Confusion Is Sex

Confusion Is Sex
Sonicyouthconfusionissex.png
Studio album by
ReleasedFebruary 1983
Recorded1982–1983
Genre
Length35:40
LabelNeutral
Producer
Sonic Youth chronology
Sonic Youth
(1982)
Confusion Is Sex
(1983)
Kill Yr Idols
(1983)
Sonic Youth studio album chronology
Confusion Is Sex
(1983)
Bad Moon Rising
(1985)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic
Blender
Chicago Tribune
Christgau's Record GuideC+
Entertainment WeeklyA−
Q
The Rolling Stone Album Guide
Select3/5
Spin8/10
Spin Alternative Record Guide8/10

Confusion Is Sex is the debut studio album by American noise rock band Sonic Youth. It was released on vinyl LP in February 1983 by record label Neutral. It has been cited as an important example of the no wave genre. 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".

Background and recording

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. 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.

Ranaldo recorded the track "Lee Is Free" solo at home on two tape recorders.

Content

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."

The cover image is a sketch by bassist Kim Gordon of guitarist Thurston Moore. This image was used on gig posters early in the band's career.

Track listing

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.

Side A
No.TitleLyricsVocalsLength
1."(She's in A) Bad Mood"MooreMoore5:36
2."Protect Me You"GordonGordon5:28
3."Freezer Burn/I Wanna Be Your Dog" (The Stooges cover) Gordon3:39
4."Shaking Hell"GordonGordon4:06
Side B
No.TitleLyricsVocalsLength
5."Inhuman"MooreMoore4:03
6."The World Looks Red"GiraMoore2:43
7."Confusion Is Next"MooreMoore3:28
8."Making the Nature Scene"GordonGordon3:01
9."Lee Is Free"  3:37
1995 CD reissue bonus tracks (Kill Yr Idols EP)
No.TitleLyricsVocalsLength
10."Kill Yr Idols"MooreMoore2:51
11."Brother James"GordonGordon3:17
12."Early American"GordonGordon6:07
13."Shaking Hell (Live)"GordonGordon3:15

Personnel

Sonic Youth

Production


This page was last updated at 2022-04-20 13:47 UTC. Update now. View original page.

All our content comes from Wikipedia and under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.


Top

If mathematical, chemical, physical and other formulas are not displayed correctly on this page, please useFirefox or Safari