SONIC YOUTH ETC.: SENSATIONAL FIX

The museum exhibition SONIC YOUTH ETC. : SENSATIONAL FIX focuses on the multidisciplinary activities of Sonic Youth since the band's formation in 1981. It features the band's collaborations with visual artists, filmmakers, designers and musicians, as well as a choice of other works selected by the band. Through the multidisciplinary output of Sonic Youth and related works by other artists in the exhibition, an alternative history of contemporary culture is being uncovered in which the division between 'high art' and 'low art' is being called into question, while issues are explored such as teenage rebellion, adolescent wanderlust, gender, fame, fashion, sexuality, and religion. The exhibition is initiated and curated by freelance curator Roland Groenenboom in collaboration with the band and will be presented at LiFE, St. Nazaire, France (from 17 June to 7 September 2008), MUSEION , Bolzano, Italy (from 10 October 2008 to 4 January 2009), and Kunsthalle Dusseldorf, Germany (31 January to 26 April 2009). Further venues are currently in discussion, in Europe, the US and Asia. A complete description of the show can be found here.

SONIC YOUTH FREE SHOW IN NEW YORK JULY 4

Sonic Youth will perform in Battery Park in Manhattan on July 4 and the concert is free to attend. A very rare appearance by The Feelies will open the show. The show is part of the River to River Festival and also a celebration of WFMU's 50 years on the air. Reservations will go live on the River to River site on June 12th at NOON. There's a limit of two tickets per person, and they'll be gone fast. After your reservation is in, you'll be given info on where/when to get your passes (to be picked up BEFORE July 4th). Sign up for alerts here.

GOODBYE PSYCHIC EMPTY CONFUSION

Seems like May 2008 is Sonic Book month, so get yer library cards out, kids! Two new SY biographies have now come to fruition: 'Goodbye 20th Century: A Biography of Sonic Youth' by David Browne will be published by Da Capo Press on May 26. Sonic Youth cooperated with the author on this one. 'Psychic Confusion: The Sonic Youth Story' by Stevie Chick is available now from Omnibus Press in the UK. No band cooperation on this one, instead it pulls from sources far, wide and deep. Both offer their respective author's takes on the SY story from 1981 to the present.

In addition, 'The Empty Page: Fiction Inspired by Sonic Youth', a short story collection by a wide range of authors taking their cues from Sonic Youth song titles, will be published by Serpent's Tail in the UK on May 29, with a US release later in the year on Harper Collins. This book was edited by Peter Wild, with an introduction by Lee.

SYR 7 AVAILABLE NOW

The seventh installment of Sonic Youth's series of experimental + sometimes instrumental releases will be available on April 22, 2008 in a vinyl-only edition self-released on the band's own SYR label. The record is available now for presale at the sonicyouth.com store.

The A-side, 'J'accuse Ted Hughes' is a previously unreleased 22 minute drone-piece recorded by Sonic Youth at the All Tomorrows Parties Festival in the UK April 2001. At ATP the band previewed instrumental and early versions of songs from the then soon-to-be recorded 'NYC Ghosts and Flowers' and performed this premiere + exclusive performance of 'J'accuse Ted Hughes'.

The B-side, 'Agnes B Musique' is a soundtrack-style piece recorded at the band's own Murray Street Studio in 2001 for a never-to-be realized collaboration with French clothing designer Agnes B. This 18 minute long musical piece was recorded with a 5-piece version of SY, the 4 members of SY being joined by Jim O'Rourke who also mixed 'Agnes B Musique'.

SONIC YOUTH IN BELGIUM, NORWAY AND SWEDEN - PLUS SECOND FRANCE SHOW ADDED

Sonic Youth will perform August 7 and 8 at the Oya Festival in Oslo and the Way Out West festival in Goteborg. Look out for an SY manifestation at the Les Escales Festival in Saint-Nazaire, France on August 9. The Les Escales appearance is in conjuction with the nearby "Sensational Fix" show at LiFE. August 5 is a Sonic Youth concert at the Lokerse Feesten in Lekeren, Belgium. And just announced is an appearance at the Les Mediterraneennes Festival on August 4 in Leucate (next to Perpignan), France. More info.

