Thurston in Another Man magazine

toxic johnny · 03.19.2009, 08:46 AM

Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth talks...

...about his record collection and the appeal of cassettes in the new issue of AnOther Man out today.

| Published 19 March 2009

In the new issue of AnOther Man, Sean O'Hagan travels to the Massachusetts home of Sonic Youth frontman Thurston Moore to interview him about the past, present and future of the seminal band, who are about to release their 16th album The Eternal. Below is an extract from the text; to read the rest, along with features on Patrick Wolf, Ratatat, Jason Spaceman, and the best art, architecture, fashion and ideas, get AnOther Man issue 8, out today.

Before I depart for New York, Thurston Moore shows me around the basement of his big house. It’s a trip in itself. One section has been turned into a rehearsal space, and is littered with cables and instruments and amps. The other members of the group – Lee Ranaldo, Steve Shelley, Mark Ibold – come up to Northampton for a couple of days’ rehearsal every week. “We write a couple of songs, then go up to NY at the weekend and record them,” says Thurston. “It’s a new way of working for us and one that doesn’t allow for a lot of development. It’s more instant. It has,” he adds mysteriously, “been a challenge to some.”

The basement also contains Thurston’s record collection, wall after wall stacked high with rare and obscure records. It’s easily the biggest archive I have seen since I visited the late John Peel’s house back in the 1980s. The section devoted to Norwegian black metal is bigger than my entire record collection. He pulls out an album at random. The sleeve features a naked nubile covered in blood. “That’s a kind of generic death metal cover,” he deadpans. “She’s probably the drummer’s girlfriend.”

Another basement room houses his collection of cassette mix tapes, personalised compilations that friends and strangers have sent him from across the globe. “When you look at the detail that’s gone into not just the selection of music but the cover illustrations, it’s almost like outsider art,” he says. “These are valuable documents. I think they should be preserved for posterity as a glimpse of popular culture in a time of fragmentation.”

barnaclelapse · 03.19.2009, 09:15 AM

Sixteenth album...geez...I didn't even think about that.

greedrex · 03.19.2009, 09:28 AM

how i'd like to be invited for the week-end there... seriously.

Rob Instigator · 03.19.2009, 11:11 AM

thurston has talked recently about how he was cutting back severely on his record buying and focusing on pamphlets and literature.

I would ,love to hang with him for a weekend, playing records.

This Is Not Here · 03.19.2009, 02:42 PM

I read the full article today.

Did anyone know Thurston has a dog called Merzbow? Cos I certainly didn't.

jennthebenn · 03.19.2009, 02:55 PM

Yeah, I read about Merzbow the dog before. Brilliant.

Chris Lawrence · 03.20.2009, 03:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by barnaclelapse

Sixteenth album...geez...I didn't even think about that.

too bad its their seventeenth.

Jef Mertens · 03.20.2009, 04:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chris Lawrence

too bad its their seventeenth.

I love chris' eternal battle for the Sonic Death album!

blunderbuss · 03.20.2009, 07:27 AM

There's copies of this magazine on ebay for about sixteen quid. Is that really how much it costs?

Rob Instigator · 03.20.2009, 09:21 AM

what is the usa exchange rate for quid?

blunderbuss · 03.20.2009, 11:22 AM

1 quid = 1.45 bucks

Danny Himself · 03.20.2009, 11:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jennthebenn

Yeah, I read about Merzbow the dog before. Brilliant.

Merzbow-wow?

Max123 · 03.20.2009, 02:45 PM

anywhere you can read the full interview online?

Rob Instigator · 03.20.2009, 03:08 PM

man that is an expensive copy of a magazine then!

Chris Lawrence · 03.20.2009, 03:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jef Mertens

I love chris' eternal battle for the Sonic Death album!

haha! actually, i'm guessing they're excluding 'the whitey album', which i have counted as their 7th. and of course they consider the first EP their first album, which i'm sure nobody but them agrees with.

before i launched the discography in '02 i asked the band to put their heads together and provide me with a list of what they considered to be all their official albums, in order, and i put that information directly into the discography. so at least at that time, they considered the whitey album to be a proper sonic youth record (i'm sure many, perhaps including myself, would argue that point).

jennthebenn · 03.20.2009, 03:44 PM

The Whitey Album is a Sonic Youth record, to my mind. Enough of this
revisionist history, band!

