Confusion Is Sex | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | 1983 | |||
Recorded | 1982–1983 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 35:40 | |||
Label | Neutral | |||
Producer |
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Sonic Youth chronology | ||||
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Sonic Youth studio album chronology | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [1] |
Blender | [2] |
Chicago Tribune | [3] |
Christgau's Record Guide | C+ [4] |
Entertainment Weekly | A− [5] |
Q | [6] |
The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [7] |
Select | 3/5 [8] |
Spin | 8/10 [9] |
Spin Alternative Record Guide | 8/10 [10] |
Confusion Is Sex is the debut studio album by American noise rock band Sonic Youth. It was released in 1983 by Neutral Records. It has been referred to as an important example of the no wave genre. [11] AllMusic called it "lo-fi to the point of tonal drabness, as the instruments seem to ring out in only one tone, that of screechy noise".
Confusion Is Sex was recorded by Wharton Tiers in his Chelsea studio (which he had set up in the basement of a building where he worked as a superintendent). It was mostly recorded during Jim Sclavunos' brief tenure as drummer for the band, and he appears on drums for most of the album. As the sessions drew to a close, Sclavunos chose to quit and Bob Bert was invited back. [12] Bert appeared on "Making the Nature Scene" and the live Stooges cover "I Wanna Be Your Dog". Confusion Is Sex is the only Sonic Youth album on which guitarist Lee Ranaldo plays bass, specifically on the song "Protect Me You".
The lyrics to "The World Looks Red" were written by Michael Gira of the band Swans, who would later reuse the same lyrics on the song "The World Looks Red/The World Looks Black" on that band's 2016 album The Glowing Man . [13]
Ranaldo recorded the track "Lee Is Free" solo at home on two tape recorders. [14]
In a 1984 Trouser Press review, John Leland stated that, on this album, "confusion reigns and happily so. This album sprays out slivers of ringing, reeling, screaming six-string debris, much of it produced with drumsticks and weird tunings. Partaking of Branca's dissonance, Flipper's anarchy and PIL's desperation, these Lower East Side arties capture the violence and hope of their neighborhood. If these sounds hit like an aural root canal, that's just what the doctor ordered." [15]
The cover image is a sketch by bassist Kim Gordon of guitarist Thurston Moore. [16] This image was used on gig posters early in the band's career. [16]
All lyrics are written by Sonic Youth (Kim Gordon, Thurston Moore, Lee Ranaldo, Jim Sclavunos and Bob Bert), except "The World Looks Red", by Michael Gira; all music is composed by Sonic Youth, except "I Wanna Be Your Dog", by the Stooges.
No. | Title | Lyrics | Vocals | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "(She's in A) Bad Mood" | Moore | Moore | 5:36 |
2. | "Protect Me You" | Gordon | Gordon | 5:28 |
3. | "Freezer Burn/I Wanna Be Your Dog" (The Stooges cover) | Gordon | 3:39 | |
4. | "Shaking Hell" | Gordon | Gordon | 4:06 |
No. | Title | Lyrics | Vocals | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
5. | "Inhuman" | Moore | Moore | 4:03 |
6. | "The World Looks Red" | Gira | Moore | 2:43 |
7. | "Confusion Is Next" | Moore | Moore | 3:28 |
8. | "Making the Nature Scene" | Gordon | Gordon | 3:01 |
9. | "Lee Is Free" | 3:37 |
No. | Title | Lyrics | Vocals | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
10. | "Kill Yr Idols" | Moore | Moore | 2:51 |
11. | "Brother James" | Gordon | Gordon | 3:17 |
12. | "Early American" | Gordon | Gordon | 6:07 |
13. | "Shaking Hell (Live)" | Gordon | Gordon | 3:15 |
Sonic Youth
Production
Sonic Youth was an American rock band based in New York City, formed in 1981. Founding members Thurston Moore, Kim Gordon and Lee Ranaldo remained together for the entire history of the band, while Steve Shelley (drums) followed a series of short-term drummers in 1985, rounding out the core line-up. Jim O'Rourke was also a member of the band from 1999 to 2005, and Mark Ibold was a member from 2006 to 2011.
Thurston Joseph Moore is an American guitarist, singer and songwriter best known as a member of the rock band Sonic Youth. He has also participated in many solo and group collaborations outside Sonic Youth, as well as running the Ecstatic Peace! record label. Moore was ranked 34th in Rolling Stone's 2004 edition of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time".
