Sonic Youth Teenage Riot
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Sonic Youth Teenage Riot
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This article is about Sonic Youth song. For Kenshi Yonezu song, see Flamingo/Teenage Riot .
^ Jump up to: a b "Teen Age Riot" . Allmusic.
^ "SONIC YOUTH CONCERT CHRONOLOGY: 11/14/11 - Paulínia, Brazil @ SWU Festival 2011 at Parque Brasil 500" .
^ Guitar Player, Issue 259, Vol. 25, No. 8, August 1991
^ Deming, Mark (October 18, 1988). "Daydream Nation – Sonic Youth" . AllMusic . Retrieved August 7, 2021 .
^ Kot, Greg (September 27, 1992). "The Evolution Of Sonic Youth" . Chicago Tribune . Retrieved June 20, 2013 .
^ Hann, Michael (June 29, 2007). "Sonic Youth, Daydream Nation" . The Guardian . Retrieved October 1, 2015 .
^ Abebe, Nitsuh (June 13, 2007). "Sonic Youth - Daydream Nation: Deluxe Edition" . Pitchfork . Retrieved May 12, 2021 .
^ Palmer, Robert (January 12, 1989). "Daydream Nation" . Rolling Stone . Retrieved October 2, 2012 .
^ "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time" . Rolling Stone . 2021-09-15 . Retrieved 2022-07-19 .
^ Jump up to: a b c d "Sonic Youth Chart History (Alternative Airplay)" . Billboard . Retrieved August 7, 2021.
" Teen Age Riot " is a song by American rock band Sonic Youth , and the first single from their 1988 album, Daydream Nation . It received heavy airplay on modern rock stations and considerably expanded their audience (along with the album itself).
"Teen Age Riot" is one of Sonic Youth's most recognizable songs, [1] yet it is something of an oddity amongst their repertoire, consisting of a traditional verse-chorus pop song structure. The song was included in The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll and is an on-disc track in Rock Band 2 .
"Teen Age Riot" was the final song performed live by the band, serving as the closer for their last show at the SWU Festival in São Paulo , Brazil on 14 November 2011. [2]
The song is about an alternate reality where J Mascis is president of the United States. In the liner notes accompanying the deluxe edition of Daydream Nation , Byron Coley quoted Thurston Moore on "Teen Age Riot": "It was actually about appointing J Mascis as our de facto alternative dream president". [1]
The album version of the song has two distinct parts. The intro section features a repeating, hypnotic guitar melody, and Kim Gordon reciting in a stream-of-consciousness manner such utterances as "You're it, no you're it / Say it, don't spray it / Miss me, don't dismiss me / Spirit desire / We will fall." ("We Will Fall" is a reference to the Stooges ' song of the same name from their debut eponymous album ). After 80 seconds, all instruments stop, and Moore breaks through the fading instruments with a fast, distorted, noisy guitar riff, opening the main section of the song. The riff leads to the dynamic guitar melody that plays throughout the rest of the song with the vocal melody, sung by Moore. The riff that opens the section is repeated once again afterwards in the song, with all of the instruments accompanying it in an interlude that leads to the song's last few lines.
As with many Sonic Youth songs, the guitars were unconventionally tuned ; in this case, Moore's pentatonic tuning was (reading from left to right, the lowest-pitched string to the highest-pitched string) GABDEG and Lee Ranaldo 's tuning was GGDDGG, as published in a Guitar World interview with the band. [3]
Some live performances of "Teen Age Riot" omitted the opening section sung by Gordon, notably the live version recorded and released with the deluxe edition of Daydream Nation . The opening section was also cut from the song's music video.
Mark Deming of AllMusic described "Teen Age Riot" as a "trippy joy", further praising the song as a "glorious experience". [4] According to Greg Kot of the Chicago Tribune , the song is one of "the band's best, straight-ahead tunes". [5] Michael Hand of The Guardian designated the song as a highlight from Daydream Nation , further describing the song as a "wistful opener". [6] Nitsuh Abebe of Pitchfork praised the song, commenting that it's "the most glorious, accessible pop song of [Sonic Youth's] career". [7] Robert Palmer of Rolling Stone also spoke positively of "Teen Age Riot", describing the song as "driving slamtempo pop power". [8]
In 2021, it was ranked at No. 157 on Rolling Stone's "Top 500 Best Songs of All Time". [9]
In the United States, "Teen Age Riot" debuted at number 28 on the Alternative Airplay chart for the issue dated December 24, 1988. [10] Over the next month, the song slowly rose on the chart before ultimately reaching a peak of number 20 for the issue dated February 4, 1989. [10] "Teen Age Riot" spent a total of nine consecutive weeks on the chart. [10]
The video for the song was Sonic Youth's fourth overall, excluding the low-budget Ciccone Youth videos; the band directed it themselves. It included clips of many icons of alternative music culture such as Mascis, Mark E. Smith , Johnny Thunders , Neil Young , Patti Smith , Iggy Pop , Sun Ra , D. Boon , Mike Watt , Ian MacKaye , Henry Rollins , Nick Cave , Tom Waits , Blixa Bargeld and Kiss .
Coley, Byron and Farell, Ray; Liner Notes, Daydream Nation , 'deluxe edition', copyright 2007 Geffen Records.
6 : 57 (album version)
3 : 50 ( single version )
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Jim Beviglia
June 19, 2020, 8:00 am
Whether you consider it the apex of the late ’80s alternative music scene of the forefather of the grunge revolution that would sweep the music world in the ’90s, or both, it’s safe to say that few albums have been as impactful as Sonic Youth’s 1988 disc Daydream Nation without ever threatening the mainstream. The closest the album came to commercial success was its opening track and lead single “Teenage Riot.”
