Without completely relearning the guitar so as to imitate Sonny's fingers (instead of being himself), Thurston has played in a way that I don't even have to think in order to hear Sonny's sense of melody and improvisational approach. I doubt I've ever heard a musical tribute to a creative musician that captures their spirit quite as well as this. It is amazing how Moore gets "straight to the crux", as Trane would say.
@lexo30 He had to give up playing the sax when he was a teenager because of his asthma, so yeah, he essentially became a musician who played his sax on the guitar. BTW, just to chime in, there's nothing wrong with Thurston paying his respects in this way. That's all he's doing, he's just saying his thanks to a master.
This is truly beautiful music! I LOVE IT ,' ) All of you are FREE :) to love this beautiful music, if you wish. Do not mind the obsessive compulsive disorder of one single person who, in a futile manner, tries to *block* all the positivity and appreciation of this beautiful music from reaching the comment wall with a wall of his own negativity. He is only trapping himself in a mental prison of his own making with his wall of negativity. And he shares a cell with his OCD, who beats him up :P
@lexo30 The last way any creative musician wants their music to be thought of is some technical way they play notes. Listeners don't care about that technical stuff either. It's only hyper-cerebral musicians and critics that care about that. What matters is the spirit and the sound of the music. So this an awesome musical tribute to Sonny Sharrock. I don't even have to try in order to hear Sonny's sense of melody and his improvisational approach in this tribute. Tributes don't get any better.
@Daionzrip I suppose what I'm saying is that, although Sharrock wasn't interested in playing like Tal Farlow, and probably couldn't, he still had vastly more technique than Moore. Moore's guitar playing always strikes me as very cerebral; his fingers just don't have the nimbleness to lead him off somewhere unexpected. Hendrix and Sharrock, on the other hand, had technique to spare. If you listen to late Sharrock like Ask the Ages or Guitar, there's no question of his mastery.
@zweiosterei A very fair point. I doubt that he could have. Sonny came to noise from the perspective of late Coltrane, Pharoah Sanders and other early free jazz, whereas Thurston came to noise via Glenn Branca and punk. Thurston has always been into guitar noise for its own sake, whereas Sharrock always insisted that he wasn't a guitar player at all but (if I remember rightly) 'a horn player with a fucked-up horn'.
....Thank you for posting this because it certainly doesn't do anything to change my opinion that Thurston and Sonic Youth in general got really boring about the time they fancied themselves quasi jazz players. Love Sonny, love pre-1994 Sonic Youth. And NO I don't dislike this because it doesn't sound like Sonny, I just think it is really boring fluff. This is what happens when you start believing your press clipping. Thanks for letting me rant. Just my 2 cents. Hardly means I am right......
@lexo30 I understand, Thurston isn't the virtuoso that Sharrock was. But in my opinion Thurston made a tribute acording to what he is and stands for. Ask yourself this: If Sharrock would had made a tribute to Thurston, did he could had encapsuleted Thurston's strong points and vibe?
Sharrock wasn't primarily about being a highly skilled technician. Some of the dismissive comments posted show an inability to appreciate sound potential and some basic properties of the instrument. Hendrix and Sharrock did not have this problem, (neither does Thurston Moore). Can't claim to like everything he does, but the clip clearly demonstrates that he has a discriminating ear and knows his gear.
@zweiosterei I didn't say that he had to sound like Sharrock to make a tribute. I'm saying that while Thurston Moore is in many ways a great musician, I personally am not convinced by this performance. I don't doubt that Moore admires and understands Sharrock's music. I'm just saying that this performance reveals Thurston Moore's limitations as a guitar player in a way that, for me, undercuts the point of the music.
@jedirhythm Well, since you obviously are in touch with the Platonic Idea of music in a way that I'm not, good luck, have fun, all that stuff. I assume that you'll soon be coming out with the greatest piece of music ever, then? :)
@lexo30 Sure, but that's the problem with tributes, covers, etc... In my opinion Thurston should have played his own songs to show how influenced by sonny he is. but it's his decision. Sorry about my english.
