Sonic Youth的艺人档案.doc

Sonic Youth的艺人档案小简介承袭自70年代末的朋克运动风潮，成军于l981年的Sonic Youth，成为80年代中最具代表性的吉他实验团体之一。有别于其他的Hardcore或是Punk乐队，Sonic Youth追求的除了精神上的发泄、感官上的刺激之外，更多了实验性的气质。聆听Sonic Youth的作品，虽然他们使用的乐器，和大多数的摇滚乐队一样，使用了鼓、吉他、贝司，但是你就是不能说出他们的风格承自于谁。同时，SY更赋与吉他噪音一种生命，在巨大、不和谐的噪音之下，创造一种空间感；使声音变成一种永无止境的旅行。谈到SY，便要从他的主唱/吉他手Thurston Moore谈起。话说于l977年，Thurston和一群艺术学院的学生，在纽约组成了Coachmen这个乐队，之后才结识了SY另一个吉他手Lee Ranaldo和Bass手Kim Gordon。初听这张Failure to thrive的小EP，感觉十分诧异；因为Coachmen的走向和后来的SY有很大的差别。风格有点像Feelies的冷调摇滚乐。原本，此张专辑的销售即为不良，后来，因为SY的红遍天下才得以广泛地和世人见面。于l988年，New Albance这家独立唱片公司重发他们唯一的一张专辑，对于SY的乐迷来说，此张唱片极具历史价值。之后，在l982年时，SY发行了他们的第一张EP SONIC YOUTH。这张珍贵的EP，目前似乎已经绝版。而此张EP的风格，也奠定了SY之后在独立公司时期的走向。Confusion Is Sex是SY发行的第一张正式专辑。让我们来看看Trouser Press如何描述：本张专辑给予吉他更自由的形式，而结果造成了快乐的无政府状态和紧张的混乱。的确，SY带给人们的是一种节奏的快感。所有事物，将在无秩序的音乐秩序下，得到重整。Kim的Vocal，给人的感觉，好像从48层的高楼跳到五层高的防护网，而防护网，在5分钟之后破掉的那种惊慌无助的感觉。本张专辑收录有翻唱The Stooge的名曲 I Wanna Be Your Dog。此外，在l995年的年初，BMG重发了此张专辑，令人欣喜的是，它更收录了1983年所发行的一张EP Kill Yr. Idol。由于此张EP早已绝版，所以本张reissue的专辑更见其珍贵性。虽然滚石唱片评价不高(两颗星)，但身为SY乐迷的我，却要说这虽称不上是一张伟大的唱片，但却极完整的表达了SY心中的意念。也许方式是十分粗质、原始的，但和那些偶像派巨星相比，他们作品的可听性，要强上数倍。Sonic Death是一张在1984年发表的现场专辑。此张专辑有一个极为有趣的地方一整张专辑只有一个选曲目，却足足有50多分钟。换句话说，你根本无从选曲。不过还好，此张专辑也没有任何的曲目，可以说是吉他现场的即兴演奏。但是，要强调的是，本张录音效果极差，仅适合乐痴级乐迷购买。本张专辑收录的曲目，大多是198l年到1983年的现场录音合辑。Bad Moon Rising是SY在1985年发行的第2张专辑，由于SY更换了发行公司（由Neutral到Homestead），所以在当年、是较广泛发行的。这张专辑是SY的所有作品中一个重要的里程碑。因为SY由一个极具实验性的Guitar Band，转为一个较具旋律的摇滚乐队。但各位可别认为SY是为了商业化，才作此改变。在本张专辑里，SY的吉他风格依旧，仍是充满了张力和空间感，再加上Kim和Thourston呻吟式的演唱。且SY渐渐了解，如何去运用他们手上的乐器，去编织一项意外。本张专辑，有几首不错的曲子。Trouser Press唱片评监说到：本首歌好似L.A.的在场坏的旅行，并且把SY尖叫式的吉他转而成为一个直接的摇滚乐队；另外，Society is a Hole也是我非常喜欢的一首曲子。歌词说道： Society is a Hole, it makes me lie to my friend. Were living in pieces, I want to live in peace.从1986年到1988年是我认为SY史上最成功的3年。从Evol到Day-dream Nation可说是张张经典，首首动听。此不仅为他们的巅峰时期在摇滚乐史更占有一席重要的地位。先从1986年的 EVOL说起。先是鼓手Bob Bert换成了现任鼓手Steve Shelley。如果这两个鼓手要我比较的话，我较喜欢Steve Shelley。感觉上Steve所打出来的节奏，比Bob要顺畅许多。但Bob的节奏，比较具有实验色彩。一向对另类音乐不感兴趣的Rolling Stone 杂志给EVOL的评价是四颗星的高评，由此可见此张专辑的重要性。专辑的曲目，从某一种角度来看，有相当程度的趣味性。如：Marilyn Moore（玛丽莲梦露），Madonna, Sean and me（玛多娜、西恩潘玛多娜的前任丈夫），和我。在Marilyn Moore一曲中，主唱由Thourston担任。从前奏开始，以一种极为悲伤、低调再加上吉他失真组合成的旋律，缓缓的表达出了SY对梦露一生的悲剧的同情。此外，Shadow of Doubt是本张专辑中我最喜欢的一首，除了一开头就有动人的旋律之外，Kim的演唱也表现的十分突出，彻底表现了那种矛盾不安的情绪，把混乱恐惧思想完全压缩在这3分多钟的曲子里。各位一定觉得很奇怪，我很少用其它乐队风格来形容SY，不是我的联想力不够，而是SY的风格实在是很特殊。你可以说他们的精神很Punk，很Hardcore，也可以说他们的吉他是承自Velvet Underground以来的Feedback式吉他。我不能说SY是完全创新独特的乐队，但SY和80年代的乐队比较起来，实在是非常的自成一格。来到l987年，SY推出了曾被英国的NME杂志选为有史以来100张最重要专辑的经典唱片Sister。据报道本张专辑，SY所使用的录音器具，包括混音版，完全都是采用真空管，所以有一位非常温暖、立即的感觉。此外，他的主调不是那么的奇异，要比前几张更要让人能接受。我们可以看出，SY从第一张唱片开始，就试着以自己的方式，去更接近人群，而不失去自己的原则。由于SY常以友情客串的方式帮别的乐队助阵，所以同样有些另类乐队也在SY专辑中出现。像本张专辑中的一首歌Msater-Dik，就请到鼎鼎大名的Dinosaur Jr的吉他手J. Mascis。回到Msater-Dik这首歌，Trouser Press说：这是一首令人难忘且具有力量的曲子。本张唱片的第2首歌Catholic Block在旋律上已经是一首地地道道的摇滚歌曲。有好记的和弦，简单却又感觉复杂的吉他单音，几乎听上二三遍，就可以朗朗上口。这在以往的SY作品中，是很难见到的。还有，在Pacific Coast Highway这首歌中，有非常熟悉的Kim Gordon式唱腔，和极震撼的歌词。SY的作品中，歌词占的重要性，虽没有乐曲来的令人振奋，但也是极重要的一部分。他们常探讨的是，都市人生活的矛盾、紧张、压力。也许是他们是来自纽约这个集天堂与地狱于一身的都市，所以特别能感受到现代人在面对自己时的不知所措。本张专辑的伟大之处，我想是处于SY作品的转型期，不仅能保有以往SY的精神性，也融入了流行音乐的因子。Sister可以说是早期SY的总结，是一张极好的入门专辑。强力推荐Master-Dik EP（l988）。由于此张EP并未收录在其他正式专辑上，而且也已经绝版，所以在此不能为人家介绍。l988年可说是SY有史以来作品最多的一年。除了刚谈到的Master-Dik EP以外，还有现在要来说的Daydream Nation这部作品，与年底SY和 Mike Watt（为前 Minutemen, Firehose贝司手）组成的临时组合Ciccone Youth所发行的The Whitey Album专辑。为什么说Daydream Nation是一部作品呢？因为它是SY成立以来最具有概念性一张专辑。Rolling Stone杂志给其五颗星评价，其重要性与摇滚史上任何一张经典摇滚专辑相提并论。我认为Daydream Nation之于 SY，好似Sgt. Peppers Lonely Heart Club Band之于The Beatles。英国的Volumn杂志说：这是一张艺术史诗和处于他们力量巅峰的作品，这是SY最好的专辑，并且也永远是如此。Rolling Stone杂志认为Daydream Nation取得了一个在旋律和噪音；接受度和丑恶之间的完美平衡。