Daydream Nation

Release type:What's this?
studio album
First released:
Oct 1988

Overview Edit

Daydream Nation is the fifth studio album by the American alternative rock band Sonic Youth. It was released in October 1988 by Enigma Records in the United States, and by Blast First in the United Kingdom.

Widely considered to be the band's magnum opus and a seminal influence to the alternative rock genre, it is one of the few rock albums chosen by the Library of Congress to be preserved in the National Recording Registry.

The Overview appearing in this section is attributed to Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daydream_Nation. Portions of this Overview may be available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, version 3.0 or any later version, available at: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/. Additional terms may apply. See Wikipedia Terms of Use for details.

This particular version Edit

Record label:
Catalog number:
24515
Release dates:
  • Nov 23 1993 in United States

Genres

Alternative Rock, Indie, Experimental, Noise, Rock, Punk, Alternative, Art Rock, Pop, Post-punk. Vote on Genres

What do Amazon.com customers think?

5 stars Deluxe Treatment of Sonic Youth's Breakthrough Album
Daydream Nation is clearly Sonic Youth's breakthrough album. A two lp set that focused all their previous ideas into one cohesive and brilliant album. The songs are stretched out more (though still song length)giving more of an idea of what they sounded like live. Music at this time was stuck in pop doldrums. Sonic Youth, which had built up a cult following, after the release of this album were then signed by a major label and brought all the indie rock bands into the light eventually including …
Written by directions "neuralbuddhist"
2 stars This Record Sounds Way Cool . . .
. . . that is, if you're tone deaf. SY fans will immediately poo-poo my review for that statement, but let it be a warning to new-bes thinking about purchasing this album because of all the high praise it gets.

I actually like a lot of radical, tripped-out and avant-garde music, such as Faust, Mr. Bungle and Death, for example. And while I'm not exactly a fan, I really do like a fair amount of Sonic Youth, such as the eerie, trippy "Shadow of a Doubt" from EVOL and the epic, extended zone-fest …
Written by Rich Latta

Track listing Edit

Credits Edit

  1. composer

    1. Captain Beefheart [CD2 : 19 (deluxe)]
    2. Dan Peters [CD2 : 17 (deluxe)]
    3. George Harrison [CD2 : 16 (deluxe)]
    4. Herb Bermann [CD2 : 19 (deluxe)]
    5. Matt Lukin [CD2 : 17 (deluxe)]
    6. Neil Young [CD2 : 18 (deluxe)]
  2. design

    1. Byron Coley [liner notes (deluxe)]
    2. Frank Olinsky [art direction (deluxe)]
    3. Gerhard Richter [paintings]
    4. Ian 'T' Tilton [photography (deluxe)]
    5. Lee Ranaldo [photography (deluxe)]
    6. Michael Lavine [photography]
    7. Pat Blashill [photography (deluxe)]
    8. Peter Anderson [photography (deluxe)]
  3. engineer

    1. Aadam Jacobs [recording (CD1 : 7 (deluxe))]
    2. Eddie Kramer [recording (CD2 : 8,9 (deluxe))]
    3. Howie Weinberg [mastering]
    4. John Golden [mastering (deluxe)]
    5. John Loder [recording and mix (CD2 : 16 (deluxe))]
    6. Lee Ranaldo [recording (CD1 : 15 (deluxe))]
    7. Sonic Youth [mix (CD2 : 8,9,16,17,18,19 (deluxe))]
    8. Volkmar Kramarz [recording (CD2 : 1,2,4,6 (deluxe))]
    9. VPRO [recording (CD2 : 3,10,11,12 (deluxe))]
    10. Wharton Tiers [recording (CD2 : 17,18,19 (deluxe))]
    11. Wharton Tiers [mix (CD2 : 8,9,17,18,19 (deluxe))]
  1. performer

    1. Kim Gordon [bass guitar]
    2. Lee Ranaldo [guitar]
    3. Steve Shelley [drums]
    4. Thurston Moore [guitar]
  2. producer

