I’ve been a sonic youth fan my whole life. 

I grew up listening to Evol and Sister on cassette, my friend Steve Stone got Daydream Nation the day it was released on vinyl, in our dirty desert teenage years back in Yuma, brave men run.

I woke up about 20 minutes thinking about him.

Thurston will be playing the Goat Farm on February 8th, the event is already sold out.

He’s lead an truly favored life. 

I can think of no one else who has managed to keep a band together for over 25 years together, form a cult following that would eventually lead to having their Music sold in Starbucks and be married for over 25 years, travelling the world, not having to have a job besides making amazing art.

He’s our version of a rock star.

What happened?

Same could be asked about Mel Gibson; isn’t he from nowhere’s ville Australia, made Mad Max next thing you know he’s Braveheart with over 25 years of marriage.

I know something of this topic, not that I’ve had any success in anything comparable with this men, I too was married for over 10 years.

Scratch that, I can’t even begin to relate.

But I’m a man. 

In my studio, I get to hear V103 in the background at nearly all times. There are three Radio/Cell towers less than 100 meters from my space, the copper in my headphones and cables conducts their signal and wala, don’t let me get in my zone, I’m riding around I’m spending it.

I heard a commercial last about some drug that can boast testosterone levels in men over 40, the ad went something like suffering from low sex drive, lack of motivation?

Aren’t sex drive and motivation key factors in making men do what we do? Totally.

So after 25 years of a bond so great less than 1% of you reading this will ever experience, including me, why did these guys, why did Thurston break camp?

It does take two to tango, but in these situations, I’m sure it was the man who lead.

They wanted to feel alive again.

The last three years and pitchfork have made Thurston’s fields of sonic love more relevant than anything before. 

Between 96 and 05 most have been some lean years for Kim and Thurston. Their sound, it seemed was done.

Fortunately their DYI roots have thought them how to be comfortable with less.

The extravagances that most “rock stars” this couple didn’t seem to have, or want.

They raised Coco, collected records, and enjoyed the freedom of relative obscurity.

Then, the unexpected happen - their sound caught on to the new kids. 

always a way (for Thurston & Kim Moore) by @85lives

In the mid-00’s everything 80’s came back. I seen the Adolescents at the Masquerade in 2005.

Except with Sonic Youth, the kids realized this was way more than an 80’s band.

This was an artistic vision, this was a template.

Trees Outside the Academy was something a return for Thurston’s solo work. Maybe this was also where he found that new motivation, that new burst of energy.

Demolished Thoughts probably sealed the deal. A new life, Me without you.

No doubt he’ll be close to Kim forever.

I wonder how many eyes will be made at the Goat Farm, I remember my first year after the divorce.

I wonder if at the end, it’ll be worth it. Sure you get a new life (near the end of your life) but all that rich history, it’s been cut.

We’ll always love him, we just wish they could have stayed together, selfishly, for us.

Posted via email from the thoughts behind the sounds | Comment »

Hey happy new year.

After passing out on French sparkly bubbly in the studio on early in 2012, I dreamt.

I was swimming, in the Caribean, following my son Arizona. I went underwater (I’m an excellent underwater swimmer), I kept passing legd and floats and all manner of beachlife.

I felt I was coming up to an edge, something was ahead and in the way, I kept bumping up against it to get past it.

I had been underwater for well longer than most longs can sustain but I wasn’t concerned about oxygen or pressure-release, I wanted to get by.

I finally got the object out of my way, a mess of XLR cables and what appeared to be the base of a pulpit; even some astro-turf.

I came up and soldiers in dress greens knew my name, behind the pulpit was governor Zen Miller, even though I haven’t ever met him, I could identify him.

I was recieving a standing ovation and my parents were their, only besides  merely congratulating me, they were pressed to take me somewhere and show me something.

It was Monday.

They took me to a small storefront in the west coast, the kind that churches would use in the 80’s.

It was standing room only, with a small stage in the front, a big movie screen and a projector were set up, the kind churches would use in the 80’s.

A film with a great electronic score and my parents begain, it had amazing unheard of music, the video quality went from super 8 to HD, grainy to avatar.

I seen a side of my parents I didn’t know existed, they were alive and animated, full of creativity and youthful energy.

There were parts were they were lip-syncing the synth parts, running from the Border Patrol, more that are hard to describe; breath-taking.

At the end, during the credits, I seen all the film award wreaths; I was in Cannes, and they were winners.

He said they shot and scored the entire thing themselves over the weekend, just for this festival.

It was annointed.

Posted via email from the thoughts behind the sounds | Comment »