Waking Ear

Sonic Youth/"Rain on Tin" -- Saw 'em last night. They mostly played the new album, which most critics have described as a splendid hybrid of their older, wilder indie rock and their later post-rock noodling. I subscribe to that description, but you really don't get the translation in full until you see them live, see Thurston Moore tossing his big fat hair around, see Kim Gordon wielding a bass like a rifle, see fucking Jim O'Rourke quietly tearing shit up in the background.

And this is the song that really hit home for me, seeing it there in front of me. It's the only instrumental, if memory serves, on the album. It has a gorgeous, wistful melody that reminds you of why you like the old stuff, and it's always there, lingering in the air while the band grinds underneath it.

Oh, and watching Gordon bounce up and down like a 6-year-old during "Bull in the Heather" from Washing Machine brought me back to high school.

By the way, you can download another cut from Murray Street here.