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Thurston Moore Revisits His Sonic Youth

nytimes.com

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Re: Thurston Moore Revisits His Sonic Youth

#51

Post by justinator »

adw wrote: post #47
Modified3019 wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Huh, well that’s disappointing to hear. This sort of thing is why I basically never look into the personal lives of artists.

The whole backstory here is, to say the least, complex, extends over about a decade, and is important subtext for the last few SY records. Starting around 2003, Jim O'Rourke (go listen to Bad Timing and Insignificance, which are both amazing records and very different to each other) was in a relationship with Eva Prinz while she was in a (maybe?) open marriage to her first husband. In some order, then: * Jim and Eva…

Kim and Thurston were in an open marriage beforehand, so add a layer of complexity.

Re: Thurston Moore Revisits His Sonic Youth

#52

Post by justinator »

nativespecies wrote: post #29
jkern wrote: post #21

I enjoy Sonic Youth a fair bit, but in the majority of cases find Thurston Moore completely uncompelling as a singer.

Some of the worst lyrics in the biz for sure

Teenage Riot is a masterpiece.

Looking for a ride to your secret location

Where the kids are setting up a free-speed nation for you

Got a foghorn and a drum and a hammer that's rockin'

And a cord and a pedal and a lock, that'll do me for now

Re: Thurston Moore Revisits His Sonic Youth

#53

Post by gdubs »

Met Thurston when he came to Bard College back in the early 00s. He did a small poetry thing and had brought his electric guitar and an amp and at the end of his reading he shredded for us for a bit. Then he hung out afterwards for a while. Super chill dude.

Sonic Youth is such an interesting group because they're hugely influential, like the Pixies, among musicians — and yet for as famous as they became, Nirvana really took the genre mainstream. Not that Nirvana was necessarily super happy about that.

Re: Thurston Moore Revisits His Sonic Youth

#54

Post by rufus_foreman »

adw wrote: post #47
Modified3019 wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Huh, well that’s disappointing to hear. This sort of thing is why I basically never look into the personal lives of artists.

The whole backstory here is, to say the least, complex, extends over about a decade, and is important subtext for the last few SY records. Starting around 2003, Jim O'Rourke (go listen to Bad Timing and Insignificance, which are both amazing records and very different to each other) was in a relationship with Eva Prinz while she was in a (maybe?) open marriage to her first husband. In some order, then: * Jim and Eva…

>> the whole thing is remarkably cliched rock-and-roll nonsense

They were married almost 30 years. It's a rock cliche to be dead by the age of 30, not to get a divorce after being married that long.

Re: Thurston Moore Revisits His Sonic Youth

#56

Post by rufus_foreman »

microtonal wrote: post #38
art-not wrote: post #9

I've mostly fell out of listening to Sonic Youth, but it was the first band to ever open my eyes to the idea of 'weird' music. I think a lot of who I am today began with that first experience, when I first listened to Evol. While I don't listen to them much anymore, I still put on Washing Machine from time to time. I'd argue that is their best work.

Sonic Youth was a large part of my high school sound track. I had some class mates who were also into indie music, I lent my copy of Washing Machine to one of them, when she returned it to me she looked at me as if I was insane (or at least my taste in music). Evol/Sister/Daydream Nation were my favorites though.

>> Evol/Sister/Daydream Nation were my favorites though

Same here but I would add in Bad Moon Rising which is certainly appropriate for this time of year.

Re: Thurston Moore Revisits His Sonic Youth

#58

Post by mturmon »

nativespecies wrote: post #27
throwaway743 wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Damn we were at the same show dude. That was a great one. Saw them two other times in the northeast a year or so before that one and man they (did :/ ) put on a hell of a show. Random side note, saw Kim Gordon at a book signing in Brooklyn like 10 years ago (iirc post-Sonic Youth), and man she was looking rough unfortunately and was really out of it. Guess the whole situation she and everyone was dealing with took a…

Kim is fine, she is not "rough" by any means. Thriving actually, from my IRL interactions.

Yeah, I've been to 2 recent shows of hers at Zebulon in LA. Definitely still bringing the noise and intensity.

Re: Thurston Moore Revisits His Sonic Youth

#59

Post by OfSanguineFire »

nativespecies wrote: post #29
jkern wrote: post #21

I enjoy Sonic Youth a fair bit, but in the majority of cases find Thurston Moore completely uncompelling as a singer.

Some of the worst lyrics in the biz for sure

The older I get, and the more my knowledge of poetry has expanded, the more turned off I am by the doggerel that most popular-music lyrics are. My rock listening is increasingly limited to shoegaze, a genre where the vocals get so submerged in the mix, you can’t even make out the words and nothing hinders you from enjoying the pure sound.
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