@nicolasdurruti Fine, but if I were to do a tribute to John Coltrane by just blowing really hard on my kazoo for about fifteen minutes, I don't really think it would be paying a genuine tribute to Coltrane's music, genuine though it would be (and I am a huge Coltrane fan, btw). What I mean is that this seems like Thurston is trying to play like Sharrock but failing. He should stick to playing like Thurston Moore, because nobody else can play his music like he does.
@Daionzrip If this piece of music were called anything except 'Tribute to Sonny Sharrock', I'd like it. But an artist does not pay a tribute to another artist by producing a piece of work that resembles a bad imitation of the other artist.
@Daionzrip I would have thought that having a discriminating ear and knowing one's gear would be a basic skill for a professional guitarist. I still think that this is Moore trying to sound Sharrock and failing. Of course I know that Sharrock wasn't trying to be a Joe Pass; he was (at least in his early stuff) as much about exploring sheer noise as he was about melody and texture. I am a huge Hendrix (and Sharrock) fan, but this is just not a convincing piece of music.
lexo30, Do you even know what a tribute IS????? This song is called "Tribute to Sonny Sharrock", NOT "Imitation of Sonny Sharrock". I'm appalled that some people seriously don't even know the difference. Since when does Thurston Moore have to do an impersonation of anybody to do a tribute for them? If Thurston had gone all the way with an impersonation and wore a fake mustache, a small afro wig and put on blackface, your erroneous demand for an impression probably still wouldn't be satisfied.
Lexo, your yt Music list shows we agree on a lot, but a guitarist search confirms that few players on yt have their equipment dialed. This clip = good "kindergarten stuff", sounding way better than avg... this doesn't happen unless the recording process and the rig are in good working order . This wasn't a slavish attempt to copy. Technique isn't a primary deal here. Often limitations can help. The aim wasn't to be Lane, Holdsworth or even SS...IMO, not all TM or SS records belong on a pedestal.
@jedirhythm I understand the difference between a tribute and an imitation. If Moore had done a tribute to Sonny Sharrock by playing something really simple on acoustic, I'd have taken it as a genuine and worthy tribute, even though Sharrock was hardly known for playing like that (except for the original version of 'Blind Willy' on his first solo album). But this *sounds* to me like a crap attempt to sound like Sonny Sharrock. I don't give a shit that Moore is a white nerd; so am I.
@grelch Yes, I understand that Moore is doing his own thing in his way. I just don't think much of it. Within Sonic Youth, his playing is very powerful but on his own, he's exposed and I don't think that this playing situation does him any favours at all.
This is a bit embarrassing. I love Sonic Youth and I think that Thurston Moore is a brilliant player in that band, but I also love Sonny Sharrock (and I also love jazz) and this is just a ham-fisted piece of riffing. Moore hasn't anything like the technique to pull off a proper tribute to Sharrock. He's a punk who has a genius for texture, but in terms of what Sharrock could do, this is kindergarten stuff.
Without completely relearning the guitar so as to imitate Sonny's fingers (instead of being himself), Thurston has played in a way that I don't even have to think in order to hear Sonny's sense of melody and improvisational approach. I doubt I've ever heard a musical tribute to a creative musician that captures their spirit quite as well as this. It is amazing how Moore gets "straight to the crux", as Trane would say.
He looks like a teen with a Sun Ra shirt, a classic! Beautiful tribute by the way, reminds me of the Space Ghost Coast to Coast EP
Ya for a minute I thought I was watching some kid's high school talent show performance!lol
Sonny Sharrock is the MAN and T. Moore is the man ... and him doing a tribute for sonny is a beast of an idea ... great stuff
Probably the most normal thing I've ever heard Thurston Moore play on a guitar. This is coming from a big SY fan.
He's quoting bits of "Blind Willie" from Sonny's Solo album "Guitar". Not the space ghost theme [which is also great].
@lexo30 He had to give up playing the sax when he was a teenager because of his asthma, so yeah, he essentially became a musician who played his sax on the guitar.
