Death Valley '69

"Death Valley '69"
Single by Sonic Youth featuring Lydia Lunch
from the album Bad Moon Rising
B-side	"Brave Men Run (In My Family)"
Released	December 1984, June 1985
Format	7"
Recorded	July 1984
Genre	No Wave
Label	Iridescence Records, Homestead Records / Blast First Records
Writer(s)	Sonic Youth and Lydia Lunch
Producer(s)	Sonic Youth and Clint Ruin
Sonic Youth featuring Lydia Lunch singles chronology
"Death Valley '69" (1984) "Flower/Halloween" (1985)

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 the American alternative rock band Sonic Youth and is the eighth and final track on their 1985 album Bad Moon Rising. The song was written and sung by Thurston Moore and fellow New York musician Lydia Lunch, and recorded by Martin Bisi in 1984. A demo version of the song was released in December 1984 on Iridescence Records, and it was released again in single format with different artwork in June 1985. The Flaming Lips' Finally the Punk Rockers Are Taking Acid includes a live cover of the song.

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. The video is the only one to feature both the recently departed drummer Bob Bert, and then new member Steve Shelley.

Track listing

December 1984 single

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

July 1985 single

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, writing, composing, production
• Kim Gordon - bass, composing, production, backing vocals
• Lee Ranaldo - guitar, backing vocals, composing, production
• Bob Bert - drums, composing, production

Additional personnel

• Lydia Lunch - lead vocals, writing, production

Technical

• Martin Bisi - engineering, production
• John Erskine - engineering, production
• Clint Ruin - engineering, production

References