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"Hits of Sunshine (for Allen Ginsberg)" (52 seconds, streaming mpeg audio) or download the 578K .aiff file

 

   "Hoarfrost"(1 minute, streaming mpeg audio) or download the 662K .aiff file

 

Further Reading:
1)  SY Official Site
2)  Yahoo! SY Links

     For Moore, the bratty lyrics of Experimental Jet-Set, Trash and No Star (DGC 1994) and his solo album Psychic Hearts(DGC 1995) have taken the back seat in favor to a much more introspective, reverent tone. His singing on "Hits of Sunshine (for Allen Ginsberg)" seems incredibly reverent. "Wildflower Soul" with its opening of, "Sing your children / your children's song / sing your child love / love is on," is almost as much of a lullaby as the closing of the group's last album Washing Machine(DGC 1995), "The Diamond Sea."

     The group's maturation is not limited to Moore, though. Lee Ranaldo (guitar / vocals), the group's predominate storyteller, gives us glimpses of a maturing melancholy-of loving, leaving and growing apart in "Karen Koltrane." In "Hoarfrost," he tells us of a journey with a friend:

     Age has treated Sonic Youth well. The title of the album seems to suggest transition. For Gordon it is spring, a time to attempt to shake things up and make a new start. For Moore it is spring for "Wildflower Soul," but fall for "Hits of Sunshine." Ranaldo's leaves are already being covered by the first snows of winter. The arboreal title seems appropriate in light of the steady progression from album to album throughout Sonic Youth's career. Since Daydream Nation (1988) the noise that became their trademark has been slowly shifting towards a more melodic madness. A Thousand Leaves represents a significant tempering of Sonic Youth's already considerable musical and lyrical skills and again proves their place in late 20th century music.