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{{Infobox album <!-- See Wikipedia:WikiProject_Albums -->
{{Infobox album
| Name = NYC Ghosts & Flowers
| name = NYC Ghosts & Flowers
| Type = studio
| type = studio
| Artist = [[Sonic Youth]]
| artist = [[Sonic Youth]]
| Cover = NYCGhosts.jpg
| cover = Nycghostsandflowers.png
| Alt =
| alt =
| Released = May 16, 2000
| border = yes
| released = May 16, 2000
| Recorded = August 1999 – February 2000 in New York City, United States
| recorded = August 1999 – February 2000
⚫
| Genre = [[Noise rock]], [[experimental rock]]
| Length = 42:18
| studio =
| Label = [[DGC Records|DGC]]
| genre =
* [[Noise rock]]
⚫
| Producer = Sonic Youth, [[Jim O'Rourke (musician)|Jim O'Rourke]]
⚫
* [[experimental rock]]
⚫
| Last album = ''[[SYR4: Goodbye 20th Century]]''<br/>(1999)
| length = 42:18
⚫
| This album = '''''NYC Ghosts & Flowers'''''<br />(2000)
| label = [[DGC Records|DGC]]
| Next album = ''[[SYR5]]''<br/>(2000)
| producer =
⚫
* Sonic Youth
⚫
* [[Jim O'Rourke (musician)|Jim O'Rourke]]
⚫
| prev_title = [[SYR4: Goodbye 20th Century]]
| prev_year = 1999
| next_title = [[SYR5]]
| next_year = 2000
}}
}}


'''''NYC Ghosts & Flowers''''' is the 11th studio album by American [[noise rock]]/[[alternative rock]] band [[Sonic Youth]]. It was released on May 16, 2000 by record label [[DGC Records|DGC]]. The album was very experimental and can be considered as a reaction to the theft of their instruments in July 1999, in which many irreplaceable guitars and [[effects pedals]] were stolen. This is also the first album since ''[[Bad Moon Rising (album)|Bad Moon Rising]]'' in which Sonic Youth used [[prepared guitar]], for example using a bicycle horn between the strings on ''Lightnin'', a lime between the strings and the first pickup and a file inserted over the neck [[Pickup (music technology)|pickup]] on ''Small Flowers Crack Concrete'' and a drum stick between the strings in ''Free City Rhymes''.
'''''NYC Ghosts & Flowers''''' is the eleventh studio album by American [[rock music|rock]] band [[Sonic Youth]], released on May 16, 2000, by [[DGC Records]]. The highly [[experimental music|experimental]] album is considered to be a reaction to the theft of the band's instruments in July 1999, when several irreplaceable [[guitar]]s and [[effects pedals]] were stolen. ''NYC Ghosts & Flowers'' was the first album since ''[[Bad Moon Rising (album)|Bad Moon Rising]]'' in which the band used [[prepared guitar]].


== Background ==
== Background ==
As a result of the theft, the members of Sonic Youth relied upon "old guitars in their studio, unearthing instruments they hadn't used in years" which "along with equipment purchased to fulfill the remaining [...] dates [of the tour], would serve as the foundation for six new songs written over the next month", in addition to "Free City Rhymes" and "Renegade Princess", which were written prior to the tour. The band members later acknowledged that "the gear theft was somewhat of a blessing, if not a rather unwelcome and unpleasant one, in that it truly forced them to 'start over' and approach creating music with brand new boundaries".<ref name="sonicyouth.com">{{cite web |url=http://www.sonicyouth.com/mustang/lp/lp16.html |title=sonicyouth.com Discography – Album: ''NYC Ghosts & Flowers'' |website=sonicyouth.com |accessdate=January 20, 2013}}</ref>
As a result of the theft, the members of Sonic Youth relied upon "old guitars in their studio, unearthing instruments they hadn't used in years" which "along with equipment purchased to fulfill the remaining [...] dates [of the tour], would serve as the foundation for six new songs written over the next month", in addition to "Free City Rhymes" and "Renegade Princess", which were written prior to the tour. The band members later acknowledged that "the gear theft was somewhat of a blessing, if [also] a rather unwelcome and unpleasant one, in that it truly forced them to 'start over' and approach creating music with brand new boundaries".<ref name="sonicyouth.com">{{cite web |url=http://www.sonicyouth.com/mustang/lp/lp16.html |title=sonicyouth.com Discography – Album: ''NYC Ghosts & Flowers'' |website=sonicyouth.com |access-date=January 20, 2013}}</ref>

⚫
== Content ==
On this album, the influence of [[beat poetry]] on the band was strongly evident: The lyrics to most songs resembled the beat style; [[Lenny Bruce]] and [[D. A. Levy]] were name-checked; and the cover art was based on a painting by [[William S. Burroughs]].


