Sonic Youth celebrated Y2K in a way most appropriate considering their avant-garde tendencies. The double-disc Goodbye 20th Century differed greatly from the three previous releases in the Sonic Youth Recording series, as well as all the releases that came after it. Sonic Youth saw off the 20th century by reinterpreting various pieces by 20th century composers. Many of the majors are featured here: John Cage, Steve Reich, and Pauline Oliveros are just a few of the composers they tackle (an obligatory version of Cage’s “4:33” is thankfully AWOL). The best part of this tribute album of sorts comes from the enthusiasm Sonic Youth have for these pieces, and it rings especially true on their version of Reich’s “Pendulum Music”.
By the sound of it, Sonic Youth cover Steve Reich with the same excitement that The Replacements had when they covered Kiss. The premise of the piece is to hang microphones, upside-down, above speakers and then swing them to produce feedback when they move. They are swung once, and then gravity does the rest as the arc of the swing slowly weakens causing the rhythm of the feedback shifts. It is a stunningly physical piece of music in spite of being musician-less.
Sonic Youth’s attempt at it is admirable, and makes one wonder how accurate the word cover is for it when nobody actually plays the instrument. So while it is not a piece of music that gets much of a “sonic-youth-spin,” the fact that they chose to take part in this musical process is really satisfying. This remains one of the most memorable instances of a popular experimental artist paying tribute to 20th century classical, and considering Jonny Greenwood’s recent collaborations with Penderecki, here’s hoping it becomes a more popular practice.