When NYC music icons Sonic Youth broke up—or at least went on hiatus—in 2011, no one really knew what to expect of the group’s members. But, fortunately, we didn’t have to wait too long to find out what vocalist-guitarist Thurston Moore would do. Which, in this case, was start another band, Chelsea Light Moving, with bassist Samara Lubelski, drummer John Moloney and guitarist Keith Wood. Their acclaimed self-titled debut album (stream it below), filled with thrashing guitars and counterculture references aplenty, came out last month on Matador Records. And Chelsea Light Moving (above, playing “Burroughs” for KEXP FM last month at SXSW) are now winding down their tour, but you can still see them this Friday at The Bowery Ballroom.
All Boston’s Mission of Burma did in their original early-’80s incarnation was put out two albums, Signals, Calls, and Marches and the seminal Vs., and essentially give birth to the post-punk movement. The quartet—Roger Miller (vocals and guitar), Clint Conley (bass), Peter Prescott (drums) and Martin Swope (tape manipulations and sound engineer)— quickly became known for solid songwriting, a unique punk-tinged sound and extremely loud live shows. But after Miller developed tinnitus, Mission of Burma (above, playing “1, 2, 3, Party!!” for KEXP FM) broke up in 1983. However the band’s legacy carried on, influencing the likes of Fugazi, Sonic Youth, Nirvana and Pearl Jam (who even named their second LP Vs.). And that’s where this story would end, but, seemingly out of nowhere, Mission of Burma reunited in 2002—with Bob Weston replacing Swope—and went on to release four more critically acclaimed albums, including last year’s Unsound. Now they’re back in town to play The Bowery Ballroom on Friday, and last week Roger Miller answered Five Questions for The House List.
What’s the last band you paid to see live?
Do DJs count? DJ Jonathan Toubin was spinning amazing unknown soul and R&B in Boston for a dance-party vibe a few days ago. Went dancing there with my gal. As far as non-DJs, Boston’s Callithumpian Consort performing a John Cage piece (and pieces by some of his cohorts) just before New Year’s Eve.
Where do you like to hang out in NYC? And do you ever feel like you could live here? I hang near the clubs (The Bowery Ballroom; Lincoln Center) I play, or else at friends’ places I stay, in Tribeca, the East Village and Williamsburg. When I first went to NYC with Burma in 1979, I thought I’d live there eventually. Gradually this wore off as I get to visit NYC all the time (mostly playing shows) and hence have no need for the intense compression of NYC life.
Do you have any crutches when writing a song—are there certain words or styles you feel you lean on too much? I’ve been told I write about water too much, and that I use the word forget too often. I believe this critique is accurate. If I’m having no inspiration for lyrics, I go to my dream journal. While this is definitely a form of a crutch, it’s not negative in my opinion. It’s always surprising and refreshing.
Do you have to be depressed to write a sad song? Do you have to be in love to write a love song? Is a song better when it really happened to you? All my songs are, to some degree, first person—even the ones that don’t make sense (or especially those).
After all these years on the road, what have you learned to make touring easier? In the last five years I started using my laptop (with headphones) for composing scores, and the scoring program plays the scores (rather crassly) to the score I’m writing. This takes me away from my immediate environment, putting me in more of a “head” space than a “van” space. Books are good, too. —R. Zizmor
From the beginning Toadies had a revolving lineup anchored by Todd Lewis (vocals and guitar) and Mark Reznicek (drums). The Fort Worth, Texas, band’s post-grunge sound is influenced by the Pixies and pychedelic-tinged Southern rock. And their “Possum Kingdom” was undoubtedly one of the biggest songs to erupt from the grunge explosion left in Nirvana’s wake. Despite lasting so long, Toadies (above, doing “No Deliverance”) don’t just mine their past. In fact the group’s fifth album, Play.Rock.Music, is out today.
Page Hamilton moved from Oregon to New York City to learn jazz guitar in the ’80s. But upon discovering distortion through the likes of Sonic Youth, he moved in a different direction, founding Helmet in 1989. With a raw sound and Hamilton’s snarling vocals, Helmet (below, performing “See You Dead”), in earning comparisons to Soundgarden, was the only East Coast band playing what would soon be labeled grunge. The group’s fierce sound remains to this day, and, along with Toadies, they play Webster Hall on Thursday.
Sonic Youth is a band that keeps moving forward. Sure, they put out their first album, Sonic Youth, way back in 1982. But their most recent effort—their 16th(!) studio disc—the aptly named The Eternal, was released this past June. Not resting on their laurels, they’re playing three local shows over the next eight days. Bad news: They’re all sold out. Good news: You can try to Grow a Pair of tickets to this Saturday’s Terminal 5 show from The House List. Just fill out the form below. List your name, e-mail address, which show you’re trying to win tickets to (Sonic Youth, 11/21) and a brief message telling us your best technique to cope with it getting dark so damn early. Eddie Bruiser, who’s basically nocturnal and doesn’t mind the encroaching darkness, will notify the winner by noon on Friday, November 20th. Good luck.
United Palace Theater is an impressive venue with ornately carved, vaulted ceilings, elaborate hanging fixtures and gold as far as you can see. Plus, it’s a novel experience to sit in seats and watch Sonic Youth play on a theatrical stage. The acoustics of this space were painstakingly designed for live sound, but of course that’s lost when the amps are turned up to 11.
Friday night, this majestic palace hosted rock royalty. Just offstage sat a double custom rack holding rows of guitars that would make any 16-year-old boy cry. This resulted in a lot of guitar choreography between songs—roadies handed over the next prepared guitar to Thurston Moore, who proceeded to grind the neck against an amp, throw it on the stage and step on the strings. After almost 30 years, it’s impressive to continuously put on a show like this. Sonic Youth is a band driven by their passion for exploring dissonant sound in a pop structure and it’s evident on their latest album, the appropriately titled The Eternal.
When the band returned to the stage for the encore, Moore beckoned to the audience: “Come closer, closer to us.” Those in the crowd abandoned their seats to get up close and personal. “That’s better.” This is where the show went from passive observation to a sea of bouncing mayhem, which encouraged the band to come out for yet another encore and play two obscure tracks from their early catalog, “Brother James” and “Death Valley ’69.” Sonic Youth doesn’t rely on playing their groundbreaking early work, so these songs won’t be repeated live anytime soon. They continue to innovate and remain one of the most challenging and influential bands in experimental rock. —Jason Dean
Thurston Moore met Kim Gordon in 1980. Nearly 30 years—and one marriage later—the iconic group they formed, Sonic Youth, is still going as strong as ever, touring in support of their 16th studio album, the fittingly titled The Eternal, out last month. Tomorrow this dowtown band brings their sprawling, avant-garde sound uptown to the United Palace Theater. Check out Sonic Youth here playing “Teenage Riot” on the BBC music show Later…With Jools Holland and then start your three-day weekend off hot by seeing them play live.
