Pitchfork Media has always been bias for the most untalented hipster garbage bands that walk the planet. After looking at the review for the Deluxe Edition of “Daydream Nation” by noise rock pioneers Sonic Youth, Nitsuh Abebe gave a slack-jawed review of this innovative album. Yes everyone always talks about the “modified guitars, the weird tunings, and shimmering pop epics that always lay beneath”, but whenever people review this album they always seem to review it as a whole and Pitchfork is no different than the other reviews. Nobody ever dissects each song individually. They always compare it to other bands like Pixies, The Velvet Underground, or The Stooges, sure there are some subtle influences of The Underground, but if you put them side by side, there’s a huge gap on how different both bands are. Another thing this review failed at mentioning was the unique b-sides given to the reissue of this album. They actually cover The Beatles “Within You Without You” and “Touch Me I’m Sick” by Mudhoney. Both covers have the use of original style that Sonic Youth never disappoints; using drone-like guitars with violin bows they practically imitate a perfect sitar for “Within You Without You”, and a spastic punk rock version of “Touch Me I’m Sick”. Abebe’s article doesn’t even hold a candle to how ground breaking this album truly is. Any Sonic Youth fan will probably tell you “Daydream Nation is the best indie-rock album ever” and it’s true. But Pitchfork’s review will never truly see the way “Daydream Nation” affects the teenage angst in all of us.
The next review is about “Pink Moon” by Nick Drake. The reviewer, Adrien Begrand gives his utmost respect to one of the greatest folk-singer/guitarist of all time. “Nick Drake is the classic example of a rock n roll poet who wasn’t appreciated in his time and died far too young”, Begrand pretty much explains Nick Drake’s burden that he had to carry in the first sentence, eventually leading to his suicide. But he describes “Pink Moon” as, “one of the most musically stripped down and emotionally naked albums ever recorded”. Couldn’t agree more this is the only album with Drake playing by himself without any back up musicians, and unfortunately it was his last album he would ever record. Begrand does a fantastic job at breaking down each song on the album, between the melancholy lyrics and autumnal compositions, Begrand knows exactly what he’s talking about. He even talks about the 1-minute instrumental called “Horn” saying, “So gorgeous, Drake doesn’t even need lyrics to convey what he’s feeling”. Begrand also talks about Drake’s “nakedness” towards the album, the track “Parasite” really shows Drake’s pain and Begrand clearly knows and feels the pain in which Drake is experiencing during the recording of the album. The one thing that really stands out in this review is Begrand’s imagery. The way he describes the last track on the album called “From the Morning”. “It’s like seeing the first rays of sunlight glow on the horizon after the saddest night of your life”. Anyone who listens to this album from start to finish can sympathize with this quote, it’s true, this is a very gloomy and bleak album but “From the Morning” is pure earthy joy, almost makes you think nothing was wrong with Drake. It’s sad that Pink Moon was Drake’s final album but Adrien Begrand explains the vibe of the album as if he knew Nick Drake himself.
http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/10326-daydream-nation-deluxe-edition/
http://www.popmatters.com/music/reviews/d/drakenick-pink.shtml
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