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74-485: Kyle Thomas , known professionally as King Tuff is an American musician recording on Sub Pop Records . King Tuff and his band have released several music videos and have continually toured across the United States, Australia and Europe since 2012. He is also the lead guitarist and singer of stoner rock band Witch , and was a member of garage rock musician Ty Segall 's backing band The Muggers, formed following

148-516: A Bone EP for Pavitt's new label in June 1986; Pavitt couldn't afford to release it until the following year. When finally released, Dry as a Bone was promoted by Sub Pop as "ultra-loose grunge that destroyed the morals of a generation". Also in 1987, Jonathan Poneman provided $ 20,000 in funding for Sub Pop to release the debut Soundgarden single "Hunted Down"/"Nothing to Say" in July 1987, followed by

222-726: A Deluxe blue edition, which charted in the No. 8 position on Billboard ' s Heatseeker chart dated June 6. His second album, King Tuff was produced by Bobby Harlow and released by Sub Pop on May 29, 2012, charting at No. 21 on Billboard ' s Heatseeker Albums chart. The album also debuted on the CMJ charts at No. 14, eventually climbing to No. 2 and knocking Jack White 's Blunderbuss from its top charting position. On September 23, 2014, King Tuff released his third album, Black Moon Spell , on Sub Pop Records, again produced by Bobby Harlow, and featuring Ty Segall as guest drummer on

296-548: A Disparu , which premiered at the Cannes International Film Festival . The soundtrack was released in 2011 as SYR9: Simon Werner a Disparu , an entry in experimental SYR series. On October 14, 2011, Kim Gordon and Thurston Moore announced that they had separated after 27 years of marriage. Sonic Youth's label Matador explained that plans for the band remained "uncertain", despite previously hinting that they would record new material later in

370-474: A cheap Japanese Stratocaster copy in the right tuning, crank the amplifier to within an inch of its life and it will sound like church bells. The tunings were painstakingly developed by Moore and Ranaldo during the band's rehearsals; Moore once reported that the odd tunings were an attempt to introduce new sounds: "When you're playing in standard tuning all the time [...] things sound pretty standard." Rather than re-tune for every song, Sonic Youth generally used

444-467: A check for half a million bucks." Sales of Bleach helped keep the label going for years afterwards. The mainstream success of Nirvana also brought Poneman and Pavitt worldwide media attention as the self-stylized "creators of the grunge scene". After the suicide of Kurt Cobain and the subsequent decline of grunge, Poneman began signing acts that were "not typically Sub Pop-ian", such as 5ive Style , Combustible Edison and Eric Matthews . In 1995,

518-504: A guest appearance. The record was considered much more accessible than their previous works and became the band's best-selling record to date. In 1992, the band released Dirty on the DGC label. Their influence as tastemakers continued with their discovery of acclaimed skateboard video director Spike Jonze , who they recruited for the video for " 100% ", which also featured skateboarder turned actor Jason Lee . That song and "JC" discuss

592-483: A hardcover memoir written by Thurston Moore, was published by Doubleday . Sonic Youth is considered a pioneering band in the noise rock and alternative rock genres. Their music has also been labelled experimental rock , indie rock , and post-punk . Sonic Youth's sound relied heavily on the use of alternative tunings . Scordatura on stringed instruments has been used for centuries and alternative guitar tunings had been used for decades in blues music, and to

666-506: A large underground following and critical praise through releases with SST Records in the late 1980s, the band experienced mainstream success throughout the 1990s and 2000s after signing to major label DGC in 1990 and headlining the 1995 Lollapalooza festival. The band disbanded in 2011 following the separation and subsequent divorce of Gordon and Moore with their final live shows taking place in Brazil. The members have since asserted that

740-410: A limited degree in rock music (such as with Lou Reed 's Ostrich guitar on The Velvet Underground & Nico ). Michael Azerrad writes that early in their career, [Sonic Youth] could only afford cheap guitars, and cheap guitars sounded like cheap guitars. But with weird tunings or something jammed under a particular fret , those humble instruments could sound rather amazing – bang a drum stick on

814-492: A more conventional rock band and becoming a prominent member of the American noise rock scene. Sonic Youth have been praised for having "redefined what rock guitar could do" using a wide variety of unorthodox guitar tunings while preparing guitars with objects like drum sticks and screwdrivers to alter the instruments' timbre . The band was a pivotal influence on the alternative and indie rock movements. After gaining