  3. writer

    1. Captain Beefheart [CD2 : 19 (deluxe)]
    2. Dan Peters [CD2 : 17 (deluxe)]
    3. George Harrison [CD2 : 16 (deluxe)]
    4. Herb Bermann [CD2 : 19 (deluxe)]
    5. Mark Arm [CD2 : 17 (deluxe)]
    6. Matt Lukin [CD2 : 17 (deluxe)]
    7. Neil Young [CD2 : 18 (deluxe)]
    8. Steve Turner [CD2 : 17]

Other versions Edit

Daydream Nation 14 tracks format: 1 x CD
record label: Geffen Records
catalog number: 24515
release dates: Nov 23 1993
view details
Daydream Nation 14 tracks format: 1 x vinyl
record label: Geffen Records
catalog number: 24515
release dates: Oct 1988 in United States
view details
Daydream Nation 12 tracks format: 1 x CD
catalog number: 24515
release dates: Oct 1988 in United Kingdom
view details
Daydream Nation 15 tracks format: 1 x CD
record label: Geffen Records
catalog number: 899202
release dates: Jun 12 2007
view details
Daydream Nation 34 tracks Deluxe Edition
format: 2 x CD
record label: Geffen Records
catalog number: 000899202
release dates: Jun 12 2007 in United States
view details
Daydream Nation 14 tracks format: 1 x vinyl
record label: Goofin Records
release dates: Jul 17 2007
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Trivia Edit

  • From FILTER magazine 2006 SY discography self-commentary: "a celebration of the sprawling wilderness that is musical America and beyond. no limits, no boundaries. the feeling of mystery. this one made us famous whether we liked it or not. spawned the #1 indie-punker jam "Teenage Riot". also features "Silver Rocket" and "Candle". cover art by Gerhard Richter. - TM"
  • Each side of the vinyl has a symbol representing one band member on the label: * Side 1: Infinity symbol - Lee (see "From Here To Infinity" etc for details) * Side 2: Female symbol - Kim (a female) * Side 3: Omega symbol - Thurston (a Leo) * Side 4: Devil Drummer symbol - Steve (later a Sonic Death pin design)
  • Band photo differs between 2xLP and various CD versions. Mute version has no photo at all.
  • Most CD versions have the "Trilogy" all on one track -- some versions have it split into 3 individual tracks.
  • There was a (possibly aftermarket?) Daydream Nation box set released. It was limited to 150 hand numbered copies, and measured 13"x13"x1.5". It contained 6 items: * #1 - Daydream Nation double-LP on Blast First (BFFP34). * #2 - Touch Me I'm Sick 7" Sub Pop single. (SP-26 ltd 3000) * #3 - Providence (stereo/mono) 7". * #4 - Teenage Riot 12" on Blast First. * #5 - Daydream Nation XL T-shirt. * #6 - Daydream Nation tour poster (Drifter + fall 88 tour dates)
  • Russian vinyl version had the album edited to fit one 12"! Supposedly SY weren't pleased with the unapproved edit (I'm not actually sure if the Russian release was legit to begin with). Track listing is: * Teenage Riot * Silver Rocket * 'Cross The Breeze * -- * Eric's Trip * Hey Joni * Providence * Candle * Rain King
  • Vinyl etchings (Enigma): * Side 1: "Rock and Roll for president" * Side 2: "Star strangled Bangles" * Side 3: "Destroy all record labels, part 2 - high, end" (see EVOL) * Side 4: "No sleep till Rhino"
  • "Eric's Trip" required a specific guitar for Thurston's part, an old Drifter the band had since the very early 80s, which had its frets stripped at some point and was strung up with bass strings Thurston used a drumstick to get the whirring lead noise sounds on "Eric's Trip". When the guitar was stolen in July 1999, so was the song it wasn't performed again until SY tech Eric Baecht constructed a 'New Drifter' from an old guitar he had, and the song was resurrected on the 2002 Murray Street tour

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