title:: Keep Laughing: The Best of RKL
label:: Mystic Records
From Santa Barbara, RKL (Rich Kids on LSD) were one of the Nardcore bands centered around the skateboarding scene in Oxnard California.
Even though they are fre-formed and playing shows in 2005, this CD collects their best stuff
titles:: Confusion is Sex
label:: DGC
The second release from Sonic Youth, Confusion is Sex, came out in 1983, one year after their first release, Sonic Youth EP. This album continues the sound from that first EP.
The songs are sparse, mysterious and creepy. Early Sonic Youth always leaves me with a feeling of walking in a dark, wet, isolated, urban industrial area. An uneasiness of being at the wrong place at the wrong time.
title:: Sister
label:: SST
Sister is Sonic Youth's seventh and most pivotal album. Here Sonic Youth has taken a leap into acceptance on a grander scale. They have refined their skills and fleshed out another level for themselves.
The recording does not come across as an intentional jump at commercial success. It was an evolutionary leap that left some fans bewildered but some awed.
title:: Dirty Boots
label:: DGC
This is a Sonic Youth sampler. You have an edited verison of Dirty Boots, four live recording from various albums and one live and unreleased song, The Bedroom.
I am not a huge fan of samplers. It just seems like a ploy to seperate listeners, die hard fans and collectors from their money.
title:: Washing Machine
label:: DGC
The first thing you notice about Washing Machine is that it is the slickest and most "traditional" packaging Sonic Youth has ever done.
Have they gone corporate? Where is the scrawl. Now the photos are neat square ups and the band pictures seem like Banana Republic fashion shots.
