Death Valley '69
"Death Valley '69" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Single by Sonic Youth featuring Lydia Lunch | ||||
from the album Bad Moon Rising | ||||
B-side | "Brave Men Run (In My Family)" | |||
Released | December 1984 | |||
Recorded | July 1984 | |||
Genre | Noise rock, no wave | |||
Label | Iridescence | |||
Songwriter(s) | Robert Bertelli, Kim Gordon, Thurston Moore, Lee Ranaldo, , Lydia Lunch | |||
Producer(s) | Sonic Youth, Clint Ruin | |||
Sonic Youth single singles chronology | ||||
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Death Valley '69 | ||||
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EP by Sonic Youth featuring Lydia Lunch | ||||
Released | June 1985 | |||
Genre | Noise rock, no wave | |||
Label | Blast First, Homestead | |||
Sonic Youth EP chronology | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [1] |
Robert Christgau | D[2] |
The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [3] |
"Death Valley '69" is a song by American alternative rock band Sonic Youth and featuring Lydia Lunch. The song was written and sung by Thurston Moore and fellow New York musician Lunch, and recorded by Martin Bisi in 1984. A demo version of the song was released in December 1984 on Iridescence Records. A re-recorded version was released in EP format with different artwork in June 1985; this version was featured on their second studio album, Bad Moon Rising.
Music video
The video for "Death Valley '69" was filmed in 1985 and was the first music video by Sonic Youth, directed by Judith Barry and Richard Kern.[4] The video features the majority of the band in various states of bloody dismemberment interlaced with live footage of the band. It also stars alternative model Lung Leg. The video is the only one to feature both recently departed drummer Bob Bert and new member Steve Shelley.
Critical reception
The song was ranked number 10 among the "Tracks of the Year" for 1985 by NME.[5]
Cover versions
The Flaming Lips' Finally the Punk Rockers Are Taking Acid includes a live cover of the song. Soundgarden included a sample of the song on the track Smokestack Lightning from the band's Ultramega OK album in 1988.[6]
Yoshimi P-We's Yunnan Colorfree includes a cover version of the song.
Track listing
- 1984 version
- "Death Valley '69" – 5:32
- "Brave Men Run (In My Family)" – 3:48
- 1985 version
- "Death Valley '69"
- "I Dream I Dreamed"
- "Inhuman"
- "Brother James"
- "Satan Is Boring"
Personnel
- Sonic Youth
- Thurston Moore – guitar, lead vocals, production
- Kim Gordon – bass guitar, production, backing vocals
- Lee Ranaldo – guitar, backing vocals, production
- Bob Bert – drums, production
- Additional personnel
- Lydia Lunch – lead vocals, production
- Technical
- Martin Bisi – engineering, production
- John Erskine – engineering, production
- Clint Ruin – engineering, production
References
- ^ Birchmeier, Jason. "Death Valley '69 – Sonic Youth | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved March 20, 2015.
- ^ Christgau, Robert. "Robert Christgau: CG: Sonic Youth". robertchristgau.com. Retrieved March 20, 2015.
- ^ "Sonic Youth: Album Guide | Rolling Stone Music". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on June 26, 2012. Retrieved March 20, 2015.
- ^ Atkinson, Terry (1987-02-08). "Sound & Vision:'Death Valley '69' Is Hot". Los Angeles Times.
- ^ "Albums and Tracks of the Year". NME. 2018. Retrieved 8 September 2018.
- ^ Chick, Stevie (5 November 2009). Chick, Steve. "Psychic Confusion: The Sonic Youth Story". ISBN 9780857120540. Retrieved 2019-05-19.
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