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at a glance...
Hometown: New York, NY
Year Formed: 1980
Personnel:
Kim Gordon -bass, guitars, vocals, various
Lee Ranaldo -guitars, synthesizer
Thurston Moore -guitars, vocals
Steve Shelley -drums, percussion
With:
Jim O'Rourke -bass, electronics
Rafael Toral -guitar
William Winant -percussion
Related artists:
Ciccone Youth, Two Dollar Guitar, Free Kitten, Lee Ranaldo, William Hooker, Velvet Monkeys, The Crucifucks, Cat Power, Nels Cline, Thurston Moore, In Limbo, The Coachmen, Mats Gustafsson, William Winant, J Mascis, Kim Deal, Pavement, Half Japanese, Mike Watt, Borbetomagus, Shonen Knife, Puzzled Panthers, Jim O'Rourke
Notes:
Sonic Youth rose triumphantly out of New York's early 80s No-Wave
scene. Originally fueled by the ripping guitar of Glenn Branca alumns
Ranaldo and Moore, Sonic Youth grew into - and maintain their stature as -
a rock 'n' roll aural-experimentation unit beyond compare. Sometimes melodic,
sometimes atonal, but rarely boring, the band have covered a lot of ground
in its nearly 20-year history. From the early scene-splashing Confusion is Sex (1983) to the more polished EVOL (1986), the band's
early evolution is apparent. 1988's epic Daydream Nation secured Sonic
Youth's status as a legendary, visionary band which would forever leave
its
mark on rock 'n' roll. Subsequent albums and tours have served to bolster
the band's popularity, even when not establishing any new plateaus of
creativity. More recently, offshoot releases (like 1997's Perspectives Musicales
series) have shown evidence of a continuing interest in
experimentation. A perpetually active band, Sonic Youth will surely
entertain and challenge for years to come.
Links:
Read Ink Blot's tribute to Sonic Youth, "Sonic Truth"
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