Chris Lawrence · 03.20.2009, 03:45 PM

haha, check this out!

Sonic Youth's nineteenth long player will be released in North America on June 8, 2004 and is entitled "Sonic Nurse".

http://www.sonicyouth.com/nurse/index.html

Sonic Nurse is the nineteenth long player by the New York City supernova, together since 1981.

apparently they're moving backwards!

Chris Lawrence · 03.20.2009, 03:49 PM

oh, and:

"Murray Street is Sonic Youth’s 16th album since they came together in 1981. "

apparently they're standing still, too.

pbradley · 03.20.2009, 03:55 PM

I like the comparative difference between The Whitey Album and NYC Ghosts & Flowers. Both really New York albums but in completely different ways.

Rob Instigator · 03.20.2009, 04:04 PM

I count the original EP, with the B side backwards, as a full album of sonic skronk./

I also count ciccone youth as an album.

I also count the album of photos I made of Kim teasing my balls with her tongue an official album...

03.19.2009, 08:46 AM	#1
toxic johnny expwy. to yr skull Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: London Posts: 1,657	Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth talks... ...about his record collection and the appeal of cassettes in the new issue of AnOther Man out today. \| Published 19 March 2009 In the new issue of AnOther Man, Sean O'Hagan travels to the Massachusetts home of Sonic Youth frontman Thurston Moore to interview him about the past, present and future of the seminal band, who are about to release their 16th album The Eternal. Below is an extract from the text; to read the rest, along with features on Patrick Wolf, Ratatat, Jason Spaceman, and the best art, architecture, fashion and ideas, get AnOther Man issue 8, out today. Before I depart for New York, Thurston Moore shows me around the basement of his big house. It’s a trip in itself. One section has been turned into a rehearsal space, and is littered with cables and instruments and amps. The other members of the group – Lee Ranaldo, Steve Shelley, Mark Ibold – come up to Northampton for a couple of days’ rehearsal every week. “We write a couple of songs, then go up to NY at the weekend and record them,” says Thurston. “It’s a new way of working for us and one that doesn’t allow for a lot of development. It’s more instant. It has,” he adds mysteriously, “been a challenge to some.” The basement also contains Thurston’s record collection, wall after wall stacked high with rare and obscure records. It’s easily the biggest archive I have seen since I visited the late John Peel’s house back in the 1980s. The section devoted to Norwegian black metal is bigger than my entire record collection. He pulls out an album at random. The sleeve features a naked nubile covered in blood. “That’s a kind of generic death metal cover,” he deadpans. “She’s probably the drummer’s girlfriend.” Another basement room houses his collection of cassette mix tapes, personalised compilations that friends and strangers have sent him from across the globe. “When you look at the detail that’s gone into not just the selection of music but the cover illustrations, it’s almost like outsider art,” he says. “These are valuable documents. I think they should be preserved for posterity as a glimpse of popular culture in a time of fragmentation.” __________________ Built Toxic J Tough Optic Disc
	\|QUOTE AND REPLY\|

03.19.2009, 09:15 AM	#2
barnaclelapse the destroyed room Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Waverly, Virginia Posts: 577	Sixteenth album...geez...I didn't even think about that.
	\|QUOTE AND REPLY\|

03.19.2009, 09:28 AM	#3
greedrex invito al cielo Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: in yr fotobukit Posts: 6,588	how i'd like to be invited for the week-end there... seriously. __________________ Greed Recordings bandcamp ~The Rex~, stalkin' yr shit since 2008.
	\|QUOTE AND REPLY\|

03.19.2009, 11:11 AM	#4
Rob Instigator invito al cielo Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: In the land of the Instigator Posts: 27,930	thurston has talked recently about how he was cutting back severely on his record buying and focusing on pamphlets and literature. I would ,love to hang with him for a weekend, playing records. __________________ RXTT's Intellectual Journey - my new blog where I talk about all the books I read.
	\|QUOTE AND REPLY\|