BTW, just to chime in, there's nothing wrong with Thurston paying his respects in this way. That's all he's doing, he's just saying his thanks to a master.
and introducing, freeeeeeeeeed craaacklin
This is truly beautiful music! I LOVE IT ,' )
All of you are FREE :) to love this beautiful music, if you wish. Do not mind the obsessive compulsive disorder of one single person who, in a futile manner, tries to *block* all the positivity and appreciation of this beautiful music from reaching the comment wall with a wall of his own negativity. He is only trapping himself in a mental prison of his own making with his wall of negativity. And he shares a cell with his OCD, who beats him up :P
this is beautiful madness. you should do more of this
Amazing, isn'it? I think this was on the Space Ghost Coast to Coast Season 2 DVD that came out in 1995
idk what you guys are talking about that was a nice heart filled tribute
Pretty nice piece. Thanks
@lexo30 The last way any creative musician wants their music to be thought of is some technical way they play notes. Listeners don't care about that technical stuff either. It's only hyper-cerebral musicians and critics that care about that.
What matters is the spirit and the sound of the music. So this an awesome musical tribute to Sonny Sharrock. I don't even have to try in order to hear Sonny's sense of melody and his improvisational approach in this tribute. Tributes don't get any better.
I think that's the Ghost Planet National Anthem he's playing.
loving that sun ra shirt
Anyone got the tab for this?
+Justine Bourke I get it.
@SpamNapkin It is. Kinda. It references the main riff from that song, but kinda goes in a more Thurstony direction afterwords.
@milkygear it was recorded around that time though. 95 or 96.
@Daionzrip I suppose what I'm saying is that, although Sharrock wasn't interested in playing like Tal Farlow, and probably couldn't, he still had vastly more technique than Moore. Moore's guitar playing always strikes me as very cerebral; his fingers just don't have the nimbleness to lead him off somewhere unexpected. Hendrix and Sharrock, on the other hand, had technique to spare. If you listen to late Sharrock like Ask the Ages or Guitar, there's no question of his mastery.
@zweiosterei A very fair point. I doubt that he could have. Sonny came to noise from the perspective of late Coltrane, Pharoah Sanders and other early free jazz, whereas Thurston came to noise via Glenn Branca and punk. Thurston has always been into guitar noise for its own sake, whereas Sharrock always insisted that he wasn't a guitar player at all but (if I remember rightly) 'a horn player with a fucked-up horn'.
Fucking a... I want that shirt!
....Thank you for posting this because it certainly doesn't do anything to change my opinion that Thurston and Sonic Youth in general got really boring about the time they fancied themselves quasi jazz players. Love Sonny, love pre-1994 Sonic Youth. And NO I don't dislike this because it doesn't sound like Sonny, I just think it is really boring fluff. This is what happens when you start believing your press clipping. Thanks for letting me rant. Just my 2 cents. Hardly means I am right......
Well, I think this is a homage to the Sonny of sound exploration (Last Exit) and not of the Sonny in his "spiritual" jazz vein
@lexo30 totally agreed
@lexo30 I understand, Thurston isn't the virtuoso that Sharrock was. But in my opinion Thurston made a tribute acording to what he is and stands for. Ask yourself this: If Sharrock would had made a tribute to Thurston, did he could had encapsuleted Thurston's strong points and vibe?
Sharrock wasn't primarily about being a highly skilled technician. Some of the dismissive comments posted show an inability to appreciate sound potential and some basic properties of the instrument. Hendrix and Sharrock did not have this problem, (neither does Thurston Moore). Can't claim to like everything he does, but the clip clearly demonstrates that he has a discriminating ear and knows his gear.
@lexo30 It's just a tribute.
where's this clip from?
@lexo30 He has to sound like Sharrock to make a tribute?! Hilarious.
