Super Sonic take off
Indy pioneers Sonic Youth (from left) Steve Shelley, Thurston Moore, Kim Gordon, Jim O' Rourke and Lee Ranaldo. File photo |
Car Sick Cars front man, Jeff Zhang, received that call. His Beijing-based band will open for American underground demi-gods, Sonic Youth, in their only show in the capital.
"I used to think that just seeing Sonic Youth playing live was my dream, but now we will be playing in the same show as them, so that is incredible," the 21-year-old said. "This is so weird; we are really excited. I think Lee Ranaldo chose us."
If the name Lee Ranaldo doesn't ring a bell, he's the one with the grey hair in the picture associated with this story.
"Isn't he a bit old to be playing in a group called Sonic Youth?" you may ask.
The band's name may inspire images of screaming teenagers orbiting the earth with jet-propelled backpacks and while young fans constitute some of their audience, the members of Sonic Youth are no longer spring chickens.
Hovering around the ripe age of 50, these guys have been at it since the early 1980s, but like another bunch of mature Western rockers that recently visited China, The Rolling Stones, this is one group whose mark on an entire generation of musicians is difficult to encapsulate in the space permitted for this story.
Fusing the abstract approach of experimental artists, such as Glenn Branca, with the spirit of The Stooges, Wire and even the Velvet Underground, these New Yorkers have recorded albums considered landmarks of the alternative scene.
Their 1989 double LP, Daydream Nation, was recently inducted into the United States' National Recording Registry of the Library of Congress, which is reserved for sound recordings deemed "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant".
In the underground music scene, in which the ultimate sin is "selling out" or sacrificing innovation for mainstream success, Sonic Youth were one of the first big acts to sign to a major label under the proviso that they maintained creative control.
Now, 27 years after they first formed, the noise merchants, who once took to their instruments with carpentry tools just for the heck of it, are set to grace the stages of Beijing and Shanghai.
Anyone concerned the old rockers have passed their prime only need to spend an afternoon with a set of headphones and the band's latest acclaimed full-length offering, Rather Ripped. Yep, they still know how to make a racket.
So why have the underground veterans decided now to make the trek to the Middle Kingdom? Bassist Kim Gordon said China's current cultural climate was a big factor. "We've been interested in China for many years, but the timing has never seemed appropriate for a band like us," Gordon.said.
"All of a sudden China seems to be opening up and accepting the outside world. We cannot wait to be one of the first major Western bands to play this amazing country."
The group's arrival comes at a time when Beijing's own burgeoning underground rock scene is beginning to draw attention from the international media and Western musical luminaries.
Several local acts including rockers Joyside, Retros and electronic duo FM3 have been touring abroad in Europe and the Unites States, while others are recording albums with renowned overseas producers.
The influence of Sonic Youth on these domestic acts is unmistakeable, particularly in the sound of Car Sick Cars.
Does this mean that the youngsters are planning to cover one of their idol's songs in their set? "No, I don't think so; we're a little bit nervous as it is," Zhang said. "We'll just stick to our material."
Sonic Youth
April 23
The Star Live
Tickets: 350 yuan
(China Daily 04/18/2007 page18)
