Dirty is the seventh studio album and second double album by Sonic Youth, released on July 21, 1992, by DGC Records. The band recorded and co-produced the album with Butch Vig in early 1992 at the Magic Shop studios. The sound on Dirty was inspired by the popularity of grunge music at the time, and has been described by Billboard magazine as avant-rock. Some songs on the album mark the first appearance of three guitars in a few Sonic Youth songs.
Dirty reached number 83 on the US Billboard 200 and number six on the UK Albums Chart. The album spawned four singles: the lead single 100% charted well, but was not the crossover hit the label anticipated, followed by Youth Against Fascism, which did not chart as well. The last two were Sugar Kane and Drunken Butterfly, with the former performing better commercially than the latter. In support of the album, Sonic Youth embarked on the Pretty Fucking Dirty tour of 1992 and 1993, where they played most of the album during sets. In late 1992, they toured North America, and in early 1993, they toured New Zealand and Australia and released the Whores Moaning EP, which featured most of the Sugar Kane B-sides.
Tracklist:
- 100%
- Swimsuit Issue
- Theresa’s Sound-World
- Drunken Butterfly
- Shoot
- Wish Fulfillment
- Sugar Kane
- Orange Rolls, Angel’s Spit
- Youth Against Fascism
- Nic Fit (Untouchables cover)
- On the Strip
- Chapel Hill
- JC
- Purr
- Crème Brûlée
- Stalker (Vinyl and Japan CD bonus track)
Sonic Youth
Thurston Moore: vocals, guitar, production, mixing (track 10)
Kim Gordon: bass, vocals, guitar, production, mixing (track 10)
Lee Ranaldo: guitar, vocals, production, mixing (track 10)
Steve Shelley: drums, production, mixing (track 10)
Additional personnel
Ian MacKaye: guitar (track 9)
Technical
Butch Vig: production, engineering, mixing (track 15)
Andy Wallace: mixing (all tracks except 10 and 15)
Edward Douglas: engineering
Fred Kevorkian: engineering assistance
John Siket: mixing assistance
Peter Beckerman: mixing assistance
Howie Weinberg: mastering
Mike Kelley: sleeve artwork
Kevin Reagan: sleeve art direction
Richard Kern: sleeve photography
