Sinking Radio: Sonic Youth's "Thunderclap (for Bobby Pyn)"

Here's my weekly reminder to tune in to Sinking Radio on Little Radio Fridays from Noon to 2:00 PM PST. Each week, the show features an You Set the Scene pick of the week. My pick for this week's show is Sonic Youth's "Thunderclap (for Bobby Pyn)."

For the most part, I'm a "middle period" Sonic Youth fan. I love the Sister, Daydream Nation, Goo, Dirty period. For the next several records (read: ten years), I could honestly take or leave them. There are (almost) always great songs on each record, just not a cohesive album.

So now it's 2009 and the band's rapidly approaching its 30th anniversary. They parted ways with their longtime label and signed off with Matador, NYC's biggest indie - and? They've put out another great album. Pretty fantastic that they're having a late in their career resurgence (I quite liked Rather Ripped too).

The new record's got everything fans of the "middle period" love about Sonic Youth: songs displaying Kim Gordon's cool, Kim and Thurston call and response songs, Lee Ranaldo fronted tunes with Thurston Moore guitar freakouts. The song I selected is a tribute to Bobby Pyn a.k.a. Jan Paul Beahm a.k.a Darby Crash.

The Eternal comes out next Tuesday. I recommend you pick it up...