Sonic Youth

‘The Perks Of Being A Wallflower’ Soundtrack Channels ’70s, ’80s & ’90s Angst

Robbie Daw | August 20, 2012 1:37 pm
Robbie Daw | August 20, 2012 1:37 pm

noah | June 24, 2009 4:45 pm
noah | June 24, 2009 4:45 pm

902sIt took them a long time, but finally–finally!–Sonic Youth have nabbed the coveted “Artist On The Verge” tag from the big-box retailer Target. Way to go, guys! (Click through for the full-sized pic.) More »


Sonic Youth Make Eagle-Eyed Viewers Play A Guessing Game

noah | June 23, 2009 10:30 am
noah | June 23, 2009 10:30 am


Sonic Youth’s performance of “No Way” on last night’s Late Night With Jimmy Fallon was straight fire, with the band ripping through the track in such a way that made this observer think that she really, really needs to see them live again soon. In addition to the awesome performance, there’s an Easter egg of sorts for those of you who want to watch the clip again and again: If you look closely, you’ll notice that most of the camera angles are expressly designed to avoid getting Thurston Moore’s shirt, which Late Night drummer/band Twitter-leader ?uestlove called “the riskiest shirt ive ever seen on broadcast tv,” all the way into any shot. All I can make out is a shirtless dude with a slightly bent arm… [YouTube] More »



Sonic Youth Burn The Eternal Flame

noah | June 8, 2009 10:00 am
noah | June 8, 2009 10:00 am

theeternalOur look at the closing lines of the week’s biggest new-music reviews continues with a roundup of reactions to the 15th studio album by Sonic Youth, The Eternal, which arrives in stores tomorrow and is currently streaming on iLike: More »


Kim Gordon, Voice Of Reason

noah | June 5, 2009 12:30 pm
noah | June 5, 2009 12:30 pm

pressbw300rgb-300x228In a long-ranging interview with The Guardian, Sonic Youth’s Kim Gordon touched on the “whole machinery you have to build up” in order to sell an album these days, and why the whole idea of “The Radiohead Model” is at its core an art-devaluing myth: More »


St. Etienne Offered Botox By Inspired New TV Program

anthonyjmiccio | June 5, 2008 10:30 am
anthonyjmiccio | June 5, 2008 10:30 am


The producers of Bands Go Pop! want to provide physical training, cosmetics and even cosmetic surgery for “bands who provided the soundtrack to our youth but who now for whatever reason no longer look like the poster picture that once adorned the walls of the nations teenagers.” According to Popbitch, they naturally decided to offer their services to St. Etienne, who understandably declined. Still, I hope the producers aren’t too dismayed by this cold shoulder. Judging by the recent actions of once defiant bands like R.E.M. and Metallica, plenty of artists will take any measures necessary to attempt to reclaim their former glory. We’ve got some recommendations.

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Sonic Youth Reveals Tracklisting For Daring Friend-Curated Hit Comp

anthonyjmiccio | May 22, 2008 11:30 am
anthonyjmiccio | May 22, 2008 11:30 am

sonicyouth.jpgAs may you may have heard, Sonic Youth has decided to skip the traditional best-of route, instead getting famous friends like Mike D, Radiohead and Eddie Vedder to pick less familiar, more personal choices like “100%,” “Kool Thing,” and “Teen Age Riot.” Only six of the fifteen older titles selected have never received a video treatment, and one of those is “Expressway To Yr Skull.” This basically leaves “Stones,” “Tuff Gnarl,” “Rain On Tin,” “Tom Violence” and “The World Looks Red” as genuinely surprising tracks to find on a SY comp, so thank you Allison Anders, Dave Eggers, Flea, Gus Van Sant, and Chloe Sevigny. Hits Are For Squares? Wouldn’t a more accurate title have been Starpower? Let’s attempt to deduce the curators’ logic.

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noah | April 9, 2008 9:30 am
noah | April 9, 2008 9:30 am

As previously reported in this space, the spaz-pop outfit the Feelies are reuniting for a few shows this summer, and one of those shows will take place on July 4. They’re opening for Sonic Youth! At Battery Park! More »


“Daydream Nation” Art Goes On The Auction Block

noah | February 18, 2008 12:10 pm
noah | February 18, 2008 12:10 pm

candle.jpgThe image at left is a reproduction of Gerhard Richter’s painting “Kerze (Candle),” which you may recognize as the painting reproduced for the cover of Sonic Youth’s Daydream Nation. Should you be a big enough fan of the band–or of art that, according to auction house Sotheby’s, “radiates inspirational tranquillity and is the shining embodiment of Hubertus Butin’s statement that ‘no still-life motif has been such an object of fascination for Richter as the subject of the candle”–and you happen to have a spare £1.8 million-£2.5 million ($3.54 million-$4.91 million) floating around your bank accounts, the painting can be yours; it’s being put up as part of a contemporary art auction at Sotheby’s next week, alongside works by Jeff Koons and Andy Warhol. After the jump, the auction catalog weighs in on Richter’s painting, which was part of a series that began as a response to the Pop Art movement, turning into an iconic image of its own.

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Project X Presents <em>Sense and Sensibility</em>, Starring Kim Gordon and “Fact” Magazine

mmatos | December 17, 2007 1:30 am
mmatos | December 17, 2007 1:30 am

kimsmelon.jpgAs part of Idolator’s continuing effort to geekily analyze every music chart known to man, we present a new edition of Project X, in which Jackin’ Pop editor Michaelangelo Matos breaks down rankings from every genre imaginable. After the click-through, he tries on a pair of very different sensibilities thanks to 2007 Top 10 lists from Sonic Youth’s Kim Gordon and the U.K.’s Fact magazine:

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