Home | Songs By Year | Songs from 1984
Death Valley '69
Buy Death Valley '69 now from AmazonFirst, read the Wikipedia article. Then, scroll down to see what other TopShelfReviews readers thought about the song. And once you've experienced the song, tell everyone what you thought about it.
Wikipedia article
"'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. 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'.
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.
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
Category:Sonic Youth songs
Category:1984 debut singles
Category:Experimental rock songs
Category:1984 songs
Category:1985 EPs
Category:Music videos directed by Richard Kern
Buy Death Valley '69 now from Amazon
<-- Return to songs from 1984