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Goodbye 20th Century: A Biography of Sonic Youth
Sonic Youth’s distinctive, uncompromising sounds have provided a map for innumerable musicians who followed, from ’90s groundbreakers like Nirvana and Pavement to current faves like the Strokes and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. More than perhaps any other act, Sonic Youth has brought “fringe” art to the mainstream, helping spawn an alternative arts scene that prospers to this day: a world of punk rock, underground films and comics, experimental music, conceptual art, contemporary classical compositions, and even fashion. In Goodbye 20th Century, David Browne tells the full glorious story of “the Velvet Underground of their generation,” an account based on extensive research, fresh interviews with the band and those who have worked with them (from Glenn Branca and Lydia Lunch to Sofia Coppola and Spike Jonze), and unprecedented access to unreleased recordings and documents. This is a richly detailed portrait of an iconic band and the times they helped create.
422 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2008
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August 12, 2012
Soundtrack Part I ("Taking in the Sun in an Exaltation to You")
Hey, indie music fans, listen to this (start with the first five minutes, the rest is noise, about which more later), while you read the first part of this review:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tdeTQP...
"Looking for a Man with a Focus and a Temper"
This 422 page book is jam packed with information about one of my favourite indie bands, Sonic Youth.
Do I need to know all of these facts about Sonic Youth? Of course, I do.
Would I like some opinions about them and their music? Some analysis of their musical appeal and their cultural importance? Some reasons to vindicate my 30 year old passion? Of course, I would.
Am I alone in craving opinion and analysis? Maybe.
Would I be just as passionate, if nobody else liked them as much as I do? Of course, I would.
Still, did this book give me the opinions and analysis I craved for? Nuh.
Did it give me just one outrageous opinion? Just a teeny weeny hint of how much David Browne loves the music of Sonic Youth more than the detail of their career trajectory? Perhaps, but I don’t remember it.
David Browne is a man with a focus and no temper.
Am I just going to crank up some Sonic Youth, listen to it through my headphones and not write a review of this book?
Well, yes, yes, no.
Artist: Justin Hampton
http://www.justinhampton.com/index.html
"Got a Foghorn and a Drum and a Hammer That’s Rockin’"
I can’t read music or play an instrument. I don’t understand the difference between open tunings and standard tunings.
So I’ll try to explain what I thought was happening in Sonic Youth’s music in the only way I can - with words (sorry if I get it wrong).
I assumed that an open tuning was just the guitar strung normally, but no chords were being shaped by fingers being placed on the frets.
Therefore, if the guitar was strummed, it would make no particular chord, so the music it created might be dissonant.
I read everywhere that the music of Sonic Youth was dissonant, sometimes just noise, and I assumed that this was the explanation.
But I was wrong.
An open tuning can be set so that without placing your fingers on any frets, you would play a chord when you strummed all of the open strings.
You are automatically within a chord or key.
This makes it relatively easier to create melodies within that key by using your fingers on the frets.
There is nothing intrinsically dissonant about this approach at all, although it’s possible to set up alternative tunings that just sound unusual or different from what we’re used to.
For me, just trying to understand this was important, because I didn’t regard Sonic Youth’s music as particularly un-melodic.
I detected melodies, light and shade, and I liked it.
Music is a relationship between notes. As Thelonious Monk (and/or Art Tatum) said, there are no bum notes. All notes depend on how you resolve them, how they form a consonance with other notes.
I don’t mean that Sonic Youth are all consonance, just that they’re not all dissonance.
Their music creates a sense of pleasure, even when they utilise dissonance.
"Looking for a Ride to Your Secret Location"
A good example of what I [think I] mean is this live version of "Teenage Riot" from 2005 (the studio version dates from their 1988 album "Daydream Nation"):
Sonic Youth - "Teenage Riot" (Live - Eurockéennes 2005)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tdeTQP...
This is the song from the start of my review. However, here is a second version:
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x63v...
The first is the full version with an extended feedback instrumental at the end.
The second is just the song without the feedback. It seems to be better synchronized as well.
"Teenage Riot" is not regarded as typical of Sonic Youth’s music. It uses a traditional verse/chorus structure and lacks much of the feedback they normally use in their songs.
However, the extended version of this song has everything.
This version is so amazing, it confirms my suspicion that it is their equivalent of the Rolling Stones’ "Satisfaction" or the Velvet Underground’s "Sweet Jane".
It really is that good a song.
Just observe and enjoy:
• Lee in the left speaker, Thurston in the right (Jim O’Rourke on third guitar in there somewhere as well)
• Lee’s power chords at 1:15 and 1:20
• Steve driving the song the whole way through
• Kim’s frock strap slips off around 1:17
• Kim swaying at 1:30
• Jim O’Rourke on third guitar at 1:40 and 1:50
• Lee letting loose an amazing solo from 2:40 onwards
• Everybody letting loose from 3:53 onwards
• The feedback symphony that starts at 4:50 (in the longer version)
Tabs:
Here are some tabs for this song:
http://www.911tabs.com/link/?3609096
Thurston’s Church Kicker T-shirt:
Here's where you can get a t-shirt like the one Thurston was wearing in that show:
http://evolvefish.com/fish/product306...
Australian Tour:
I saw Sonic Youth play the Enmore Theatre in Sydney on the Australian leg of this tour.
On the flight back to Brisbane the following day, I realised that the band were on the same plane.
I introduced myself to Thurston and Kim, and said how much I enjoyed the show.
Thurston asked me for some advice about bookshops in Brisbane. He was looking for poetry, and I was able to send him off to two shops that might have what he was looking for.
IanHeartKim Dream #9:
Kim looked so hot and smart on the plane, and I promised to email her if they ever broke up as a couple.
Of course, I've been tempted to follow up on my promise, since I learned that they had actually parted company.
I'm older than Thurston, but younger than Kim. I don't know if this matters.
To be honest, I'm afraid I mightn't be brainy enough for her. No other woman has ever fallen for my intellect before, so why would she?
After a lot of cogitation and other big words, I drew a picture of Kim instead and I placed it in a prominent place in my Sonic Youth shrine.
In the meantime, I try to enhance my intellect by reading difficult novels and hanging around anybody on GoodReads who lives in Manhattan or maybe Brooklyn at a pinch (as long as they like Don DeLillo and/or Paul Auster and/or Siri Hustvedt).
I figure they must be really smart, if they can afford the rent.
I hope you like my drawing. You're the only one I've showed it to.
I'm not very good at fingers, but neither is Matt Groening.
The tits are all right (if you don't mind me paraphrasing Lisa Cholodenko).
