Death Valley '69

"Death Valley '69"
Single by Sonic Youth featuring Lydia Lunch
B-side	"Brave Men Run (In My Family)"
Released	December 1984
Format	7" vinyl
Recorded	July 1984
Genre	Noise rock, no wave
Label	Iridescence
Writer(s)	Sonic Youth, Lydia Lunch
Producer(s)	Sonic Youth, Clint Ruin
Sonic Youth single chronology
"Death Valley '69" (1984) "Flower" (1985)

Death Valley '69
EP by Sonic Youth featuring Lydia Lunch
Released	June 1985
Genre	Noise rock, no wave
Label	Blast First, Homestead
Sonic Youth EP chronology
Kill Yr Idols (1983) Death Valley '69 (1985) Master=Dik (1987)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
Robert Christgau	D[2]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	[3]

"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 the band's 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.^[4] The video features the majority of the band in various states of bloody dismemberment interlaced with live footage of the band. The video is the only one to feature both recently departed drummer Bob Bert and new member Steve Shelley.

Cover versions

The Flaming Lips' Finally the Punk Rockers Are Taking Acid includes a live cover of the song.

Track listing

1984 version

1. "Death Valley '69" – 5:32
2. "Brave Men Run (In My Family)" – 3:48

1985 version

1. "Death Valley '69"
2. "I Dream I Dreamed"
3. "Inhuman"
4. "Brother James"
5. "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

1. Birchmeier, Jason. "Death Valley '69 – Sonic Youth | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved March 20, 2015.
2. Christgau, Robert. "Robert Christgau: CG: Sonic Youth". robertchristgau.com. Retrieved March 20, 2015.
3. "Sonic Youth: Album Guide | Rolling Stone Music". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on June 26, 2012. Retrieved March 20, 2015.
4. Atkinson, Terry (1987-02-08). "Sound & Vision:'Death Valley '69' Is Hot". Los Angeles Times.