Maybe Sonic Youth could have been one of the biggest crossover bands of the ’90s. But that wouldn’t have been as satisfying as it sounds. Yes, the New York City noise rockers spent much of the ’80s pushing the boundaries of punk with their art rock sensibility, attracting an adoring niche of fans all the while (which guitarist and co-founder Thurston Moore detailed meticulously in his 2023 memoir, Sonic Life). But they never broke through like their similarly uncompromising successors, Nirvana, whose 1991 LP Nevermind shattered all paradigms.
One of Sonic Youth’s brushes with showbiz’s upper echelon was in 1993, Moore tells Under the Radar. Sonic Youth—whose main lineup until their 2011 breakup was Moore (vocals/guitar), Kim Gordon (vocals/guitar/bass), Lee Ranaldo (guitar/vocals), and Steve Shelley (drums)— were then opening, alongside Lenny Kravitz and Neil Young, on Metallica’s Nowhere Else to Roam tour. While some musicians might assume that would be career redefining. But mid-set, Moore realized his guitar cable wasn’t long enough to let him reach the lip of Metallica’s oversized “snake pit” triangular stage. Because that was his preferred perch to interact with the audience, he had to “go to the music store and get longer cables the next day,” says Moore. “So that was a wake up call.”
Moore adds: “Not only were we playing huge stages, but we were also playing our new, weirdo, spindly guitar music. I could see interest on some of the collective faces of these big audiences. But at the same time, I also knew they were thinking: ‘I can’t wait until Metallica comes out here and fixes all