Soundtrack Part II ("You're Perfect in the Way, a Perfect End Today")
OK, now, stop for a moment and watch and listen to this video:
Sonic Youth - "Sugar Kane" (Live - Jools Holland Show '92)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Hwbhd...
Another classic, also in the vein of "Sweet Jane".
Until finding the live version of "Teenage Riot" on YouTube, I probably would have said this was my favourite Sonic Youth song and possibly one of my top three songs of the nineties.
Lee plays guitar with Steve’s chopsticks at 3:25.
Yeah, OK, that’s dissonance.
Soundtrack Part III ("Time Takes Its Crazy Toll")
One more song for your listening pleasure:
Sonic Youth - "Diamond Sea" (Live)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7x8jpQ...
A more atmospheric use of feedback and effects on a seven minute live version of a song from their 1995 album, "Washing Machine".
The alternative studio versions were 19 and 25 minutes long.
[image error]
"Everybody’s Sound is Round It"
Apart from their music, the most significant characteristics of Sonic Youth are their longevity and their influence (what David Browne calls their "senior statesman" role).
The band formed in 1981 and existed continuously until at least November, 2011, when Thurston Moore and Kim Gordon broke up their personal relationship, which was as old as the band itself (thirty years).
As at mid-2012, the band is on hiatus, although some members and fans are confident that they’ll reform and release new music within the foreseeable future.
Sonic Youth were a big influence on Kurt Cobain and Nirvana and were instrumental in getting them a deal with DGC Records (David Geffen Company Records) in 1990, only to see them eclipse their commercial success almost immediately with "Nevermind".
The band also kickstarted Beck’s career with Geffen.
"I Remember Our Youth, Our High Ideals"
Sonic Youth never enjoyed the popularity and commercial success of other bands that joined them under the label "alternative rock" in the early 1990’s.
They almost seemed to be too individualistic to be swept up in the wave that brought some bands a modicum of commercial success.
The band always seemed to be one generation older, one step ahead and one step to the left of their peer group.
It’s ironic that the subtitle of the book is "Sonic Youth and the Rise of the Alternative Nation".
There is no explanation of the term "Alternative Nation" in the book. How widely was it ever used on the street? Was it just a commercial label for a TV show about the music? Does it imply that there was a nation of indie fans within the USA? Why does it sound so restricted to America, instead of reaching out to Canada, the UK, Europe, Japan, Australia and New Zealand?
Whatever the merits of the term, if you didn’t know better, you would assume that Sonic Youth were part of the rise of this Alternative Nation.
However, within the body of the book, it soon becomes clear that the band stood part from the rise, and the rise occurred without them.
Their fortunes stood opposed to the rise of the other bands. They missed out.
They were in the slow lane and they were overtaken.
"You Can Buy Some More and More and More and More"
The book charts the decline in their record sales from a peak of around 300,000 to 70,000 copies by the time of "Rather Ripped".
Of the fans who bought "Dirty", only one in four would buy "Murray Street", "Sonic Nurse", "Rather Ripped" or "The Eternal".
When you speculate on their total record sales and the income they could have generated from sales, you have to question how a band of at least four members could survive financially in Manhattan.
It’s difficult to see how they could have generated enough revenue from playing live and selling merchandising to make a decent living.
"I Hope It Works Out My Way"
Within this financial context, the book has little to trumpet about the success of Sonic Youth.
The main sense of "accomplishment" is the simple fact that they [have] stayed together for so long, despite not making much money.
Most, if not all, other bands would have fallen apart from the financial pressures, especially once band members got married, bought a home and had kids who needed to be raised and educated.
This is the subject that needs to be examined, but isn’t.
"Everybody Wants to be Proud to Choose"
Sonic Youth formed in an era within popular culture when artistic integrity was valued and bands weren’t seen as commodities or brands within a market economy.
To accept an offer from a major label was to "sell out", an accusation that was made against Sonic Youth when they joined David Geffen’s label.
Ultimately, Sonic Youth fought for the right to make their music exactly the way they envisaged it for the whole of their career.
Unlike punk musicians before them, there was an expectation that they could make a living out of their creativity.
Unfortunately, as popular culture and commerce changed around Sonic Youth, fewer and fewer people cared enough about the music the band wanted to make to spend money on acquiring it.
To the extent that any popular culture is an act of communication, they communicated with less and less people.
I don’t want to suggest that they became egotistical or self-absorbed in the pursuit of their musical vision. However, one way or another, the band and their audience went separate ways.
They pushed the envelope and nobody was there to fill it full of cash and return it to the sender.
They asserted their integrity, they exercised their freedom, they made a choice, they were proud of their choice, but their financial return was commensurate with the limits of an audience of their own making.
"Hits Are For Squares"
The name of a recent compilation reveals their attitude to the concept of Hits:
Here is the "Hits Are For Squares" Press Release:
http://www.contactmusic.com/press/son...
Note which artists selected which tracks for the compilation.
Perhaps, Sonic Youth were less interested in the size of their audience than having the right audience.
However, by taking this approach, they took the risk that they might not have the right size audience.
"Where'd You Get Your Light, Your Smilin' Sugar Life?"
It’s arguable that nobody is out there making music like this anymore, that fans too have changed in what they are seeking, that they are less patient with labels like “Alternative Music” or “Alternative Nation” and the implied attempts to build sub-cultures around a taste or a genre.
If anything, fans, consumers, just see these terms as marketing labels.
Sonic Youth also came from a generation that was equally comfortable producing or consuming music, art, photography, film, literature, fashion. They were polymorphous in their interests. They were true Renaissance men and women.
However, it’s questionable whether the marketing machine that attempts to drive sales of today’s cultural commodities can handle such polymorphism, at least until, like Lady Gaga, an artist reaches a pinnacle of success that allows them to diversify.
The only hope is that this type of independent artist will find an audience intuitively on the internet.
David Browne hints, without actually saying it, that Sonic Youth are some kind of role model for a different way of making music.
Part of me wants to agree with him, but then part of me believes that he is being too sentimental.
Because music is such a physically demanding activity (unlike for example writing), there is a real risk that being in a band will continue to be something that people do in their youth and end up moving on to a “real job”.
Only the very lucky (not necessarily the very talented) will make enough money from their creativity to sustain a lifestyle for the rest of their lives.
Most, if they’re any good at all, will shine brightly for a moment in time, or perhaps a few moments, but few will enjoy a "smilin’ sugar life".
I’m just grateful that Sonic Youth shone so brightly for as long as they did, and that the best minds of my generation were not destroyed by madness (or drugs).
"You're Perfect in the Way, a Perfect End Today"
Hey, indie music fans, listen to this (start with the first five minutes, the rest is noise, about which more later), while you read the first part of this review:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tdeTQP...
