History Music / SonicYouth

* EpicRocking: "Expressway to Yr. Skull", "Teen Age Riot", "The Sprawl", "'Cross the Breeze", "Trilogy", "Tunic (Song for Karen)", "Washing Machine", "The Diamond Sea" (both versions), "Female Mechanic Now on Duty", "Wildflower Soul", "Hits of Sunshine (for Allen Ginsberg)", "Karen Koltrane", "Free City Rhymes", "[=StreamXSonik=] Subway", "NYC Ghosts & Flowers", "Disconnection Notice", "Rain on Tin", "Karen Revisited", "Sympathy for the Strawberry", "The Dripping Dream", "I Love You Golden Blue", "Massage the History", and so on.

* LiteraryAllusionTitle: "The Sprawl" and "Pattern Recognition" are Creator/WilliamGibson references (and they have several other references to him). "Rain King" may be one to Creator/SaulBellow's novel ''Henderson the Rain King'' (which also inspired Music/CountingCrows' otherwise unrelated song of the same title). ''Sister'' is named in honour of Creator/PhilipKDick's fraternal twin, who died shortly after her birth; her death haunted Dick for his whole life.

* VocalTagTeam: Aside from a few exceptions, the vocals tend to be done by whoever wrote the lyrics, giving the band three different lead singers.

Drawing on a wide variety of influences ranging from proto-punk acts like Music/TheStooges and the Music/VelvetUnderground and HardcorePunk to avant-garde musicians Glenn Branca, Rhys Chatham, and Music/JohnCage, Sonic Youth's early career was spent largely being a SensoryAbuse NoiseRock band and struggling with lack of recognition and cycling through a succession of drummers. Notably, the band sparred with music critic Robert Christgau over a dismissive review (renaming their song "Kill Yr Idols" to "I Killed Christgau with My Big Fucking Dick" in concert), had a disastrous debut in UsefulNotes/{{London}} ending in instrument destruction ([[NoSuchThingAsBadPublicity which paradoxically got rave reviews]]) and released a mediocre debut suffering from horrible production, ''Confusion is Sex,'' that hardcore fans love but everybody else tends to ignore.

Sick of being jerked around by distribution deficient indie labels, ''Sonic Youth'' jumped ship and signed on to Creator/GeffenRecords' sublabel DGC in 1990. Their first album for Geffen DGC, ''Goo'', represented a concentrated blast of alt-rock noise, and accordingly sold better than previous albums and spawned the band's biggest hit: "Kool Thing." In the same year, Kim's staunch support persuaded Geffen to also bring on board devoted Sonic Youth fans Music/{{Nirvana}}, making them indirectly responsible for the popularisation of {{Grunge}} in TheNineties. Nirvana and Sonic Youth quickly became friends too (Sonic Youth's ''Whores Moaning'' EP was a blatant ShoutOut to Nirvana's ''Hormoaning,'' and its cover showed one of Music/KurtCobain's toys). Their follow-up, ''Dirty,'' was produced by Butch Vig and engineered by Andy Wallace (the guys behind ''Music/{{Nevermind}}'') and also proved to be a decent success.

''Sonic Youth'' hit a ''huge'' speedbump when all of their instruments, amps, and gear were stolen on July 4, 1999 during their tour and their new album ''NYC Ghosts & Flowers'' quickly got a massive panning due to its self-indulgent jamming and pretentious, humourless, {{Narm}}y lyrics. However, they managed to recover quickly through the addition of new member Jim O'Rourke and releasing ''Murray Street,'' which was roundly hailed as a return to form. Most of their material since has been more accessible and melodic, with the avant-garde freakouts reserved for the SYR releases. Ever since, they've recovered their stolen gear, lost O'Rourke in 2005, recruited former Music/{{Pavement}} bassist Mark Ibold in 2006 and left Geffen in 2008, moving to indie label Matador Records. In 2011, Moore and Gordon divorced, and the band went on hiatus shortly afterward.

