Get ready for the battle of the indie rock heavyweights with Sonic Youth and Radiohead set to cross swords.
Sonic Youth formed in 1980, and since then have become one of the most influential and highly regarded American acts of all time. Becoming one of the first underground rock acts to be signed by a major label, Sonic Youth paved the way for the grunge explosion, recommending to Geffen that they check out the little known Seattle three piece Nirvana.
After 18 years on a major label Sonic Youth’s contract lapsed and the band took the opportunity to sign with an independent. New album ‘The Eternal’ was released through Matador Records, and contains more ideas than most bands half their age.
Click HERE to read our review of ‘The Eternal’!
Meanwhile British counterparts Radiohead have also moved from a major label to a smaller independent. Tiring of the strains of EMI, the Oxford group signed with XL Recordings but not before releasing recent album ‘In Rainbows’ as a pay-what-you-like download.
A hugely influential move, it seems that Sonic Youth were not approving of Radiohead’s web based hi jinks. In an interview with British newspaper The Guardian the bass player said “they did a marketing ploy by themselves and then got someone else to put it out”.
Continuing the alt rock heroine said “it seemed really community-oriented, but it wasn’t catered towards their musician brothers and sisters, who don’t sell as many records as them. It makes everyone else look bad for not offering their music for whatever.
“It was a good marketing ploy and I wish I’d thought of it! But we’re not in that position either. We might not have been able to put out a record for another couple of years if we’d done it ourselves. And it takes away from the actual making music.”
Gordon might have a point. After years of drifting in the wilderness, attempting to craft something that resembled a Warp Records release, ‘In Rainbows’ became Radiohead’s most successful release in a decade.
However it also helps that the album is perhaps the band’s finest effort in some time. Scoring a place in our Essential 50, ‘In Rainbows’ went on to grab a Grammy award.
Meanwhile Sonic Youth also had to fend off counter accusations in the same interview. The band released a ‘Best Of’ via coffee shop Starbucks titled ‘Hit Are For Squares’.
Guitarist Lee Ranaldo defended the release saying “we thought we’d try it and see what happens”.
“There’s a certain side to this group that likes perversity, and that’s a pretty perverse concept. At that time, Starbucks were selling records when no one else was. The majors were throwing up their hands. The irony is, for all the spewing it caused on the blogs, it is our most rare record. I have never seen a copy in a store, and I’ve never met anyone who’s seen a copy in a store.”
Sonic Youth’s new album ‘The Eternal’ is available now.