== Release ==
== Release ==
''NYC Ghosts & Flowers'' was released on May 16, 2000 by record label DGC.<ref name="sonicyouth.com"/>
''NYC Ghosts & Flowers'' was released on May 16, 2000, by record label DGC.<ref name="sonicyouth.com"/>


A music video was released for the track "Nevermind (What Was It Anyway)". According to the band's official website, it was a proposed single that "never actually found its way into stores."<ref name="sonicyouth.com"/>
A music video was released for the track "Nevermind (What Was It Anyway)". According to the band's official website, it was a proposed single that "never actually found its way into stores."<ref name="sonicyouth.com"/>
Line 31: Line 35:
== Critical reception ==
== Critical reception ==
{{Album ratings
{{Album ratings
| MC = 66/100<ref name="Metacritic">{{cite web |url=http://www.metacritic.com/music/nyc-ghosts-flowers/sonic-youth |title=Reviews for ''NYC Ghosts & Flowers'' by Sonic Youth |publisher=[[Metacritic]] |accessdate=January 20, 2013}}</ref>
| MC = 66/100<ref name="Metacritic">{{cite web |url=https://www.metacritic.com/music/nyc-ghosts-flowers/sonic-youth |title=Reviews for ''NYC Ghosts & Flowers'' by Sonic Youth |website=[[Metacritic]] |access-date=January 20, 2013}}</ref>
| rev1 = [[AllMusic]]
| rev1 = [[AllMusic]]
| rev1score = {{rating|2.5|5}}<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/nyc-ghosts-flowers-mw0000064163 |title=''NYC Ghosts & Flowers'' – Sonic Youth |publisher=[[AllMusic]] |accessdate=January 20, 2013 |last=Phares |first=Heather}}</ref>
| rev1score = {{rating|2.5|5}}<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/nyc-ghosts-flowers-mw0000064163 |title=''NYC Ghosts & Flowers'' – Sonic Youth |website=[[AllMusic]] |access-date=January 20, 2013 |last=Phares |first=Heather}}</ref>
| rev2 = ''[[Alternative Press (magazine)|Alternative Press]]''
| rev2 = ''[[Alternative Press (magazine)|Alternative Press]]''
| rev2score = 3/5<ref>{{cite journal |url=http://www.alternativepress.com/sections/rotw/07-17-2000/index.asp |title=Sonic Youth: ''NYC Ghosts & Flowers'' |work=[[Alternative Press (magazine)|Alternative Press]] |issue=144 |date=July 2000 |accessdate=June 22, 2013 |last=Burgess |first=Aaron |page=81 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20010430012054/http://www.alternativepress.com/sections/rotw/07-17-2000/index.asp |archivedate=April 30, 2001}}</ref>
| rev2score = 3/5<ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://www.alternativepress.com/sections/rotw/07-17-2000/index.asp |title=Sonic Youth: ''NYC Ghosts & Flowers'' |magazine=[[Alternative Press (magazine)|Alternative Press]] |issue=144 |date=July 2000 |access-date=June 22, 2013 |last=Burgess |first=Aaron |page=81 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010430012054/http://www.alternativepress.com/sections/rotw/07-17-2000/index.asp |archive-date=April 30, 2001}}</ref>
| rev3 = ''[[Blender (magazine)|Blender]]''
| rev3 = ''[[Blender (magazine)|Blender]]''
| rev3score = {{rating|3|5}}<ref>{{cite journal |title=Back Catalogue: Sonic Youth |work=[[Blender (magazine)|Blender]] |issue=52 |date=October 2006 |last=Wolk |first=Douglas |authorlink=Douglas Wolk |pages=154–55}}</ref>
| rev3score = {{rating|3|5}}<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Back Catalogue: Sonic Youth |magazine=[[Blender (magazine)|Blender]] |issue=52 |date=October 2006 |last=Wolk |first=Douglas |author-link=Douglas Wolk |pages=154–55}}</ref>
| rev4 = ''[[Entertainment Weekly]]''
| rev4 = ''[[Entertainment Weekly]]''
| rev4score = B<ref>{{cite journal |url=http://www.ew.com/article/2000/05/26/nyc-ghosts-flowers |title=''NYC Ghosts & Flowers'' |work=[[Entertainment Weekly]] |issue=542 |date=May 26, 2000 |accessdate=June 22, 2013 |last=Brunner |first=Rob |page=74}}</ref>
| rev4score = B<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.ew.com/article/2000/05/26/nyc-ghosts-flowers |title=''NYC Ghosts & Flowers'' |magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]] |issue=542 |date=May 26, 2000 |access-date=June 22, 2013 |last=Brunner |first=Rob |page=74}}</ref>
| rev5 = ''[[The Guardian]]''
| rev5 = ''[[The Guardian]]''