FREE KITTEN REUNITE - PRE-ORDER THE CD AND GET AN AUTOGRAPHED COPY

Free Kitten, the band consisting of Kim, Julie Cafritz, and Yoshimi have recorded a brand new studio album which will be released May 20 on Ecstatic Peace! Records. Tracks: Erected Girl, Surf's Up, Seasick, Free Kitten on the Mountain, Roughshod, Help Me, The Poet, Billboard, Bananas, Monster Eye, Sway. More info. Preorder the record now from Newbury Comics and get an autographed copy.

LEE SOLO JAMMAGE

First up is a Text of Light show at The Flea Theater in New York May 22. Two upcoming Lee shows at Issue Project Room: Lee + Marina Rosenfeld, Ikue Mori, and Zeena Parkins May 28 and Lee with Leah Singer at the 16 channel surround sound festival June 11. Lee plus Bang on a Can are at Mass MoCA July 19. Details at the calendar page.

THURSTON MOORE - BUILT FOR LOVIN'

Thurston has a Limited Edition LP available on info. Preorder the record now from Lost Treasures of the Underworld. Description: " A scabrous grab bag of weirdo recordings assembled by Thurston Moore: hardcore basement slam jammer with Mark Ibold (bass) and John Moloney of Sunburned (drums), a rough demo cue made for an HSBC TV ad, a few noise b-sides from various lost releases and a couple of long psycho-bead kosmi-killersz. And some subterranean acoustic luv — all wrapped up n a pic disc with art by T Moore extracted from his Street Mouth series of collages......."

PSYCHIC HEARTS AT NEW YORK ATP

Thurston and band will perform the entire 'Psychic Hearts' album at the All Tomorrow's Parties Festival in Monticello, NY September 19. Details.

MASTER-DIK - FIRST TIME ON CD

Sonic Youth's 'Master-Dik' EP has been released on CD for the first time and is available exclusively through sonicyouth.com. Originally released between Sister and Daydream Nation this re-mastered EP includes the title track, a cover of the Ramones 'Beat on the Brat' and a sound collage of psycho-distorto-soundscapes recorded by the band while on tour and at Wharton's Palace of Confusion. Track List: 1. Master-Dik 2. Beat on the Brat 3. Under the Influence of The Jesus and Mary Chain/Ticket To Ride/Master-Dik(version)/Introducing the Stars 4. Ringo/He's On Fire/Florida Oil Drums/Westminster Chimes 5.Chinese Jam 6. Vibrato/Guitar Lick/Funky Fresh 7.Our Backyard 8. Traffik. Pick up yr copy exclusively at the sy.store.

KIM PAINTINGS IN HEERLAN AND NYC

Kim has an exhibition of paintings at KS Art in Manhattan through April 9. The show is called 'Come Across.' Painted on translucent rice paper these ethereal images recall faces of audience members from the perspective of the performer. This exhibition also includes a sound piece that created in collaboration with Thurston. KS Art is at 73 Leonard st. in New York.

An installation by Kim including rice paper paintings as an element will take place April 18 to June 15 at the Glaspaleis in Heerlan, The Netherlands. This exhibition is entitled 'Sway: A Way In' and is her first solo exhibition in the The Netherlands.

NEW LEE 12" VINYL IN PAUL THEK EXHIBIT

Lee has a newly pressed 12" locked-groove record on exhibit, in collaboration w Dutch artist Zeger Reyers, as part of the exhibit "Paul Thek, In the Context of Today's Contemporary Art", now open at ZKM Karlsruhe, Germany, from December 15, 2007 to March 30, 2008, (followed by Sammlung Falckenberg Hamburg 17 May-14 September 2008). Check out video of this piece. An exclusive limited and numbered edition (60 copies) of the record 'All the Stars in the Sky' with 9 previously unreleased sound pieces and an etched B-side by Lee and a cover by Reyers is available at the ZKM shop. More info.

NO WAVE: POST-PUNK. UNDERGROUND. NEW YORK.

A new hard cover book by Thurston and Byron Coley Abrams titled "No Wave: Post-Punk. Underground. New York. 1976-1980" will be published by Abrams Image Books on June 1st 2008. This is the first book to visually chronicle the collision of art and punk in the New York underground of 1976 to 1980. This in depth look at punk rock, new wave, experimental music, and the avant-garde art movement of the 70s and 80s focuses on the true architects of No Wave from James Chance to Lydia Lunch to Glenn Branca, as well as the luminaries that intersected the scene, such as David Byrne, Debbie Harry, Brian Eno, Iggy Pop, and Richard Hell.

