SYR4: Goodbye 20th Century

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SYR4: Goodbye 20th Century
File:Sonicsyr4.jpg
Studio album by Sonic Youth
Released November 16, 1999
Recorded March–August 1999, NYC
Genre Modern classical, experimental
Length 105:42
Label SYR
Producer Sonic Youth, William Winant, Jim O'Rourke
SYR series chronology
SYR3: Invito al ĉielo
(1998)SYR3: Invito al ĉielo1998		 SYR4: Goodbye 20th Century
(1999)		 SYR5
(2000)SYR52000

SYR4: Goodbye 20th Century is the 11th studio album by American alternative rock band Sonic Youth. It is a double album of versions of pieces by avant-garde composers, performed by Sonic Youth and collaborators.

Background

SYR4 featured works by avant-garde classical composers such as John Cage, Yoko Ono, Steve Reich and Christian Wolff, played by Sonic Youth and several collaborators from the modern avant-garde music scene, such as Christian Marclay, William Winant, Wharton Tiers and Takehisa Kosugi.

Unlike other entries in the SYR series, SYR4's liner notes were written in English.

Thurston Moore and Kim Gordon's daughter Coco Haley Gordon Moore provided the vocals for "Voice Piece for Soprano" on disc 1.

Track listing

Disc one
No. Title Writer(s) Performers Length
1. "Edges"   Christian Wolff Wolff, Jim O'Rourke, Kim Gordon, Lee Ranaldo, Steve Shelley, Takehisa Kosugi, Thurston Moore, William Winant 16:03
2. "Six (3rd Take)"   John Cage O'Rourke, Ranaldo, Shelley, Kosugi, Moore, Winant 3:03
3. "Six for New Time (For Sonic Youth)"   Pauline Oliveros O'Rourke, Gordon, Ranaldo, Shelley, Moore, Winant 8:06
4. "+–"   Takehisa Kosugi O'Rourke, Gordon, Ranaldo, Shelley, Kosugi, Moore, Winant 7:01
5. "Voice Piece for Soprano"   Yoko Ono Coco Hayley Gordon Moore 0:17
6. "Pendulum Music"   Steve Reich Gordon, Ranaldo, Shelley, Moore 5:55
Disc two
No. Title Writer(s) Length
1. "Having Never Written a Note for Percussion"   James Tenney O'Rourke, Gordon, Ranaldo, Shelley, Kosugi, Moore, Winant 9:09
2. "Six (4th Take)"   Cage O'Rourke, Ranaldo, Shelley, Kosugi, Moore, Winant 2:10
3. "Burdocks"   Wolff Christian Marclay, Wolff, O'Rourke, Gordon, Ranaldo, Shelley, Kosugi, Moore, Winant 13:12
4. "Four6"   Cage O'Rourke, Ranaldo, Shelley, Kosugi, Moore, Winant 30:01
5. "Piano Piece No. 13 (Carpenter's Piece) (For Nam June Paik)"   George Maciunas Gordon, Ranaldo, Shelley, Moore 3:58
6. "Pièce enfantine"   Nicolas Slonimsky Ranaldo, Winant 1:28
7. "Treatise (Page 183)"   Cornelius Cardew O'Rourke, Gordon, Ranaldo, Shelley, Kosugi, Moore, Winant 3:25

Release

SYR4: Goodbye 20th Century was released on CD and vinyl. The vinyl version had a slightly different track order, due to the side length constraints of the format. The first disc of the CD edition contained a QuickTime video of a performance of "Piano Piece No. 13 (Carpenter's Piece)", which showed Sonic Youth nailing piano keys down one by one.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic 1.5/5 stars[1]
Alternative Press 4/5 stars[2]
Robert Christgau (neither)[3]
Entertainment Weekly C+[4]
NME 7/10[5]
Pitchfork 8.5/10[6]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide 2/5 stars[7]
Spin favorable[2]
Sputnikmusic 3.5/5[8]

SYR: Goodbye 20th Century received mixed reviews from critics, but most praised the group's efforts at popularizing and reinterpreting the composers' works.

Personnel

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Sonic Youth
Additional personnel
Technical
  • Wharton Tiers – recording
  • Luc Suer – recording
  • Steve Fallone – mastering
  • Chris Habib – sleeve graphics

References

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External links

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