* 1983 - ''Confusion is Sex'' (Bundled together with the ''Kill Yr Idols'' EP on re-release by Geffen)

* CanonDisContinuity: ''Sonic Youth'', and ''Confusion is Sex'' and ''NYC Ghosts & Flowers'' are this as well.

* HappilyMarried: Thurston and Kim ([[http://pitchfork.com/news/44318-kim-gordon-thurston-moore-separate/ well until 2011 anyway]]), Lee and his wife Leah.
* HugeGuyTinyGirl: The 6"6" Moore is a foot taller than Kim
* IncrediblyLamePun: ''Master-Dik'', ''Whores Moaning'', ''The Whitey Album'', "Society Is A Hole" (a play on the phrase "society as a whole").

* MundaneMadeAwesome: "Take a walk in the park? SHIT YEAH!" from "Eliminator, Jr."

* NonindicativeName: They are called ''Sonic Youth'' even though many band members are in their mid to late fifties.

* PunctuatedForEmphasis: The final lyrics of "Pipeline/Kill Time" are an almost-whispered "We. Should. Kill. Time."

** Then there's their "cover" of Music/YokoOno's "Voice Piece For Soprano", which is just the newborn Coco Gordon-Moore mewling for a few seconds. This could also be considered AffectionateParody; Kim Gordon and Thurston Moore would later collaborate with Yoko Ono on the album ''Yokokimthurston'', and Moore called one of his solo songs "Ono Soul" as a ShoutOut.

* LiteraryAllusionTitle: "The Sprawl" and "Pattern Recognition" are Creator/WilliamGibson references (and they have several other references to him). "Rain King" may be one to Creator/SaulBellow's novel ''Henderson the Rain King'' (which also inspired Music/CountingCrows' otherwise unrelated song of the same title).

** Some of them are pretty subtle. It'll probably be obvious just from its title that "The Sprawl" is a shout-out to Creator/WilliamGibson if you've read his early novels, but if you haven't, the title seems generic enough not to be a reference to anything.

* LiteraryAllusionTitle: "The Sprawl" and "Pattern Recognition" are Creator/WilliamGibson references.

* 1988 - ''DaydreamNation'' (Double album, considered their masterpiece)

* 1988 - ''Daydream Nation'' (Double album, considered their masterpiece)

* LiteraryAllusionTitle: "The Sprawl" and "Pattern Recognition" are WilliamGibson references.

* IncrediblyLamePun: ''Master-Dik'', ''Whores Moaning'', ''The Whitey Album''.

* CanonDisContinuity: ''Sonic Youth''and ''Confusion is Sex'' and ''NYC Ghosts & Flowers'' are this as well.

Starting with 1984-1985, the band managed to sort out their career, finally obtaining a permanent drummer with Steve Shelley of The Crucifucks (whose hyperactive style fit the group very well indeed), getting {{Record Producer}}s with actual ears to work on their albums and toning down their extreme TrueArt-iness in favour of a middle ground between avant-garde noise and energetic Alternative Rock. With albums like ''Bad Moon Rising,'' ''EVOL,'' ''Sister,'' and its universally acclaimed double album ''Daydream Nation,'' the band refined its SignatureStyle, striking the perfect balance between arty, experimental Noise Rock and accessible, catchy Alternative Rock. Thurston and Kim also got married in this period and remained together until late 2011. However, not all was fun and games: The band suffered from distribution and payment issues from its indie record labels, Homestead, SST and Enigma -- Thurston had some particular choice words for Enigm' deriding it as a "cheap-jack Mafioso outfit" and trashing them over their difficulty in supplying ''Daydream Nation'' to stores.

Drawing on a wide variety of influences ranging from proto-punk acts like Music/TheStooges and the Music/VelvetUnderground and HardcorePunk to avant-garde musicians Glenn Branca, Rhys Chatham, and Music/JohnCage, Sonic Youth's early career was spent largely being a SensoryAbuse NoiseRock band and struggling with lack of recognition and cycling through a succession of drummers. Notably, the band sparred with music critic Robert Christgau over a dismissive review (renaming their song "Kill Yr Idols" to "I Killed Christgau with My Big Fucking Dick" in concert), had a disastrous debut in London ending in instrument destruction ([[NoSuchThingAsBadPublicity which paradoxically got rave reviews]]) and released a mediocre debut suffering from horrible production, ''Confusion is Sex,'' that hardcore fans love but everybody else tends to ignore.