Trouser Press更以大师级作品来评论本专辑，更说从EVOL和Sister以来的探讨内心世界的主题。在Daydream Nation得到了开花结果。非古典杂志在1995年一、二月号也有专文介绍此专辑。Sonic Youth were one of the most unlikely success stories of underground American rock in the 80s. Where contemporaries R.E.M. and Hsker D were fairly conventional in terms of song structure and melody, Sonic Youth began their career by abandoning any pretense of traditional rock & roll conventions. Borrowing heavily from the free-form noise experimentalism of the Velvet Underground and the Stooges, and melding it with a performance art aesthetic borrowed from the New York post-punk avant-garde, Sonic Youth redefined what noise meant within rock & roll. Sonic Youth rarely rocked, though they were inspired directly by hardcore punk, post-punk, and no wave. Instead, their dissonance, feedback, and alternate tunings created a new sonic landscape, one that redefined what rock guitar could do. Their trio of independent late-80s records EVOL, Sister, Daydream Nation became touchstones for a generation of indie rockers who either replicated the noise or reinterpreted it in a more palatable setting. As their career progressed, Sonic Youth grew more palatable as well, as their more free-form songs began to feel like compositions and their shorter works began to rock harder. During the 90s, most American indie bands, and many British underground bands, displayed a heavy debt to Sonic Youth, and the group itself had become a popular cult band, with each of its albums charting in the Top 100.Such success was unthinkable when guitarists Thurston Moore and Lee Ranaldo formed Sonic Youth with bassist Kim Gordon in 1981. Moore had spent his childhood in Bethel, CT; Ranaldo was from Long Island. Both guitarists arrived in Manhattan during the height of the New York-based post-punk no wave movement, and began performing with the avant-garde composer Glenn Branca, whose dissonant, guitar-based music provided the basis for much of Sonic Youths early music. Moores girlfriend Gordon had been active in the avant and no wave scenes for some time, and the pair helped stage the Noise Festival, in which the band made its live debut during the summer of 1981. At the time, Sonic Youth also featured keyboardist Anne DeMarinis and drummer Richard Edson. DeMarinis left the band shortly afterward, and the quartet recorded its eponymous debut EP, which was released on Brancas Neutral Records the following year. During 1983, Edson left the band to pursue an acting career and he was replaced by Bob Bert, who drummed on the groups debut album, Confusion Is Sex (1983). The band supported the album with its first European tour. Later that year, the group released the EP Kill Yr Idols on the German Zensor label.Early in 1984, Moore attempted to land the band a contract with the British indie label Doublevision, but the label rejected the demos. Paul Smith, one of the owners of Doublevision, decided to form Blast First Records in order to release Sonic Youth records. Soon, he received a distribution deal from the hip U.K. indie label Rough Trade, and the band had its first label with strong distribution. During all these record label negotiations in 1984, the cassette-only live album Sonic Death: Sonic Youth Live was released on Ecstatic Peace. Bad Moon Rising, the groups first album for Blast First, was released in 1985 to strong reviews throughout the underground music press. The album was markedly different from their earlier releases it was the first record they made that incorporated their dissonant, feedback-drenched