Sonic Youth was an American rock band formed in New York City in 1981. Founding members Kim Gordon (bass, vocals, guitar), Thurston Moore (lead guitar, vocals) and Lee Ranaldo (rhythm guitar, vocals) remained together for the entire history of the band, while Steve Shelley (drums) followed a series of short-term drummers in 1985, rounding out the core line-up. Jim O’Rourke (bass, guitar, keyboards) was also a member of the band from 1999 to 2005, and Mark Ibold (bass, guitar) was a member from 2006 to 2011.
Sonic Youth emerged from the experimental no wave art and music scene in New York before evolving into a more conventional rock band and becoming a prominent member of the American noise rock scene. Sonic Youth has been praised for having “redefined what rock guitar could do” using a wide variety of unorthodox guitar tunings while preparing guitars with objects like drumsticks and screwdrivers to alter the instruments’ timbre. The band was a pivotal influence on the alternative and indie rock movements.
The band gained a large underground following and critical praise through releases with SST Records in the late 1980s. In 1990, Sonic Youth released Goo, their first album for Geffen. The album featured the single “Kool Thing” on which Public Enemy’s Chuck D made a guest appearance. The record was considered much more accessible than their previous works and became the band’s best-selling record to date. In 1992, the band released Dirty on the DGC label. Their influence as tastemakers continued with their discovery of acclaimed skateboard video director Spike Jonze, who they recruited for the video for “100%”, which also featured skateboarder turned actor Jason Lee. That song and “JC” discuss the murder of Joe Cole, a friend who worked with Black Flag as a roadie. The album features artwork by Los Angeles–based artist Mike Kelley. Dirty features a guest appearance by Ian MacKaye on the track “Youth Against Fascism”. In 1993, the band contributed the track “Burning Spear” to the AIDS benefit album No Alternative, produced by the Red Hot Organization.
In 1994, the band released Experimental Jet Set, Trash and No Star, their best-charting release in the United States to date at No. 34 on the Billboard 200. Moore and Gordon’s daughter, Coco Hayley Moore, was born later that year, and many of the songs from the album were never played live because there was never a full tour to support the album due to Gordon’s pregnancy. In 1994, the band released a cover of the Carpenters’ 1971 hit “Superstar” for the tribute album If I Were a Carpenter. The band headlined the 1995 Lollapalooza festival with Hole and Pavement. By that time, alternative rock had gained considerable mainstream attention, and the festival was parodied in The Simpsons episode “Homerpalooza” in 1996, which featured voiceovers from the band. They also performed the final credits theme for that episode.
In 2003, Sonic Youth released a split 7-inch single with Erase Errata. The next Sonic Youth album, Sonic Nurse, was also released in 2004. The band was slated to perform in the 2004 Lollapalooza tour along with acts such as the Pixies and the Flaming Lips, but the tour was cancelled due to lacklustre ticket sales. O’Rourke departed in 2006 and was replaced by bassist Mark Ibold for touring purposes, but Ibold later became a full-time member. He had earlier been part of Pavement and worked with Gordon in Free Kitten. The band disbanded in 2011 following the separation and subsequent divorce of Gordon and Moore, with their final live shows taking place in Brazil. The members have since asserted that the band is finished and will not reunite.