Starting with 1984-1985, the band managed to sort out their career, finally obtaining a permanent drummer with Steve Shelley of ''The Crucifucks'' (whose hyperactive style fit the group very well indeed), getting {{Record Producer}}s with actual ears to work on their albums and toning down their extreme TrueArt-iness in favour of a middle ground between avant-garde noise and energetic Alternative Rock. With albums like ''Bad Moon Rising,'' ''EVOL,'' ''Sister,'' and its universally acclaimed double album ''Daydream Nation,'' the band refined its SignatureStyle, striking the perfect balance between arty, experimental Noise Rock and accessible, catchy Alternative Rock. Thurston and Kim also got married in this period and remained together until late 2011. However, not all was fun and games: The band suffered from distribution and payment issues from its indie record labels, ''SST'' and ''Enigma'' -- Thurston had some particular choice words for ''Enigma,'' deriding it as a "cheap-jack Mafioso outfit" and trashing them over their difficulty in supplying ''Daydream Nation'' to stores.

Sick of being jerked around by distribution deficient indie labels, ''Sonic Youth'' jumped ship and signed on to Creator/GeffenRecords' sublabel ''DGC'' in 1990. Their first album for Geffen / DGC, ''Goo,'' represented a concentrated blast of alt-rock noise, and accordingly sold better than previous albums and spawned the band's biggest hit: "Kool Thing." In the same year, Kim's staunch support persuaded ''Geffen'' to also bring on board devoted ''Sonic Youth'' fans Music/{{Nirvana}}, making them indirectly responsible for the popularisation of {{Grunge}} in TheNineties. ''Nirvana'' and ''Sonic Youth'' quickly became friends too (Sonic Youth's ''Whores Moaning'' EP was a blatant ShoutOut to Nirvana's ''Hormoaning,'' and its cover showed one of Kurt Cobain's toys). Their follow-up, ''Dirty,'' was produced by Butch Vig and engineered by Andy Wallace (the guys behind ''Nevermind'') and also proved to be a decent success.

Many fans predictably whined ItsPopularNowItSucks after ''Sonic Youth'' went to a major label and gradually began abandoning the band in droves. This didn't initially affect their popularity much, as the band managed to pump out more successful albums and underwent a stylistic evolution starting with ''Washing Machine,'' abandoning their PunkRock roots and indulging more freely in [[EpicRocking long]] noise jams. Kim also began playing guitar more often and eventually abandoned the bass entirely. They also found enough free time to release experimental records on their ''SYR'' label and collaborate with experimental noise musicians such as John Cage, Music/YokoOno, Steve Reich, Christian Marclay, and Mission of Burma.

''Sonic Youth'' hit a ''huge'' speedbump when all of their instruments, amps, and gear were stolen on July 4, 1999 during their tour and their new album ''NYC Ghosts & Flowers'' quickly got a massive panning due to its self-indulgent jamming and pretentious, humourless, {{Narm}}y lyrics. However, they managed to recover quickly through the addition of new member Jim O'Rourke and releasing ''Murray Street,'' which was roundly hailed as a return to form. Most of their material since has been more accessible and melodic, with the avant-garde freakouts reserved for the ''SYR'' releases. Ever since, they've recovered their stolen gear, lost O'Rourke in 2005, recruited former Music/{{Pavement}} bassist Mark Ibold in 2006 and left ''Geffen'' in 2008, moving to indie label ''Matador Records.'' In 2011, Moore and Gordon divorced, and the band went on hiatus shortly afterward.