| rev5score = {{rating|3|5}}<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/friday_review/story/0,3605,327039,00.html |title=Sonic Youth: nyc ghosts and flowers (Geffen) |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=June 2, 2000 |accessdate=February 22, 2016 |last=Mulholland |first=Garry}}</ref>
| rev5score = {{rating|3|5}}<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/friday_review/story/0,3605,327039,00.html |title=Sonic Youth: ''nyc ghosts and flowers'' (Geffen) |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |date=June 2, 2000 |access-date=February 22, 2016 |last=Mulholland |first=Garry}}</ref>
| rev6 = ''[[NME]]''
| rev6 = ''[[NME]]''
| rev6score = 8/10<ref name="nme">{{cite journal |url=http://www.nme.com/reviews/sonic-youth/2297 |title=''NYC Ghosts & Flowers'' |work=[[NME]] |date=May 23, 2000 |accessdate=June 22, 2013 |last=Chick |first=Stevie |page=41 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304115819/http://www.nme.com/reviews/sonic-youth/2297 |archivedate=March 4, 2016}}</ref>
| rev6score = 8/10<ref name="nme">{{cite magazine |url=https://www.nme.com/reviews/sonic-youth/2297 |title=''NYC Ghosts & Flowers'' |magazine=[[NME]] |date=May 23, 2000 |access-date=June 22, 2013 |last=Chick |first=Stevie |page=41 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304115819/http://www.nme.com/reviews/sonic-youth/2297 |archive-date=March 4, 2016}}</ref>
| rev7 = ''[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]]''
| rev7 = ''[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]]''
| rev7score = 0.0/10<ref name="DiCrescenzo">{{cite web |url=http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/7342-nyc-ghosts-flowers/ |title=Sonic Youth: ''NYC Ghosts & Flowers'' |work=[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]] |date=April 30, 2000 |accessdate=January 20, 2013 |last=DiCrescenzo |first=Brent}}</ref>
| rev7score = 0.0/10<ref name="DiCrescenzo">{{cite web |url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/7342-nyc-ghosts-flowers/ |title=Sonic Youth: ''NYC Ghosts & Flowers'' |website=[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]] |date=April 30, 2000 |access-date=January 20, 2013 |last=DiCrescenzo |first=Brent}}</ref>
| rev8 = ''[[Rolling Stone]]''
| rev8 = ''[[Rolling Stone]]''
| rev8score = {{rating|3.5|5}}<ref>{{cite journal |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/nyc-ghosts-flowers-20000608 |title=''NYC Ghosts & Flowers'' |work=[[Rolling Stone]] |date=June 8, 2000 |accessdate=January 20, 2013 |last=Kot |first=Greg |authorlink=Greg Kot}}</ref>
| rev8score = {{rating|3.5|5}}<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/nyc-ghosts-flowers-20000608 |title=''NYC Ghosts & Flowers'' |magazine=[[Rolling Stone]] |date=June 8, 2000 |access-date=January 20, 2013 |last=Kot |first=Greg |author-link=Greg Kot}}</ref>
| rev9 = ''[[Spin (magazine)|Spin]]''
| rev9 = ''[[Spin (magazine)|Spin]]''
| rev9score = 8/10<ref name="Wolk">{{cite journal |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AlN-17xfY88C&pg=PA149 |title=Sonic Youth: ''NYC Ghosts & Flowers'' |work=[[Spin (magazine)|Spin]] |volume=16 |issue=7 |date=July 2000 |accessdate=January 27, 2016 |last=Wolk |first=Douglas |authorlink=Douglas Wolk |pages=149–50}}</ref>
| rev9score = 8/10<ref name="Wolk">{{cite magazine |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AlN-17xfY88C&pg=PA149 |title=Sonic Youth: ''NYC Ghosts & Flowers'' |magazine=[[Spin (magazine)|Spin]] |volume=16 |issue=7 |date=July 2000 |access-date=January 27, 2016 |last=Wolk |first=Douglas |author-link=Douglas Wolk |pages=149–50}}</ref>
| rev10 = ''[[The Village Voice]]''
| rev10 = ''[[The Village Voice]]''
| rev10score = A<ref name="Christgau">{{cite news |url=http://www.robertchristgau.com/xg/cg/cgv800-00.php |title=Consumer Guide: Getting Them Straight |work=[[The Village Voice]] |date=August 22, 2000 |accessdate=January 27, 2016 |last=Christgau |first=Robert |authorlink=Robert Christgau}}</ref>
| rev10score = A<ref name="Christgau">{{cite news |url=http://www.robertchristgau.com/xg/cg/cgv800-00.php |title=Consumer Guide: Getting Them Straight |newspaper=[[The Village Voice]] |date=August 22, 2000 |access-date=January 27, 2016 |last=Christgau |first=Robert |author-link=Robert Christgau}}</ref>
}}
}}
