Sonic Youth is by many seen as pioneers of experimentalism. Sonic Youth formed in 1981 and do indeed hail from the experimental No-wave scene of New York. The band is famous for its distinctive sound which is a wonderful blend of discordant and distorted guitars; ferocious, compulsive drum patterns and impassioned vocals. Over the years, the band's lineup has changed a few times, but initially the band comprised Thurston Moore (song/guitar - 1958), Kim Gordon (song/bass - 1953), Ann DeMarinis (guitar) and Richard Edson (drums). The band's first public appearence was at The Noise Festival in 1981 which was also the only show that saw DeMarinis as part of the lineup as she left shortly thereafter. She was replaced by Lee Ranaldo (guitar - 1956). In 1982, the band released their self-titled debut EP which was out on the label Neutral (Neutral was formed by the aknowdleged experimental artist Glenn Branca who also introduced Moore to Ranaldo). After Sonic Youth was released, Edson decided to pursue his career with his other band Konk, thus he left Sonic Youth. Sonic Youth was an impressive piece of work considering the limited time and the low budget spent on making it.

In 1983, the band released their second album Confusion is Sex. This album very well manifests the noisefest that being part of the early 80's New York No-wave scene was - raw, in your face and to a certain extend a very "physical" record. This "wildness" was also illustrated in the band's energetic performances on stage where all inhibitions were thrown out. On Confusion is Sex, Edson was replaced by Jim Sclavunos who became the band's drummer for a year. Nowadays, the version of Confusion is Sex includes its follow-up EP, Kill Yr Idols. These two releases show the New York noise-guitar quartet at their most uncompromising - including bizarre tunings and guitars attacked with screwdrivers, vibrators and other implements.

From September 1984 to January 1985, Sonic Youth were in the studio working on their third album Bad Moon Rising. The album was out in 1985 and yet again, the band's drummer had been replaced, this time Bob Bert was behind the drumkit. Bad Moon Rising also saw the guest appearence by poet/singer Lydia Lynch on the track Valley '69. This was the first Sonic Youth album to secure a widespread release in both the USA and Britain. A year later, the band released E.V.O.L. which anticipated Sonic Youth's evolving pop sensibilities while at the same time, it remained faithful to their "old" distinctive sound. Before E.V.O.L. was released, Bert had left the band and instead, Steve Shelley (1963) joined (Shelley also drums on Thurston's solo album Psychic Hearts).

Sonic Youth have released so many great albums by now that it will take up way too much space on my website to write about them all. However, here is a list of most of their releases (the list is by no means complete):

Sister - 1987: A classic that moved Sonic Youth even further from the self-conscious punk rock that marked their two first releases.

Made In USA - Music From The Original 1986 Motion Picture Soundtrack - 1986.

Daydream Nation - 1988: The double album that brought Sonic Youth to the attention of a wider audience and prompted the eager interest of a handful of major labels.

Goo - 1990: This was Sonic Youth's major label (released on Geffen) debut and allowed the band to blend its skewed sense of aesthetic and cultural criticism into a more understandable stab at pop culture.

Dirty - 1992: An amazing album with a couple of pointed political attacks.

Experimental Jet Set, Trash & No Star - 1994: Casual acoustic! The fact that each song is like a separate world in itself makes this record one of the most fiercely original albums to ever break the Billboard charts!

Washing Machine - 1995: With this album, Sonic Youth return to the ringing electric guitars, clever songwriting and multi-layered arrangements that are the band's calling card. It also features Kim Deal (from The Pixies) on backing vocals on Trouble Girl.

Screaming Fields Of Sonic Love - 1995: A re-issuing of their back-catalogue; a "greatest hits" package.

SYR1-3 - 1997-8: Three EPs of mostly instrumental music. Released on Sonic Youth's own label.

A Thousand Leaves - 1998: Another album that illustrates the band's restless experimentalism. Somewhat a full-length continuation of the SYR mini-albums. Check out the brilliant single Sunday. The majority of the songs on this LP are "quieter" than one would normally expect from Sonic Youth and very long too...

NYC Ghosts & Flowers - 2000: On this album, the band is accompanied by the Chicago omnimusician and producer Jim O'Rourke. Here, Sonic Youth have sometwhat changed their style a bit. This was mainly due to the fact that when touring to promote A Thousand Leaves, all their equipment was stolen and never found again...

Also worth knowing:
In 1993 Kim Gordon co-founded her own clothing line called X-Girl. It is basically the women's branch of skate-couture line X-Large, which is sold in its own shops in L.A. and New York. Designed by stylist Daisy von Furth and Sonic Youth's Kim Gordon, the X-Girl brand was introduced in the spring of 1994 at a commando-style fashion show in the streets of SoHo in New York City. For more information, please contact:

X-Girl Inc 225 Lafayette St New York NY 10012-4015 USA
Tel: 212-219-2407

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