Sonic Youth is a seminal American alternative rock group. Formed in New York City in 1981 within the No Wave art and music scene, they have outlasted many of their contemporaries. Their distinctive sound relies heavily on the use of alternate guitar tunings as well as using objects such as drumsticks and screwdrivers to strike the stings and placing such objects into the strings against the fretboard.
Current members
- Kim Gordon - bass guitar, guitar, vocals; founding member
- Thurston Moore - guitars, vocals; founding member
- Lee Ranaldo - guitars, vocals, organ; founding member
- Steve Shelley - drums; joined 1985
Albums
- Sonic Youth (EP) (1982)
- Confusion Is Sex (1983)
- Sonic Death: Early Sonic 1981-1983 (1984)
- Bad Moon Rising (1985)
- EVOL (1986)
- Sister (1987)
- Daydream Nation (1988)
- Goo (1990)
- Dirty (1992)
- Experimental Jet Set, Trash and No Star (1994)
- Washing Machine (1995)
- A Thousand Leaves (1998)
- NYC Ghosts & Flowers (2000)
- Murray Street (2002)
- Sonic Nurse (2004)
- Rather Ripped (2006)
- The Eternal (2009)