"Looking for a Man with a Focus and a Temper"
This 422 page book is jam packed with information about one of my favourite indie bands, Sonic Youth.
Do I need to know all of these facts about Sonic Youth? Of course, I do.
Would I like some opinions about them and their music? Some analysis of their musical appeal and their cultural importance? Some reasons to vindicate my 30 year old passion? Of course, I would.
Am I alone in craving opinion and analysis? Maybe.
Would I be just as passionate, if nobody else liked them as much as I do? Of course, I would.
Still, did this book give me the opinions and analysis I craved for? Nuh.
Did it give me just one outrageous opinion? Just a teeny weeny hint of how much David Browne loves the music of Sonic Youth more than the detail of their career trajectory? Perhaps, but I don’t remember it.
David Browne is a man with a focus and no temper.
Am I just going to crank up some Sonic Youth, listen to it through my headphones and not write a review of this book?
Well, yes, yes, no.
Artist: Justin Hampton
http://www.justinhampton.com/index.html
"Got a Foghorn and a Drum and a Hammer That’s Rockin’"
I can’t read music or play an instrument. I don’t understand the difference between open tunings and standard tunings.
So I’ll try to explain what I thought was happening in Sonic Youth’s music in the only way I can - with words (sorry if I get it wrong).
I assumed that an open tuning was just the guitar strung normally, but no chords were being shaped by fingers being placed on the frets.
Therefore, if the guitar was strummed, it would make no particular chord, so the music it created might be dissonant.
I read everywhere that the music of Sonic Youth was dissonant, sometimes just noise, and I assumed that this was the explanation.
But I was wrong.
An open tuning can be set so that without placing your fingers on any frets, you would play a chord when you strummed all of the open strings.
You are automatically within a chord or key.
This makes it relatively easier to create melodies within that key by using your fingers on the frets.
There is nothing intrinsically dissonant about this approach at all, although it’s possible to set up alternative tunings that just sound unusual or different from what we’re used to.
For me, just trying to understand this was important, because I didn’t regard Sonic Youth’s music as particularly un-melodic.
I detected melodies, light and shade, and I liked it.
Music is a relationship between notes. As Thelonious Monk (and/or Art Tatum) said, there are no bum notes. All notes depend on how you resolve them, how they form a consonance with other notes.
I don’t mean that Sonic Youth are all consonance, just that they’re not all dissonance.
Their music creates a sense of pleasure, even when they utilise dissonance.
"Looking for a Ride to Your Secret Location"
A good example of what I [think I] mean is this live version of "Teenage Riot" from 2005 (the studio version dates from their 1988 album "Daydream Nation"):
Sonic Youth - "Teenage Riot" (Live - Eurockéennes 2005)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tdeTQP...
This is the song from the start of my review. However, here is a second version:
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x63v...
The first is the full version with an extended feedback instrumental at the end.
The second is just the song without the feedback. It seems to be better synchronized as well.
"Teenage Riot" is not regarded as typical of Sonic Youth’s music. It uses a traditional verse/chorus structure and lacks much of the feedback they normally use in their songs.
However, the extended version of this song has everything.
This version is so amazing, it confirms my suspicion that it is their equivalent of the Rolling Stones’ "Satisfaction" or the Velvet Underground’s "Sweet Jane".
It really is that good a song.
Just observe and enjoy:
• Lee in the left speaker, Thurston in the right (Jim O’Rourke on third guitar in there somewhere as well)
• Lee’s power chords at 1:15 and 1:20
• Steve driving the song the whole way through
• Kim’s frock strap slips off around 1:17
• Kim swaying at 1:30
• Jim O’Rourke on third guitar at 1:40 and 1:50
• Lee letting loose an amazing solo from 2:40 onwards
• Everybody letting loose from 3:53 onwards
• The feedback symphony that starts at 4:50 (in the longer version)
Tabs:
Here are some tabs for this song:
http://www.911tabs.com/link/?3609096
Thurston’s Church Kicker T-shirt:
Here's where you can get a t-shirt like the one Thurston was wearing in that show:
http://evolvefish.com/fish/product306...
Australian Tour:
I saw Sonic Youth play the Enmore Theatre in Sydney on the Australian leg of this tour.
On the flight back to Brisbane the following day, I realised that the band were on the same plane.
I introduced myself to Thurston and Kim, and said how much I enjoyed the show.
Thurston asked me for some advice about bookshops in Brisbane. He was looking for poetry, and I was able to send him off to two shops that might have what he was looking for.
IanHeartKim Dream #9:
Kim looked so hot and smart on the plane, and I promised to email her if they ever broke up as a couple.
Of course, I've been tempted to follow up on my promise, since I learned that they had actually parted company.
I'm older than Thurston, but younger than Kim. I don't know if this matters.
To be honest, I'm afraid I mightn't be brainy enough for her. No other woman has ever fallen for my intellect before, so why would she?
After a lot of cogitation and other big words, I drew a picture of Kim instead and I placed it in a prominent place in my Sonic Youth shrine.
In the meantime, I try to enhance my intellect by reading difficult novels and hanging around anybody on GoodReads who lives in Manhattan or maybe Brooklyn at a pinch (as long as they like Don DeLillo and/or Paul Auster and/or Siri Hustvedt).
I figure they must be really smart, if they can afford the rent.
I hope you like my drawing. You're the only one I've showed it to.
I'm not very good at fingers, but neither is Matt Groening.
The tits are all right (if you don't mind me paraphrasing Lisa Cholodenko).
Soundtrack Part II ("You're Perfect in the Way, a Perfect End Today")
OK, now, stop for a moment and watch and listen to this video:
Sonic Youth - "Sugar Kane" (Live - Jools Holland Show '92)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Hwbhd...
Another classic, also in the vein of "Sweet Jane".
Until finding the live version of "Teenage Riot" on YouTube, I probably would have said this was my favourite Sonic Youth song and possibly one of my top three songs of the nineties.
Lee plays guitar with Steve’s chopsticks at 3:25.
Yeah, OK, that’s dissonance.
Soundtrack Part III ("Time Takes Its Crazy Toll")
One more song for your listening pleasure:
Sonic Youth - "Diamond Sea" (Live)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7x8jpQ...
A more atmospheric use of feedback and effects on a seven minute live version of a song from their 1995 album, "Washing Machine".
The alternative studio versions were 19 and 25 minutes long.
[image error]
"Everybody’s Sound is Round It"
Apart from their music, the most significant characteristics of Sonic Youth are their longevity and their influence (what David Browne calls their "senior statesman" role).
