The Best of 1992: #15

2006.10.23

The Best of 1992: #15

Sonic Youth
Dirty

Now that Sonic Youth have been around long enough to prove, again and again, that they're more creative, more talented and just all around "more" in every sense of the word, it's probably good to reflect that on that time back in 1992, when Dirty was their second album on for DGC and they had, according to a bunch of musicians who've since changed their tune, "Sold Out." The fact that Sonic Youth was opening doors, literally, for just about every one of the up-and-coming bands on the Geffen label was totally ignored (even though one of them was Nirvana); just because it was more fun when Thurston and Co. belonged to the select few in the turtleneck set. Daydream Nation had announced their presence a few years earlier, Goo had put them in high schools and with the release of Dirty, a Spike Jonze video (starring My Name Is Earl's Jason Lee) ensured that when people talked about rock music (which in '92 was referred to as "alternative"), they talked about Sonic Youth, Nirvana and Pearl Jam. Of course, sales never bore it out--but considering that Def Lepperd outsold REM until they sang about religion, sales figures are a chumps game. Sonic was operating in the shadow of an elephant named Cobain when they released Dirty: that doesn't change the fact that Dirty was off the motherfucking chain. An aptly named excursion in sludgy, heavy sound, Dirty was a combination of the black ops maneuvers from EVOL and the pop-goes-the-sweater that propelled Daydream Nation. While Dirty may never be the album that Sonic Youth fans call their favorite, it's probably because the whole thing still reminds them that in 1992, we all really needed a better haircut.