03.19.2009, 02:42 PM	#5
This Is Not Here invito al cielo Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Kingston-Upon-Thames, London Posts: 2,586	I read the full article today. Did anyone know Thurston has a dog called Merzbow? Cos I certainly didn't. __________________ http://images.google.co.uk/url?sourc...zLTl_B146tcuiw ~~Record of the moment~~
	\|QUOTE AND REPLY\|

03.19.2009, 02:55 PM	#6
jennthebenn expwy. to yr skull Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Maryland Posts: 2,259	Yeah, I read about Merzbow the dog before. Brilliant. __________________ http://jennthebenn.tumblr.com/
	\|QUOTE AND REPLY\|

03.20.2009, 07:27 AM	#9
blunderbuss invito al cielo Join Date: May 2008 Location: UK Posts: 2,526	There's copies of this magazine on ebay for about sixteen quid. Is that really how much it costs?
	\|QUOTE AND REPLY\|

03.20.2009, 09:21 AM	#10
Rob Instigator invito al cielo Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: In the land of the Instigator Posts: 27,930	what is the usa exchange rate for quid? __________________ RXTT's Intellectual Journey - my new blog where I talk about all the books I read.
	\|QUOTE AND REPLY\|

03.20.2009, 11:22 AM	#11
blunderbuss invito al cielo Join Date: May 2008 Location: UK Posts: 2,526	1 quid = 1.45 bucks
	\|QUOTE AND REPLY\|

03.20.2009, 02:45 PM	#13
Max123 empty page Join Date: Oct 2008 Posts: 4	anywhere you can read the full interview online?
	\|QUOTE AND REPLY\|

03.20.2009, 03:08 PM	#14
Rob Instigator invito al cielo Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: In the land of the Instigator Posts: 27,930	man that is an expensive copy of a magazine then! __________________ RXTT's Intellectual Journey - my new blog where I talk about all the books I read.
	\|QUOTE AND REPLY\|

03.20.2009, 03:44 PM	#16
jennthebenn expwy. to yr skull Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Maryland Posts: 2,259	The Whitey Album is a Sonic Youth record, to my mind. Enough of this revisionist history, band! __________________ http://jennthebenn.tumblr.com/
	\|QUOTE AND REPLY\|

03.20.2009, 03:45 PM	#17
Chris Lawrence Moderator Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: southwest canada Posts: 1,882	haha, check this out! Sonic Youth's nineteenth long player will be released in North America on June 8, 2004 and is entitled "Sonic Nurse". http://www.sonicyouth.com/nurse/index.html Sonic Nurse is the nineteenth long player by the New York City supernova, together since 1981. apparently they're moving backwards! __________________ http://www.sonicyouth.com/mustang // original folk blues ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .i'm the boy that can enjoy invisibility. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
	\|QUOTE AND REPLY\|

03.20.2009, 03:49 PM	#18
Chris Lawrence Moderator Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: southwest canada Posts: 1,882	oh, and: "Murray Street is Sonic Youth’s 16th album since they came together in 1981. " apparently they're standing still, too. __________________ http://www.sonicyouth.com/mustang // original folk blues ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .i'm the boy that can enjoy invisibility. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
	\|QUOTE AND REPLY\|

03.20.2009, 03:55 PM	#19
pbradley invito al cielo Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: SoKo Posts: 10,621	I like the comparative difference between The Whitey Album and NYC Ghosts & Flowers. Both really New York albums but in completely different ways.
	\|QUOTE AND REPLY\|

03.20.2009, 04:04 PM	#20
Rob Instigator invito al cielo Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: In the land of the Instigator Posts: 27,930	I count the original EP, with the B side backwards, as a full album of sonic skronk./ I also count ciccone youth as an album. I also count the album of photos I made of Kim teasing my balls with her tongue an official album... __________________ RXTT's Intellectual Journey - my new blog where I talk about all the books I read.
	\|QUOTE AND REPLY\|