The band formed in 1981 and existed continuously until at least November, 2011, when Thurston Moore and Kim Gordon broke up their personal relationship, which was as old as the band itself (thirty years).
As at mid-2012, the band is on hiatus, although some members and fans are confident that they’ll reform and release new music within the foreseeable future.
Sonic Youth were a big influence on Kurt Cobain and Nirvana and were instrumental in getting them a deal with DGC Records (David Geffen Company Records) in 1990, only to see them eclipse their commercial success almost immediately with "Nevermind".
The band also kickstarted Beck’s career with Geffen.
"I Remember Our Youth, Our High Ideals"
Sonic Youth never enjoyed the popularity and commercial success of other bands that joined them under the label "alternative rock" in the early 1990’s.
They almost seemed to be too individualistic to be swept up in the wave that brought some bands a modicum of commercial success.
The band always seemed to be one generation older, one step ahead and one step to the left of their peer group.
It’s ironic that the subtitle of the book is "Sonic Youth and the Rise of the Alternative Nation".
There is no explanation of the term "Alternative Nation" in the book. How widely was it ever used on the street? Was it just a commercial label for a TV show about the music? Does it imply that there was a nation of indie fans within the USA? Why does it sound so restricted to America, instead of reaching out to Canada, the UK, Europe, Japan, Australia and New Zealand?
Whatever the merits of the term, if you didn’t know better, you would assume that Sonic Youth were part of the rise of this Alternative Nation.
However, within the body of the book, it soon becomes clear that the band stood part from the rise, and the rise occurred without them.
Their fortunes stood opposed to the rise of the other bands. They missed out.
They were in the slow lane and they were overtaken.
"You Can Buy Some More and More and More and More"
The book charts the decline in their record sales from a peak of around 300,000 to 70,000 copies by the time of "Rather Ripped".
Of the fans who bought "Dirty", only one in four would buy "Murray Street", "Sonic Nurse", "Rather Ripped" or "The Eternal".
When you speculate on their total record sales and the income they could have generated from sales, you have to question how a band of at least four members could survive financially in Manhattan.
It’s difficult to see how they could have generated enough revenue from playing live and selling merchandising to make a decent living.
"I Hope It Works Out My Way"
Within this financial context, the book has little to trumpet about the success of Sonic Youth.
The main sense of "accomplishment" is the simple fact that they [have] stayed together for so long, despite not making much money.
Most, if not all, other bands would have fallen apart from the financial pressures, especially once band members got married, bought a home and had kids who needed to be raised and educated.
This is the subject that needs to be examined, but isn’t.
"Everybody Wants to be Proud to Choose"
Sonic Youth formed in an era within popular culture when artistic integrity was valued and bands weren’t seen as commodities or brands within a market economy.
To accept an offer from a major label was to "sell out", an accusation that was made against Sonic Youth when they joined David Geffen’s label.
Ultimately, Sonic Youth fought for the right to make their music exactly the way they envisaged it for the whole of their career.
Unlike punk musicians before them, there was an expectation that they could make a living out of their creativity.
Unfortunately, as popular culture and commerce changed around Sonic Youth, fewer and fewer people cared enough about the music the band wanted to make to spend money on acquiring it.
To the extent that any popular culture is an act of communication, they communicated with less and less people.
I don’t want to suggest that they became egotistical or self-absorbed in the pursuit of their musical vision. However, one way or another, the band and their audience went separate ways.
They pushed the envelope and nobody was there to fill it full of cash and return it to the sender.
They asserted their integrity, they exercised their freedom, they made a choice, they were proud of their choice, but their financial return was commensurate with the limits of an audience of their own making.
"Hits Are For Squares"
The name of a recent compilation reveals their attitude to the concept of Hits:
Here is the "Hits Are For Squares" Press Release:
http://www.contactmusic.com/press/son...
Note which artists selected which tracks for the compilation.
Perhaps, Sonic Youth were less interested in the size of their audience than having the right audience.
However, by taking this approach, they took the risk that they might not have the right size audience.
"Where'd You Get Your Light, Your Smilin' Sugar Life?"
It’s arguable that nobody is out there making music like this anymore, that fans too have changed in what they are seeking, that they are less patient with labels like “Alternative Music” or “Alternative Nation” and the implied attempts to build sub-cultures around a taste or a genre.
If anything, fans, consumers, just see these terms as marketing labels.
Sonic Youth also came from a generation that was equally comfortable producing or consuming music, art, photography, film, literature, fashion. They were polymorphous in their interests. They were true Renaissance men and women.
However, it’s questionable whether the marketing machine that attempts to drive sales of today’s cultural commodities can handle such polymorphism, at least until, like Lady Gaga, an artist reaches a pinnacle of success that allows them to diversify.
The only hope is that this type of independent artist will find an audience intuitively on the internet.
David Browne hints, without actually saying it, that Sonic Youth are some kind of role model for a different way of making music.
Part of me wants to agree with him, but then part of me believes that he is being too sentimental.
Because music is such a physically demanding activity (unlike for example writing), there is a real risk that being in a band will continue to be something that people do in their youth and end up moving on to a “real job”.
Only the very lucky (not necessarily the very talented) will make enough money from their creativity to sustain a lifestyle for the rest of their lives.
Most, if they’re any good at all, will shine brightly for a moment in time, or perhaps a few moments, but few will enjoy a "smilin’ sugar life".
I’m just grateful that Sonic Youth shone so brightly for as long as they did, and that the best minds of my generation were not destroyed by madness (or drugs).
"You're Perfect in the Way, a Perfect End Today"
December 27, 2013
The amount of nerding-out I did over this book was incredible. While there were a few incorrect details that I spotted here and there (and one that stuck out to me so much, I actually sent an email to David Browne - no word back yet, and none expected), overall the writing was incredibly cohesive, and although Browne had conducted interviews with the bands many years prior to taking on this project, his presence in the work was completely invisible. I actually borrowed this book, and have decided it is a vital thing to have in my own book collection, and plan on purchasing my own copy soon - not only can I imagine myself reading it again in a year or two from now, it's a rich pop culture resource, seeing as you cannot have a worthwhile conversation about Sonic Youth without discussing their influences as well. While reading, I found myself desperately wanting to drop the book at times to immediately delve into any number of artists mentioned during one period or another of their career, but putting it down was simply impossible to do. I'm also quite excited to check out Browne's other biography of Jeff Buckley, in a schoolgirl-squee sort of way.
