THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.

641-Sonic Youth-Bull in the Heather.

1994-Number 24 single.

Best Bit-At 0.16. Undoubtedly the best song in the world ever written about a racehorse.

Sonic Youth were an ‘Alternative Rock’ group, formed in New York City, United States, in 1981, by Kim Gordon, (vocals and bass) Thurston Moore, (vocals and guitar) Lee Ranaldo, (guitar) Anne DeMarinis, (keyboards) and Richard Edson, (drums) in total there were 10 different members come and go, until they split in 2011, with Gordon, Moore, and Ranaldo being the groups three constants. Kim Gordon, and Thurston Moore were married in 1984, but divorced in 2013, they had one daughter, Coco Hayley Gordon Moore, who you could say appears in this songs video in 1994, as Kim Gordon was five months pregnant at the time of recording. Sonic Youth chose their name from combining the nickname of the American Rock band MC5’s (see also best songs 155) lead singer Fred ‘Sonic’ Smith, (1948-1994) with the Jamaican Reggae artist Big Youth. Kim Gordon has said,’As soon as Thurston came up with the name ‘Sonic Youth,’ a certain sound that was more of what we wanted to do came about.’

Sonic Youth are considered to be one of the most important acts in the development of experimental Rock Music, redefining what a Rock guitar could do, by using a wide variety of unorthodox guitar tuning’s. Lee Ranaldo has said that the odd tuning’s, ‘Were an attempt to introduce new sounds. When you’re playing in standard tuning all the time things sound pretty standard. Rather than re-tune for every song, Sonic Youth generally used a particular guitar for one or two songs, and would take dozens of instruments on tour. This would be the source of much trouble for the band, as live performances of many songs relied on specific guitars that have been uniquely prepared or otherwise altered for those exact songs.’

The discography of Sonic Youth includes 15 studio Albums released between 1983-2009, and 21 singles issued between 1984-2019, there are also four official compilation Albums available. Sonic Youth have also issued dozens of other recordings, including eight extended plays, and six video Albums. In America they have never charted on the Billboard Hot 100 singles, but five of their tracks have made the Billboard ‘Alternative Airplay’ top 40. In the UK, three of their singles have reached the top 40, with ‘Bull in the Heather’ charting the highest at Number 24.

Many of the Sonic Youth band members, including all three constants, have worked on other musical projects, both during the life of the band, and after. Kim Althea Gordon, who was born on April 28th, 1953, in Rochester, New York, United States, has released Albums with ‘Free Kitten,’ (1994-1998) ‘Body/Head,’ (2013-2018) and ‘Glitterbust,’ (2016) she has also released three solo Albums between 2019-2024. Thurston Joseph Moore, was born on July 25th, 1958, in Coral Gables, Florida, United States, his discography away from Sonic Youth includes eight solo Albums, released between 1995-2021, and a further Album with ‘Chelsea Light Moving’ in 2013. Lee Mark Ranaldo, was born on February 3rd, 1956, in Glen Cove, New York, United States, his discography includes 13 solo Albums released between 1987-2020, as well as several collaborations with others.

‘Bull in the Heather’ was written by all of the members of Sonic Youth at that time, with the production being by Butch Vig, (see also best songs 788-421 and 9) the song was the only single released from ‘Experimental Jet Set, Trash and No Star,’ which was the eighth studio Album released by Sonic Youth, from May 1994. Kim Gordon has explained what ‘Bull in the Heather’ is about, saying it’s, ‘Using passiveness as a form of rebellion, like, I’m not going to participate in your male dominated culture, so I’m just going to be passive.’ Bob Nastanovich who is a member of the American ‘Indie Rock’ band ‘Pavement,’ and also a big fan of horse racing, had told Kim Gordon about a horse called ‘Bull In The Heather,’ who had won at big odds. In the context of the song, the horses odds probably represent coming out on top, even when the odds are against you.

Ten, twenty, thirty, forty, tell me that you want to hold me. Tell me that you want to bore me, tell me that you gotta show me. Tell me that you need to slowly, tell me that yr burning for me. Tell me that you can’t afford me.’