Sonic Youth Come Home

Congratulations to Sonic Youth, true Real New Yorkers and the busiest band around. You’d think a group who was just recognized by the Library Of Congress would sit back and enjoy the honor bestowed on them. Not these kids — they’ve been hustling and working hard, barely stopping to take a breath. That may be why they’ve managed to keep on being experimental and viable, long after similar groups implode.

But we’re getting ahead of ourselves. The Library Of Congress’ music preservation wing, the National Recording Registry, nominated Sonic Youth’s 1988 album Daydream Nation as an album “culturally, historically, or aesthetically important that informs or reflects life in the United States.” (You can find them HERE, at the bottom of the list — scroll down to #198.) It’s one of the only rock albums to get such an official distinction, and one of only two albums on the list to come out of the punk underground. The other is Nirvana’s Nevermind. Ironic, considering that SY helped discover Nirvana. Look for a documentary called The Year Punk Broke and you’ll see what we mean.

Sonic Youth are currently working on a compilation of B-sides and rarities, titled The Destroyed Room and scheduled for a December release. But the band members are all-around artists, not just musicians. If you can make it up to Washington Square TONIGHT, October 26th, you can catch SY member Thurston Moore doing a reading at NYU’s Fales Library. Moore and Kim Gordon have also collaborated with friend & ex-bandmate Jim O’Rourke for a visual art show at the PS1 Contemporary Art Center in Long Island City. Their exhibit, “Music Is a Better Noise,” opens October 29th and runs through January 8th. Kim Gordon will also be premiering a multimedia film called Perfect Partner that combines live music with projected video. Catch it on October 27th and 28th across the river at Montclair State University in NJ. Experience art & music created by fellow Real New Yorkers who’ve been recognized around the world as a force to be reckoned with.

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sonic youth kim gordon thurston moore ps1 fales library jim o’rourke

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