| Goo | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
|||||
| Studio album by Sonic Youth | |||||
| Released | June 26, 1990 | ||||
| Recorded | Sorcerer Sound and Greene Street, New York City, 1989 | ||||
| Genre | Alternative rock | ||||
| Length | 49:23 | ||||
| Label | DGC | ||||
| Producer | Sonic Youth, Nick Sansano, Ron Saint Germain | ||||
| Professional reviews | |||||
|
Original release: Deluxe edition:
|
|||||
| Sonic Youth chronology | |||||
|
|||||
Goo is an album by alternative rock band Sonic Youth, released on June 26, 1990. A remastered version was released in 2005. Goo was the first album released after the band signed to major label Geffen Records. Their albums became more accessible and less experimental, but still retained their trademark collage of noise.
Contents |
Songs
The album's lead track, "Dirty Boots", evokes old blues slang in its declaration that "It's time to rock the road/And tell the story of the jelly rollin'."[1] "Tunic (Song for Karen)", written and sung by Kim Gordon, is about singer Karen Carpenter and her anorexia:
- I feel like I'm disappearing
- Getting smaller every day
- But when I open my mouth to sing
- I'm bigger in every way
It imagines her in heaven, happy, playing the drums again and meeting new friends Dennis Wilson, Elvis Presley and Janis Joplin.[2][3] The album featured the single "Kool Thing", on which Chuck D from the rap group Public Enemy guested. The song is purported to be about the disillusionment that Gordon experienced after interviewing LL Cool J for Spin Magazine the previous year. "Are you going to liberate us girls from male, white, corporate oppression?" Gordon asks in the song.[4] "Kool Thing" became the song that many casual music fans associate with the band. The album's title derives from the song "My Friend Goo", a portrait of a friend who "sticks just like glue":
- My friend Goo has a real tattoo
- She always knows just what to do
- She looks through her hair like she doesn't care
- What she does best is stand and stare[5]
The song "Mildred Pierce" is an homage to the 1945 film Mildred Pierce starring Joan Crawford, and/or the 1941 novel by James M. Cain on which the film is based.
Track listing
Original release
- "Dirty Boots" (lyrics/vocals Moore, backing vocal Gordon) – 5:28
- "Tunic (Song for Karen)" (lyrics/vocals Gordon) – 6:22
- "Mary-Christ" (lyrics Moore, vocals Moore and Gordon) – 3:11
- "Kool Thing" (lyrics/vocals Gordon, guest vocals Chuck D) – 4:12
- "Mote" (lyrics/vocals Ranaldo) – 7:37
- "My Friend Goo" (lyrics/vocals Gordon, backing vocal Moore) – 2:19
- "Disappearer" (lyrics/vocals Moore) – 5:08
- "Mildred Pierce" (lyrics/vocals Moore) – 2:13
- "Cinderella's Big Score" (lyrics/vocals Gordon) – 5:54
- "Scooter + Jinx" – 1:06
- "Titanium Exposé" (lyrics/vocals Moore and Gordon) – 6:24
Deluxe edition
Disc one
- "Dirty Boots" – 5:29
- "Tunic (Song for Karen)" – 6:21
- "Mary-Christ" – 3:11
- "Kool Thing" – 4:06
- "Mote" – 7:37
- "My Friend Goo" – 2:20
- "Disappearer" – 5:08
- "Mildred Pierce" – 2:13
- "Cinderella's Big Score" – 5:54
- "Scooter + Jinx" – 1:05
- "Titanium Expose" – 6:34
- "Lee #2" – 3:31
- "That's All I Know (Right Now)" – 2:20
- "The Bedroom" – 3:42
- "Dr. Benway's House" – 1:17
- "Tuff Boyz" – 5:39
Disc two
- "Tunic" – 6:45
- "Number One (Disappearer)" – 4:59
- "Titanium Expose" – 4:45
- "Dirty Boots" – 6:38
- "Corky (Cinderella's Big Score)" – 7:51
- "My Friend Goo" – 2:34
- "Bookstore (Mote)" – 4:16
- "Animals (Mary-Christ)" – 3:02
- "DV2 (Kool Thing)" – 4:20
- "Blowjob (Mildred Pierce)" – 8:52
- "Lee #2" – 3:34
- "I Know There's an Answer" – 3:10
- "Can Song" – 3:17
- "Isaac" – 2:45
- "Goo Interview Flexi" – 6:03
Personnel
- J Mascis – additional backing vocals (tracks 2, 5, 6)
- Don Fleming – additional backing vocals (tracks 1, 7)
- Nick Sansano – production
Trivia
 |
Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines. The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones. |
- Kim's spoken word from the middle of "Kool Thing" is sampled in Ssion's cover of The Birthday Party's "Nick the Stripper" on the Release the Bats tribute album.
- The song "Kool Thing" appears on the Beat Generation documentry The Source while Dennis Hopper reads excerpts from William S. Burroughs' book Naked Lunch.
- The song "Kool Thing" also appears in the video game True Crime: New York City
- The song "Kool Thing" also appears in the Hal Hartley film Simple Men.
- The song "Kool Thing" also appears in the video game Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock, as a master track.
- The popular cartoon: Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends features an episode called "My Friend Goo".
Charts
Album
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | Official UK Albums Chart | 32 |
| 1990 | Billboard Top 200 | 96 |
Singles
| Year | Song | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | Kool Thing | Modern Rock Tracks (US) | 7 |
| 1990 | Kool Thing | UK Singles Charts | 81 |
References
- ^ [1]
- ^ * We Gotta Get Out of This Place, Gerri Hirshey, 2001, ISBN 0-87113-788-7, on "Tunic", quoting Kim Gordon in Rolling Stone magazine.
- ^ [2]
- ^ [3]
- ^ [4]
