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I've been listening to Sonic Youth since Evol. Their live sound got better as they aged, which doesn't happen for a lot of bands. This show from Austin City Lim

I've been listening to Sonic Youth since Evol. Their live sound got better as they aged, which doesn't happen for a lot of bands. This show from Austin City Limits in 2011, months before they broke up, captures it pretty well: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1O8VLwh1Na0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1O8VLwh1Na0 An underappreciated aspect of Sonic Youth is the drumming of Steve Shelley. He kept many of the discordant songs together and provided a driving beat (when needed) with some very creative fills and accents. I worked at a college radio station when Kool Thing came out and we got an alt mix or B side take on a 45 that was incredible thanks to his drumming. For further reading on the early history of the band, I recommend Our Band Could Be Your Life: Scenes from the American Indie Underground, 1981-1991. https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/michael-azerrad/our-band-could-be-your-life/9780316247184/?lens=little-brown https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/michael-azerrad/our... Like Thurston said in the NYT interview, everyone is asking for Sonic Youth to reform for performances but I can't see Kim going along with it. OTOH Talking Heads got back together for the documentary release after David Byrne burned the proverbial bridges, so who knows?

WOOKIE_pizza 3y ago
> This show from Austin City Limits... captures it pretty well Wow, that show is nothing less than epic! Thanks for sharing +1
_jal 3y ago
Same, but I didn't get to see them live until Daydream Nation. Those shows were a lot of fun, but yeah, I was only catching the end of that, but earlier shows were... noisy. It took them a while to get art-rock inaccessibility-as-cred out of their system. Or maybe Moore is just really self-indulgent. Or both. You never know what will happen, but after reading _Girl in a Band_, I don't think Deal is interested.
- ilamont 3y ago
  I have a Dutch import of a live Sonic Youth club show from Amsterdam in the mid 80s. It's practically unlistenable. I get that their crucible was art/punk/experimental/psychedelic but it would be some years before they put away the power drills and lava lamps and got down to being a solid live rock band. Their studio efforts from the early era were better IMHO.
  - _jal 3y ago
    > Their studio efforts from the early era were better IMHO. Oh, absolutely. I still listen to Evol and Sister fairly regularly. The noise shows were a lot of fun to be at when I was a kid, but I wouldn't want to listen to them again.
- brian626 3y ago
  I think you’re getting your 90s rock goddess Kims confused, though it would be cool to hear a Breeders/SY combination!
ideamotor 3y ago
Really good to hear that since I only saw them once and it was near the end, despite driving a car with a sonic youth bumper sticker for fifteen years. Thanks for the link!
cammikebrown 3y ago
Appearing together, and actually performing together are two very different things

WOOKIE_pizza 3y ago

> This show from Austin City Limits... captures it pretty well Wow, that show is nothing less than epic! Thanks for sharing +1

_jal 3y ago

Same, but I didn't get to see them live until Daydream Nation. Those shows were a lot of fun, but yeah, I was only catching the end of that, but earlier shows were... noisy. It took them a while to get art-rock inaccessibility-as-cred out of their system. Or maybe Moore is just really self-indulgent. Or both. You never know what will happen, but after reading _Girl in a Band_, I don't think Deal is interested.

ilamont 3y ago
I have a Dutch import of a live Sonic Youth club show from Amsterdam in the mid 80s. It's practically unlistenable. I get that their crucible was art/punk/experimental/psychedelic but it would be some years before they put away the power drills and lava lamps and got down to being a solid live rock band. Their studio efforts from the early era were better IMHO.
- _jal 3y ago
  > Their studio efforts from the early era were better IMHO. Oh, absolutely. I still listen to Evol and Sister fairly regularly. The noise shows were a lot of fun to be at when I was a kid, but I wouldn't want to listen to them again.
brian626 3y ago
I think you’re getting your 90s rock goddess Kims confused, though it would be cool to hear a Breeders/SY combination!

ideamotor 3y ago

Really good to hear that since I only saw them once and it was near the end, despite driving a car with a sonic youth bumper sticker for fifteen years. Thanks for the link!

cammikebrown 3y ago

Appearing together, and actually performing together are two very different things