Sonic Youth
USA, 1981–2011
New York band formed in 1981, using altered guitar tunings and prepared strings. Daydream Nation brought no-wave dissonance into a rock song format.
MusicRoots documents 3 artists who influenced Sonic Youth and 12 artists Sonic Youth influenced in turn. Every connection cites a published source.
Who influenced Sonic Youth?
- Glenn Branca — Moore and Ranaldo played in Branca's guitar orchestras — Sonic Youth's alternate tunings walked straight out of his ensembles, and his label released their debut.
- The Velvet Underground — The VU are Sonic Youth's declared New York inheritance — noise, drone and art in the same downtown lineage.
- The Stooges — Sonic Youth's cover of 'I Wanna Be Your Dog' is documented devotion — the Stooges as the noise-rock old testament.
Which artists did Sonic Youth influence?
- Neutral Milk Hotel — Alongside their pop love, Mangum's circle prized noisier bands like Sonic Youth, whose fuzz colours In the Aeroplane Over the Sea.
- Pavement — Sonic Youth's dissonant, exploratory indie guitar rock was a direct model and mentor for Pavement, who have discussed what they learned from them.
- Nirvana — Sonic Youth mentored Nirvana directly — brought them to Geffen, took them on the 1991 tour filmed as The Year Punk Broke; Cobain called them his favourite band.
- My Bloody Valentine — Sonic Youth's retuned-guitar vocabulary was documented licence for Shields's glide-guitar experiments.
- Swervedriver — Sonic Youth's tunings and squall are the other documented American pole of Swervedriver's guitars.
- Bikini Kill — Kim Gordon of Sonic Youth is among the women the riot grrrl bands named as showing them a woman could stand at the front of a loud band and write the songs.
- Placebo — Brian Molko named Sonic Youth his biggest influence, saying Placebo probably wouldn't exist without them.
- Bloc Party — Sonic Youth's dissonant guitar textures feed Bloc Party's angular sound — the band included Sonic Youth in their own influences mix.
- Silversun Pickups — Sonic Youth's noisy, textured guitar rock is among the acts feeding Silversun Pickups' wall-of-sound.
- Beck — Sonic Youth's art-noise experimentalism is part of the indie-rock lineage Beck folds into his eclectic sound.
- Hole — Sonic Youth's noise-rock is a core influence on Hole's abrasive early sound.
- The Knife — Named by Karin Dreijer among the band's influences, with Kate Bush and Siouxsie.