''NYC Ghosts & Flowers'' received an approval rating of 66 out of 100 on review aggregator website [[Metacritic]], signifying "generally favorable reviews".<ref name="Metacritic"/> In a positive review for the ''[[Chicago Tribune]]'', [[Greg Kot]] said "though Sonic Youth flirted with alternative-rock songcraft in the early '90s, these noise-rock renegades are once again happily viewing their guitars as hunks of wood, wire and infinite possibility." He went on to write, "No rock band makes the avant-garde sound quite this tactile and sensual."<ref name="Chicago">{{cite news |url=http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2000-06-04/news/0006040188_1_nyc-ghosts-flowers-sonic-youth-noise-rock |title=Sonic Youth ''NYC Ghosts & Flowers'' (Geffen) |work=[[Chicago Tribune]] |date=June 4, 2000 |accessdate=June 22, 2013 |last=Kot |first=Greg |authorlink=Greg Kot}}</ref> ''[[Salon (website)|Salon.com]]'' also gave the album a positive review and stated, "Even while there isn't a single song here that holds together from beginning to end, even as the music makes only itself felt in halting jigsaw fashion... the album has a gloomy, unaccommodating tenacity that's hard to shake."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.salon.com/2000/07/20/sonic/ |title=Sharps & Flats |last=Hampton |first=Howard |date=July 20, 2000 |website=[[Salon (website)|Salon.com]] |accessdate=June 22, 2013}}</ref> ''[[Mojo (magazine)|Mojo]]'' stated that "in the end, it's surprisingly worth it for the few great, strange tracks."<ref name="Metacritic"/> In ''[[Spin (magazine)|Spin]]'', [[Douglas Wolk]] hailed it as Sonic Youth's "artiest, most texturally spectacular album" yet, writing that it "fashions a link between the [[free-jazz]] of the [[New York Art Quartet]] and the psychotic spasms of 1978's [[no wave]] grail, ''[[No New York]]''."<ref name="Wolk"/> In ''[[NME]]''{{'}}s opinion, the album "burns with such a sense of direction and focus" that revealed the group to still be "a vital creative force" in music.<ref name="nme"/>
''NYC Ghosts & Flowers'' received an approval rating of 66 out of 100 on review aggregator website [[Metacritic]], signifying "generally favorable reviews".<ref name="Metacritic"/> In a positive review for the ''[[Chicago Tribune]]'', [[Greg Kot]] said "though Sonic Youth flirted with alternative-rock songcraft in the early '90s, these noise-rock renegades are once again happily viewing their guitars as hunks of wood, wire and infinite possibility." He went on to write, "No rock band makes the avant-garde sound quite this tactile and sensual."<ref name="Chicago">{{cite news |url=http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2000-06-04/news/0006040188_1_nyc-ghosts-flowers-sonic-youth-noise-rock |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402160036/http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2000-06-04/news/0006040188_1_nyc-ghosts-flowers-sonic-youth-noise-rock |url-status=dead |archive-date=April 2, 2015 |title=Sonic Youth ''NYC Ghosts & Flowers'' (Geffen) |newspaper=[[Chicago Tribune]] |date=June 4, 2000 |access-date=June 22, 2013 |last=Kot |first=Greg |author-link=Greg Kot}}</ref> ''[[Salon (website)|Salon.com]]'' also gave the album a positive review and stated, "Even while there isn't a single song here that holds together from beginning to end, even as the music makes only itself felt in halting jigsaw fashion... the album has a gloomy, unaccommodating tenacity that's hard to shake."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.salon.com/2000/07/20/sonic/ |title=Sharps & Flats |last=Hampton |first=Howard |date=July 20, 2000 |website=[[Salon (website)|Salon.com]] |access-date=June 22, 2013}}</ref> ''[[Mojo (magazine)|Mojo]]'' stated that "in the end, it's surprisingly worth it for the few great, strange tracks."<ref name="Metacritic"/> In ''[[Spin (magazine)|Spin]]'', [[Douglas Wolk]] hailed it as Sonic Youth's "artiest, most texturally spectacular album" yet, writing that it "fashions a link between the [[free-jazz]] of the [[New York Art Quartet]] and the psychotic spasms of 1978's [[no wave]] grail, ''[[No New York]]''."<ref name="Wolk"/> In ''[[NME]]''{{'}}s opinion, the album "burns with such a sense of direction and focus" that revealed the group to still be "a vital creative force" in music.<ref name="nme"/>


