Teenage Riot

The wait is over. All the dumbshits can go crawl back into their stinkholes because it is time to actually DISECT and INTERPRET this song FOR REAL. Wow, who would've thought a place called songmeanings was really an emo debate forum or a collection of asspats saying "SNONIC YUOTH we LUV Yoooo!!!!"

Here we go:

[Opening Kim Section] This is a very mocking, sarcastic way to open a record and I love it. "You're it" is delivered in a sarcastic tone in order to poke fun at people who rate music or art, who think that certain styles are "it" are the most essential of the moment. SY is arguing that such evaluations are meaningless. The spirit desire repeated is much more serious however. It evokes a sense of lost spiritual values in America, a loss of desire for spiritual (this doesn't have to be organized religion) rehabilitation or enrichment.

[Thurston's section] This is a VERY long section with a ton of depth that I really cannot get into because of space and time constraints. However, to help in decoding individual pieces let me give you my opinion of the big picture. The song is called "Teen Age Riot" for a good reason: it is about the desire for rebellion, for free thinking, for excess in the lives of teenagers in the late 80s. Drugs (free-speed nation) lack of attention span (hypernation, an interesting play on hybernation) and a growing tension between the rebels and the establishment (stormy weather). Obviously the Youth identify with this rebellious subculture, they need a "cord and a peddle" in order to express there own version of rebellion: through music. Their music itself is like a riot, which is both beautiful and terrifying at the same time. So, in summary, Thurston's section is like a mission statement: we are Sonic Youth, we are the new generation of rebellious individuals who are embracing chaos (bound too loose).

Ok I know that is a bit of reading, but I think this song deserves a bit more thorough evaluation. Hope that helps others to decode this great song.

P.S.: I don't want to get into this debate but here's some info, Rites of Spring is considered the father of "emo" which is loosely defined as a hardcore punk musician ship melded with more introspective, emotional lyrics as opposed to the anti-establishment free thinking of punk's lyrics. Now this term is applied to nearly every teary-eyed emotional band on the planet. Labels have very little weight, so don't rely on them.