* 1983 - ''Confusion is Sex'' (Bundled together with the ''Kill Yr Idols'' EP on re-release by ''Geffen'')

* 1988 - ''The Whitey Album'' (released as ''Ciccone Youth,'' a parody of pop and alternative rap with tongue in cheek covers of "Into the Groove" by Music/{{Madonna}} and "Addicted to Love" by Robert Palmer)

''Sonic Youth'' was a legendary NoiseRock / AlternativeRock band known chiefly for its noisy, experimental avant-garde tendencies and extensive use of prepared guitars, unorthodox tunings, heavy distortion, and feedback in their songs. They've been a significant influence on Alternative Rock in TheEighties and were a key influence on Music/MyBloodyValentine and, by extension, the entire {{Shoegazing}} movement. Formed in 1981 in New York City, their final lineup was as follows:

** "Kool Thing" was a TakeThat directed at ''LLCoolJ'' (of all people), apparently prompted by an interview Kim Gordon had with him.

** Then there's their "cover" of YokoOno's "Voice Piece For Soprano", which is just the newborn Coco Gordon-Moore mewling for a few seconds. This could also be considered AffectionateParody; Kim Gordon and Thurston Moore would later collaborate with Yoko Ono on the album ''Yokokimthurston'', and Moore called one of his solo songs "Ono Soul" as a ShoutOut.

* Jim O'Rourke - Guitar, bass, synthesiser (2000-2005)

Many fans predictably whined ItsPopularNowItSucks after ''Sonic Youth'' went to a major label and gradually began abandoning the band in droves. This didn't initially affect their popularity much, as the band managed to pump out more successful albums andunderwent a stylistic evolution starting with ''Washing Machine,'' abandoning their PunkRock roots and indulging more freely in [[EpicRocking long]] noise jams. Kim also began playing guitar more often and eventually abandoned the bass entirely. They also found enough free time to release experimental records on their ''SYR'' label and collaborate with experimental noise musicians such as John Cage, Music/YokoOno, Steve Reich, Christian Marclay, and Mission of Burma.

* AllGirlsWantBadBoys: "Unmade Bed"
* AlliterativeTitle: ''Rather Ripped''

* CanonDisContinuity: ''Sonic Youth''and ''Confusion Is Sex'' and ''NYC Ghosts & Flowers'' are this as well.
** That said, each has at least one MomentOfAwesome; "The Burning Spear" and "Shaking Hell", in particular are classic Sonic Youth. Even ''NYC Ghosts & Flowers'' has the [[TearJerker unbelievably sad]] title song.

Drawing on a wide variety of influences ranging from proto-punk acts like Music/TheStooges and Music/VelvetUnderground and HardcorePunk to avant-garde musicians Glenn Branca, Rhys Chatham, and Music/JohnCage, Sonic Youth's early career was spent largely being a SensoryAbuse NoiseRock band and struggling with lack of recognition and cycling through a succession of drummers. Notably, the band sparred with music critic Robert Christgau over a dismissive review (renaming their song "Kill Yr Idols" to "I Killed Christgau with My Big Fucking Dick" in concert), had a disastrous debut in London ending in instrument destruction ([[NoSuchThingAsBadPublicity which paradoxically got rave reviews]]) and released a mediocre debut suffering from horrible production, ''Confusion is Sex,'' that hardcore fans love but everybody else tends to ignore.

* CoverVersion: "I Wanna Be Your Dog" by Music/TheStooges, "Bubblegum" by Kim Fowley, "Hot Wire My Heart" by Crime, "Nic Fit" by The Untouchables, "Into the Groove" by Madonna, "Addicted to Love" by Robert Palmer, "Within You Without You" for a [[Music/TheBeatles Beatles]] tribute album, "Electricity" for a Music/CaptainBeefheart tribute album, "Superstar" for a Music/{{Carpenters}} tribute album, "Touch Me I'm Sick" for a split single with Music/{{Mudhoney}} and the entire ''SYR4'' album.