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888-509: A number of alternative tunings. The band named a song after her, "Hey Joni". Members of the band have also maintained relationships with other avant-garde artists from other genres and even other media, drawing influence from the work of John Cage and Henry Cowell . Sonic Youth's influence is widespread across the spectrum of alternative and underground music. Stephen Malkmus , frontman of indie rock band Pavement , drew inspiration from Sonic Youth for his guitar technique, and has credited

962-660: A particular guitar for one or two songs, and would take dozens of instruments on tour. This would be the source of much trouble for the band, as live performances of many songs relied on specific guitars that have been uniquely prepared or otherwise altered for those exact songs. Sonic Youth was heavily influenced by the Velvet Underground , along with The Stooges , Glenn Branca , Rhys Chatham , Ornette Coleman , John Coltrane , La Monte Young , Neil Young , Yoko Ono , French avant-gardist Brigitte Fontaine , Patti Smith , Wire , and Public Image Ltd . The band

1036-471: A regional basis. The pair sought to create a cohesive brand identity for Sub Pop. The label's ads promoted the label itself more than any particular band. The label also sought to market a "Seattle sound", which was accomplished with the help of producer Jack Endino , who produced 75 singles, albums, and EPs for Sub Pop between 1987 and 1989. Endino recorded cheaply and quickly; in order to operate this way, he utilized some consistent studio techniques, which gave

1110-486: A self-described " Americana " album that served as a reaction to the state of the nation at the time. The album, recorded by Martin Bisi , was built around transitional pieces that Moore and Ranaldo had come up with in order to take up time onstage during tuning breaks; as a result, there are almost no gaps between the songs on the records. Bad Moon Rising featured an appearance by Lydia Lunch in " Death Valley '69 ", which

1184-554: A series of improvisational albums grouped under the title SYR with song titles and liner notes in various languages. SYR3: Invito al ĉielo , released in 1998, featured Jim O'Rourke who later became an official band member. Various songs from the SYR series were added to Sonic Youth's live performances, and others inspired tracks on the next proper Sonic Youth album, A Thousand Leaves , released in 1998. On July 4, 1999, Sonic Youth's instruments and stage equipment were stolen during

1258-592: A sister label by the name of Hardly Art . This label is also partially owned by Warner Music. In August 2008, Sub Pop relaunched the singles club for one year to celebrate its twentieth anniversary. In 2009, they signed their second hip-hop group, Seattle-based Shabazz Palaces – the first being The Evil Tambourines in 1999. Ishmael Butler, one half of Shabazz Palaces and former member of jazz rap group Digable Planets became A&R for Sub Pop. Domestically, Sub Pop has released three albums that have been certified as platinum, for sales of over 1 million units, by

1332-605: A special guest appearance on WB teen drama show “Gilmore Girls” (season 6, episode 22), performing an acoustic version of their new song, “What a Waste”, alongside their daughter Coco. Sonic Youth played the Bonnaroo Festival later that year. In December 2006 they released The Destroyed Room: B-Sides and Rarities . The compilation featured tracks previously available only on vinyl , tracks from limited-release compilations, B-sides to international singles, and some material that had never before been released. This marked

1406-552: A tour in Orange County , California. Almost 30 guitars and basses were stolen; some were recovered over the next 13 years. Forced to start from scratch with new instruments, they released the album NYC Ghosts & Flowers in 2000 and opened for Pearl Jam during the east coast leg of that band's 2000 tour. In 2001, Sonic Youth collaborated with French avant-garde singer and poet Brigitte Fontaine on her album Kékéland . The following year, Sonic Youth participated in

1480-610: The Recording Industry Association of America : Bleach by Nirvana , Give Up by The Postal Service , and Oh, Inverted World by The Shins . Ten albums released by the label have been certified gold for sales of 500,000 copies: Chutes Too Narrow and Wincing the Night Away by The Shins; Fleet Foxes and Helplessness Blues by Fleet Foxes ; The Head and the Heart by The Head and

1554-608: The murder of Joe Cole , a friend who worked with Black Flag as a roadie. The album features artwork by Los Angeles–based artist Mike Kelley . Dirty features a guest appearance by Ian MacKaye on the track "Youth Against Fascism". In 1993, the band contributed the track "Burning Spear" to the AIDS benefit album No Alternative , produced by the Red Hot Organization . In 1994, the band released Experimental Jet Set, Trash and No Star , their best-charting release in

