Reviews
"An expressway to the soul of the influential band."-- Vanity Fair "As much a chronicle of the combustion of music and popular culture Sonic Youth helped ignite as it is an earnest portrait of the band and examination of their work...Browne's book will suck you in...He fleshes out the personalities and occasional tensions behind the band's deadpan image."-- Los Angeles Times "The whole scene in you-are-there detail."-- New York Post "A rollicking, epic biography...Browne cannily opts to tell, in a crisp, novelistic style, the compelling story of the cultural tornado of galleries, rock clubs and unique personalities (Lydia Lunch, Kurt Cobain and Chlo Sevigny, to name a few) Sonic Youth swirled around in, the band's ongoing fight to maintain the purity of their vision, and above all, their shared passion for new ideas and sounds."--Salon "For almost 30 years, Sonic Youth has been one of the most influential and innovative bands in the rock topography...a much-deserved biography."-- Rolling Stone "He goads the band...into uncharacteristic chattiness."-- Village Voice, "An expressway to the soul of the influential band."-- Vanity Fair "As much a chronicle of the combustion of music and popular culture Sonic Youth helped ignite as it is an earnest portrait of the band and examination of their work...Browne's book will suck you in...He fleshes out the personalities and occasional tensions behind the band's deadpan image."-- Los Angeles Times "The whole scene in you-are-there detail."-- New York Post "A rollicking, epic biography...Browne cannily opts to tell, in a crisp, novelistic style, the compelling story of the cultural tornado of galleries, rock clubs and unique personalities (Lydia Lunch, Kurt Cobain and Chloë Sevigny, to name a few) Sonic Youth swirled around in, the band's ongoing fight to maintain the purity of their vision, and above all, their shared passion for new ideas and sounds."--Salon "For almost 30 years, Sonic Youth has been one of the most influential and innovative bands in the rock topography...a much-deserved biography."-- Rolling Stone "He goads the band...into uncharacteristic chattiness."-- Village Voice, "An expressway to the soul of the influential band."-- Vanity Fair "As much a chronicle of the combustion of music and popular culture Sonic Youth helped ignite as it is an earnest portrait of the band and examination of their work...Browne's book will suck you in...He fleshes out the personalities and occasional tensions behind the band's deadpan image."-- Los Angeles Times "The whole scene in you-are-there detail."-- New York Post "A rollicking, epic biography...Browne cannily opts to tell, in a crisp, novelistic style, the compelling story of the cultural tornado of galleries, rock clubs and unique personalities (Lydia Lunch, Kurt Cobain and Chloë Sevigny, to name a few) Sonic Youth swirled around in, the band's ongoing fight to maintain the purity of their vision, and above all, their shared passion for new ideas and sounds."--Salon "For almost 30 years, Sonic Youth has been one of the most influential and innovative bands in the rock topography...a much-deserved biography."-- Rolling Stone "He goads the band...into uncharacteristic chattiness."-- Village Voice "[Browne] found a neat narrative to work with, charting the group's determinedly paced journey from under-populated gigs in the arty early-'80s downtown scene to its brush with alt-rock fame in the mid '90s to its current status as an inspiration to a nation of young experimentalists." -- Time Out New York "David Browne's thorough chronicle cuts through the formidable Sonic Youth mystique, not only getting down to the nuts and bolts of this long-running machine but finally locating all the ways that Sonic Youth has altered the course of high culture, low culture, and everything in between." --Michael Azerrad, author of Our Band Could Be Your Life: Scenes from the American Indie Underground 1981-1991 "Sonic Youth were so outlandishly ahead of the curve that we're only beginning to understand their warped brilliance now, so it's a stroke of good fortune that we get to revisit the fascinating story of SY with David Browne, one of the finest cultural journalists in America. This is a monumental book. It's thorough, riveting, revealing, and exquisitely written, and it takes its place alongside Timothy White's Catch a Fire and David Hajdu's Positively 4th Street as one of the truly essential volumes of pop-music history."-Jeff Gordinier, author of X Saves the World: How Generation X Got the Shaft but Can Still Keep Everything from Sucking, "An expressway to the soul of the influential band."-- Vanity Fair "As much a chronicle of the combustion of music and popular culture Sonic Youth helped ignite as it is an earnest portrait of the band and examination of their work...Browne's book will suck you in...He fleshes out the personalities and occasional tensions behind the band's deadpan image."-- Los Angeles Times "The whole scene in you-are-there detail."-- New York Post "A rollicking, epic biography...Browne cannily opts to tell, in a crisp, novelistic style, the compelling story of the cultural tornado of galleries, rock clubs and unique personalities (Lydia Lunch, Kurt Cobain and Chlo_ Sevigny, to name a few) Sonic Youth swirled around in, the band's ongoing fight to maintain the purity of their vision, and above all, their shared passion for new ideas and sounds."--Salon "For almost 30 years, Sonic Youth has been one of the most influential and innovative bands in the rock topography...a much-deserved biography."-- Rolling Stone "He goads the band...into uncharacteristic chattiness."-- Village Voice, "An expressway to the soul of the influential band."-- Vanity Fair "As much a chronicle of the combustion of music and popular culture Sonic Youth helped ignite as it is an earnest portrait of the band and examination of their work…Browne's book will suck you in…He fleshes out the personalities and occasional tensions behind the band's deadpan image."-- Los Angeles Times "The whole scene in you-are-there detail."-- New York Post "A rollicking, epic biography…Browne cannily opts to tell, in a crisp, novelistic style, the compelling story of the cultural tornado of galleries, rock clubs and unique personalities (Lydia Lunch, Kurt Cobain and Chloë Sevigny, to name a few) Sonic Youth swirled around in, the band's ongoing fight to maintain the purity of their vision, and above all, their shared passion for new ideas and sounds."--Salon "For almost 30 years, Sonic Youth has been one of the most influential and innovative bands in the rock topography…a much-deserved biography."-- Rolling Stone "He goads the band...into uncharacteristic chattiness."-- Village Voice "[Browne] found a neat narrative to work with, charting the group's determinedly paced journey from under-populated gigs in the arty early-'80s downtown scene to its brush with alt-rock fame in the mid '90s to its current status as an inspiration to a nation of young experimentalists." -- Time Out New York "David Browne's thorough chronicle cuts through the formidable Sonic Youth mystique, not only getting down to the nuts and bolts of this long-running machine but finally locating all the ways that Sonic Youth has altered the course of high culture, low culture, and everything in between." --Michael Azerrad, author of Our Band Could Be Your Life: Scenes from the American Indie Underground 1981-1991 "Sonic Youth were so outlandishly ahead of the curve that we're only beginning to understand their warped brilliance now, so it's a stroke of good fortune that we get to revisit the fascinating story of SY with David Browne, one of the finest cultural journalists in America. This is a monumental book. It's thorough, riveting, revealing, and exquisitely written, and it takes its place alongside Timothy White's Catch a Fire and David Hajdu's Positively 4th Street as one of the truly essential volumes of pop-music history."-Jeff Gordinier, author of X Saves the World: How Generation X Got the Shaft but Can Still Keep Everything from Sucking