According to [[Robert Christgau]], ''NYC Ghosts & Flowers'' proved to be Sonic Youth's "dud by acclamation" among critics; he himself had given it a positive review in ''[[The Village Voice]]'' but later said the record's "meanderings", which had "captivated me in their ambiently environmental way, never fully reconnected" on later listens.<ref>{{cite news |last=Christgau |first=Robert |date=June 13, 2006 |title=Rather Exhilarating |journal=[[The Village Voice]] |url=http://www.robertchristgau.com/xg/rock/sonic-06.php |accessdate=January 20, 2013}}</ref> ''[[Select (magazine)|Select]]'' wrote that "the songs suffer from a lazy approach and the relentless repetition of unengaging chord patterns."<ref name="Metacritic"/> ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'' believed the record "either encapsulates Sonic Youth's most endearing or annoying qualities, depending on how one feels about the band and the spoken-word poetics from Kim Gordon."<ref>{{cite journal |date=June 3, 2000 |title=Sonic Youth: ''NYC Ghosts & Flowers'' |magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] |url=http://www.billboard.com/reviews/reviewdisplay.asp?ID=87494 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20001029042431/http://www.billboard.com/reviews/reviewdisplay.asp?ID=87494 |archivedate=October 29, 2000 |accessdate=June 22, 2013}}</ref> Brent DiCrescenzo's review for ''[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]]'' was far more critical and assigned the album a score of 0.0 out of 10, with the critic panning it as "an unfathomable album which will be heard in the squash courts and open mic nights of deepest Hell." Commenting on the album's avant-garde roots, he said, "These are not new ideas. These are ideas that were arrogant and unlistenable upon birth thirty years ago."<ref name="DiCrescenzo"/> DiCrescenzo later reevaluated his opinion of the album and, in 2013, remarked on the higher esteem with which he now held it: "I now love the record. It's unlike anything else; eerie and beautiful. [...] No, the lesson here is: beware the opinions of a kid right out of college." He also described ''Pitchfork''{{'}}s decimal scale as "knowingly silly" and "arbitrary".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://timeoutchicago.com/arts-culture/15974586/%25E2%80%259Ci-gave-sonic-youth-a-0-0-rating-on-pitchfork-%25E2%80%259D |title="I Gave Sonic Youth a 0.0 Rating on Pitchfork." – Arts + Culture – ''Time Out Chicago'' |last=DiCrescenzo |first=Brent |date=January 10, 2013 |website=[[Time Out (company)|Time Out]] |accessdate=January 20, 2013}}</ref>
According to [[Robert Christgau]], ''NYC Ghosts & Flowers'' proved to be Sonic Youth's "dud by acclamation" among critics; he himself had given it a positive review in ''[[The Village Voice]]'' but later said the record's "meanderings", which had "captivated me in their ambiently environmental way, never fully reconnected" on later listens.<ref>{{cite news |last=Christgau |first=Robert |date=June 13, 2006 |title=Rather Exhilarating |journal=[[The Village Voice]] |url=http://www.robertchristgau.com/xg/rock/sonic-06.php |access-date=January 20, 2013}}</ref> ''[[Select (magazine)|Select]]'' wrote that "the songs suffer from a lazy approach and the relentless repetition of unengaging chord patterns."<ref name="Metacritic"/> ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'' believed the record "either encapsulates Sonic Youth's most endearing or annoying qualities, depending on how one feels about the band and the spoken-word poetics from Kim Gordon."<ref>{{cite magazine |date=June 3, 2000 |title=Sonic Youth: ''NYC Ghosts & Flowers'' |magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] |url=https://www.billboard.com/reviews/reviewdisplay.asp?ID=87494 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20001029042431/http://www.billboard.com/reviews/reviewdisplay.asp?ID=87494 |archive-date=October 29, 2000 |access-date=June 22, 2013}}</ref> Brent DiCrescenzo's review for ''[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]]'' was far more critical and assigned the album a score of 0.0 out of 10, with the critic panning it as "an unfathomable album which will be heard in the squash courts and open mic nights of deepest Hell." Commenting on the album's avant-garde roots, he said, "These are not new ideas. These are ideas that were arrogant and unlistenable upon birth thirty years ago."<ref name="DiCrescenzo"/> DiCrescenzo later reevaluated his opinion of the album and, in 2013, remarked on the higher esteem with which he now held it: "I now love the record. It's unlike anything else; eerie and beautiful. [...] No, the lesson here is: beware the opinions of a kid right out of college." He also described ''Pitchfork''{{'}}s decimal scale as "knowingly silly" and "arbitrary".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://timeoutchicago.com/arts-culture/15974586/%25E2%80%259Ci-gave-sonic-youth-a-0-0-rating-on-pitchfork-%25E2%80%259D |title="I Gave Sonic Youth a 0.0 Rating on Pitchfork." – Arts + Culture – ''Time Out Chicago'' |last=DiCrescenzo |first=Brent |date=January 10, 2013 |website=[[Time Out (company)|Time Out]] |access-date=January 20, 2013}}</ref>