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1628-517: The "pigfucker" label by Village Voice editor Robert Christgau . Another critic from The Village Voice panned a substandard September concert in New York. Gordon wrote a scornful letter to the newspaper, criticizing it for not supporting its local music scene, to which Christgau responded that the paper was not obligated to support them. Moore retaliated by renaming the song " Kill Yr Idols " to "I Killed Christgau with My Big Fucking Dick", before

1702-671: The 1995 Lollapalooza festival with Hole and Pavement . By that time, alternative rock had gained considerable mainstream attention, and the festival was parodied in The Simpsons episode " Homerpalooza " in 1996, which featured voiceovers from the band. They also performed the final credits theme for that episode. The album Washing Machine was released in 1995 and represented a shift in Sonic Youth's sound, away from their punk rock roots and toward experimental and longer jam-based arrangements. Starting in 1997 they released

1776-477: The Arcadians before settling on Sonic Youth in mid-1981. The name came from combining the nickname of MC5 's Fred "Sonic" Smith with reggae artist Big Youth . Gordon later recalled that "as soon as Thurston came up with the name Sonic Youth, a certain sound that was more of what we wanted to do came about." The band played Noise Fest in June 1981 at New York's White Columns gallery, where Lee Ranaldo

1850-574: The British press became enamoured with Sub Pop and the grunge sound. Pavitt said, "I really felt that the Brits and the Europeans wanted to see something that was unruly and that was more of an American archetype -- something that was really primal and really drew from the roots of rock & roll, which was very American." Poneman explained the label's success: "It could have happened anywhere, but there

1924-482: The Groove " and was preceded by "Tuff Titty Rap". The flip side of the record was Watt's cover of Madonna's " Burning Up " which had the altered title of "Burnin' Up". The Whitey Album included both Sonic Youth songs from the single plus a demo version of "Burnin' Up". The album also contained a cover of Robert Palmer 's " Addicted to Love " which was recorded in a karaoke booth. The 1987 Sonic Youth album Sister

1998-700: The Heart ; Everything All the Time and Cease to Begin by Band of Horses ; Our Endless Numbered Days and The Shepherd's Dog by Iron & Wine ; and Depression Cherry by Beach House . Starting in 2008, Sub Pop has released Deluxe Editions of its top-selling albums, which features a remastered version of the album, as well as some live tracks and demos. The albums released under this were Nirvana ’s Bleach , Mudhoney 's Superfuzz Bigmuff , Sebadoh 's Bakesale , Jason Loewenstein 's Codes , The Postal Service's Give Up , and Red Red Meat 's Bunny Gets Paid . Sub Pop, its founders, and some acts on

2072-516: The Seattle scene, and effectively made the label's name synonymous with the music of the Seattle area—much in the same way Motown Records was to Detroit —and helped to secure the label's cash flow. The original series was discontinued in 1993, followed by Singles Club V.2 , launched in 1998 and discontinued in 2002. Some commentators have argued that Sub Pop reframed the history of Seattle's music scene as part of their marketing campaign. Even in

2146-484: The United States to date at No. 34 on the Billboard 200 . Moore and Gordon's daughter, Coco Hayley Moore, was born later that year, and many of the songs from the album were never played live because there was never a full tour to support the album due to Gordon's pregnancy. In 1994, the band released a cover of The Carpenters ' 1971 hit " Superstar " for the tribute album If I Were a Carpenter . The band headlined

2220-584: The album Sonic Nurse , with proceeds going to charities Brooklyn Community Bail Fund, Bed Stuy Strong, and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez 's COVID-19 Relief Fund. The same year, an extensive archive of live recordings from throughout the band's history was released on Bandcamp. In January 2022, a new single "In & Out" was released ahead of the March release of the rarities EP In/out/In . The five-track EP featured previously unissued outtakes recorded between 2000 and 2010. In October 2023, Sonic Life: A Memoir ,

2294-503: The attention of the American mainstream music press was difficult for all but the largest indie label, Pavitt and Ponemen took inspiration from alternative bands like Sonic Youth, Butthole Surfers , and Dinosaur Jr. and sought to publicize the label via the British music press. In March 1989, Pavitt and Poneman flew Melody Maker journalist Everett True to Seattle to write an article on the local music scene. As Pavitt had anticipated,

