iconic nyc band sonic youth currently consist of thurston moore (vocals and guitar), kim gordon (vocals, bass, guitar), lee ranaldo (vocals and guitar), mark ibold (bass) and steve shelley (drums).  when they formed in 1981 they were associated with the no wave movement, a subgenre of underground u.s. hardcore punk.  as a result they were pivotal to the development of what we now call alternative rock.

 while other bands of that era like r.e.m. and hüsker dü created fairly conventional songs in terms of melody and structure, sonic youth disregarded that convention.  finding influence in glenn branca, rhys chatham, the velvet underground, the stooges, patti smith and john cage, they were known for creating an avant-garde sound by tuning their guitar to unorthodox settings and playing guitar with drumsticks and screwdrivers: they redefined the idea of noise and what rock guitar could do.

 when the band first formed, none of them could have ever imagined the commercial and critical success they would achieve or the countless number of free thinkers and artists they would influence.

 in the 1990s, the band were a college radio fixture and were emulated by bands around the world. eventually their sound became more focused and less free-form, but maintained their “noise” focus.

"they are one of the most influential bands in rock history, but not in the typical way you would expect... their influence is much broader in a way," writer david browne says. "their influence is showing bands, younger bands, dating back from the early '90s up through now, that you can kind of work within the system and still do what you do, and still maintain your credibility."

 sonic youth released their 16th studio album, the eternal, june 09, 2009.  npr describes the album as “among the band's finest, with a fuzzy, tightly orchestrated mix of psych-punk rock and noisy jams.”

click here for july 07, 2009 set recorded at d.c.'s 9:30 club by npr's all songs considered.  click here for a january 27,2009 day to day interview and profile recorded by npr.  click here for an august 21, 2006 in-studio set and interview recorded by wxpn for world café.  click here for a june 13, 2008 bryant park project interview and profile recorded by npr.  click here for a june 12, 2006 npr's all things considered story.  click here for an august 26, 2002 in-studio set and interview recorded by kcrw's morning becomes eclectic.  don't forget, the album cover image always links to sample songs and the band's image to their website.

check here to see if sonic youth have any gigs scheduled near you.

as always, please buy this album from your local independent music store by people who know and love music and not from retailers like wal-mart (soulless, globally-homogenizing, community-killers) or i-tunes (albums should be listened to as an entire composition with album cover and liner notes in hand).  incidentally, these two companies sell more music than any other retailer in the united states.  that my friend, bites.