Sick of being jerked around by distribution deficient indie labels, ''Sonic Youth'' jumped ship and signed on to Creator/GeffenRecords' sublabel ''DGC'' in 1990. Their first album for Geffen / DGC, ''Goo,'' represented a concentrated blast of alt-rock noise, and accordingly sold better than previous albums and spawned the band's biggest hit: "Kool Thing." In the same year, Kim's staunch support persuaded ''Geffen'' to also bring on board devoted ''Sonic Youth'' fans Music/{{Nirvana}}, making them indirectly responsible for the popularisation of {{Grunge}} in TheNineties. ''Nirvana'' and ''Sonic Youth'' quickly became friends too (''Sonic Youth'''s ''Whores Moaning'' EP was a blatant ShoutOut to ''Nirvana'''s ''Hormoaning,'' and its cover showed one of Kurt Cobain's toys). Their follow-up, ''Dirty,'' was produced by Butch Vig and engineered by Andy Wallace (the guys behind ''Nevermind'') and also proved to be a decent success.

''Sonic Youth'' was a legendary NoiseRock / AlternativeRock band known chiefly for its noisy, {{experimental|music}} avant-garde tendencies and extensive use of prepared guitars, unorthodox tunings, heavy distortion, and feedback in their songs. They've been a significant influence on Alternative Rock in TheEighties and were a key influence on Music/MyBloodyValentine and, by extension, the entire {{Shoegazing}} movement. Formed in 1981 in New York City, their final lineup was as follows:

Many fans predictably whined ItsPopularNowItSucks after ''Sonic Youth'' went to a major label and gradually began abandoning the band in droves. This didn't initially affect their popularity much, as the band managed to pump out more successful albums and underwent a stylistic evolution starting with ''Washing Machine'', abandoning their PunkRock roots and indulging more freely in [[EpicRocking long]] noise jams. Kim also began playing guitar more often and eventually abandoned the bass entirely. They also found enough free time to release experimental records on their SYR label and collaborate with experimental noise musicians such as John Cage, Music/YokoOno, Steve Reich, Christian Marclay and Mission of Burma.

Sonic Youth hit a ''huge'' speedbump when all of their instruments, amps and gear were stolen on July 4, 1999 during their tour and their new album ''NYC Ghosts & Flowers'' quickly got a massive panning due to its self-indulgent jamming and pretentious, humourless, {{Narm}}y lyrics. However, they managed to recover quickly through the addition of new member Jim O'Rourke and releasing ''Murray Street'', which was roundly hailed as a return to form. Most of their material since has been more accessible and melodic, with the avant-garde freakouts reserved for the SYR releases. Ever since, they've recovered their stolen gear, lost O'Rourke in 2005, recruited former Music/{{Pavement}} bassist Mark Ibold in 2006 and left Geffen in 2008, moving to indie label Matador Records. In 2011, Moore and Gordon divorced, and the band went on hiatus shortly afterward.

Discography:

* 1983 - ''Confusion Is Sex'' (bundled together with the ''Kill Yr Idols'' EP on re-release by Geffen)

* 1988 - ''Daydream Nation'' (double album, considered their masterpiece)
* 1988 - ''The Whitey Album'' (released as "Ciccone Youth", a parody of pop and alternative rap with tongue-in-cheek covers of "Into the Groove" by {{Music/Madonna}} and "Addicted to Love" by Robert Palmer)
* 1990 - ''Goo'' (first album released on a major label)

* 1993 - ''Whores Moaning'' EP (an attempt to out-{{Pun}} Music/{{Nirvana}}'s ''Hormoaning'')

* 1994 - ''TV Shit'' (recorded with Yamatsuka Eye)

* 1995 - ''Screaming Fields of Sonic Love'' (compilation of material up to ''Daydream Nation'')
* 1995 - ''Made in USA'' (soundtrack recorded in 1986, released in 1995)

* 1998 - ''Silver Session for Jason Knuth'' EP (its name is a tribute to a SY fan who committed suicide)

* 2002 - ''In the Fishtank 9'' EP (recorded with TheEx)

* 2006 - ''The Destroyed Room: B-sides and rarities'' (compilation)
* 2009 - ''The Eternal'' (first album after returning to an indie label)

* 1999 - ''[=SYR4=]: Goodbye 20th Century'' (double album of covers)

* 2005 - ''[=SYR6=]: Koncertas Stan Brakhage Prisiminimui'' (live recording)

