Sonic Life

A Memoir

By: Thurston Moore

Narrated by: Thurston Moore

Length: 19 hrs and 8 mins

Publisher's summary

From the founding member of Sonic Youth, a passionate memoir tracing the author's life and art—from his teen years as a music obsessive in small-town Connecticut, to the formation of his legendary rock group, to thirty years of creation, experimentation, and wonder

"Downtown scientists rejoice! For Thurston Moore has unearthed the missing links, the sacred texts, the forgotten stories, and the secret maps of the lost golden age. This is history—scuffed, slightly bent, plenty noisy, and indispensable."—Colson Whitehead, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Underground Railroad and Harlem Shuffle

Thurston Moore moved to Manhattan’s East Village in 1978 with a yearning for music. He wanted to be immersed in downtown New York’s sights and sounds—the feral energy of its nightclubs, the angular roar of its bands, the magnetic personalities within its orbit. But more than anything, he wanted to make music—to create indelible sounds that would move, provoke, and inspire.

His dream came to life in 1981 with the formation of Sonic Youth, a band Moore cofounded with Kim Gordon and Lee Ranaldo. Sonic Youth became a fixture in New York’s burgeoning No Wave scene—an avant-garde collision of art and sound, poetry and punk. The band would evolve from critical darlings to commercial heavyweights, headlining festivals around the globe while helping introduce listeners to such artists as Nirvana, Hole, and Pavement, and playing alongside such icons as Neil Young and Iggy Pop. Through it all, Moore maintained an unwavering love of music: the new, the unheralded, the challenging, the irresistible.

In the spirit of Just Kids, Sonic Life offers a window into the trajectory of a celebrated artist and a tribute to an era of explosive creativity. It presents a firsthand account of New York in a defining cultural moment, a history of alternative rock as it was birthed and came to dominate airwaves, and a love letter to music, whatever the form. This is a story for anyone who has ever felt touched by sound—who knows the way the right song at the right moment can change the course of a life.

©2023 Thurston Moore (P)2023 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

Named a Most Anticipated Book of the Fall by Vogue, The Chicago Tribune, and The Guardian

"Downtown scientists rejoice! For Thurston Moore has unearthed the missing links, the sacred texts, the forgotten stories, and the secret maps of the lost golden age. This is history—scuffed, slightly bent, plenty noisy, and indispensable." —Colson Whitehead, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of The Underground Railroad and Harlem Shuffle

"I thoroughly enjoyed Thurston Moore's trip down the gauntlet of memory lane, dodging beer bottles and pools of blood as he balances the demands of art and survival. Plus I'm a sucker for anyone who name-checks Saccharine Trust. A raw, rollicking document." —Nell Zink, author of Avalon and Doxology

“Thurston Moore’s all-embracing memoir Sonic Life works the way Sonic Youth did, with raging appetite for experience, with velocity and nerve, with a total devotion to making art from the resolute stance of starry-eyed fan and unabashed permanent novice. His recall is as amazing as his generosity.” —Jonathan Lethem, National Book Critics Circle Award–winning author of Motherless Brooklyn

I feel like I just lost my new best friend

After 18 hours of hearing one of my most admired idols in music and art waxing poetic about his life and practice, I feel like I just lost my new best friend. Equally a love letter to punk rock and NYC, two establishments close to my own heart, this is as much a memoir as it is a manifesto to living in the image of one’s art.

Completely blown away again

Just like Sonic Youth did for my taste in music, Thurston double triple strums this epic book to life. His writing like his lyrics is ethereal. All the stories about famous bands and musicians and artists made this a hard book to even pause.

Fantastic in every way!

Thurston takes you through possibly the most thorough, personal trip of new and alternative on the edge music scape of the last 40+ years better then anybody else has, ever. If you love music you need to read this.

Treasure trove memoir of lore from Punk’s Waldo

I am delighted by how nerdy this book is it’s genuinely charming the adoration and romance in Thurston’s writing. Reminds me a bit of his hero Patti Smiths humble poetic style in the excellent Just Kids memoir.

Better than this band is your life, not quite as good as please kill me this purely in regards to its status as a condensed punk history which are two great books that’s high praise. This is all from personal anecdotes not interviews or second hand accounts.

Which that I could see how the reverence can read annoying, but rules imo I’m a geek and love sonic youth. Reassuring to know one of my musical heroes is as obsessive and passionate as his fans still.

Thurston’s specificity is charming not annoying to me as a music geek and his monotone pretentious delivery I wouldn’t have it any other way. Just finished the whole book audiobook in like 2 days was a delight. Hari Krishna

Very Informative and Interesting

As a Sonic Youth fan I really enjoyed it, but as a black metal fan it was disappointing that Thurston didn’t even acknowledge his time in the black metal supergroup Twilight in the early 2010s

fun listen

Wonderful trip through the world of maybe the greatest American rock band. Thanks for being a great guide

Fantastic

An amazing insight on a trailblazing group that has helped shaped my creative mind and feed my sonic life for over two decades.

Overwhelmed with gratitude for this person

This artfully catalogued and written memoir is a masterclass in music history. An absolute must read. A reminder that being there are is kind of a super power. I hope he writes another book.

Take out your notepads

Thurston Moore shares stories involving any number of musicians and bands that he's crossed paths with and is excited about. They range from household names to the obscure. I looked them all up and discovered some gems. If only for that, this audiobook is worth its ticket price. Moore's excitement is most contagious when he speaks of the early stages when he was introduced to punk rock.

As an author, he is fluid and keeps things neat and simple. He doesn’t often write about complex emotions, which makes part of the book feel somewhat anecdotic, but still interesting. My favorite passages are those in which he describes the urban wasteland in New York during the late '70s, his own frailty at the time, I suspect, reflected in the lost souls that wandered those streets and buildings.

Moore's celebration of the music world is gracious and sincere, with cameo appearances by several rock legends. He seems happy to somehow belong in their circle. Sonic Youth, though not your typical celebrities, have earned their place among the greats and are revered by a niche audience, as their album title, "Experimental Jet Set and No Star," suggests.

I was a casual enthusiast of the band during my late teens and early twenties and still occasionally listen to their music, as well as Moore's solo work. If anything, I've gained more respect for them with time. I went to a few of their concerts, including one in Barcelona, in which he felt disconnected from the audience, according to this memoir. I can say for myself that I was out of my mind that night, but was comforted by their music. I sat in the back of the room with a total stranger, who was likely also out of her mind, and soaked in the sounds in shared joy.

A backstage pass to experimental rock ground zero

From Louie Louie to the post everything place we are at now, Thurston bares witness to it all. It was amazing how each obscure record, random connection, deep friendship, or incredible show influenced his path. His limitless curiosity and respect for the fearless artists and performers that came before him gave him the confidence to always push his art as much as possible into the interesting and experimental. It was incredible to see how his Life-Long focus on the weird and difficult to understand ultimately allowed him to develop friendships with his idols and influence the next generation too. What an inspiring life he has led. Proof that focusing on your interests -no matter how out of the mainstream, instead of the obviously commercial, can allow you to influence the world and ultimately have you looking like a pioneer and garnering respect (maybe not from everyone), but from the type of people you respect. I've seen Sonic Youth 4 times and they always left me similarly inspired. I do wish he wrote more about his time in Granada, Spain, though, and playing with Enrique Morente. I happened to see them play that show in 1999 and always wondered the backstory. Thanks for sharing, Thurston! Keep pushing the boundaries and inspiring others to do the same.