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2368-553: The band as too arty and pretentious, Sonic Youth gained critical acclaim in the United Kingdom, where the new album sold 5,000 copies. Claiming he was bored with playing Bad Moon Rising live in its entirety for over a year, Bert quit the group and was replaced by Steve Shelley , formerly of the punk group The Crucifucks . Sonic Youth was so impressed with Shelley's drumming after seeing him play live that they hired him without an audition. Bert and Shelley both appeared in

2442-499: The band became dissatisfied with SST due to concerns about payments and other administrative practices. Sonic Youth decided to release their next record on Enigma Records , which was distributed by Capitol Records and partly owned by EMI . The 1988 double LP Daydream Nation was a critical success that earned Sonic Youth substantial acclaim. The album came in second on the Village Voice Pazz & Jop poll and topped

2516-487: The band is finished and will not reunite. Shortly after guitarist Thurston Moore moved to New York City in early 1977, he formed the group Room Tone with his roommates; they later changed their name to the Coachmen. After the breakup of the Coachmen, Moore began jamming with Stanton Miranda , whose band, CKM, featured Kim Gordon . Moore and Gordon formed a band, appearing under names like Male Bonding, Red Milk, and

2590-563: The band with giving him "the idea and courage" to explore alternate tunings. Sleater-Kinney have also cited Sonic Youth as an influence, particularly on their detuned guitar sound. Other bands and artists who have cited Sonic Youth as an influence include Mauro Pezzente of Godspeed You! Black Emperor , Shane Embury of Napalm Death , Slowdive , Dinosaur Jr. , Teenage Fanclub , Mogwai , Placebo frontman Brian Molko , Quicksand and Rival Schools frontman Walter Schreifels , Ride , Jawbreaker , ...And You Will Know Us by

2664-487: The band's final Geffen release. In 2007, the band became one of the earliest big-name rock bands to play in China when they were brought in for a tour by the music company Split Works . In 2008 they released a compilation album on Starbucks Music , called Hits Are for Squares , with the tracks selected by other celebrities. Later in 2008, Sonic Youth ended their relationship with Geffen , due to dissatisfaction with how

2738-506: The band's first EP Screaming Life that October. Poneman soon became a full partner in the label. Pavitt focused on the label's artists and repertoire aspects, while Poneman dealt with the business and legal issues. Both men decided they wanted the label to focus on "this primal rock stuff that was coming out," according to Pavitt. In early 1988, Pavitt and Poneman quit their jobs to devote their full attention to Sub Pop. Raising $ 43,000, they incorporated on April 1, 1988. "Of course that

2812-444: The beginning of his career as King Tuff, so he moved on to other projects such as the bands Witch and Happy Birthday. "King Tuff" eventually began to gain popularity, leading Thomas to revert to his former stage name of King Tuff. King Tuff's 2008 debut album Was Dead was originally released by Tee Pee Records sister-label The Colonel. It is now considered collectable because so few were pressed. In 2013, Burger Records re-issued

2886-459: The best albums of the decade and named Sonic Youth as the "Hot Band" in its "Hot" issue. Unfortunately, distribution problems arose and Daydream Nation was often difficult to find in stores. Moore considered Enigma a "cheap-jack Mafioso outfit" and the band began looking for a major label deal. In 1990, Sonic Youth released Goo , their first album for Geffen . The album featured the single " Kool Thing " on which Public Enemy's Chuck D made

2960-541: The condition that he would not be fired again after the tour's conclusion. Bert went on to play on the band's Kill Yr Idols EP later in 1983. Sonic Youth were well received in Europe, but the New York press largely ignored the local noise rock scene. Eventually, as the press began to take notice of the genre, Sonic Youth was grouped with bands like Big Black , the Butthole Surfers , and Pussy Galore under

3034-604: The early 1980s, when Bruce Pavitt started a fanzine called Subterranean Pop that focused exclusively on American independent record labels. Pavitt undertook the project in order to earn course credit while attending Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington . By the fourth issue, Pavitt had shortened the name to Sub Pop and began alternating issues with compilation tapes of underground rock bands. The Sub Pop #5 cassette, released in 1982, sold two thousand copies. In 1983, Pavitt moved to Seattle, Washington , and released

