Five Times Lee Ranaldo Proved He Was the

Driving Creative Force in Sonic Youth

By Rae Alexandra Fri., Sep. 26 2014 at 3:15 AM Write Comment
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Lee Ranaldo
Despite a career spanning over 30 years, Lee Ranaldo retains a thirst for unabashed
creative expression that is truly rare. So, to ready ourselves for seeing this maverick's latest
incarnation, Lee Ranaldo and the Dust, at Union Pool this Saturday, let's take a look back
at the guitarist/vocalist/writer/producer's five greatest moments.
See also: Watch Sonic Youth Perform on Gossip Girl
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Sonic Youth's "In the Kingdom 19"
Establishing your presence and ensuring your voice is heard is difficult for any musician, in
any genre, at any given moment in time -- so just imagine the misery of trying to do it when
you're sandwiched between Kim Gordon and Thurston Moore. Arguably, the moment Lee
Ranaldo emerged as a hugely important force in Sonic Youth came in 1985, with this track
from Evol. "In the Kingdom 19" is a frenzied explosion of guitars twisted around manic
stop-and-go drums, grounded by Ranaldo's cool and calm narrative, even as he spins a tale
of chaos and calamity. It's like a Beatnik poet accidentally wandered into a filthy punk rock
squat and just decided to move in. Just brilliant.
Producer/Engineer/ Mixer, Babes in Toyland's Fontanelle
1992's Fontanelle isn't just Babe's in Toyland's best record, it is one of the most visceral
and primal albums of the entire decade - and given the fact that we're talking about the
'90s here, that's quite an enormous feat. Ranaldo helped the trio establish a cool crispness
in their sound without ever sacrificing any of their raw, unhinged rage. In doing so, Babes
in Toyland reached new heights of success. Neal Karlen's band biography Babes in
Toyland: The Making and Selling of a Rock and Roll Band, paints Ranaldo as a pushy,
demanding perfectionist during the making of the album. Whether that portrait is accurate
or not, the final results are spectacular.
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Union Pool
484 Union Ave., Brooklyn, NY
Category: Music
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Between the Times and the Tides
Ranaldo's ninth solo effort is an earthy, contemplative album that retains a certain sparkle
even in its more melancholic moments. When it was released in March 2012, we said that
Between the Times and the Tides continued Sonic Youth's "decades-long conversation
between chiming retuned guitars and classic-rock bliss" but had "a priori cool done up with
engaging summer-light and polished pop urges seen through to their full extent." This was
the first time Ranaldo had released a record of his own that wasn't willfully experimental
and the results are quite breath-taking.
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