Includes Bonus LP of Live 1981 Material & An Early Studio Outtake!
Sonic Youth’s eponymous debut 12-inch was recorded in late 1981 at Radio City Music Hall in NYC and originally released on composer Glenn Branca’s Neutral label. The album is loosely based on compositions the newly formed group had performed at that year’s week-long Noisefest event (and remains the only recorded document of an early line-up featuring actor Richard Edson on drums).
Though Sonic Youth are largely known for their use of radical alternate tunings, the band claims that this record was written entirely in standard tuning. This Goofin’ Records double vinyl edition also features extra live material from a 1981 gig and an outtake from an early studio session the same year.
“We wanted it to sound like PIL who we were into. It didn’t but we were lucky it came out sounding like a record. We did it in two eight-hour sessions at a studio at Radio City Music Hall called Plaza Sound. The janitor let us in the back door.” – Kim Gordon