Thurston Moore and Byron Coley have selected 150 unforgettable images, most of which have never been published previously, and compiled hundreds of hours of personal interviews to create an oral history of the movement, providing a never-seen-before exploration and celebration of No Wave.

CASSETTES, SINGLES, COMPILATIONS

Lee and Thurston have both contributed to the latest releases in Table of the Elements' Guitar Series, and you can read more about it here. Thurston, Lee, and Kim all are players on a new 3CD box set of Rhys Chatham's 'Guitar Trio'.Thurston will contribute to The Bored Fortress split 7" club. The subscribers to this series will receive 2 split 7 inches every other month. Other artists contributing include Vampire Can't, Charalambides and Magik Markers. Info. Leslie Keffer live with Kim Gordon + Thurston Moore cassette is available now from Ecstatic Peace . Side K is Leslie and Kim duo live at The Flywheel in Easthampton, Massachusetts. Side T is Leslie and Thurston duo live at Bourbon Street in Columbus, Ohio. A new Bark Haze cassette featuring Thurston and Andrew "Gown" Mcgregor entitled 'Basement Psychosis" available now on Ecstatic Peace! w/ artwork by Dennis Tyfus. More CD and 7" box sets to come.

THURSTON 'TREES OUTSIDE THE ACADEMY'

'Trees Outside the Academy', Thurston's first record of solo songs since 1995's 'Psychic Hearts', is now available. The album was recorded by Rather Ripped producer John Agnello at J Mascis' Amherst studio and Mascis guests on the album along with Christina Carter, Andrew Macgregor, John Moloney, and Leslie Keffer. The album also features Samara Lubleski on violin and Steve Shelley on drums. A vinyl LP picture disc is available from Cargo UK and Ecstatic Peace! More info at ecstaticpeace.com.

NO FUN

No Fun Productions announces the release of Nothing Make Any Sense, the new CD featuring a live recording of Nels Cline/Carlos Giffoni/Alan Licht/Lee Ranaldo. Also from No Fun comes the 'deep basement cosmosis' of Thurston's 'Sensitive/Lethal'. On CD. Northampton Wools: Thurston/Bill Nace (plus this time Nancy Garcia) will also take part in No Fun Fest 2008 which will take place at the Knitting Factory NYC in May 2008. Lee has also been added to the No Fun Fest line up. Lee will perform his "Blind Piece #2" on May 18th with drummers Pete Nolan (Magik Markers) and Tom Surgal (White Out).

KIM IN THE MOVIES

After her appearance in Todd Haynes 'I'm Not There', Kim will soon return to your movie theater in a new Oliver Assayas ('Demonlover', 'Irma Vep') film titled 'Boarding Gate.' The film which features Asia Argento debuted at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival and will be given a theatrical release by Magnolia on June 3. Kim will also be in a new short film directed by Ali Raza which focuses on a short story created by Miranda July.

BOOKS PART 2

It's So You: Kim is amongst the 35 women contributors to the book It's So You which deals with personal expression through fashion and style. Kim's article "wonders if getting caught without underwear is the ultimate Hollywood celebutante fashion statement". Thurston meanwhile has edited a book called 'Punk House' with photos by Abby Banks. Over 300 images of fifty houses in twenty-five cities in the USA to enlighten the uninformed on the phenomenon. Some images from the book are in the new Arthur Magazine, where you can also find the latest Bull Tongue column by Thurston and Byron Coley.

LOST IN THE ARCHIVES - NEW MIXTAPE Vol. 6 + VIDS

Mix Tape #6 is up. Just click on the cassette on the front page and listen as it streams. We've included a couple of songs from the new Deluxe Edition of Daydream Nation, songs that might be considered outtakes from Daydream Deluxe, one song from Thurston's upcoming Ecstatic Peace! record and a few rarities or oddities that could've wound up on the Destroyed Room LP. There's also new video up of SY shot by Jonas Mekas. Keep checking the Store, MP3 and Video pages for new additions. Also check out our babysite at: myspace.com/sonicyouth.

BASTILLE DAY BLUES

Berkeley Poet Richard Krech offers this.

NEW LOWER PRICES AT THE SY.COM STORE

Prices have dropped once again at the sonicyouth.com store. Single-disk CD's from Geffen are now $11 and the Deluxe Editions are $25. Certain select t-shirts, CD's, and LP's have new, lower prices. SYR 7 12"'s will soon be avilable for preorder. Also available are new skateboards, summer tour posters and several DVD's. Plus an ever-changing selection of Sonic Youth merchandise.