== Track listing ==
== Track listing ==
{{track listing
{{track listing
| lyrics_credits = yes
| extra_column = Vocals
| extra_column = Vocals
| all_writing = Sonic Youth ([[Thurston Moore]], [[Kim Gordon]], [[Lee Ranaldo]], [[Steve Shelley]])
| all_writing = Sonic Youth ([[Thurston Moore]], [[Kim Gordon]], [[Lee Ranaldo]], [[Steve Shelley]])
Line 90: Line 93:
| extra7 = Ranaldo
| extra7 = Ranaldo
| length7 = 7:52
| length7 = 7:52
| title8 = Lightnin'
| title8 = Lightnin{{'-}}
| lyrics8 = Gordon
| lyrics8 = Gordon
| extra8 = Gordon
| extra8 = Gordon
Line 97: Line 100:
}}
}}


Note: For the [[Phonograph record|vinyl]] version, "Renegade Princess" was moved to track 6, and "Side2Side" & "StreamXSonik Subway" were swapped in order.
== Charts ==

{| class="wikitable"
!Year
!Chart
!Position
⚫
|-
| rowspan="4"| 2000
| French [[Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique]]
| 61<ref>{{cite web |url=http://lescharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Sonic+Youth&titel=NYC+Ghosts+%26+Flowers&cat=a |title=lescharts.com – Sonic Youth – ''NYC Ghosts & Flowers'' |website=lescharts.com |accessdate=April 27, 2013}}</ref>
⚫
|-
| Norwegian [[VG-lista]]
| 37<ref>{{cite web |url=http://norwegiancharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Sonic+Youth&titel=NYC+Ghosts+%26+Flowers&cat=a |title=norwegiancharts.com – Sonic Youth – ''NYC Ghosts & Flowers'' |website=norwegiancharts.com |accessdate=January 20, 2013}}</ref>
⚫
|-
| UK [[UK Albums Chart|Albums Chart]]
| 113<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.officialcharts.com/artist/_/sonic%20youth/ |title=Sonic Youth <nowiki>| Artist |</nowiki> Official Charts |website=[[Official Charts Company|officialcharts.com]] |accessdate=April 27, 2013}}</ref>
⚫
|-
| US [[Billboard 200|''Billboard'' 200]]
| 172<ref>{{cite web |url={{BillboardURLbyName|artist=sonic youth|chart=all}} |title=''NYC Ghosts & Flowers'' – Sonic Youth <nowiki>|</nowiki> ''Billboard'' |website=[[Billboard (magazine)|billboard.com]] |accessdate=January 20, 2013}}</ref>
⚫
|}


== Personnel ==
== Personnel ==
'''Sonic Youth'''
{{div col}}
⚫
; Sonic Youth

''These section was uncredited of each members' performance in the sleeve, but this is the prominent of their performance & instruments in the band''

* [[Thurston Moore]] – [[vocals]], [[electric guitar|guitars]], [[record producer|production]]
* [[Thurston Moore]] – [[vocals]], [[electric guitar|guitars]], [[record producer|production]]
* [[Kim Gordon]] – vocals, [[bass guitar]], guitars, sleeve illustration (''Girl Drawing'', 2000), production
* [[Kim Gordon]] – vocals, [[bass guitar|bass]], guitars, sleeve illustration (''Girl Drawing'', 2000), production
* [[Lee Ranaldo]] – vocals, guitars, production, sleeve photography (1998)
* [[Lee Ranaldo]] – vocals, guitars, production, sleeve photography (1998)
* [[Steve Shelley]] – [[drums]], [[percussion]], production
* [[Steve Shelley]] – [[drums]], [[percussion]], production


; Additional personnel
'''Additional personnel'''
⚫
* [[Jim O'Rourke (musician)|Jim O'Rourke]] – bass, electronics <small>("Side2Side")</small>, production, additional recording, additional [[audio mixing (recorded music)|mixing]]

⚫
* [[Jim O'Rourke (musician)|Jim O'Rourke]] – bass guitar <small>("Free City Rhymes", "Small Flowers Crack Concrete")</small>, electronics <small>("Side2Side")</small>, production, additional recording, additional [[audio mixing (recorded music)|mixing]]
* [[William Winant]] – percussion <small>("Side2Side")</small>
* [[William Winant]] – percussion <small>("Side2Side")</small>
* Rafael Toral – Spacestatic guitar <small>("Renegade Princess")</small>
* Rafael Toral – Spacestatic guitar <small>("Renegade Princess")</small>


; Technical
'''Technical'''

* [[Wharton Tiers]] – recording
* [[Wharton Tiers]] – recording
* [[Greg Calbi]] – [[audio mastering|mastering]]
* [[Greg Calbi]] – [[audio mastering|mastering]]
Line 145: Line 123:
* Robert Mooney – sleeve painting (untitled, 1992)
* Robert Mooney – sleeve painting (untitled, 1992)
* [[William S. Burroughs]] – sleeve painting (''X-Ray Man'', 1992)
* [[William S. Burroughs]] – sleeve painting (''X-Ray Man'', 1992)

{{div col end}}
⚫
== Charts ==
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
⚫
|+ Chart performance for ''NYC Ghosts & Flowers''
! scope="col"| Chart (2000)
! scope="col"| Peak{{break}}position
⚫
|-
{{album chart|France|61|artist=Sonic Youth|album=NYC Ghosts & Flowers|rowheader=true|access-date=April 27, 2013}}
⚫
|-
{{album chart|Norway|37|artist=Sonic Youth|album=NYC Ghosts & Flowers|rowheader=true|access-date=January 20, 2013}}
⚫
|-
{{album chart|UK|113|M|url=http://www.zobbel.de/cluk/CLUK_S.HTM|title=Chart Log UK: 1994–2010 (DJ S – The System Of Life)|publisher=Zobbel.de|rowheader=true|access-date=September 1, 2024}}
⚫
|-
{{album chart|UKRock|8|date=20000521|rowheader=true|access-date=September 1, 2024}}
|-
! scope="row"| US [[Billboard 200|''Billboard'' 200]]<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.billboard.com/music/sonic-youth/chart-history/TLP |title=Sonic Youth Chart History (''Billboard 200'') |magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] |access-date=September 1, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210925163105/https://www.billboard.com/music/sonic-youth/chart-history/TLP |archive-date=September 25, 2021}}</ref>
| 172
⚫
|}


