Wiki
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Release Date
1 January 2006
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Length
13 tracks
Rather Ripped is the fourteenth studio album by American rock band Sonic Youth, released on June 13, 2006, by Geffen Records. It was the band's first album following the departure of multi-instrumentalist Jim O'Rourke, who had joined as a fifth member in 1999. Unlike its immediate predecessors, the album was produced by John Agnello and recorded at Sear Sound in New York City, the same studio where the band's 1994 album, Experimental Jet Set, Trash and No Star, was recorded. It also completed Sonic Youth's contract with Geffen, which released the band's previous eight records.
Rather Ripped is considered to be one of Sonic Youth's most accessible albums, featuring an abundance of concise songs dealing with melancholic topics such as adultery, sexual frustration, and infidelity. Upon its release, the album peaked at number 71 on the US Billboard 200 and number 64 on the UK Albums Chart. It received mostly positive reviews from critics, who praised its simpler, cleaner melodies and the vocal delivery of singer and bassist Kim Gordon. The album was ranked number 12 in The Village Voice's 2006 Pazz & Jop critics' poll. Its only single, "Incinerate", was released in 2006, alongside an accompanying music video directed by French director and writer Claire Denis.
Rather Ripped is the follow-up to Sonic Youth's 2004 album Sonic Nurse and the band's first record after the departure of multi-instrumentalist Jim O'Rourke, who joined the group as a fifth member in 1999. According to guitarist Lee Ranaldo, O'Rourke left the band to pursue film work and other recording projects. His departure affected the sound of Rather Ripped, with singer and guitarist Thurston Moore stating that the new record "is just a far more straight up rock and roll album", in contrast to the "darker, twisted, complex quality" of O'Rourke's contributions. Partially inspired by the streamlined approach taken by Blondie for their 1978 commercial breakthrough Parallel Lines, Moore decided to write simpler songs "for everybody to plug into immediately." While he conceded Parallel Lines features some "super good" songs, he was disappointed with the album's poppier style and Mike Chapman's production when it was released. Nevertheless, he recognized that Parallel Lines became Blondie's breakthrough with the general public, and aimed to make Rather Ripped into Sonic Youth's version of Parallel Lines. The album's working titles were "Sonic Life" and "Do You Believe in Rapture?". The name "Rather Ripped" came from a Berkeley, California record store that later moved to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Unlike its immediate predecessors, which were recorded at the band's own Echo Canyon studio in Lower Manhattan, Rather Ripped was recorded at Sear Sound in New York City from December 2005 to January 2006, where their 1994 album Experimental Jet Set, Trash and No Star was also recorded. The album was quickly produced and much of the material was not reworked due to the band's limited time in the studio. During the recording sessions, Moore's gear included two Fender Jazzmasters and a Fender Princeton. Ranaldo, on the other hand, played a Gibson Les Paul guitar for half of the album and used his Fender Telecaster Deluxe, "Jazzmaster copy-made" by Saul Koll, and modified Fender Jazzmaster with humbuckers for the remaining tracks. Guitars were directly plugged into the mixer with no guitar amplifier in the signal chain. The band chose John Agnello as the album's engineer due to his work with Don Fleming on albums by Screaming Trees in the early 1990s. He was recommended by fellow musician J Mascis of Dinosaur Jr., who had worked with Agnello for years. Additional work was done in early 2006 at Echo Canyon and J Mascis's Bisquiteen studio in Amherst, Massachusetts. The album was mastered by Greg Calbi at Sterling Sound in New York City in March 2006.
Rather Ripped was released on June 13, 2006, and completed Sonic Youth's contract with major label Geffen Records, which also released the band's previous eight albums. The UK edition of the album includes two outtakes, "Helen Lundeberg" and "Eyeliner", which were previously released as a 7" single on the band's own label, Sonic Youth Records. To promote the album, the band embarked on a tour across the United States, starting at New York's famed CBGB on June 13, 2006, where the band had not performed since 1992, and ending at the Bank of America Pavilion in Boston on September 3, 2006. Bassist Mark Ibold, formerly of the indie rock band Pavement, joined the band as part of the touring group.
Upon release, Rather Ripped peaked at No. 71 on the US Billboard 200 chart and No. 64 on the UK Albums Chart. The album also charted in other countries, including Australia, Belgium, Finland, France and Norway. The song "Incinerate" was released as a single in France and Australia in 2006. Additionally, five music videos, one for "Incinerate" and four for "Jams Run Free", were directed by French director and writer Claire Denis. The video for "Incinerate" is a performance of the band that was recorded at Le Nouveau Casino in Paris prior to their 2006 tour in support of the album, while the others are set in an apartment and repeat images of cats, roofing tiles and TV antennas. The videos were shot with a consumer-grade digital video camera and feature a dissolving image resolution and fluctuating color palette.
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