June 12, 2023
Favori gruplarımdan biri olan Sonic Youth’un en kapsamlı biyografisi sanırım bu kitap. Grubun New York’taki ilk kuruluş günlerinden itibaren tüm yolculuğu hiçbir detay atlamadan anlatılıyor. Yer yer bazı bölümlerini fazla düz buldum. Yani doğru bir anlatımla çok daha iyi anlatabileceğini düşünmediğim değil ama çok önemli de değil. Sonuçta bu bir biyografi kitabı ve amacına ulaşıyor mu, bence ulaşıyor. Grubun hayranıysanız her türlü zevk alarak okumanız garantili. Tabii daha sonrasında Kim Gordon’ın “Girl In A Band” kitabını da okumak şartıyla :)
February 29, 2012
Sonic Youth is one of the last bands I would have expected to be the impetus for an excellent biography. They're arty, obscure and almost entirely free of drama, drugs, angst or any of the other typical trappings befitting a book-worthy band.
All the same, I was in Northampton, Mass. recently, where Sonic Youth's leading couple, Thurston Moore and Kim Gordon live (well, former couple - they recently separated after decades of marriage) and I was browsing in this terrific little mom 'n' pop bookstore and I came across David Browne's Goodbye 20th Century, and the spirit just moved me. (Also, it was on sale in hardcover for $10.)
As if the gods of Sonic Youth were smiling on me for my purchase, not 10 minutes later, I was sitting in a little basement cafe with my girlfriend and her sister, and who should walk by but the man himself, Thurston! We flagged him down and he very kindly signed the book for us.
Moore's easy going reaction to us annoying fans shouting for his autograph in the middle of a crowded restaurant sums up the whole career of Sonic Youth in a nutshell. I've always known he was an awesome, extremely intelligent dude with a great sense of humor and a fervent supporter of underground music and literature, but as I learned from Browne's book, the band as a whole has always operated along a similar vibe, have never been particularly moved by the promise of fame and fortune, and have always done whatever the hell they want, professionally and artistically. As Browne's book makes clear, not only are they an unlikely subject for a biography, they were an unlikely band to have ever achieved the level of success that they did. Actually listening to their music, you can see why: with a few exceptions (the album "Rather Ripped," several individual tracks over dozens of other albums) it's loud, long, meandering, sometimes viciously so. They're obviously extremely unique and talented (Moore especially is one of the most innovative guitarists in history) but they're not particularly "fun" to listen to.
Still, Sonic Youth achieved success. They were never quite a household name (though there was a time, amazingly, when major labels thought they could be) but they made enough money to buy houses, to raise families and along the way, they became one of the most revered "underground" acts in the world. (I put underground in quotes because though they've always had the spirit of an indie/underground act, they have also released more than half of their music on major labels.)
Browne's book is great because he makes you realize all this through simply laying down the details of their career, brick by brick. There's nothing flowery about his writing. It's concise and articulate, yet packed with so much information, somehow 400 pages goes by before you know it.
All the same, I was in Northampton, Mass. recently, where Sonic Youth's leading couple, Thurston Moore and Kim Gordon live (well, former couple - they recently separated after decades of marriage) and I was browsing in this terrific little mom 'n' pop bookstore and I came across David Browne's Goodbye 20th Century, and the spirit just moved me. (Also, it was on sale in hardcover for $10.)
As if the gods of Sonic Youth were smiling on me for my purchase, not 10 minutes later, I was sitting in a little basement cafe with my girlfriend and her sister, and who should walk by but the man himself, Thurston! We flagged him down and he very kindly signed the book for us.
Moore's easy going reaction to us annoying fans shouting for his autograph in the middle of a crowded restaurant sums up the whole career of Sonic Youth in a nutshell. I've always known he was an awesome, extremely intelligent dude with a great sense of humor and a fervent supporter of underground music and literature, but as I learned from Browne's book, the band as a whole has always operated along a similar vibe, have never been particularly moved by the promise of fame and fortune, and have always done whatever the hell they want, professionally and artistically. As Browne's book makes clear, not only are they an unlikely subject for a biography, they were an unlikely band to have ever achieved the level of success that they did. Actually listening to their music, you can see why: with a few exceptions (the album "Rather Ripped," several individual tracks over dozens of other albums) it's loud, long, meandering, sometimes viciously so. They're obviously extremely unique and talented (Moore especially is one of the most innovative guitarists in history) but they're not particularly "fun" to listen to.
Still, Sonic Youth achieved success. They were never quite a household name (though there was a time, amazingly, when major labels thought they could be) but they made enough money to buy houses, to raise families and along the way, they became one of the most revered "underground" acts in the world. (I put underground in quotes because though they've always had the spirit of an indie/underground act, they have also released more than half of their music on major labels.)
Browne's book is great because he makes you realize all this through simply laying down the details of their career, brick by brick. There's nothing flowery about his writing. It's concise and articulate, yet packed with so much information, somehow 400 pages goes by before you know it.
September 1, 2020
Wow, what an educational and comprehensive biography. The book boasts solid writing, illumating quotes from the band, and countless factoids that will enrich your listening experience of Sonic Youth to no end. Browne is clearly a shrewd music writer who does his research. I only wish I could have caught more glimpses of Browne's personality! I needed some attitude to liven things up because, at times, this biography begins resembling a history textbook with its lengthy rehashing of time, date, and place. Still, if you're a Sonic Youth fan, you've got to read this book.
February 16, 2010
Very dryly written. It almost hurt to finish.
December 6, 2013
overall, this book reads like a very conventional biography but there are enough back-stories & anecdotes to keep fans of SY interested. "Goodbye 20th Century" does an effective job at revealing the internal dynamics of the band, which are very interesting & unique. it could have easily glossed over later-period SY but wisely does not. comprehensive & informative, but it seems to lack the compelling prose of "This Band Could Be Your Life" & "Rip It Up & Start It Again" or the stripped-down academic wonderment & red-hot cultural references of "Lipstick Traces."
die-hard fans will love this book & those new to Sonic Youth will value "Goodbye 20th Century" as a valuable introduction. there is enough information online about discographies & gear lists, so that is demystified, but "Goodbye 20th Century" offers a start-to-finish narrative that is worth reading.
it is a good book.
die-hard fans will love this book & those new to Sonic Youth will value "Goodbye 20th Century" as a valuable introduction. there is enough information online about discographies & gear lists, so that is demystified, but "Goodbye 20th Century" offers a start-to-finish narrative that is worth reading.
it is a good book.
February 15, 2009
This book makes a great counterpart to Alec Foege's now-outdated "Confusion is Next: the Sonic Youth Story." While it doesn't capture the same grimy early-NYC vibe as that book - and frankly, the culture out of which SY sprung is incredibly important to truly "getting" the band's origins - it's significantly more comprehensive as a career overview. No element, tour, record, side project, etc. is slighted, with the exception of Made in U.S.A. and a few ephemeral side projects like the Velvet Monkeys and Desperate Teenage Lovedolls, and all of the info in the book is derived from first-hand interviews with everyone in and around the band. Indispensable for SY aficionados.