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3108-403: The entire history of the band, while Steve Shelley (drums) followed a series of short-term drummers in 1985, rounding out the core line-up. Jim O'Rourke (bass, guitar, keyboards) was also a member of the band from 1999 to 2005, and Mark Ibold (bass, guitar) was a member from 2006 to 2011. Sonic Youth emerged from the experimental no wave art and music scene in New York before evolving into

3182-602: The first Green-e certified record label. Through work with the Green-e program and the Bonneville Environmental Foundation, Sub Pop "greened" their label by purchasing enough renewable energy certificates to offset 100 percent of the electricity they use in their office, showing their commitment to putting renewable energy in the mainstream as a way consumers can take action to do something about global warming . In early 2007, Sub Pop started

3256-502: The first act on his record label Neutral Records . In December 1981 the group recorded five songs at New York's Radio City Music Hall . The material was released as the EP Sonic Youth which , while largely ignored, was sent to a few key members of the American music press, who gave it uniformly favorable reviews. The album featured a relatively conventional post-punk style, in contrast to their later releases. Edson then quit

3330-409: The first band from the New York underground to gain such notice. The mainstream music press subsequently began to take notice of the band. Robert Palmer of The New York Times declared that Sonic Youth was "making the most startlingly original guitar-based music since Jimi Hendrix " and even People reviewed EVOL , describing the album as the "aural equivalent of a toxic waste dump." The album

3404-465: The first outing of the All Tomorrow's Parties music festival and curating the ensuing compilation album. The album Murray Street was released in 2002 and saw the addition of Jim O'Rourke as a full-time member on guitar, bass, and keyboards. During this period the band participated in the production of the documentary film Kill Your Idols , directed and produced by Scott Crary and covering

3478-511: The group for an acting career and was replaced by Bob Bert . During their early days as part of the New York music scene, Sonic Youth formed a friendship with fellow New York noise rock band Swans . The bands shared a rehearsal space, and Sonic Youth embarked on its first tour in November 1982 supporting Swans. During a second tour with Swans the following month, tensions ran high and Moore constantly criticized Bert's drumming, which he felt

3552-612: The history of punk rock in New York City. The film was released in 2004. In 2003 Sonic Youth released a split 7-inch single with Erase Errata . The next Sonic Youth album, Sonic Nurse , was also released in 2004. The band was slated to perform in the 2004 Lollapalooza tour along with acts such as the Pixies and the Flaming Lips , but the tour was canceled due to lackluster ticket sales. O'Rourke departed in 2006 and

3626-475: The label had promoted their last several albums. They then signed with independent label Matador Records , which released the album The Eternal in 2009. During this period they collaborated with John Paul Jones on the soundtrack for a performance at Merce Cunningham Dance Company to honor the company's founder. In 2010 the band scored and composed the soundtrack of the French thriller-drama Simon Werner

3700-443: The label signed a $ 20 million joint venture with Warner Bros. Records (which had distributed Geffen since that label was founded in 1980; after 10 years under Warner, Geffen was sold to MCA Music Entertainment Group ), who acquired 49% of the label's stock. Poneman and Pavitt had a disagreement about the direction the label should take, with Poneman wanting the label to become larger and make more money. In 1996, unable to take

3774-616: The label were featured on season 1, episode 5 of Vice Media 's Dark Side of the 90's entitled "Grunge and the Seattle Sound." In David Fincher ’s The Killer , the central villain, played by Arliss Howard , wears a Sub Pop T-shirt. Sonic Youth Sonic Youth was an American rock band formed in New York City in 1981. Founding members Kim Gordon (bass, vocals, guitar), Thurston Moore (guitar, vocals) and Lee Ranaldo (guitar, vocals) remained together for

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3848-486: The late 1980s, the peak of grunge as a regional scene, Seattle's bands could not easily be confined to a single genre, since groups often blended musical styles and techniques, drawing, for example, on folk rock , psychedelic rock , garage rock , and pop hooks . The "Seattle sound" cultivated and marketed by Sub Pop became known as grunge, while other Seattle bands like The U-Men , who preceded Sub-Pop, became pioneers of avant garde post-punk . Mindful that garnering

