Lee Ranaldo w/ Steve Shelley - "Live ∞ #1"
∞ (Live, 1987; Atavistic Records, 1995) ∞
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| 1987 SST press photo |
Lee was a co-founder of Sonic Youth in 1981, and Steve joined as their drummer in '86. They are both still in the band today. This is a live song found on Lee's excellent East Jesus: Some Recordings 1981-1991 compilation CD. It was recorded on 5/31/87 in Amsterdam at the famous Paradiso club (The Chameleons wrote a song about it), though it was in an upstairs room, not the main concert hall; fIREHOSE & several other bands were playing live in the main hall that night. An excerpt from Lee's book jrnls80s:
"the final show for us the next day was in paradiso, amsterdam. rather than the giant room where there were already four bands to go on, we had a smaller room upstairs all to ourselves. we were able to do a nice long check and position the three TV's nicely on top of the pa speakers and one onstage which made for a nice three-dimensional synapse-snap view of the feedback-video scans, davo told me later. the show was the best yet and the room was jammed with all manner of folk including daniel miller and rob collins and the three Ut girls whom i hung with afterwards but while it was happening i was oblivious to all of them, really inside the sounds and the reflected glare if the vid-screens. for the second reading, while steve wailed beat-rain over me i was crouched in front of the screen onstage, trying to enter it, silhouetted in the electron glow. it felt really good and the crowd seemed really to like it."
The name of the song is presumably a reference to Lee's baffling debut solo album, 1987's From Here → ∞ (a.k.a. From Here To Infinity). His publishing company is also called Lazy Eight, which... well, just look at the infinity symbol and get back to me. So the concept of infinity is obviously a pretty big deal to Lee. Ways of dealing with the passing of time are addressed in the video for his superb 1991 song "Notebook":
In contrast to "Notebook"'s existential musings, "Live ∞ #1" is edgy and rabid, with a palpable feeling of unhinged desperation. The bowl-cutted one lays down a devastatingly sick foundation on the trap set, while Lee unfurls some of his best and edgiest beat-noir couplets and screeching abysses of guitar lava. It's amazing to me that this drumming was done live by only one person. It culminates in a pretty intense climax with nice feedback and an unsettling sample of church bells. (Lee had a thing for recording church bells during S.Y.'s tours of Europe in the '80s.) If anyone knows where the looped intro sample that goes "Jealous... jealous..." comes from, please let me know, because it's been driving me crazy forever. Sounds like Iggy Pop or some lame bubbleglam band. I believe Lee played these kinds of random samples directly from a boombox when playing live. For a duo performance, the sound is huge and fierce, and the recording quality is very clear and in-your-face. After hearing this song, or any the songs that Lee wrote & sang lead on with S.Y. ("Hey Joni," "In The Kingdom #19, "Pipeline," "Wish Fulfillment," "Rain King," "Eric's Trip," "NYC Ghosts & Flowers," "Karen Koltrane," "Mote," etc.), you should know how amazing of a writer he is. I have one of his books, and you should check out pretty much anything he has ever done. I was born on his 21st birthday and he's one of my few idols. Sonic Youth is my favorite band overall, but I never got to see them live. Oh well.
In contrast to "Notebook"'s existential musings, "Live ∞ #1" is edgy and rabid, with a palpable feeling of unhinged desperation. The bowl-cutted one lays down a devastatingly sick foundation on the trap set, while Lee unfurls some of his best and edgiest beat-noir couplets and screeching abysses of guitar lava. It's amazing to me that this drumming was done live by only one person. It culminates in a pretty intense climax with nice feedback and an unsettling sample of church bells. (Lee had a thing for recording church bells during S.Y.'s tours of Europe in the '80s.) If anyone knows where the looped intro sample that goes "Jealous... jealous..." comes from, please let me know, because it's been driving me crazy forever. Sounds like Iggy Pop or some lame bubbleglam band. I believe Lee played these kinds of random samples directly from a boombox when playing live. For a duo performance, the sound is huge and fierce, and the recording quality is very clear and in-your-face. After hearing this song, or any the songs that Lee wrote & sang lead on with S.Y. ("Hey Joni," "In The Kingdom #19, "Pipeline," "Wish Fulfillment," "Rain King," "Eric's Trip," "NYC Ghosts & Flowers," "Karen Koltrane," "Mote," etc.), you should know how amazing of a writer he is. I have one of his books, and you should check out pretty much anything he has ever done. I was born on his 21st birthday and he's one of my few idols. Sonic Youth is my favorite band overall, but I never got to see them live. Oh well.
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| John Stezaker - Pair IV (photo collage, 2007) |
I heard on the news that the average high temperature in New Orleans last month was 94.1º, making it the hottest June in the recorded history of the city.
Planets with similar climates: Unwound - "Side Effects Of Being Tired" (1997), Sonic Youth - "In The Kingdom #19" (1986), Poem Rocket - "Levy 9 R.S.V.P." (~1997), The Sound - "Glass And Smoke" (1982), Juno - "Leave A Clean Camp And A Dead Fire" (1998), Long Fin Killie - "Cupid" (1996).
Currently listening to: The Samples, whose used CDs I've always seen in the bargain bins at various record stores. I don't think I'd ever actually heard them until this week, and it turns out they're eerily similar to The Police, with some hints of The Sea And Cake and Toad The Wet Sprocket. Sort of a reggae feel in the basslines and a jazz feel in the drums... just good stuff overall, often with sociologically and/or ecologically conscious lyrics. For starters, check out "Everytime", "Another Disaster" and "Summertime."
Currently listening to: The Samples, whose used CDs I've always seen in the bargain bins at various record stores. I don't think I'd ever actually heard them until this week, and it turns out they're eerily similar to The Police, with some hints of The Sea And Cake and Toad The Wet Sprocket. Sort of a reggae feel in the basslines and a jazz feel in the drums... just good stuff overall, often with sociologically and/or ecologically conscious lyrics. For starters, check out "Everytime", "Another Disaster" and "Summertime."
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