@zweiosterei I didn't say that he had to sound like Sharrock to make a tribute. I'm saying that while Thurston Moore is in many ways a great musician, I personally am not convinced by this performance. I don't doubt that Moore admires and understands Sharrock's music. I'm just saying that this performance reveals Thurston Moore's limitations as a guitar player in a way that, for me, undercuts the point of the music.
@jedirhythm Well, since you obviously are in touch with the Platonic Idea of music in a way that I'm not, good luck, have fun, all that stuff. I assume that you'll soon be coming out with the greatest piece of music ever, then? :)
@lexo30 Sure, but that's the problem with tributes, covers, etc...
In my opinion Thurston should have played his own songs to show how influenced by sonny he is. but it's his decision. Sorry about my english.
@lexo30
I am truly sorry :(
It is too bad you do not have the TRUE spirit of music with you :(
@nicolasdurruti Fine, but if I were to do a tribute to John Coltrane by just blowing really hard on my kazoo for about fifteen minutes, I don't really think it would be paying a genuine tribute to Coltrane's music, genuine though it would be (and I am a huge Coltrane fan, btw). What I mean is that this seems like Thurston is trying to play like Sharrock but failing. He should stick to playing like Thurston Moore, because nobody else can play his music like he does.
@Daionzrip If this piece of music were called anything except 'Tribute to Sonny Sharrock', I'd like it. But an artist does not pay a tribute to another artist by producing a piece of work that resembles a bad imitation of the other artist.
@Daionzrip I would have thought that having a discriminating ear and knowing one's gear would be a basic skill for a professional guitarist. I still think that this is Moore trying to sound Sharrock and failing. Of course I know that Sharrock wasn't trying to be a Joe Pass; he was (at least in his early stuff) as much about exploring sheer noise as he was about melody and texture. I am a huge Hendrix (and Sharrock) fan, but this is just not a convincing piece of music.
lexo30, Do you even know what a tribute IS?????
This song is called "Tribute to Sonny Sharrock", NOT "Imitation of Sonny Sharrock". I'm appalled that some people seriously don't even know the difference. Since when does Thurston Moore have to do an impersonation of anybody to do a tribute for them? If Thurston had gone all the way with an impersonation and wore a fake mustache, a small afro wig and put on blackface, your erroneous demand for an impression probably still wouldn't be satisfied.
Lexo, your yt Music list shows we agree on a lot, but a guitarist search confirms that few players on yt have their equipment dialed. This clip = good "kindergarten stuff", sounding way better than avg... this doesn't happen unless the recording process and the rig are in good working order . This wasn't a slavish attempt to copy. Technique isn't a primary deal here. Often limitations can help. The aim wasn't to be Lane, Holdsworth or even SS...IMO, not all TM or SS records belong on a pedestal.
It's important not to try so hard here...
@jedirhythm I understand the difference between a tribute and an imitation. If Moore had done a tribute to Sonny Sharrock by playing something really simple on acoustic, I'd have taken it as a genuine and worthy tribute, even though Sharrock was hardly known for playing like that (except for the original version of 'Blind Willy' on his first solo album). But this *sounds* to me like a crap attempt to sound like Sonny Sharrock. I don't give a shit that Moore is a white nerd; so am I.
@lexo30 Yeah, I get that. I'm not disagreeing with you. Just my 2 cents. Doesn't bother me, that's all. I respect your opinion.
@grelch Yes, I understand that Moore is doing his own thing in his way. I just don't think much of it. Within Sonic Youth, his playing is very powerful but on his own, he's exposed and I don't think that this playing situation does him any favours at all.
This is a bit embarrassing. I love Sonic Youth and I think that Thurston Moore is a brilliant player in that band, but I also love Sonny Sharrock (and I also love jazz) and this is just a ham-fisted piece of riffing. Moore hasn't anything like the technique to pull off a proper tribute to Sharrock. He's a punk who has a genius for texture, but in terms of what Sharrock could do, this is kindergarten stuff.
Highly spiff poop... Nels is cool too
@jedirhythm 'So this an awesome musical tribute to Sonny Sharrock.' No it isn't. It's a ham-fisted piece of noise.