== References ==
== References ==
⚫
{{reflist}}

⚫
{{reflist|2}}


{{Sonic Youth}}
{{Sonic Youth}}

{{Authority control}}


{{DEFAULTSORT:NYC Ghosts and Flowers}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:NYC Ghosts and Flowers}}
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[[Category:Geffen Records albums]]
[[Category:Geffen Records albums]]
[[Category:Experimental rock albums by American artists]]
[[Category:Experimental rock albums by American artists]]
[[Category:Noise rock albums]]
[[Category:Noise rock albums by American artists]]

Latest revision as of 02:52, 11 September 2024

NYC Ghosts & Flowers
Studio album by
Sonic Youth
ReleasedMay 16, 2000
RecordedAugust 1999 – February 2000
Genre
Length42:18
LabelDGC
Producer
Sonic Youth chronology
SYR4: Goodbye 20th Century
(1999) 		NYC Ghosts & Flowers
(2000) 		SYR5
(2000)

NYC Ghosts & Flowers is the eleventh studio album by American rock band Sonic Youth, released on May 16, 2000, by DGC Records. The highly experimental album is considered to be a reaction to the theft of the band's instruments in July 1999, when several irreplaceable guitars and effects pedals were stolen. NYC Ghosts & Flowers was the first album since Bad Moon Rising in which the band used prepared guitar.

Background

[edit]

As a result of the theft, the members of Sonic Youth relied upon "old guitars in their studio, unearthing instruments they hadn't used in years" which "along with equipment purchased to fulfill the remaining [...] dates [of the tour], would serve as the foundation for six new songs written over the next month", in addition to "Free City Rhymes" and "Renegade Princess", which were written prior to the tour. The band members later acknowledged that "the gear theft was somewhat of a blessing, if [also] a rather unwelcome and unpleasant one, in that it truly forced them to 'start over' and approach creating music with brand new boundaries".[1]

Release

[edit]

NYC Ghosts & Flowers was released on May 16, 2000, by record label DGC.[1]

A music video was released for the track "Nevermind (What Was It Anyway)". According to the band's official website, it was a proposed single that "never actually found its way into stores."[1]

Critical reception

[edit]
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic66/100[2]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[3]
Alternative Press3/5[4]
Blender[5]
Entertainment WeeklyB[6]
The Guardian[7]
NME8/10[8]
Pitchfork0.0/10[9]
Rolling Stone[10]
Spin8/10[11]
The Village VoiceA[12]

NYC Ghosts & Flowers received an approval rating of 66 out of 100 on review aggregator website Metacritic, signifying "generally favorable reviews".[2] In a positive review for the Chicago Tribune, Greg Kot said "though Sonic Youth flirted with alternative-rock songcraft in the early '90s, these noise-rock renegades are once again happily viewing their guitars as hunks of wood, wire and infinite possibility." He went on to write, "No rock band makes the avant-garde sound quite this tactile and sensual."[13] Salon.com also gave the album a positive review and stated, "Even while there isn't a single song here that holds together from beginning to end, even as the music makes only itself felt in halting jigsaw fashion... the album has a gloomy, unaccommodating tenacity that's hard to shake."[14] Mojo stated that "in the end, it's surprisingly worth it for the few great, strange tracks."[2] In Spin, Douglas Wolk hailed it as Sonic Youth's "artiest, most texturally spectacular album" yet, writing that it "fashions a link between the free-jazz of the New York Art Quartet and the psychotic spasms of 1978's no wave grail, No New York."[11] In NME's opinion, the album "burns with such a sense of direction and focus" that revealed the group to still be "a vital creative force" in music.[8]

According to Robert Christgau, NYC Ghosts & Flowers proved to be Sonic Youth's "dud by acclamation" among critics; he himself had given it a positive review in The Village Voice but later said the record's "meanderings", which had "captivated me in their ambiently environmental way, never fully reconnected" on later listens.[15] Select wrote that "the songs suffer from a lazy approach and the relentless repetition of unengaging chord patterns."[2] Billboard believed the record "either encapsulates Sonic Youth's most endearing or annoying qualities, depending on how one feels about the band and the spoken-word poetics from Kim Gordon."[16] Brent DiCrescenzo's review for Pitchfork was far more critical and assigned the album a score of 0.0 out of 10, with the critic panning it as "an unfathomable album which will be heard in the squash courts and open mic nights of deepest Hell." Commenting on the album's avant-garde roots, he said, "These are not new ideas. These are ideas that were arrogant and unlistenable upon birth thirty years ago."[9] DiCrescenzo later reevaluated his opinion of the album and, in 2013, remarked on the higher esteem with which he now held it: "I now love the record. It's unlike anything else; eerie and beautiful. [...] No, the lesson here is: beware the opinions of a kid right out of college." He also described Pitchfork's decimal scale as "knowingly silly" and "arbitrary".[17]

