This month, the independent music world was rocked by news of the breakup of Kim Gordon and Thurston Moore, the musical power couple of New York-based rock group Sonic Youth. Married since 1984, they released a brief statement announcing their split on October 14, saying that the future of the band is “uncertain” as a result of their breakup. The news was greeted with shock by most observers and commentators, as Gordon and Moore have come to symbolize the consistency and longevity of Sonic Youth, one of the most enduring bands of the 1980s and American rock music. Amidst chaotic events such as the suicide of their friend Kurt Cobain in 1994, as well as the numerous breakups and subsequent reunion tours, Moore and Gordon have remained a constant presence in the scene, until now.
Despite my longtime crush on Kim Gordon circa 1987 (let’s face it, her rant on “Kool Thing” is hot), I am deeply saddened by the dimmed prospects for Sonic Youth’s future. Though Gordon and Moore rarely have sung duets in Sonic Youth tracks and their lyrics are opaque and infrequently personal, their partnership has in many ways defined the aesthetic and image of Sonic Youth, and it is hard for me to picture the group continuing without them as a couple. Therefore, the announcement of their split affords an opportunity to assess the group’s legacy.
When surveying Sonic Youth’s discography, an immediately salient fact is the range of time over which they have produced excellent records. From the brilliant mid-80s series of classics (Evol, Sister and the epochal Daydream Nation), to their twenty-first-century renaissance that includes Murray Street and Sonic Nurse, Sonic Youth has maintained an astonishing rate of production littered with masterpieces. Their last LP, 2009’s The Eternal, gave no indication that they planned on slowing down, even though it was an album with a simple rock aesthetic not too keen experimentation. Daydream Nation is recognized as one of the greatest American albums of all time, as well as one of my own personal favorites, in any genre, and many bands, even Nirvana, My Bloody Valentine and other numerous members of the experimentalist postrock movement have acknowledged their enormous influence on the genre.
How central was the partnership of Gordon and Moore to these successes? The band’s second guitarist, Lee Ranaldo, always pens and sings several songs per album (think of him as Sonic Youth’s George Harrison). He’s a key influence in the group’s overall style, but in my view, at least, it has been the tension between the competing approaches of Gordon and Moore that has made Sonic Youth a great original.
Moore (as well as Ranaldo) was trained by the avant-garde guitarist and composer Glenn Branca. It is due in part to Moore’s songwriting influence that Sonic Youth is widely credited with revolutionizing guitar tuning techniques and introducing numerous other innovations to American rock music. Critic Stephen Erlewine went as far to say that the band “redefined what rock guitar could do.” His contribution of experimentalist style with formal musical acumen makes him one of the best guitarists of his era, in addition to a fine vocalist in his own right to boot.
Gordon, on the other hand, had little musical training before joining Sonic Youth and is probably the least accomplished musician in the band (She is Sonic Youth’s bassist and, for the record, she can thrash). What she brings, however, is a fierce energy, powerful convictions and a haunting, often spoken-word, vocal style that has become a trademark and one of the most recognizable elements of the band’s style. What she contributes to the band is a political sensibility and a palpable energy.
The band’s most sublime moments occur when those two tendencies, the daring musical experimentation of Moore and the harsh singing and narrative style of Gordon, clash. A perfect example of this phenomenon is “‘Cross the Breeze” off Daydream Nation. The music thumps at a furious pace, with meandering guitar parts, while Gordon spat such great one-liners as “Let’s go walkin’ on the water / Now you think I’m Satan’s daughter” and “I took a look into the hate / It made me feel very up-to-date,” while oozing seduction and a bracing, violent sexuality. There, as in many of Sonic Youth’s best moments, the bold and powerful melodies and the shocking lyrics and vocals come perfectly to a head.
It is a great loss for independent music that, because of this split, we may never hear another new Sonic Youth song. But over the past thirty years, the partnership between Thurston Moore and Kim Gordon has given us more than enough enduring music to listen to over and over again, and as they go their separate ways, we will find new ways to interpret Sonic Youth’s legacy.
Some critics have pointed out signs of relationship strain in the lyrical content of the past few albums. It’s worth taking a second listen to “I Love You Golden Blue,” “Turquoise Boy,” and “Massage the History” for Kim Gordon’s view; “Incinerate,” “Antenna,” and pretty much the entire “Demolished Thoughts” solo album for Thurston Moore’s.