experimentations within relatively straightforward pop song structures. Following the release of the Death Valley 69 EP, Bert was replaced by Steve Shelley, who became the groups permanent drummer.Bad Moon Rising had attracted significant attention throughout the American underground, including some offers from major labels. Instead, Sonic Youth decided to sign with SST, home of Hsker D and Black Flag, releasing EVOL in 1986. With EVOL, the group a became fixture on college radio, and its status grew significantly with 1987s Sister, which was heavily praised by mainstream publications like Rolling Stone. The groups profile increased further with the 1988 Ciccone Youth side project The Whitey Album, which was a tongue-in-cheek tribute to Madonna and other parts of mainstream pop culture. The bands true breakthrough was the double album Daydream Nation. Released on Enigma Records, Daydream Nation was a tour de force that was hailed as a masterpiece upon its fall 1988 release, and it generated a college radio hit with Teenage Riot. Though the album was widely praised, Enigma suffered from poor distribution and eventually bankruptcy, which meant the album occasionally wasnt in stores. These factors contributed heavily to the bands decision to move to the major label DGC in 1990.Signing a contract that gave them complete creative control, as well as letting them function as pseudo-A&R reps for the label, Sonic Youth established a precedent for alternative bands moving to majors during the 90s, proving that it was possible to preserve indie credibility on a major label. Released in the fall of 1990, Goo, the bands first major-label album, boasted a more focused sound, yet it didnt abandon the groups noise aesthetics. The result was a college radio hit, and the groups first album to crack the Top 100. Neil Young invited Sonic Youth to open for him on his arena tour for Ragged Glory, and though they failed to win over much of the rockers audience, it represented their first major incursion into the mainstream; it also helped make Young a cult figure within the alternative circles during the 90s. For their second major-label album, Dirty, Sonic Youth attempted to replicate the sloppy, straightforward sound of grunge rockers Mudhoney and Nirvana. The band had been supporting those two Seattle-based groups for several years (and had released a split single with Mudhoney and brought Nirvana to DGC Records), and while the songs on Dirty were hardly grunge, it was more pop-oriented and accessible than earlier Sonic Youth records. Produced by Butch Vig, who also produced Nirvanas Nevermind, Dirty became an alternative hit upon its summer 1992 release, generating the modern rock hits 100%, Youth Against Fascism, and Sugar Kane. Sonic Youth quickly became hailed as one of the godfathers of the alternative rock that had become the most popular form of rock music in the U.S., and Dirty became a hit along with the exposure, eventually going gold.Sonic Youth again worked with Vig for 1994s Experimental Jet Set, Trash and No Star, which entered the U.S. charts at number 34 and the U.K. charts at number ten, making it their highest-charting album ever. The high chart position was proof of their popularity during the previous two years, as it received decidedly mixed reviews and quickly fell down the charts. Later in 1994, Moore and Gordon who had married several years before had their first child, a daughter named Coco Haley. Sonic Youth agreed to headline 1995s American Lollapalooza package tour, using the earnings t