Sonic Youth

Formation and early history: 1977–1981

Shortly after guitarist Thurston Moore moved to New York City in early 1977, he formed the group Room Tone with his roommates; they later changed their name to the Coachmen. After the breakup of the Coachmen, Moore began jamming with Stanton Miranda, whose band, CKM, featured Kim Gordon. Moore and Gordon formed a band, appearing under names like Male Bonding, Red Milk, and the Arcadians before settling on Sonic Youth in mid-1981. This name came from combining the nickname of MC5 guitarist Fred "Sonic" Smith with that of reggae artist Big Youth. Gordon later recalled that "as soon as Thurston came up with the name Sonic Youth, a certain sound that was more of what we wanted to do came about." The band played Noise Fest in June 1981 at New...

Early releases: 1982–1985

Branca signed Sonic Youth as the first act on his label Neutral Records. In December 1981, the group recorded five songs at New York's Radio City Music Hall. This material was released as the EP Sonic Youth; while largely ignored, it was sent to a few key members of the American music press, who gave it uniformly favorable reviews. The EP featured a relatively conventional post-punk style, in contrast to their later releases. Edson then quit the group to play full time in his other band, KONK and was replaced by Bob Bert.

Major label career and becoming alternative icons: 1990–1999

In 1990, Sonic Youth released Goo, their first album on the Geffen Records subsidiary DGC. The album featured the single "Kool Thing", on which rapper Chuck D of Public Enemy made a guest appearance. The record was considered much more accessible than their previous works and became their best-selling record to date.

Musical style and influences

Sonic Youth is considered a pioneering band in the noise rock and alternative rock genres. Their music has also been labelled experimental rock, indie rock, post-punk and art rock. The band's releases have been described as "genre-defying". Andrew Daly of Guitar World magazine wrote that "Lee Ranaldo and Thurston Moore sought to tear down the idea of guitar-driven music completely. [...] The pair's viewpoint on their instruments was fresh, vivid and untethered to all established norms."

Dirty Boots

"Dirty Boots" is a song by the American rock band Sonic Youth from their sixth studio album, Goo (1990). It was released as the third and final single from the album in April, 1991, by DGC Records.

The song was written and produced by Sonic Youth, with additional production from Nick Sansano and Ron Saint Germain. The single included five live tracks taken from a concert recorded on November 3, 1990 at University of California, Irvine's Crawford Hall in Irvine, California.

Music video

The music video for "Dirty Boots" was directed by Tamra Davis. The video features a boy and girl who meet and fall in love at a Sonic Youth concert. At the climax, both get onstage and kiss passionately while the band continues to play; both are then escorted by bouncers into the audience via stage dive. The video was shot in a now-defunct New York City club called Beowulf. The boy, dressed in a flannel shirt, was played by Matthew Horn. The girl, in a Nirvana T-shirt, was played by Lisa Stansbury of Neptune, New Jersey. The band selected both, after seeing them at a Dinosaur Jr. show at Maxwell's in Hoboken.