Here are a few of today’s bookmarked links worth noting…
Tomorrow’s big story: Sonic Youth are planning to release a live DVD of their Daydream Nation tour, a film soundtrack, and to start recording LP17. Boom.
New Jersey’s own Bruce Springsteen came out in support of a gay marriage bill that the state Senate will vote on today. Bruuuuuuce.
The United Nations Climate Change Summit kicked off in Copenhagen this week and—though picking Bob Dylan’s “Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall” as an unofficial anthem was a nice touch—Antony has been writing to government reps with hopes to serenade delegates with “Another World” as well. mhmmm.
If you’re in the Portland, OR area, you may want to have your credit card ready for this: Jandek, the Houston-based singer/songwriter who released dozens of some of the most unusual records to date without making a public appearance for almost three decades, will be joined onstage by Sonic Youth’s Thurston Moore for a one-off gig at the Hollywood Theatre next April.
The show has been organized by Jackpot Records, the indie label behind Jandek’s Portland Thursday, a live album from the same Hollywood Theatre stage that features Quasi’s Sam Coomes on bass and other guest musicians.
Who knows what Moore and Jandek have planned, but perhaps they’ll play “Painted My Teeth,” Moore’s contribution to Jandek tribute album Naked in the Afternoon. Here’s hoping the folks at Jackpot will be recording the concert for another live album, but there are no guarantees, so grab tickets here for this “one-time, onstage collaboration.”
Sonic Youth’s Lee Ranaldo sat down this week with WFNX’s Ryan Stewart to talk about the band’s recent split with Geffen Records, his favorite Sonic Youth album of the aughts (The Eternal), and his picks for the top three albums of the decade.
Ensuring that his list spans the entire ten years, Ranaldo chose, as he says, “[o]ne from early, one from the middle, and one from recently.” Here are his top three:
Sure, Kim Gordon’s prints may be available in a few upcoming coffee table books, but wouldn’t you like to hang an original “Dude War,” “Noise Nomads,” “Pussy Galore,” or “Failing Lights” painting by a Sonic Youth member above your bed? What if I told you that (a) Ryan Adams owns a few Gordon pieces and (b) you would be the most artsy person you know? Okay, those are whack reasons, but you can’t afford it anyway. So there.
For a mere €4000.00 ($6,000 U.S. according to Google), you can purchase one of the above 20″ x 16″ acrylic paintings, which were previously shown at designers Kate and Laura Mulleavy’s Rodarte Exhibition, along with work by photographer Autumn de Wilde (Elliott Smith, Beck), actress Kirsten Dunst (Spider-Man), and others.
You can check out Gordon’s work and think about how awesome it would be to be able to buy stuff like that here.
Not long ago, we reported that Sonic Youth’s Lee Ranaldo sounded off in an interview with the Quietus about disappointing sales of the band’s celebrity-curated compilation Hits Are for Squares: “We did a record with Starfucks … er, Starbucks,” Ranaldo said, adding later, “it’s the rarest record we’ve ever released. It’s impossible to find in the shops. I don’t know how many they made — literally a few hundred.”
It was the first such accusation against the coffee chain’s record label we’d heard at the time, but in an interview in yesterday’s NY Times, Carly Simon has now spoken out against Starbucks for allegedly mishandling her latest disc, This Kind of Love, the very same way and the stories that both Sonic Youth and Simon tell are intriguingly similar.
Simon called the album her “last chance at bat,” as she had hoped to retire on her share of the album profits. She has now filed a lawsuit, however, claiming Starbucks failed to stock her album at a number of locations and when they finally did, they sold it at a lower price, which “stigmatized Ms. Simon’s album as an album that could not be sold at full price,” the lawsuit states.
Here’s Ranaldo’s “last chance at bat” statement: “When we put it together we thought it was going to be the biggest sell-out of our career.” Weird, right?
Whereas Sonic Youth are content simply dropping a few snarky comments about the issue (Thurston Moore: “Starbucks coffee sucks”), Simon’s taking the dispute to the courtroom. And perhaps SY could be her star witness. For more on Simon’s case, including a statement from Starbucks, check out Stephanie Clifford’s piece here.