Lee Mark Ranaldo is an American guitarist, singer and songwriter, best known as a co-founder of the rock band Sonic Youth. In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked Ranaldo at number 33 on its "Greatest Guitarists of All Time" list. In May 2012, Spin published a staff-selected top 100 guitarist list, ranking Ranaldo and his Sonic Youth bandmate Thurston Moore together at number 1.
Daydream Nation is the fifth full-length studio album and first double album by American alternative rock band Sonic Youth, released on October 18, 1988. The band recorded the album between July and August 1988 at Greene St. Recording in New York City, and it was released by Enigma Records as a double album.
A Thousand Leaves is the tenth studio album by American rock band Sonic Youth, released on May 12, 1998, by DGC Records. It was the band's first album recorded at their own studio in Lower Manhattan, which was built with the money they had made at the 1995 Lollapalooza festival. Since the band had an unlimited amount of time to work in their studio, the album features numerous lengthy and improvisational tracks that were developed unevenly. The highly experimental extended plays Anagrama, Slaapkamers met slagroom, and Invito al ĉielo were recorded simultaneously with the album.
Steven Jay Shelley is an American drummer. He is best known as the longtime drummer of the alternative rock band Sonic Youth, for whom he played from 1985 until their 2011 disbandment.
Sister is the fourth studio album by American alternative rock band Sonic Youth. It was released in June 1987 by SST Records. The album furthered the band's move away from the no wave genre towards more traditional song structures, while maintaining an aggressively experimental approach.
Washing Machine is the ninth studio album by the American experimental rock band Sonic Youth, released on September 26, 1995, by DGC Records. It was recorded at Easley Studios in Memphis, Tennessee, and produced by the band and John Siket, who also engineered the band's previous two albums. The album features more open-ended pieces than its predecessors and contains some of the band's longest songs, including the 20-minute ballad "The Diamond Sea", which is the lengthiest track to feature on any of Sonic Youth's studio albums.
Sonic Youth is the debut EP by American rock band Sonic Youth. It was recorded between December 1981 and January 1982 and released in March 1982 by Glenn Branca's Neutral label. It is the only recording featuring the early Sonic Youth lineup with Richard Edson on drums. Sonic Youth differs stylistically from the band's later work in its greater incorporation of clean guitars, standard tuning, crisp production and a post-punk style.
EVOL is the third full-length studio album by the American alternative rock band Sonic Youth. Released in May 1986, EVOL was Sonic Youth’s first album on SST Records, and also the first album to feature then-new drummer Steve Shelley who had just replaced Bob Bert.
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.
Sonic Death is a live album by American rock band Sonic Youth. It was released in 1984 on cassette tape by the Ecstatic Peace! record label.
The Whitey Album is an album by Ciccone Youth, a side project of Sonic Youth members Steve Shelley, Kim Gordon, Lee Ranaldo and Thurston Moore, featuring contributions from Minutemen/Firehose member Mike Watt and J Mascis of Dinosaur Jr.
"Bull in the Heather" is a song by American alternative rock band Sonic Youth from their eighth studio album, Experimental Jet Set, Trash and No Star (1994). It was released to radio as the lead single from the album on April 19, 1994, by Geffen Records. The song was written collectively by Sonic Youth, and production was done by Butch Vig. According to band member Kim Gordon, the song is about "using passiveness as a form of rebellion."
"Death Valley '69" is a song by American alternative rock band Sonic Youth and featuring Lydia Lunch. The song was written and sung by Thurston Moore and fellow New York musician Lunch, and recorded by Martin Bisi in 1984. A demo version of the song was released in December 1984 on Iridescence Records. A re-recorded version was released in EP format with different artwork in June 1985; this version was featured on their second studio album, Bad Moon Rising.
"Starpower" is a song by American alternative rock band Sonic Youth. It was released in 1986 by record label SST as the first and only single from the band's third studio album, EVOL. It was re-released on colored vinyl in both 1990 and 1991.
Walls Have Ears is a Sonic Youth bootleg live recording from 1985. It was released on 2×12″ vinyl in 1986 without the consent of the band.
SYR8: Andre Sider af Sonic Youth is a live album by Sonic Youth with Mats Gustafsson and Merzbow. It was the eighth release in the SYR series. It was released on July 28, 2008. The album was recorded on July 1, 2005 at the Roskilde Festival. The album title is in Danish and means "Other sides of Sonic Youth".
Anne DeMarinis is an American musician and artist. She is a former member of Sonic Youth.
Bad Moon Rising is the second studio album by American rock band Sonic Youth, released on March 29, 1985, by Blast First and Homestead Records. The album is loosely themed around the dark side of America, including references to obsession, insanity, Charles Manson, heavy metal, Satanism, and early European settlers' encounters with Native Americans.