3922-508: The matter in May 2014: "Sonic Youth is on hiatus. The band is a democracy of sorts, and as long as Kim and I are working out our situation, the band can't really function reasonably." In her 2015 autobiography Girl in a Band , Gordon refers several times to the band having "split up" for good. In 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic , Sonic Youth sold official face masks based on the artwork from

3996-475: The music video for "Death Valley '69", as Bert had performed the drums on the song, but Shelley was the group's drummer when the video was filmed. Sonic Youth had long appreciated SST Records ; Ranaldo said, "It was the first record company we were on that we really would have given anything to be on." Sonic Youth signed with the label in early 1986 and began recording EVOL with Martin Bisi . The band gained national attention when signing with SST, making them

4070-567: The nationwide network of musicians and fans. "It was great", said Moore, "the whole thing with slam dancing and stage diving , that was far more exciting than pogoing and spitting. [...] I thought hardcore was very musical and very radical." Moore and Ranaldo expressed on numerous occasions their admiration for the music of Joni Mitchell , such as this quote by Thurston Moore: "Joni Mitchell! I've used elements of her songwriting and guitar playing, and no one would ever know about it." Additionally, as with Sonic Youth, Joni Mitchell has always used

4144-493: The new corporate culture following the Warner partnership, Pavitt left the label and was able to spend more time with his family. The split between Pavitt and Poneman was not amicable, and they did not speak for seven years. The label opened offices worldwide and began major investment in new artists, but without achieving great commercial success, prompting a scaling down and a return to Seattle. In 2006, Sub Pop Records became

4218-418: The ninth and final issue of Sub Pop . While in Seattle, he wrote a column for local music magazine The Rocket titled "Sub Pop U.S.A.", a column he ended in 1988. In 1986, Pavitt released the first Sub Pop LP , the compilation Sub Pop 100 , which featured material by artists including Sonic Youth , Naked Raygun , Wipers , and Scratch Acid . Seattle group Green River chose to record their Dry as

4292-475: The records a similar sound. In November 1988, Sub Pop released " Love Buzz ", the debut single by Aberdeen, Washington band Nirvana , as the first entry in the Sub Pop Singles Club, a subscription service that would allow subscribers to receive singles by the label on a monthly basis by mail. At its peak in 1990, the club had two thousand subscribers. The club made Sub Pop a powerful force in

4366-538: The release of Segall's studio album, Emotional Mugger . Thomas grew up in Brattleboro, Vermont. He grew up listening to music from his father, who was a music fan. Prior to his father getting a Fender Stratocaster when Kyle was seven, he played on a keyboard and drum kit. According to Thomas, the Stratocaster served as a source of inspiration. Thomas never decided what he would do with his life, therefore

4440-505: The title track. Upon release, the album immediately became CMJ 's "most added" for the week of September 23 on college radio airplay. The album debuted at No. 1 on Billboard Heatseeker in the "Hot Shot Debut" position chart for the week of October 11, and immediately pushed to the No. 1 position on the CMJ College Radioplay chart for the week of October 14. Sub Pop Records The origins of Sub Pop trace back to

4514-596: The two eventually sorted out their differences amicably. Closing a second European tour in late 1983, Sonic Youth's disastrous London debut (where the band's equipment malfunctioned and Moore destroyed it onstage in frustration) actually resulted in rave reviews in Sounds and the NME . When they returned to New York they were so popular that they were able to book local gigs regularly. The following year, Moore and Gordon were married, and Sonic Youth recorded Bad Moon Rising ,

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4588-720: The year-end album lists at NME , CMJ , and Melody Maker . In 2005, it was one of 50 recordings chosen by the Library of Congress to be added to the National Recording Registry . The lead single from the album, " Teen Age Riot ", was their first song to receive significant airplay on modern rock and college rock stations, reaching number 20 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart. A number of prominent music periodicals including Rolling Stone hailed Daydream Nation as one of

4662-650: The year. Sonic Youth performed their final concert on November 14, 2011, at the SWU Music & Arts Festival in Itu, São Paulo , Brazil. The following week, Lee Ranaldo stated in an interview that Sonic Youth would be "ending for a while". In November 2013, Ranaldo said in response to the question of a possible reunion, "I fear not. Everybody is busy with their own projects, besides that Thurston and Kim aren't getting along together very well since their split… Let [the band] rest in peace." Thurston Moore updated and clarified