Track listing

[edit]

All tracks are written by Sonic Youth (Thurston Moore, Kim Gordon, Lee Ranaldo, Steve Shelley)

No.TitleLyricsVocalsLength
1."Free City Rhymes"MooreMoore7:32
2."Renegade Princess"MooreMoore, Gordon, Ranaldo5:49
3."Nevermind (What Was It Anyway)"GordonGordon5:37
4."Small Flowers Crack Concrete"MooreMoore, Gordon, Ranaldo5:12
5."Side2Side"GordonGordon3:34
6."StreamXSonik Subway"MooreMoore2:51
7."NYC Ghosts & Flowers"RanaldoRanaldo7:52
8."Lightnin'"GordonGordon3:51
Total length:42:18

Note: For the vinyl version, "Renegade Princess" was moved to track 6, and "Side2Side" & "StreamXSonik Subway" were swapped in order.

Personnel

[edit]

Sonic Youth

Additional personnel

  • Jim O'Rourke – bass, electronics ("Side2Side"), production, additional recording, additional mixing
  • William Winant – percussion ("Side2Side")
  • Rafael Toral – Spacestatic guitar ("Renegade Princess")

Technical

Charts

[edit]
Chart performance for NYC Ghosts & Flowers
Chart (2000) Peak
position
French Albums (SNEP)[18] 61
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[19] 37
UK Albums (OCC)[20] 113
UK Rock & Metal Albums (OCC)[21] 8
US Billboard 200[22] 172

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c "sonicyouth.com Discography – Album: NYC Ghosts & Flowers". sonicyouth.com. Retrieved January 20, 2013.
  2. ^ a b c d "Reviews for NYC Ghosts & Flowers by Sonic Youth". Metacritic. Retrieved January 20, 2013.
  3. ^ Phares, Heather. "NYC Ghosts & Flowers – Sonic Youth". AllMusic. Retrieved January 20, 2013.
  4. ^ Burgess, Aaron (July 2000). "Sonic Youth: NYC Ghosts & Flowers". Alternative Press. No. 144. p. 81. Archived from the original on April 30, 2001. Retrieved June 22, 2013.
  5. ^ Wolk, Douglas (October 2006). "Back Catalogue: Sonic Youth". Blender. No. 52. pp. 154–55.
  6. ^ Brunner, Rob (May 26, 2000). "NYC Ghosts & Flowers". Entertainment Weekly. No. 542. p. 74. Retrieved June 22, 2013.
  7. ^ Mulholland, Garry (June 2, 2000). "Sonic Youth: nyc ghosts and flowers (Geffen)". The Guardian. Retrieved February 22, 2016.
  8. ^ a b Chick, Stevie (May 23, 2000). "NYC Ghosts & Flowers". NME. p. 41. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved June 22, 2013.
  9. ^ a b DiCrescenzo, Brent (April 30, 2000). "Sonic Youth: NYC Ghosts & Flowers". Pitchfork. Retrieved January 20, 2013.
  10. ^ Kot, Greg (June 8, 2000). "NYC Ghosts & Flowers". Rolling Stone. Retrieved January 20, 2013.
  11. ^ a b Wolk, Douglas (July 2000). "Sonic Youth: NYC Ghosts & Flowers". Spin. Vol. 16, no. 7. pp. 149–50. Retrieved January 27, 2016.
  12. ^ Christgau, Robert (August 22, 2000). "Consumer Guide: Getting Them Straight". The Village Voice. Retrieved January 27, 2016.
  13. ^ Kot, Greg (June 4, 2000). "Sonic Youth NYC Ghosts & Flowers (Geffen)". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on April 2, 2015. Retrieved June 22, 2013.
  14. ^ Hampton, Howard (July 20, 2000). "Sharps & Flats". Salon.com. Retrieved June 22, 2013.
  15. ^ Christgau, Robert (June 13, 2006). "Rather Exhilarating". The Village Voice. Retrieved January 20, 2013.
  16. ^ "Sonic Youth: NYC Ghosts & Flowers". Billboard. June 3, 2000. Archived from the original on October 29, 2000. Retrieved June 22, 2013.
  17. ^ DiCrescenzo, Brent (January 10, 2013). ""I Gave Sonic Youth a 0.0 Rating on Pitchfork." – Arts + Culture – Time Out Chicago". Time Out. Retrieved January 20, 2013.
  18. ^ "Lescharts.com – Sonic Youth – NYC Ghosts & Flowers". Hung Medien. Retrieved April 27, 2013.
  19. ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – Sonic Youth – NYC Ghosts & Flowers". Hung Medien. Retrieved January 20, 2013.
  20. ^ "Chart Log UK: 1994–2010 (DJ S – The System Of Life)". Zobbel.de. Retrieved September 1, 2024.
  21. ^ "Official Rock & Metal Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved September 1, 2024.
  22. ^ "Sonic Youth Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Archived from the original on September 25, 2021. Retrieved September 1, 2024.
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