|
''Washing Machine'' is the ninth studio album by the American experimental rock band Sonic Youth, released on September 26, 1995 by DGC Records. It was recorded at Easley Studios in Memphis, Tennessee and produced by the band and John Siket, who also engineered the band's previous two albums. The album features more open-ended pieces than its predecessors and contains some of the band's longest songs, including the 20-minute ballad "The Diamond Sea", which is the lengthiest track to feature on any of Sonic Youth's studio albums. Upon release, ''Washing Machine'' reached No. 58 on the US ''Billboard'' Top 200 chart and No. 39 on the UK Albums Chart. Two songs from the album, "The Diamond Sea" and "Little Trouble Girl", were released as singles. The album received generally positive reviews from music critics, who praised the band for exploring new challenges as well as the guitar playing between band members Thurston Moore and Lee Ranaldo. In 1996, the album was ranked at No. 18 in ''The Village Voice''s Pazz & Jop critics' poll for 1995. == Background and recording == ''Washing Machine'' is the follow-up to Sonic Youth's 1994 album ''Experimental Jet Set, Trash and No Star'', released through DGC.〔 After ''Experimental Jet Set'', the band decided to take a hiatus from performing live and concentrated on numerous side projects. Band member Kim Gordon played with Julia Cafritz of Pussy Galore in Free Kitten, drummer Steve Shelley performed with Jad Fair in Mosquito, guitarist Lee Ranaldo played with free jazz drummer William Hooker, and singer/guitarist Thurston Moore released his first solo album, ''Psychic Hearts''.〔 Moore and Gordon also had their first child, Coco. According to Moore, their daughter had provided a different perspective for the band: "I'm more focused and level-headed. There's a sublime awareness factor of your spiritual place in the world. I feel more at ease with myself ... Babies are little Buddhas. They're completely great."〔 Unlike previous Sonic Youth albums, ''Washing Machine'' was recorded at Easley Studios in Memphis, Tennessee, where indie rock bands like Pavement, Guided by Voices, and Grifters previously recorded albums.〔 Moore remarked that the atmosphere in Memphis "lent itself to avoiding the reality of the record-buying public. In the past we were always very aware of who was out there checking us out. This was the first record where we've gotten this certain level of notoriety and we were just, like, 'fuck it.'"〔 He also felt that ''Washing Machine'' was conceived and recorded like some of the band's earlier albums: "It hearkens back to records like ''Sister'' where we'd write a bunch of songs, go into the studio for a month, put them down, then go on the road and play them for a year. By the end of the year they'd mutate into something much more excited."〔 Gordon credited Memphis for its relaxed atmosphere and cited the album as one of her favorites.〔 The song "The Diamond Sea" is notable for its 19:35 duration.〔 Moore explained the length of some of the album's songs: "We all have different aesthetics as to how songs should work. I generally push for a lot of abandon while some people in the group are more interested in truncating things. If I was the leader as much as people say I am, every song would be 20 minutes long."〔 The unlisted track 9, officially called "Becuz Coda", was originally part of the song "Becuz", but the record label felt they needed to cut the seven-and-a-half-minute track to make the album's opening more accessible.〔〔 The album was produced by Sonic Youth and John Siket, who also engineered the band's previous two albums.〔 Audio mixing took place at Greene Street Studios in New York City in June 1995.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Washing Machine (album)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|