4736-565: Was a loose concept album partly inspired by the life and works of science fiction writer Philip K. Dick . The "sister" of the title was Dick's fraternal twin , who died shortly after her birth and whose memory haunted Dick his entire life. Sister sold 60,000 copies and received very positive reviews, becoming the first Sonic Youth album to crack the Top 20 of the Village Voice 's Pazz & Jop critics poll. Despite their critical success,

4810-422: Was a lucky set of coincidences. Charles Peterson was here to document the scene, Jack Endino was here to record the scene. Bruce and I were here to exploit the scene." By 1991, Sub Pop were in financial difficulties, leading Mudhoney and Tad to depart the label and delaying the release of The Afghan Whigs ' Congregation (1992). When Geffen Records bought Nirvana's contract from Sub Pop for $ 72,000, it

4884-558: Was agreed that the former would pay the latter a percentage of any profits from the band's major label debut, Nevermind (1991). A stipulation was also implemented where selected future Nirvana studio LPs were required to carry the Sub Pop logo alongside Geffen's. The album's subsequent commercial success quickly brought Sub Pop out of their financial difficulties. Pavitt noted: "By Christmas [1991], Nevermind had sold 2 million. We went from not being able to pay our phone bill to getting

4958-413: Was also influenced by 1980s hardcore punk ; after seeing Minor Threat perform in May 1982, Moore declared them "the greatest live band I have ever seen". He also saw The Faith performing in 1981 and had a strong admiration towards their records. While recognizing that their own music was very different from hardcore, Moore and Gordon, especially, were impressed by hardcore's speed and intensity, and by

5032-529: Was hesitant to attend college. After high school, Thomas wrote songs and played with bands, saying: "I would go on tour, but I never really took it as a serious job up until a couple years ago, when I decided to really make an effort at it. It's been a real long, slow practice." Tuff's first release was a self-made CD-R distributed by Spirit of Orr records, the majority of which consisted of rough versions of songs later released on Was Dead, King Tuff's first 'official' album. Tuff received scant publicity following

5106-635: Was inspired by the Charles Manson Family murders. Due to a falling-out with Branca over disputed royalty payments from their Neutral releases, Sonic Youth signed with Homestead Records in the US and Blast First in the UK (which founder Paul Smith created simply so he could distribute the band's records in Europe). While the New York press ignored Bad Moon Rising upon its 1985 release, now viewing

5180-523: Was later called "a classic" by Neil Young . Around the same time, the band collaborated with Mike Watt under the alias Ciccone Youth, which was a play on the names Sonic Youth and Ciccone, the surname of pop singer Madonna . Sonic Youth released a single in 1986 and a studio album in 1988 under the Ciccone Youth name. The 1986 single, "Into the Groove(y)", was a cover of Madonna's " Into

5254-404: Was not "in the pocket". Bert was fired afterwards and replaced by Jim Sclavunos , who played drums on the band's first studio album, 1983's Confusion Is Sex , which featured a louder and more dissonant sound than their debut EP. Sonic Youth set up a tour of Europe for the summer of 1983. Sclavunos, however, quit the band after only a few months. The group asked Bert to rejoin, and he agreed on

5328-442: Was playing as a member of Glenn Branca 's electric guitar ensemble. Their performance impressed Moore, who described them as "the most ferocious guitar band that I had ever seen in my life", and he invited Ranaldo to join Sonic Youth. The new trio played three songs at the festival later in the week without a drummer. Each band member took turns playing the drums, until they met drummer Richard Edson . Branca signed Sonic Youth as

5402-488: Was replaced by bassist Mark Ibold for touring purposes, but Ibold later became a full-time member. He had earlier been part of Pavement and worked with Gordon in Free Kitten . Rather Ripped was released in 2006 and was noted as a return to the band's earlier sound, due both to the departure of O'Rourke and the recovery of some of the instruments that had been stolen in 1999. On May 9, 2006, Kim and Thurston made

5476-618: Was spent in, like, thirty days", Pavitt recalled. "We almost went bankrupt after a month". That August Sub Pop released the first single by Mudhoney , a band featuring former members of Green River. Sub Pop released the Mudhoney single " Touch Me I'm Sick " in an intentionally limited first pressing of 800 copies to create demand. The strategy was later adopted by other independent labels. Pavitt and Poneman studied earlier independent labels ranging from Motown to SST Records and decided that virtually every successful movement in rock music had

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