* 2008 - ''[=SYR8=]: Andre Sider Af Sonic Youth'' (live recording from the Roskilde festival with Music/{{Merzbow}})
* 2011 - ''[=SYR9=]: Simon Werner a Disparu'' (soundtrack for the French film ''[[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Simon Werner a Disparu]]'')

!!! "Confusion Is Tropes":

Sonic Youth was a legendary NoiseRock-AlternativeRock band known chiefly for its noisy, experimental avant-garde tendencies and extensive use of prepared guitars, unorthodox tunings, heavy distortion and feedback in their songs. They've been a significant influence on AlternativeRock in TheEighties and were a key influence on Music/MyBloodyValentine and, by extension, the entire {{Shoegazing}} movement. Formed in 1981 in New York City, their final lineup was as follows:

* Thurston Moore - guitar, vocals
* Lee Ranaldo - guitar, vocals
* Kim Gordon - bass, vocals, nowadays guitar
* Steve Shelley - drums (1985-2011)
* [[Music/{{Pavement}} Mark Ibold]] - bass (2006-2011)

* Richard Edson - drums (1981-1982); left the band for an acting career, [[HeAlsoDid better known as]] Vito from ''DoTheRightThing''
* Bob Bert - drums (1982-1983, 1983-1985);
* Jim Sclavunos - drums (1983); played on the ''Confusion Is Sex'' album
* Jim O'Rourke - guitar, bass, synthesiser (2000-2005)
* Anne [=DeMarinis=] - keyboards (1981-1982); left before the band ever recorded anything, making her SY's very own [[ThePeteBest Pete Best]]

Thurston's explanation for the name is that it's a combination of Music/{{MC5}} guitarist Fred "Sonic" Smith's nickname and the tendency of contemporary reggae acts to include "youth" in their names (such as "Big Youth"). The "youth" part has kind of become bitterly ironic since Thurston, Kim and Lee are in their fifties now, with Shelley and Ibold (the youngest members) not far behind. In a magazine interview, Bob Mould of Music/HuskerDu fame remarked (at least ten years ago) that "Old Youth" would be a more appropriate name. The song "Granny Cool" -- by his other former band, Sugar-- is probably a TakeThat aimed at Kim Gordon. Mould apparently regards Sonic Youth as pampered and overexposed; however, he's more-or-less [[HypocriticalHumor the same age as Sonic Youth's core members, and he too]] continues to release rock recordings.

Drawing on a wide variety of influences ranging from protopunk acts like Music/TheStooges and Music/VelvetUnderground and HardcorePunk to avant-garde musicians Glenn Branca, Rhys Chatham and Music/JohnCage, Sonic Youth's early career was spent largely being a SensoryAbuse NoiseRock band and struggling with lack of recognition and cycling through a succession of drummers. Notably, the band sparred with music critic Robert Christgau over a dismissive review (renaming their song "Kill Yr Idols" to "I Killed Christgau With My Big Fucking Dick" in concert), had a disastrous debut in London ending in instrument destruction ([[NoSuchThingAsBadPublicity which paradoxically got rave reviews]]) and released a mediocre debut suffering from horrible production, ''Confusion Is Sex'', that hardcore fans love but everybody else tends to ignore.

Starting with 1984-1985, the band managed to sort out their career, finally obtaining a permanent drummer with Steve Shelley of The Crucifucks (whose hyperactive style fit the group very well indeed), getting {{Record Producer}}s with actual ears to work on their albums and toning down their extreme TrueArt-iness in favour of a middle ground between avant-garde noise and energetic AlternativeRock. With albums like ''Bad Moon Rising'', ''EVOL'', ''Sister'' and its universally-acclaimed double album ''Daydream Nation'', the band refined its SignatureStyle, striking the perfect balance between arty, experimental NoiseRock and accessible, catchy AlternativeRock. Thurston and Kim also got married in this period and remained together until late 2011. However, not all was fun and games: the band suffered from distribution and payment issues from its indie record labels, SST and Enigma -- Thurston had some particular choice words for Enigma, deriding it as a "cheap-jack Mafioso outfit" and trashing them over their difficulty in supplying ''Daydream Nation'' to stores.

