The two principle writers of this blog are, unsurprisingly, music students. With studying music comes the (occasional) possibility of interesting essay titles. So, if ever an interesting essay regarding contemporary popular music crops up, we'll air it on the Hydrogen Jukebox. Here's Jarv's...
Sonic Youth are a seminal band, formed in 1981, from New York City. The group is comprised of members Thurston Moore, Lee Ranaldo, Kim Gordon and Steve Shelley, and are currently still touring to this day (with Pavement bassist Mark Ibold). Their influence upon music scenes and trends, even those beyond their own, can be difficult to quantify yet very plain to see, especially in the contemporary music of today. The description given to them of "White Noise Pioneers", seems accurate when one considers the speed at which the group rose from working with small, local independent labels to having their videos played on MTV without compromising their sound or artistic integrity.
Sonic Youth first performed live at Noise Fest, a festival of noise music spanning nine days, curated by Thurston Moore and held at White Columns, New York in June 1981. The concert featured other acts such as Chinese Puzzle, Rudolph Grey, Avant Squares and Glenn Branca. Branca influenced guitarists Thurston Moore and Lee Ranaldo greatly, as they played in his Guitar Orchestra workshops along with other artists such as Steven Antonelli, Eric Hubel and Phil Kline. Interaction between various artists of over-lapping scenes was fairly commonplace in such an easy-going and art-driven collaborative environment.
The group's fifth album, Daydream Nation, was released in October 1988 on Enigma records and is widely regarded as one of their finest; in 2005 it was added to the American Library of Congress' National Recording Registry, meaning the record has been deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".
Another interesting factor is the move made by Sonic Youth following the 1987 LP Sister from independent label SST, to 1988's Daydream Nation being released on the indie label Enigma, yet distributed through major label Capitol. Julianne Shepherd, in an article for Pitchfork Media, writes:
"Thanks to the distribution Geffen afforded SY, America's farthest reaches were finally able to access Sonic Youth's music-- which, in those pre-internet dark-ages, certainly rescued thousands of alienated teens from alternate fates as vaguely dissatisfied suburbanites and/or small-town tragedies."
Ranaldo goes on to say, in the same interview that one of the reasons for making the move to the major label were "those kinds of kids who lived in Wyoming or Iowa ... people who wanted the record, but couldn't get it because it wasn't in their local store". Such a move from a group that values their independence and individuality so highly may have seemed strange at the time, but as with the reasons Ranaldo gives, having people hear your work is usually a musician's perogative.
The Noise-Rock sub-genre is argued to have had its groundings in previous underground and alternative scenes, with bands such as The Velvet Underground propagating the art-house collective aesthetic ("a paradigm of art meeting rock'n'roll, of the hybridisation of pop with formal experimentation.") and Michigan group Destroy All Monsters exploring the unconventional use of noise in a live setting since 1973. Both of these groups have been acknowledged as great influences by the band, with Thurston Moore releasing a 3CD compilation of Destroy All Monster's work in 2004.
The No Wave scene is described in the Encyclopaedia of Recorded Sound, Vol. 1, as: "appropriating punk's nihilism and raw, minimal (often using noise for noise's sake) approach." This movement was almost a reaction against the New Wave movement, which featured bands such as Television, who's vocalist and guitarist Tom Verlaine was known to plug his guitar straight into the mixing desk when recording, not using any effects or even an amplifier. Sonic Youth were forming at the time of the release of Television's debut, Marquee Moon, and their gratuitous use of noise and effects could be said to be the other side of the coin to the simplicity of Television's aesthetic.
One of the earliest and best documented No Wave records is a compilation put together by Brian Eno in 1978, entitled No New York. This record features four tracks each from the groups Contortions, Teenage Jesus and The Jerks, Mars and D.N.A. Today this is seen as an easy entry into the music of the scene and time, becoming almost the first port of call for those interested in the movement, perhaps due to the attachment of a figure such as Brian Eno's name.
As well as being a massive influence upon the no wave, alternative rock and noise rock scene, the group's influence has reached into groups with no apparent sounds qualities in common. Whilst the group themselves have covered artists such as The Ramones, Neil Young, The Beach Boys and Bob Dylan (featuring on the I'm Not There soundtrack), a variety of contemporary artists have covered their work. Camper van Beethoven, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, The Flaming Lips and The Go! Team have all tried their hands at adapting Sonic Youth songs, attempting to make them their own.
Fig. 1: The cover to 1990’s Goo, by Raymond Pettibon.
As referred to earlier, Sonic Youth are notable not only for the music they make, but also the Velvet Underground-esque aesthetic they promote. The artwork for their 1990 LP Goo (Fig. 1) has gone on to become one of the most widely recognised covers, with chain stores such as Topshop selling mass-manufactured t-shirts featuring the print. They have also worked with some of the most notable filmmakers of the 20th and 21st centuries, such as Spike Jonze, who directed the videos for their songs 'The Diamond Sea' and '100%'.
The late '80s was a fruitful period for independent, guitar-driven music all across the world. Asides from New York, bands such as Yo La Tengo were emerging from New Jersey and My Bloody Valentine from Dublin, Ireland. These groups all fall under the umbrella of Alternative Rock, and despite large differences in resulting songs and sound, share various similarities. For example, all of the above artists have worked, to various degrees, on soundtracks for films; Sonic Youth have recorded the soundtrack to French film Simon Werner a Disparu, Yo La Tengo contributed to the Adventureland, Old Joy, Junebug, Game 6 and Shortbus soundtracks, and My Bloody Valentine's Kevin Shields was nominated for a BAFTA for his contribution to the score for Lost In Translation.
The instruments and equipment used by most of the afore-mentioned groups tend to also have many elements in common: Fender guitars, with large amplifiers and an array of effects pedals. The Fender Jazzmaster became popular among the alternative rock scene, as around the mid-1980s they were a common sight in pawn shops across America. This guitar has been used by groups such as My Bloody Valentine (an image of the guitar graces the cover of their 1991 album Loveless), Pavement, Yo La Tengo and Television. The large pick-ups meant that they could be swapped out or modified relatively easily, with such customisations being an obvious attraction to the guitarists of Sonic Youth. One thing that makes Sonic Youth distinctly different these other groups, however, is not only the resulting sound, but also the way these instruments are utilised. The group are seen as pioneers by some, being said to have "redefined what rock guitar could do", in AllMusic's biography of the group. The modification of their instruments and their subsequent use almost comes as a given, as throughout their career they have said to have:
"used modal tunings, open tunings (ones we made up), octave pairs, two or three strings tuned to the same note, same gauge strings in different places or even half step tunings like pair of D strings and then a pair of D sharps."
In addition to the above, Ranaldo in particular is interested in the use of third bridges, or scordatura, by placing screwdrivers or drumsticks under the strings at a point along the fingerboard. In addition to this, he also creates and uses 'prepared' guitars by placing smaller objects like nuts and bolts under the strings, crudely making some microtones playable.
Just recently, Ranaldo and Moore's influence over the Fender Jazzmaster, and the guitar in general, has been proven with the release of their own line of signature Fender guitars. They are both manufactured modifications to the Jazzmaster, featuring less circuitry, different pick-ups and custom colours. Other artists who have garnered their own signature line of Jazzmasters include Elvis Costello and J. Mascis of Dinosaur Jr.
Nowadays, Sonic Youth and all members involved are held in high regard, almost becoming a template of how to reach a massive audience without compromise, and with keeping one's integrity intact. This seems to be the aspiration of all independent musicians, and those who wish to see their work recognise without deviation from their artistic intention.
hahaha! prefaced by Fred...
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