Part of the reason for the song’s acceptance at the time on modern rock radio was its capitulation to traditional rock song structure. Once you get past the non-sequitur intro music featuring Kim Gordon’s cryptic chants, “Teenage Riot” settles into a frenzied guitar workout for Thurston Moore and Lee Ranaldo while Gordon on bass and Steve Shelley on drums keep the rhythmic hammer down. Even at the rapid tempo, Moore imbues the song with enough melody to keep things catchy.
In the liner notes to the deluxe edition of Daydream Nation , Moore was quoted as saying the lyrics were inspired by another alt-rock standout. “It was actually about appointing J Mascis as our de facto alternative dream president,” he said, referring to the frontman of Dinosaur Jr. After all, 1988 was an election year, so the intensity and earnestness behind Moore’s wish was understandable.
But “Teenage Riot” ends up transcending those quirky origins and becomes a kind of anthem even though Moore’s deadpan vocals and wry lyrics never dare to aspire to anthemic status. The song ends up being a snapshot of the disaffected, alienated kids who could get behind a leader who would “come running in on platform shoes/With Marshall stacks/To at least give us a clue.”
In many ways, the kids are the ones enacting the change in the song. “Looking for a ride to your secret location,” Moore sings about the leader. “Where the kids are setting up a free-speed nation for you.” Anything is better, after all, than the ambivalence that has enveloped the narrator’s world: “Cause it’s getting kind of quiet in my city head/It takes a teenage riot to get me out of bed right now.”
One of the ingenious things about “Teenage Riot” is how Gordon’s incantatory rambling at the beginning suddenly makes sense once you hear the bulk of the song. In the context of Moore’s subtle rallying cries, her opening lines seem the collective voice of the teenage populace, especially when she sings, “We will fall.” That pessimism is immediately countered by the glimmers of hope that come shining through once the guitars rev up their engines.
And it is undoubtedly hope, albeit hope tempered with sarcasm, that emerges as the seven-minute song rolls to a close. “You’re never gonna stop all the teenage leather and cooze,” Moore promises. “We’re off the streets now/And back on the road/On the riot trail.”
As we listen to politicians lining up one by one to tell us how they’re going to lead, the message of “Teenage Riot” resonates even louder. Sonic Youth, in their uniquely indirect way, seemed to be saying that the youth of America will ultimately choose their own leaders even if they can’t be bothered to elect them.
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[Verse 2] Everybody's coming from the winter vacation Taking in the sun in a exaltation to you You come running in on platform shoes With Marshall stacks to at least just give us a clue [Verse 3] Ah, here it comes I know it's someone I knew Teenage riot in a public station Gonna fight and tear it up in a hypernation for you [Chorus 2] Now I see it I think I'll leave it out of the way Now I come near you And it's not clear while you make the way [Verse 4] Looking for a ride to your secret location Where the kids are setting up a free-speed nation for you Got a foghorn and a drum and a hammer that's rockin' And a cord and a pedal and a lock, that'll do me for now [Verse 5] It better work out I hope it works out my way Cause it's getting kind of quiet in my city's head It takes a teenage riot to get me out of bed right now
[Chorus 3] You better look it We're gonna shake it up to him He acts the hero We paint a zero on his hand [Instrumental Bridge] [Verse 6] We know it's down We know it's bound too loose Everybody's sound is round it Everybody wants to be proud to choose So who's to take the blame for the stormy weather You're never gonna stop all the teenage leather and cooze [Outro] It's time to go round A one man showdown teach us how to fail We're off the streets now And back on the road on the riot trail
What tunings are used on this song?
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The opening track of Sonic Youth’s 1988 opus Daydream Nation , “Teen Age Riot” is a sort of call for the underground audiences of New York to unite, according to Pitchfork .
The song imagines what would happen in an alternate reality if J. Mascis of Dinosaur Jr. were President of the United States , alluded to by his famous use of Marshall stacks and platform shoes.
Given these factors, it would seem the overall message the song is trying to convey is that it’s time for the various underground scenes of New York to come together and make themselves known to the mainstream. Sonic Youth, beyond the shadow of a doubt accomplished this, as they would go on to have the most recognizable careers of the 90’s.
An edited version of the track was released as a limited promo single for radios:
Thurston uses GABDEG, and Lee uses GGDDGG.
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The music video for Sonic Youth's "Teenage Riot," combining footage of the band with clips of various people from the worlds of alternative rock, mainstream rock and entertainment. The music video for Sonic Youth's "Teenage Riot," combining footage of the band with clips of various people from the worlds of alternative rock, mainstream rock and entertainment. The music video for Sonic Youth's "Teenage Riot," combining footage of the band with clips of various people from the worlds of alternative rock, mainstream rock and entertainment.
Alan Alda (archive footage) (uncredited)
Blixa Bargeld (archive footage) (uncredited)
Lou Barlow (archive footage) (uncredited)
Black Flag (archive footage) (uncredited)
D. Boon (archive footage) (uncredited)
Buffalo Springfield (archive footage) (uncredited)
William S. Burroughs (archive footage) (uncredited)
Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
James Chance (archive footage) (uncredited)
Jad Fair (archive footage) (uncredited)
Richard Hell (archive footage) (uncredited)
Susanna Hoffs (archive footage) (uncredited)
The song is about an alternative version of the U.S. where J. Mascis is President.
Teenage Riot Written and Performed by Sonic Youth
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