Sonic Youth "Goodbye 20th Century" 2xLP

Originally released 11/16/1999.

SONIC YOUTH Goodbye 20th Century

The fractal rock of Sonic Youth has, needless to say, always been about the challenge of space: the space between notes, the close dissonance of guitar figures that created all new overtones in their proximity. Television’s Tom Verlaine and Richard Lloyd themselves hinted at such microtonal methodology in their heroic solos that blasted the roles of twin lead electric guitars into poetic, simmering collision wedding chaos and tranquility, masterfully disassembling the primal thud of the rock genre into a nebula of intricate interactions that complemented each others’ paths. At times, for example, Verlaine’s Bollywood guitar jones reared its head and pirouetted around Lloyd’s Keith Richards moves; both played extended solos generating something wholly new and cerebral, yet adding nods to the places from whence they originated.