Sonic Youth are an alternative rock band formed in 1981 as part of the "No Wave" music scene in New York. No Wave bands feature a DIY attitude and lots of noise and distortion. Sonic Youth are lead by husband and wife team Thurston Moore and Kim Gordon, who share vocal duties. They use unconventional tunings and altered guitar sounds to form a sort of alien modern rock sound. "When you're playing in standard tunings... things sound pretty conventional," says Moore.
Although the band formed in 1981, they did not receive international critical attention until 1986 and the release of the album Evol. Commercial success would follow two years later with their album Daydream Nation and probably their most recognizable song, "Teenage Riot." They would follow it up with another hit album, Goo, and the song "Kool Thing" featuring Chuck D of Public Enemy on vocals. In 1992, they released their next album, Dirty. The video for Dirty's hit single, "100%," marks the directorial debut of skateboard director and famed music video director Spike Jonze, and also the acting debut of skateboarder Jason Lee, who would go on to star in movies such as "Mallrats" and "Vanilla Sky," as well as the title character in the TV show "My Name is Earl."
Sonic Youth are currently touring in support of their new album, The Eternal. OTB went to the show on July 2nd at the Electric Factory, and they still sound great. Their reputation for noise rock does not prevent them from playing actual tunes. They stayed away from playing old favorites and played mostly songs from the new album, including the lead single "Sacred Trickster." The crowd really enjoyed the show and Sonic Youth returned to the stage twice for encores.
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