Sasha Frere-Jones is just so good sometimes. I love this description of Sonic Youth circa 1986:"If the bright, square notes of 'Into the Groove' came from a world of easy round numbers, Sonic Youth's music was made of intricate fractions. Each song was crammed with information. Moore swayed as if the stage were heaving, and he sang as though he were trying to calm himself down. Lee Ranaldo, a rugged kid from Long Island with a shaggy hair style, stood stage right, whipping his guitar through the air, now and then crouching to get a better purchase on it. Kim Gordon was center stage, bass in hand; she was the least seasoned musician onstage, and her playing was simple and relentless. Cool, blond, serene, she was like the lead in a movie who refuses to read from the script, more Marina Vlady than Brigitte Bardot."
— "Wonder Town," The New Yorker, June 22, 2009
