Finished Sa 8/16/14
This was borrowed from the library and I read it, off and on, for a couple of weeks. But, if you have any interest in the band, I don't think there is anything better or more all-inclusive.
A stellar, in-depth biography of the band, and I especially enjoyed the 'early years' section. Although the book was released in 2008, that pretty much was near the end of the band. The last band album was in 2009, THE ETERNAL.
The book opens with the author marveling that Itunes filed one of their early releases under the category of, 'Unclassifiable'. I've often wondered about who comes up with these ridiculous categories, and 'Alternative' to what???
Kim Gordon (1953), Thurston Moore (1958) Lee Ranaldo (1956) Steve Shelley (1962)
Kim born in Rochester, NY but raised in Southern California. Her father was an academic; Sociology professor.
Thurston was born in Coral Gables, FL, but raised in Bethel, CN. Although he went to college for a couple of years, he never graduated and became one of the early people on NY's Scum Rock Scene. His father was also a teacher, but on the high school level. Kim had a degree and she offered the panache of Art and Education, and he had the 'street creds'.
Renaldo was born on Long Island, and was in the Glenn Branca electric guitar orchestra. Numerous electric guitars droning on the same note, or different notes to create alternative sounds and timbres. Moore was also a fan of this type of sound, and was crucial for the flavor of SY.
Steve Shelley is much younger than the other band members, but in the beginning seemed like the 'mature' voice that was lacking from the rest of the members. He seemed to manage the band when the other three members got 'up in the clouds'. He had experience of playing 'on the road' with the punk band, THE CRUCIFUCKS. This band was signed to Jello Biafra's label, Alternative Tentacles
The band mostly were their own 'agents and managers'
Jim O'Rourke is an amazing character and he seems to be the musical genius that influenced much of the music that I really like. The later Sonic Youth and the best stuff by Wilco (YANKEE HOTEL FOXTROT, A GHOST IS BORN)
The sound of the band is a distillation of No Wave. At first SY dropped melody for a chance to experiment with the power of raw sound. They used cheap guitars, weirdly tuned, and often jammed paraphernalia under the strings to create otherworldly sounds.
Link to Amazon Customer Reviews page-
http://www.amazon.com/Goodbye-20th-Century-Biography-Sonic/product-reviews/0306816032/ref=cm_cr_dp_see_all_btm?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1&sortBy=bySubmissionDateDescending
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