Thurston Moore for Prez!
After I finished jumping around for joy over the signing of Mike Keenan by the Flames (as an Oiler fan how can I not be excited about the Flames hiring a coach who hasn't won a playoff series in 11 years, is generally considered the worst coach to play under, and will surely mean the demise of Hueselius and Lombardi?), I sat down and read this article by Nitsuh Abede for Pitchfork on Sonic Youth's Daydream Nation. While I've always been more of a fan on SY's albums Evol and Goo, it did cause me to ask the question, has there been a more important band in the last 25 years than Sonic Youth? Looking at their past I'm hard pressed to think of a more significant foursome than Thurston, Lee, Steve and Kim.
Here's why;
1.) They began in the early 80s as central figures of the No Wave movement in New York, a movement that is to this day still having a significant impact on much of the American underground (ie. Wolf Eyes, Black Dice, Animal Collective etc...). When the No Wave movement started to lose some of its steam they inserted a good dose of Psychedelia that enabled more artists to once again get on board with the original No Wave ethos (such as Swans).
2.) 1986-1990 - With post-punk and new pop coming to a startling halt with the emergence of Madonna and the rise of commercial pop, Sonic Youth respond by creating four albums (EVoL, Sister, Daydream Nation, Goo), that completely transform what guitar-based rock music might sound like. Later, this 'new sound' starts getting referred to as 'Grunge' and ends up influencing pretty much EVERY guitar-based group for the next 20 years (possible a bit of an overstatement, but not much of one). Two of those albums (Daydream Nation and Goo) are to this day considered indie-rock gems.
3.) In 1989 they played a huge part in the re-emergence of Neil Young (especially for younger people who didn't grow up with Young's 70s repertoire), by touring with him and dubbing him 'the Godfather of Grunge'.
4.) Then in 1991 along with Dinosaur Jr. and an unknown young band called Nirvana, Sonic Youth creates the movie 1991: The Year Punk Broke which instituted 90s alternative rock (the film also features the only filmed live performance of 'Smells Like Teen Spirit'). A few months later, riding on the wave of success of the film, Nirvana releases Nevermind and the rest is history.
5.) 1991-2006 - Sonic Youth become the poster-band for what a group can look like going into the mainstream completely on their own terms, as the band signs a long-term contract with Geffen that allows them full creative control as well as the freedom to record on their own labels (which resulted in the creation of Ecstatic Peace! as well as the SYR series). This was also the period which saw them receive the most success in their career with the releases Dirty, Experimental Jet Set Trash and No Star, and Washing Machine. It was also during this period that they were able to reclaim their place as indie-royalty with their AWESOME releases NYC Ghosts and Flowers, Murray Street, Sonic Nurse and last years Rather Ripped.
6.) 2001 - While recording Murray Street on September 11th, an engine from one of the planes of that crashed into the World Trade Towers crashes into the wall of their recording studio. This of course leads to numerous attempts by the media to paint Sonic Youth as a story of triumph over tyranny. Sonic Youth has none of it, writing the song 'Peace Attack' criticising the War on Terror, and become one of the more vocal opponents of George Bush's administration, again leading to another resurgence of their popularity.
7.) Present - While closing in on their 50s, Sonic Youth still have the energy to pump out at least one album a year, touring constantly (and well enough to still be considered one of the best live acts to see) while still having time to be parents, husbands and wives.
And maybe to a lesser degree...
8.) August 1995 - Little Jeff Friesen sees a cool video by some group called Sonic Youth (the song was called 'Bull in the Heather'), which shows a women (Kim Gordon) riding a skateboard. Jeff gets excited because he also rides a skateboard, goes out and buys the album, gets super excited about it and shows it to his mom. His mom cries, but Jeff is introduced to a whole new era of music.
Here's why;
1.) They began in the early 80s as central figures of the No Wave movement in New York, a movement that is to this day still having a significant impact on much of the American underground (ie. Wolf Eyes, Black Dice, Animal Collective etc...). When the No Wave movement started to lose some of its steam they inserted a good dose of Psychedelia that enabled more artists to once again get on board with the original No Wave ethos (such as Swans).
2.) 1986-1990 - With post-punk and new pop coming to a startling halt with the emergence of Madonna and the rise of commercial pop, Sonic Youth respond by creating four albums (EVoL, Sister, Daydream Nation, Goo), that completely transform what guitar-based rock music might sound like. Later, this 'new sound' starts getting referred to as 'Grunge' and ends up influencing pretty much EVERY guitar-based group for the next 20 years (possible a bit of an overstatement, but not much of one). Two of those albums (Daydream Nation and Goo) are to this day considered indie-rock gems.
3.) In 1989 they played a huge part in the re-emergence of Neil Young (especially for younger people who didn't grow up with Young's 70s repertoire), by touring with him and dubbing him 'the Godfather of Grunge'.
4.) Then in 1991 along with Dinosaur Jr. and an unknown young band called Nirvana, Sonic Youth creates the movie 1991: The Year Punk Broke which instituted 90s alternative rock (the film also features the only filmed live performance of 'Smells Like Teen Spirit'). A few months later, riding on the wave of success of the film, Nirvana releases Nevermind and the rest is history.
5.) 1991-2006 - Sonic Youth become the poster-band for what a group can look like going into the mainstream completely on their own terms, as the band signs a long-term contract with Geffen that allows them full creative control as well as the freedom to record on their own labels (which resulted in the creation of Ecstatic Peace! as well as the SYR series). This was also the period which saw them receive the most success in their career with the releases Dirty, Experimental Jet Set Trash and No Star, and Washing Machine. It was also during this period that they were able to reclaim their place as indie-royalty with their AWESOME releases NYC Ghosts and Flowers, Murray Street, Sonic Nurse and last years Rather Ripped.
6.) 2001 - While recording Murray Street on September 11th, an engine from one of the planes of that crashed into the World Trade Towers crashes into the wall of their recording studio. This of course leads to numerous attempts by the media to paint Sonic Youth as a story of triumph over tyranny. Sonic Youth has none of it, writing the song 'Peace Attack' criticising the War on Terror, and become one of the more vocal opponents of George Bush's administration, again leading to another resurgence of their popularity.
7.) Present - While closing in on their 50s, Sonic Youth still have the energy to pump out at least one album a year, touring constantly (and well enough to still be considered one of the best live acts to see) while still having time to be parents, husbands and wives.
And maybe to a lesser degree...
8.) August 1995 - Little Jeff Friesen sees a cool video by some group called Sonic Youth (the song was called 'Bull in the Heather'), which shows a women (Kim Gordon) riding a skateboard. Jeff gets excited because he also rides a skateboard, goes out and buys the album, gets super excited about it and shows it to his mom. His mom cries, but Jeff is introduced to a whole new era of music.
posted by Unknown @ 11:08 AM
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