As you’ve likely heard by now, the show Gossip Girl got an injection of indie cred recently by announcing Sonic Youth’s upcoming performance of EVOL single “Star Power” on the program. I’ll admit, the news was kind of a bummer to me until I saw this surreal photo and heard Thurston Moore’s tongue-in-cheek endorsement of the show (“It’s sort of our dose of Shakespeare every week”). Well, the episode is set to air on Monday and Sonic Youth are now offering some early Halloween treats for the morning after.
“An acoustic version of the SY classic ‘Star Power’ will be available Tuesday October 13 via download,” reads a news post on their site. “This version was recorded over the summer in Portland, Oregon between tour dates and will be featured in the television program Gossip Girl.”
But that’s not all!
The song will available for download directly from Sonic Youth via the sonicyouth.com store with a limited edition hand printed and numbered ‘Star Power’ poster (see below) with metallic silver ink on matte black cover stock. Also available with a ‘Star Power’ T-shirt, or all bundled together.
Wow, Thurston Moore has become quite the huckster! Not that I’m complaining.
Sonic Youth’s Thurston Moore has already founded a record label and co-written a few books, including upcoming art photo book Grunge, so it makes sense that he’s ready to start his own book publishing company, as well. Starting next year, Moore’s new boutique publishing company, Ecstatic Peace Library, will begin releasing art books by Raymond Pettibon, Dave Markey, and, his wife/bandmate, Kim Gordon, reportsLA Times. The “Ecstatic Peace” moniker marks a continuation of Moore’s record (and cassette!) label by the same name.
We know who a couple of Moore’s first couple authors are, but what will be the first releases for ‘10? If you attended the New York Art Book Fair this weekend, you may have come across their upcoming catalog, but the rest of us will find out on New Year’s Day at Ecstatic Peace Library dot com.
Oh Thurston, there you go outcooling us all again.
Beat Generation writer William S. Burroughs not only hung out with the cool kids in the 1960s, but he continued to collaborate and conspire with great musicians, artists, and directors up until his death in 1997 at the age of 83. Now an impressive group of said former friends and colleagues will appear in forthcoming documentary William S. Burroughs: A Man Within.
The film, which chronicles Burroughs’ life, including his childhood, death of his wife, the 1966 banning of his novel Naked Lunch by the U.S. government, and more, features exclusive interviews with past collaborators, Thurston Moore and Lee Ranaldo of Sonic Youth, Laurie Anderson, Throbbing Gristle’s Genesis P-Orridge, directors John Waters, Gus Van Sant, and David Cronenberg, Jello Biafra, and Stooge Iggy Pop. You seriously should check out the clip of Iggy’s insane commentary in the trailer below.
If that’s not enough to make you want to see this movie, what if I told you that Sonic Youth provide the soundtrack and it’s narrated by actor Peter Weller? That’s right, RoboCop himself.
Check out the trailer below or go here for the official site.
Seattle Times music writer Andrew Matson wasn’t expecting a full interview with Lee Ranaldo, Thurston Moore, and Kim Gordon, but he got it, along with their “outsider” indie-royalty views on blogs and the state of indie today.
When Matson inquired about their thoughts on music blogs, Gordon deadpanned: “I think blogs are for people who are neurotic about having to know everything about everything all the time. Not really having to know everything but to have to be thinking about everything all the time.”
“I think everybody should deactivate their Facebook accounts tonight,” Moore said and Ranaldo joked, “None of us have ever used a computer in our lives, man.”
If you’re in the Portland, OR area, you may want to have your credit card ready for this: Jandek, the Houston-based singer/songwriter who released dozens of some of the most unusual records to date without making a public appearance for almost three decades, will be joined onstage by Sonic Youth’s Thurston Moore for a one-off gig at the Hollywood Theatre next April.
Sure, Kim Gordon’s prints may be available in a few 
Not long ago, we 
As you’ve likely heard by now, the show Gossip Girl got an injection of indie cred recently by 
Sonic Youth’s Thurston Moore has already founded a record label and co-written a few books, including 
Beat Generation writer William S. Burroughs not only hung out with the cool kids in the 1960s, but he continued to collaborate and conspire with great musicians, artists, and directors up until his death in 1997 at the age of 83. Now an impressive group of said former friends and colleagues will appear in forthcoming documentary 
Seattle Times music writer Andrew Matson wasn’t expecting a 