Sick of being jerked around by distribution-deficient indie labels, Sonic Youth jumped ship and signed on to Creator/GeffenRecords' sublabel DGC in 1990. Their first album for Geffen/DGC, ''Goo'', represented a concentrated blast of alt-rock noise, and accordingly sold better than previous albums and spawned the band's biggest hit, "Kool Thing". In the same year, Kim's staunch support persuaded Geffen to also bring on board devoted SY fans Music/{{Nirvana}}, making them indirectly responsible for the popularisation of {{Grunge}} in TheNineties. Nirvana and SY quickly became friends too (SY's ''Whores Moaning'' EP was a blatant ShoutOut to Nirvana's ''Hormoaning'', and its cover showed one of Kurt Cobain's toys). Their followup, ''Dirty'', was produced by Butch Vig and engineered by Andy Wallace (the guys behind ''Nevermind'') and also proved to be a decent success.

Many fans predictably whined ItsPopularNowItSucks after Sonic Youth went to a major label and gradually began abandoning the band in droves. This didn't initially affect their popularity much, as the band managed to pump out more successful albums and underwent a stylistic evolution starting with ''Washing Machine'', abandoning their PunkRock roots and indulging more freely in [[EpicRocking long]] noise jams. Kim also began playing guitar more often and eventually abandoned the bass entirely. They also found enough free time to release experimental records on their SYR label and collaborate with experimental noise musicians such as John Cage, Music/YokoOno, Steve Reich, Christian Marclay and Mission of Burma.

* 1993 - ''Whores Moaning'' EP (an attempt to out-IncrediblyLamePun {{Music/Nirvana}}'s ''Hormoaning'')

* CulturalCrossReference: The school level in ''SilentHill'' has a list of teachers which says "K. Gordon, T. Moore, L. Ranaldo, S. Shelley". ''Silent Hill 3'' expands on Gordon's relation to the main characters -- sadly, it's a completely different character with just the NamesTheSame. Also, the name of the main character Renton Thurston from ''Anime/EurekaSeven'' is a combination of Renton from ''Literature/{{Trainspotting}}'' and Thurston Moore.

* 1993 - ''Whores Moaning'' EP (an attempt to out-IncrediblyLamePun {{Nirvana}}'s ''Hormoaning'')

* 1988 - ''The Whitey Album'' (released as "Ciccone Youth", a parody of pop and alternative rap with tongue-in-cheek covers of "Into the Groove" by {{Madonna}} and "Addicted to Love" by Robert Palmer)

* CulturalCrossReference: The school level in ''SilentHill'' has a list of teachers which says "K. Gordon, T. Moore, L. Ranaldo, S. Shelley". ''Silent Hill 3'' expands on Gordon's relation to the main characters -- sadly, it's a completely different character with just the NamesTheSame. Also, the name of the main character Renton Thurston from ''EurekaSeven'' is a combination of Renton from ''Literature/{{Trainspotting}}'' and Thurston Moore.

* AttentionDeficitCreatorDisorder: Besides their regular gig and the SYR records: Kim is a visual artist, the owner of the X-Girl clothing company and has an active side project Free Kitten, Thurston occasionally releases solo albums and collaborations on his Ecstatic Peace! label (which also houses other musicians), Steve runs the Smells Like Records label besides his day job operating the SYR and Goofin' labels and Mark is also taking part in his former band Pavement's reunion. O'Rourke would also count when he was in the band, being a prolific musician and producer in the Chicago experimental and free improv scenes.
** And last but not least, Lee, who plays in several free jazz/noise groups, provides live soundtracks to experimental films, and performs spoken word. Sometimes simultaneously.

* BlackSheepHit: Arguably "Kool Thing".

* CreatorCouple: Thurston and Kim.

* NoExportForYou: ''Whores Moaning'' was released only in Australia and New Zealand. This is probably further mirroring {{Nirvana}}'s ''Hormoaning'', which was released in Australia.

* OneOfUs: At least if the references to WilliamGibson are any indication, this trope fits at least some of the band members.