Thurston Moore – Sonic Life – Book Review
by Killian Laher

Eight years on from Kim Gordon’s very readable autobiography comes the memoir of ex-husband and former Sonic Youth bandmate Thurston Moore.  This work is much more the musings of a music nerd than a straight biography. His recollections from the punk era and the early years of Sonic Youth are fascinating.  This portion is effectively a love letter to the late 70s/early 80s New York music scene.  He paints a vivid picture of what a vibrant place New York was at that time, counterbalanced by extraordinary descriptions of the degradation of the city at the same time.

The book is full of enjoyable stories, though at times you find yourself wondering: can he really have been this cool all the time? Kim Gordon is not mentioned until 130 pages in, and there are only occasional mentions of Lee Ranaldo and Steve Shelley. In fact, if you’re looking for major insight into the band, or any big reveal, you won’t find them here.  His love of music is what shines through here.  There is plenty about the heyday of what at one time was known as alternative rock (1991-1995), his writing about Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love is measured and insightful.  He races through the last 25 years or so in something of a blur, and indeed perhaps those years are less interesting to fans of the band than what preceded them.  He keeps details scant about his romance with his new wife Eva Prinz and the end of his 30-year-long relationship with Kim Gordon.

Your enjoyment of this book will depend on your interest in Sonic Youth and tolerance for Moore’s pretentious side, which emerges every so often, but if those boxes are ticked for you, there’s a lot to enjoy here.  It’s a read worthy of one of the more significant figures in rock music of the last 40 years.