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Sonic Youth

Signed to label: Geffen
From: New York, New York State

  • Kim Gordon - vocals, bass
  • Thurston Moore - vocals, guitar
  • Lee Ranaldo - guitar
  • Steve Shelley - drums
  • Bob Bert - drums
  • Richard Edson - drums
  • Jim Sclavunos - drums

Sonic Youth formed in 1981. Their first show was at the noise festival in New York that year. This was the only show that Ann DeMarinus played in the line-up. Richard Edson of Konk did the drumming for the band. Around that time Thurston got to know Glenn Branca who was one of the most important experimental artists at that time. He introduced Thurston to Lee who had been playing with Glenn. Sonic Youth's first record the 'Sonic Youth EP' was released on Glenn's own label Neutral Records. Everyone, including the band members, were amazed how well the record came off, considering the limited time and budget that was spent on it. Just before the recording of their second album Confusion Is Sex, released in 1983, Jim Sclavonous took Edson's place behind the drums.

In an interview with Guido Chiesa, Kim says: 'our music changed a lot since our first record...our second LP, [CIS] is more what we are, more emotional'. The band’s performance on stage certainly was very wild and energetic. Of this Thurston says: 'it's a way of throwing out all your inhibitions, knocking down all barriers to emotion'. Jim Sclavonous took Edson's place behind the drums for Confusion Is Sex.

During this period Sonic Youth developed their distinctive style with a emphasis on the sound textures. Bad Moon Rising, on which Bob Bert drums, clearly marks this transformation, with on the one hand the loud Death Valley'69 but also the refined way in which the greater part of the songs flow into each other. Repetition and development on themes become more predominant in the music. After the European BMR tour Bob Bert was replaced by Steve Shelley as the drummer for the band. Steve had been a great fan of the band and his influence on their development is apparent in the first album on which he drums EVOL. There is a much greater variation of styles on EVOL than on previous albums. The name of the album is a reference to the theme of accepting multiplicity, rather than expressing opposed dualism’s (EVOL spelling LOVE backwards). Thurston explains this as 'Our nature is to bring together good and evil in a single element'. The band had also moved to SST record label during this period. This label was founded by Black Flag, Henry Rollins former punk band.

The Late 80's are the peak period of Sonic Youth's independent period. Both Sister and Bad Moon Rising are highly regarded albums and 'Schizophrenia', the opening track of Sister, has a haunting quality to it. The experience of playing together has made the sound tighter but also richer. It's been suggested that the writing of Philip K. Dick (author of Blade Runner) influenced Sister. Lyrically the album certainly seems to make use of more complex imagery although the themes are still the same. The rich guitar textures that make up Sister are even more predominant on their next release Daydream Nation. Technically it is seen as a masterpiece of experimental guitar playing. Thurston, Lee and Kim all seem completely comfortable expressing their own views within a solid musical framework. DDN was released as a double album on Blast First records. During this period Sonic Youth also recorded Ciccone Youth's The Whitey Album together with Gregg Ginn and Mike Watt. 1988 also saw the release of the 'Master=Dik EP', a highly experimental record which never had much impact. When Sonic Youth joined the David Geffen label to record Goo there were concerns how the band would develop in a commercial environment.

Thurston has always made it clear that their total artistic freedom was a vital demand in their acceptance to record for the label. Acutely aware of outside perception Goo was to become a spoof on commercial recordings in many ways. Unfortunately this diverted the band from the path that they had been following with the preceding albums, making Goo a somewhat disappointing record to most. The tension between the commercial interests of Geffen and the development of Sonic Youth also became apparent on their second Geffen release Dirty. Lee Ranaldo was not happy with the way the producer Butch Vig influenced the album. Only one song of Lee ended up on the album. 'This period was the closest Sonic Youth ever came to breaking up' Lee would later proclaim. Despite the tensions recording the album, Dirty turned out to be a much more successful album than Goo. This could certainly be attributed to the fact that it is one of the most listener friendly albums by Sonic Youth.

Experimental Jet Set, Trash and No Star seem to point to a more experimental sound to Sonic Youth again. Not as a reaction to their commercial label, as Goo was, but as a sign of the band getting more comfortable and confident in their new position. Although less successful than it's predecessor, EJS has a much greater variation to it. Unfortunately Lee did not sing on this album, but he would return vocally for their next release Washing Machine. Perhaps it can be said that it took EJS for the band to reinvent itself. Everything seems to fall into place again on WM. Two wonderful Beat-like songs by Lee. Some strong vocals by Kim and Thurston's dreamy images. The greatest impact, no doubt, can be attributed to the closing track the 'Diamond Sea'. The most successful and cohesive example of sound-scaping produced by the band. Despite of it's length (19:33) it manages to remain engaging throughout. The longer format allowed the band to develop their mastery of weaving sounds to the maximum. A trilogy of records SY1, SY2 and SY3 would follow released on their own label, pushing the limits even further.

As their final release of the 90's Sonic Youth produced A Thousand Leaves for Geffen. It mixes tunes that are quite easy to listen to with some highly experimental tracks. Making it difficult to predict the bands future development. Their mastery of sound-scaping is at such an advanced level that the predominant musical format (3-5 minute songs) doesn't allow the band to express their abilities. Unfortunately this makes it hard for the band to reach a wide audience, as the time people take to consume a piece of information seems to get ever shorter. Artistically the band is widely regarded as being of great influence on the music scene over the past two decades. Perhaps Sonic Youth will be regarded as the greatest band never to make it big. It's doubtful though if they would have had the same influence if their development would have put them into a position where they did have mass appeal. Fashions by nature change over time and many of the most popular bands of five years ago are nowhere to be seen or heard of today. The audience who appreciates Sonic Youth will be able to enjoy the fruits of their labour for many more years to come.

Biography from www.xs4all.nl/~bigron/sonic/lyrics.html

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