May 18, 2018
Although it took me forever to finish it, I enjoyed reading about SY. Now I need to do the same with their music. I find their music difficult to enjoy, but I admire their lives and work as musicians. The author and various interviewees speculate that although their influence is hard to detect in later bands' music, their commitment to doing music their way is what inspired so many. I dig that.
January 21, 2010
As biographies of musicians and bands go, this one is no "Hammer of the Gods." David Browne tastefully avoids the clichéd hyperboles of rock journalism and manages to present a detailed and well-rounded portrait of that band that everyone has heard of--but perhaps one that not too many people have actually listened. Admittedly, the story of Sonic Youth is rather boring as far as rock and roll biographies go: no sex, no drugs; no punchouts, walk-outs, and black outs; just rock and roll (and sometimes more, sometimes less).
The robust story of the band in "Goodbye 20th Century" is a nice contrast to the Sonic Youth story as previously told by Michael Azzerad in "Our Band Could Be Your Life." In that book Azzerad portrays Sonic Youth as modern-day indie rock heroes: professionally ambitious, artistically focused, and resolute in all facets of their career. In David Browne's more nuanced biography, culled from many intimate interviews of band members (present and past), friends, associates, and family members, Sonic Youth comes across as less monolithic but a band that is fraught with setbacks, letdowns, and many happy accidents. The two author's contrasting views may very well be due to the stage in the career of Sonic Youth that the story was told. For Azzerad, writing at the end of the 1990s about the handful of iconic of indie rock of the 1980s, the fact that SY broke out (albeit briefly) into the mainstream and have endured for so long (with a major label backing, to boot) is a story in itself. Along with R.E.M., Sonic Youth represent the fortunate few who broke out from the shadows of the independent musicians.
For Browne, who writes in the period after SY leaves its major label backer Geffen Records (DGC), the band's success isn't entirely triumphant but a series of small growths--artistic, critical and financial--not unlike the tale of the outsider bohemian artist gradually adapting to a middle-class lifestyle. The words of Flaubert resound: Be regular and orderly in your life, so that you may be violent and original in your work.
As the years pile on, a portrait of the band gradually appears in the four principal members: Lee Ranaldo is the nice guy, alpha male who loves to tinker with everything; Thurston Moore is the slightly aloof genius man-child whose various interests and daydreams fuel the band's every move; Kim Gordon is the reserved, de facto "voice" of the band who serves as the guardian of "Sonic Youth" as an idea, brand and business; and Steve Shelley is the unassuming go-getter whose work ethic mirrors its formation in indie and punk rock and the lone member who seems most closely connected to this day to the band's humble beginnings. Not quite a democracy--after all the band got it's name from Thurston and 1/2 of the band is married to each other--despite disagreements and occasional tensions, you get the sense that this band is decent in all aspects: loyal to their roots, respectful of its own history and influences, generous with its friends and fellow artists, and conscientious and scrupulous in their business dealings.
The fact that the words "Sonic Youth" carries any cultural weight despite having a relatively small audience of people actually listen to them is attributed to the band's greatest strength: that of elevating the band "Sonic Youth" as a philosophical ideal that is higher than any individual ambition, monetary or critical success.
To synthesize the chaos and dregs of his age into a higher ideal, Hegel created the State; fortunately for us, we have Sonic Youth.
February 2, 2019
Okay, I'm writing this a little later than I maybe should have (& am about to start writing some reviews a lot later than I definitely should have), but I'll throw in my main feelings & add anything extra later if it comes to me.
I liked this book because it told the story of Sonic Youth. I got a great history leading up to circa Rather Ripped era & learned a lot, because I really didn't know much. It opened me up to listening to some of their earlier stuff which I'd earlier been afraid of (heathenish acts of the phoney fan, I know). But I had an issue with Browne's writing style. He has no flair, which is no cardinal sin in a biography, but the problem is it seems he thinks he has, & ends up doing things I find silly (example: beginning of Ch5, introduction to Steve Shelley). This doesn't happen too often, but enough to grate on me.
More noticeably, I find he tries to fit in shit that has no business being fit in - I get the feeling he interviewed some people & almost added some stuff they said in there as some kind of acknowledgement/bread-breaking with them (from memory, an example is towards the end of the Shelley section where they include this quote from his dad - I know this is all vague, but I'm just tryna back myself up with the shifting sand of memory I have at my disposal). Adding to that, there are numerous little things I found ridiculous - especially in the context of my upcoming complaint - like mentioning "Jim Belushi walked in some night they were playing" - (this is not an exact quote) - "& said he'd come back, but he didn't." Or later, talking about which execs were at some party, he mentions a bunch of names including "x may have been there." You know, like, a) who gives a shit & b) you're not even sure if he was there. So how could this possibly impact the story of Sonic Youth? It's not a particularly gossipy book, but shit like this doesn't make it seem like it wouldn't have been if Browne could have helped it.
& though those are more stylistic (I guess) choices, my main complaint was the lack of credence given to their solo albums. In the timeline - & the book is generally very linear & chronological - once it got past a certain point, I was like "Huh, maybe I got my own dates wrong, maybe the solo albums came later", because they weren't mentioned at all. When Browne's talking about random people who may or may not have been at some party, I figure he's trying to be as inclusive & tell-all as possible, so it's impossible he'd miss actual crucial steps in the growth of the band members such as whole albums they were recording by themselves & what that meant for them, or the band dynamic, right? Wrong. In the last section of the book some of these projects get rather cursory mentions ("This proved Thurston could make acoustic music after all! Fin."), & when I realized this cat just didn't seem to give a shit or understand what this must have meant for the people involved - while he will tell the most mundane - &, yes, sometimes gossipy - stories in earlier sections... I just couldn't believe it.
So, while I'm spending a lot of time complaining here, I did enjoy the book & did learn a lot. I just obviously have some issues with the way things were handled. & while it's no fault of Browne's, it's a shame we weren't able to get a history all the way up to their dissolution - their story as a band is, for all intents & purposes, now officially over.
I liked this book because it told the story of Sonic Youth. I got a great history leading up to circa Rather Ripped era & learned a lot, because I really didn't know much. It opened me up to listening to some of their earlier stuff which I'd earlier been afraid of (heathenish acts of the phoney fan, I know). But I had an issue with Browne's writing style. He has no flair, which is no cardinal sin in a biography, but the problem is it seems he thinks he has, & ends up doing things I find silly (example: beginning of Ch5, introduction to Steve Shelley). This doesn't happen too often, but enough to grate on me.
