after a spectacular release. This song is noisier than the others on this list, but I had to give the third songwriter in Sonic Youth, Lee Ranando, his proper due.

(6) I Love Her All the Time (Bad Moon Rising, 1985)

This is the oldest song in the Sonic Youth canon to make the list. The noisy turbulence does not disrupt what is otherwise a lovely flight. This song is warm and fuzzy, like most compulsive love songs are.

(7) I Love You Golden Blue (Sonic Nurse, 2004)

Gently strummed guitars, and glassy cymbal clicks punctuate Kim's Gordon strangely seductive whispers. Noteworthy for its taste and its restraint.

(8) Bee-Bee's Song (Suburbia Soundtrack, 1997)

This may be Kim Gordon's ultimate vocal performance. She employs her voice perfectly, a mixture of raspy, tuneful, and subtle angst. The song has a jazzy shuffle courtesy of drummer Steve Shelley and the rest of the band lock together blissfully noise-free.

(9) Unwind (Washing Machine, 1995)

With its references to kites and dandelions, "Unwind" is light as a summer breeze. You can hear birds singing and Sonic Youth manages to relax and, yes, unwind.

(10) Or (Rather Ripped, 2006)

Rather Ripped's closer is a song about indie fandom. The bass and unobtrusive guitars allow the song to bubble along while Thurston Moore talk-sings the obsessive question what comes first the music or the words? before the song abruptly adjourns. A brilliant gesture that is a kind tribute to the Sonic Youth's hardcore fans.