Sonic Youth

Genres:	Documentaries • Drama • Electronic & Ambient • Music & Radio • Music Videos & Concerts • Pop / Rock
Descriptive "tags":	alternative • experimental • post-punk • indie • rock • noise • noise rock • indie rock • alternative rock • no wave
Decades Active:	1980s • 1990s • 2000s
Links online:	BBC Music • MySpace • Official Homepage • Twitter • Wikipedia

Biography

A product of New York’s experimental ‘no-wave’ scene, Sonic Youth first recorded under the auspices of avant garde guitarist Glenn Branca. Thurston Moore (25 July 1958, Coral Gables, Florida, USA; guitar) and Lee Ranaldo (b. 3 February 1956, Glen Cove, New York, USA; guitar) performed together on Branca’s Symphony No. 1. With the addition of Kim Gordon (b. 28 April 1953, Rochester, New York, USA; bass) the band debuted in its own right on Branca’s Neutral label. Sonic Youth was recorded live at New York’s Radio City Music Hall in December 1981 and featured original drummer Richard Edson. Three further collections, Confusion Is Sex, Sonic Death and a mini-album, Kill Yr Idols, completed the quartet’s formative period, which was marked by their pulsating blend of discordant guitars, impassioned vocals and ferocious, compulsive drum patterns, courtesy of newcomer Jim Sclavunos, or his replacement, Bob Bert. Bad Moon Rising was the...

Read the Full Biography of Sonic Youth