More noticeably, I find he tries to fit in shit that has no business being fit in - I get the feeling he interviewed some people & almost added some stuff they said in there as some kind of acknowledgement/bread-breaking with them (from memory, an example is towards the end of the Shelley section where they include this quote from his dad - I know this is all vague, but I'm just tryna back myself up with the shifting sand of memory I have at my disposal). Adding to that, there are numerous little things I found ridiculous - especially in the context of my upcoming complaint - like mentioning "Jim Belushi walked in some night they were playing" - (this is not an exact quote) - "& said he'd come back, but he didn't." Or later, talking about which execs were at some party, he mentions a bunch of names including "x may have been there." You know, like, a) who gives a shit & b) you're not even sure if he was there. So how could this possibly impact the story of Sonic Youth? It's not a particularly gossipy book, but shit like this doesn't make it seem like it wouldn't have been if Browne could have helped it.
& though those are more stylistic (I guess) choices, my main complaint was the lack of credence given to their solo albums. In the timeline - & the book is generally very linear & chronological - once it got past a certain point, I was like "Huh, maybe I got my own dates wrong, maybe the solo albums came later", because they weren't mentioned at all. When Browne's talking about random people who may or may not have been at some party, I figure he's trying to be as inclusive & tell-all as possible, so it's impossible he'd miss actual crucial steps in the growth of the band members such as whole albums they were recording by themselves & what that meant for them, or the band dynamic, right? Wrong. In the last section of the book some of these projects get rather cursory mentions ("This proved Thurston could make acoustic music after all! Fin."), & when I realized this cat just didn't seem to give a shit or understand what this must have meant for the people involved - while he will tell the most mundane - &, yes, sometimes gossipy - stories in earlier sections... I just couldn't believe it.
So, while I'm spending a lot of time complaining here, I did enjoy the book & did learn a lot. I just obviously have some issues with the way things were handled. & while it's no fault of Browne's, it's a shame we weren't able to get a history all the way up to their dissolution - their story as a band is, for all intents & purposes, now officially over.
December 12, 2008
Well put together with serious, intelligent writing. Browne really shows us the personalities of the band members and how their interpersonal dynamics have coalesced over the years. His commentary on their actual music is not exactly deep or revelatory, but he does cover all of it. The first part of the book is definitely the stronger, as it really gives you a sense of how the outsider music scene in new york in the late 70's and early 80's developed and how a group of people managed to create something approximating an actual community out of the drug-riddled urban wasteland that New York was in that era.
August 13, 2011
"A must for fans" one review states and this is definitely the case. The most fascinating thing about Sonic Youth is their music, in real life they are just like the rest of us. So if you want sex, drugs and rock n roll I'd recommend Slash's biog as you won't get that here! Personally I really enjoyed this book. I've been rabid fan since 1998 so it's fascinating to see how they came to be and how albums were put together. It's given me a greater appreciation of their music and as a result of reading this I've also re-discovered alternate guitar tunings!!
Cracking book from a cracking band. Like their music it's not for everyone but that's why I love them.
Cracking book from a cracking band. Like their music it's not for everyone but that's why I love them.
January 20, 2009
There were moments I wished this book had been written by someone less distant and more of a fan, but kudos are due to David Browne for his copious research and meticulous organization. The strongest parts of the book for me are the chapters covering Sonic Youth's formation and early years as well as their more recent projects including everything from their brief collaboration with Jim O'Rourke on. The middle section borders on dull regurgitation of facts, however, there is enough fun information throughout for any fan.
July 14, 2008
Like many books of its kind, this suffers from a "then they recorded this. then they recorded this. then they recorded this..." repetition. Still, I loved reading about the early years of Sonic Youth, back when Richard Edson was their drummer (long before he played Vito in Do the Right Thing), when Paul Smith was hanging around the band, and before Kim Gordon became an uber-fashionista. A good read about one of the more interesting bands of my time.
June 11, 2015
CURRENTLY READING REVIEW: I'm rating this 4 stars having only read about 50-60 pages. This book NEEDED to be written. I read "Confusion is Next" and wasn't totally thrilled by it because it WASN'T THIS BOOK. I'll be taking this one as slow as the TALKING HEADS book just so I can stretch it out.
READ REVIEW: This is a MUST for any SY fan out there. So much amazing detail outlined in this thing. Every nook & cranny of their career is laid out. Just a long, fantastic read, worth every page turn.
READ REVIEW: This is a MUST for any SY fan out there. So much amazing detail outlined in this thing. Every nook & cranny of their career is laid out. Just a long, fantastic read, worth every page turn.
February 10, 2009
The major problem with this book is that it dwells on the band's recording career, and what the band could have been (which people are just coming around to). The biographical bits of this book are a minor theme, which I was more interested in.
Overall it's a great read. It's especially fun to steal/borrow/buy the albums as you go along, comparing your impressions of each album with the author's narrative.
Overall it's a great read. It's especially fun to steal/borrow/buy the albums as you go along, comparing your impressions of each album with the author's narrative.
April 2, 2020
A good straight up history of the indie/avant garde rock band.The aesthetic analyses of the music are good, as far as they go. Unfortunately it's very US centric. Browne tends to skate over SY's non-US and indeed non-NYC influences, as well as their broader global impact on the indie scene which has been considerable. Theres nothing about their overseas tours, except of Europe. But as a story of career survival over 30 odd years it's pretty interesting.
May 12, 2025
This book is exactly what it bills itself as - it's a full scale biography of the band Sonic Youth. I imagine that the average reader might consider this book too damn long. For this reader, the granular level of detail that Browne provides is just right (on occasion, I could even use more).
Overall, it's a very successful biography. Browne does a good job of giving the whole of the band and their catalogue a thorough review. Unlike some books about the band (or by the band - Thurston, I'm looking at you), the author doesn't linger too long in the pre- or early Sonic Youth years. Those years are here, and Browne does them justice - it's just that he does the whole chronology of the band a similar justice.
There aren't a lot of surprises here if you know the band well. That said, Browne has done a shit ton of interviews with the right people, which allows him to unearth some amazing facts and anecdotes. I didn't know that Gordon had dated Danny Elfman pre-Sonics; my mind has always been blown by the band covering the Simpsons theme song, but that information adds a whole new dimension of mind-blowingness (can a mind be blown twice?).
Basically, this is a book that succeeds in pretty much all the ways that Thurston's memoir fails. It covers the whole history of the band equally, gives a great deal of well deserved space to Lee and Steve Shelley, and manages to feel insightful the whole way.
