Q: As a fan I always wondered if I really want to know my idols personally or intimately because I thought it might ruin the image I had in my head about them. Did you have any thoughts about it before you wrote the book?
A: I think a biographer always has such concerns. I certainly came across some less-than-flattering comments about the Buckleys during my research. In this case, though, I wasn’t too concerned, since I’d already spent a good chunk of time with them, especially for a big
EW story I did back in 2002. During a trip to Northampton for that story, I almost couldn’t find a hotel room, and Kim and Thurston actually offered to put me up in their house. Needless to say, it’s very rare of anyone in the public eye to do that. I did indeed find a local hotel room at the last minute, but their offer said a lot about their hospitality and generosity.
Q: Some of the band members are authors themselves. Isn’t it terrifying to write about people who know a thing or two about writing? I know they were quite critical about previous writings about them.
A: They’re all smart, well-read people, for sure, and I suppose that is somewhat intimidating. But I couldn’t dwell on that too much or I’d go nuts. I just charged ahead and tried to be as fair, comprehensive, and thorough as possible. That’s all I could do. I was more terrified the first time I interviewed, back in 1988 when “Daydream Nation” was coming out. I was young and very green, and facing all four of them in the Blast First office in downtown New York was incredibly intimidating. Somehow I got an article out of it, but God knows how!
Q: Sonic Youth are so experienced and well trained to handle the media. Did you feel at any point that you couldn’t break through and get the information you are looking for instead of the information they are willing to give?
A: For the most part, no. I spent numerous hours with each of them, and they were all, at one point or another, pretty candid about their feelings on the band, particular albums, and people they’ve worked with. That said, they were a number of “off the record” comments, and I honored those requests.
Q: When the band is asked what is the secret to their success the usually say that it is thanks to the democratic decision-making process they use. I can imagine that as in any other democratic institution, there are also conflicts and power relations in the band. Did you manage to find such conflicts? How does the band resolve them?
A: You’ll have to read the book to find out! But yes, they have wrestled with those issues. Each one of them has firm, definite opinions about how records should sound, what tours or concerts should or shouldn’t be embarked on, etc.—and, in general, how the band should proceed in general. People assume Kim and Thurston form a power block, but they disagree as often as they agree, it seems. Jim O’Rourke told me one of his role was to be what he called “the quirk officer,” the buffer zone. He felt that part of his job was to hear each of them complain about the other, and then help them figure out a compromise. But they absolutely debate and vote. In fact, “Murray Street” would have been called “Street Sauce” if Steve hadn’t objected. Since he put his foot down, “Murray Street” it was. That’s just one example.
Q: Thurston enjoys the “star” position in the band. He is also more dominant as a songwriter in the last few records. Does this cause any tension within the band?
A: It’s not so much his dominant songwriting so much as the media’s perception that Kim and Thurston are basically the band. That’s caused as much tension as anything, it seems. They really do see themselves as a democracy, which doesn’t always jibe with the media’s interest in the “cool couple” that fronts the band. I think that’s been a source of tension, on and off. But I think they all also realize that it’s Thurston’s songs and ideas that start the Sonic Youth engine.
Q: I think that Sonic Youth is the only band in history that was accused for “selling out” twice in their career (first to Geffen, now to Starbucks’ Hear Music)? Do you think that these accusations influenced the band’s artistic choices and music?
A: By their own admission, they do have a tendency to go in a different direction if they feel too pinned down. A good example, of course, is “Experimental Jet Set, Trash and No Star.” After making too somewhat commercial (for them) albums, “Goo and “Dirty”—and hearing some of those “sellout” remarks--they decided enough was enough and bashed out a far less produced record with far less commercial appeal than those two. The Impact of the Starbucks release won’t be heard until we know how their new songs sound, so we’ll see.
Q: Did you have any surprising moments doing your research?
A: Oh, tons. Lee making his singing debut, in high school, with Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young’s “4 +20.” Kim dancing to “Wooden Ships” (by same band) during a high school dance recital. Who knew CSNY played such a role in their upbringings? I didn’t. I also didn’t know until I started the book that Kim’s high school boyfriend was composer Danny Elfman (whom I interviewed as well) or that the decision to drop Lee’s “Genetic” from “Dirty” resulted in a tense inter-band showdown, the biggest internal crisis of their career (according to Thurston). Just a few of many examples.
Q: What should Sonic Youth fans expect from your book?
A: I’d like to think they will learn a lot more about their childhoods and upbringings than ever before, more about what was going on behind the scenes we can call their “pop” years (1990-1995) and glean a few peeks into their personal lives over the years. They’ll hear from more people in their lives than ever before, from Thurston’s mom to some of their childhood friends to famous-friend types like Sofia Coppola, Spike Jonze, and Chloe Sevigny. They’ll get a better sense of why Jim joined—and left—the band. They’ll go behind the scenes at business meetings and in the studio. I aimed for a well-rounded book that discusses music, career, music-industry matters, personal lives, and overall social/cultural context.
Q: I love the title of your book. What do you think was the role of Sonic Youth’s music in the transition to the 21st century?
A: Thanks—I like the title too (and happily admit that I cribbed it from their own album). I thought it was perfect in that Sonic Youth, along with a few of their peers, really did seek to remake and remodel the idea of pop music—songwriting, collaboration, guitar tunings and such—and remove it from any long-held connections to vernacular music (blues, country, and such). They weren’t the only ones to experiment with those notions and structures, but they were really were among the first of a new breed of rock band.
Q: What do you think the 21st century holds for Sonic Youth?
A: As always, the unexpected. I can imagine their music getting even more avant and experimental as they grow older. But then, they could surprise us all. One of their friends told me she thought Thurston could write a traditional, monster-riff rock song whenever he wanted—but that he just didn’t want to. So who knows—maybe that type of song will come out one day and surprise us all.
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