Well, not the WHOLE whole way, obviously. This stops at Rather Ripped - so, congrats on getting that much of the band's life down, Mr. Browne. As such, the demise of the band doesn't happen here. I wonder if Browne was pissed when that happened - that's probably the single most dramatic thing to happen to a pretty undramatic band.
Overall, it's a very successful biography. Browne does a good job of giving the whole of the band and their catalogue a thorough review. Unlike some books about the band (or by the band - Thurston, I'm looking at you), the author doesn't linger too long in the pre- or early Sonic Youth years. Those years are here, and Browne does them justice - it's just that he does the whole chronology of the band a similar justice.
There aren't a lot of surprises here if you know the band well. That said, Browne has done a shit ton of interviews with the right people, which allows him to unearth some amazing facts and anecdotes. I didn't know that Gordon had dated Danny Elfman pre-Sonics; my mind has always been blown by the band covering the Simpsons theme song, but that information adds a whole new dimension of mind-blowingness (can a mind be blown twice?).
Basically, this is a book that succeeds in pretty much all the ways that Thurston's memoir fails. It covers the whole history of the band equally, gives a great deal of well deserved space to Lee and Steve Shelley, and manages to feel insightful the whole way.
Well, not the WHOLE whole way, obviously. This stops at Rather Ripped - so, congrats on getting that much of the band's life down, Mr. Browne. As such, the demise of the band doesn't happen here. I wonder if Browne was pissed when that happened - that's probably the single most dramatic thing to happen to a pretty undramatic band.
February 18, 2021
A comprehensive if somewhat uninspired history of the band which gets less interesting as it goes along. This isn't really Browne's fault- Sonic Youth is a band made up of unassuming musicians who actively avoided rock and roll excess. The most alive the book feels is when Lydia Lunch rampages through it- at last, a character!
Browne skirts personality analysis and avoids digging deep into the band's dynamics. The book was published before they imploded due to Thurston's infidelity, but there seems to be palpable tension between them in the later stages of their career which Browne alludes to but appears afraid to flesh out. Kim feels particularly shadowy- ever-elusive, there's some fascinating anecdotes about her. My favourites are that she was so quiet during the recording sessions for one of their early albums that she was only able to communicate with the producer by smiling, and that several New York hipsters have had nightmares in which they embarrassed themselves in front of her by saying something uncool.
Browne does a good job of narrating the band's trajectory from no-wave outcasts to indie heroes, next-best-things, major label flops and, finally, a low-key, self-contained unit. I enjoyed his writing on the music, although sometimes found him to be a little forceful in his opinions.
Recommended for fans.
Browne skirts personality analysis and avoids digging deep into the band's dynamics. The book was published before they imploded due to Thurston's infidelity, but there seems to be palpable tension between them in the later stages of their career which Browne alludes to but appears afraid to flesh out. Kim feels particularly shadowy- ever-elusive, there's some fascinating anecdotes about her. My favourites are that she was so quiet during the recording sessions for one of their early albums that she was only able to communicate with the producer by smiling, and that several New York hipsters have had nightmares in which they embarrassed themselves in front of her by saying something uncool.
Browne does a good job of narrating the band's trajectory from no-wave outcasts to indie heroes, next-best-things, major label flops and, finally, a low-key, self-contained unit. I enjoyed his writing on the music, although sometimes found him to be a little forceful in his opinions.
Recommended for fans.
May 12, 2020
After a college show back in the early 2000s, a member of the audience came up to me and said our band sounded like Sonic Youth. I had no idea who Sonic Youth was at the time and I wouldn't for a quite a few years. I am not sure why this book or this band took so long to ever check out. In a way, I'm disappointed it took this long to explore.
At any rate, this book was a great view in the world of Sonic Youth and highly recommend it to anyone interested in pop culture, music, or art. Great perspective into the way things shook out. After reading this book, I am left with hoping that maybe I can have an impact like they did at some point in my own life.
At any rate, this book was a great view in the world of Sonic Youth and highly recommend it to anyone interested in pop culture, music, or art. Great perspective into the way things shook out. After reading this book, I am left with hoping that maybe I can have an impact like they did at some point in my own life.
May 22, 2024
Easy to love if you're a Sonic Youth fan. Easily my favorite band so it was a very enjoyable read. I nerded out to this and went back and listened to the albums as I read through their respective chapters. I wish there were more details about the songs, like the lyrics and inspiration behind them. There were some but they were mostly already widely known among fans.
I'm a big fan of little bits of trivia that are interesting but not that important overall, like for example, Kim's favorite song from Daydream Nation is The Sprawl and Silver Rocket is Thurston's, but that wasn't in the book.
I still recommend it though!
I'm a big fan of little bits of trivia that are interesting but not that important overall, like for example, Kim's favorite song from Daydream Nation is The Sprawl and Silver Rocket is Thurston's, but that wasn't in the book.
I still recommend it though!
July 31, 2021
I didn’t start listening to Sonic Youth until around the time this book was written, so I appreciated reading the whole backstory of their career as most of it was new information for me. Good overview of record label tribulations, the individual contributions of the musicians, and how they’ve followed their own unique path (and they still do as solo artists, I might add).
May 11, 2023
i LOVE sonic youth and thought this was a really good biography! however, i did think that sometimes it could drag, especially in the beginning. it spends a lot of time in their early era where they were still very undefined as a band, which can get dull. but once it got really got started, i loved it!
December 5, 2017
really informative for someone who only had a surface level knowledge of the band, just a shame it ended before things REALLY got interesting in the band... very well written and i appreciate that it didn't take too long to get stuck into things. a respectable bio.
July 23, 2019
Fairly journalistic-styled comprehensive story of Sonic Youth (though ending before the ultimate finish of their journey as a band). A lot of information, some of it somewhat superfluous, but interesting nonetheless.
April 17, 2021
There's a lot of Sonic Youth history to cover, this is essential reading for alternative music fans. David Browne takes a walk on the mild side, really well researched and augmented with reflections from the band and inner circle.
June 11, 2022
A good but not great biography of the Noo Yawk noise merchants.
Interesting as it ends just the band ceases to be.
Kim Gordon’s book is recommended and apparently Thurston is writing his autobiography.
Interesting as it ends just the band ceases to be.
Kim Gordon’s book is recommended and apparently Thurston is writing his autobiography.
February 21, 2023
It’s fairly straightforward prose, so I wouldn’t suggest anyone not already into Sonic Youth tackle it, but the fact that I finished this 400-page book in several days should speak to how compelling it is for a fan of the band.
Read
June 30, 2024early on David Browne mentions how “uncool” he felt simply being in the presence of Sonic Youth and his writing certainly proves that point.. but i devoured it, engrossed in their history, and will continue to devour anything SY related sweet like candy man
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