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Sonic Youth have now been around long enough to qualify for grandfather status. Sure, they replaced drummers back in the 1980s and different folks have joined them in their journey, but overall, it's been the fab four of Moore, Gordon, Ranaldo and Shelley for just about 25 years. That's a long damn time for any group--and surely no one expected them to hang around that long, considering they came out of the New York No Wave scene that pretty much defined itself as being of the moment and not necessarily for the ages. No one living on NYC's Lower East Side during the early '80s was thinking about the future beyond what might be for dinner if they made it home alive. You sidestep enough junkies on your doorstep and you, too, might have a less than rosy picture of humanity.

But while the Lower East Side is barely recognizable to those who once canvassed its streets, the Sonic Youths are still very much the same people they've always been. Sure, they're a little older. Thurston Moore's probably even taller! Their hearing is probably a little worse for the wear. But they've been both persistent in their search for the tune inside the tuneless and lucky as hell that enough people still care to keep them in business. Many of their contemporaries have suffered tougher fates.

In celebration of their new album The Eternal, which I have yet to hear so I can only say it must be great, I've put together some lists spotlighting the musicians who either inspired them or should have. Technically, their parents and their high school communities were probably bigger influences on them than any of the following, but it doesn't make for the right kind of list if we have the Bethel, Connecticut Chamber of Commerce listed next to the Velvet Underground. I am trying to keep this blog about the music!

10) The Beatles: Every band that came after the Beatles had to be influenced by them in some way, since technically they did just about everything you could do. Some musicians admired them for their haircuts, others for their hits. SY dug them for their everything. You might immediately think "Revolution #9" would be their fave track, just for sheer perversity but I'd wager they liked the idea of wanting to hold your hand just as much. It just didn't come as natural to them.

9) The Fall: There are so many bands they might claim as bigger influences. Anyone who watches rock documentaries has discovered there isn't a musician dead or alive that Thurston Moore hasn't been caught discussing in front of a HUGE record collection. Moore isn't just a musician; he's a fan. And he likes musical challenges. And The Fall have always been a musical challenge, averse to playing nice and cast as permanent outsiders. Where the band might rank these guys, you'd have to ask them, but in terms of uncompromising soul brothers, Mark E. Smith and these folks have a lot in common.

8) Wire: Again, we could fill in the blanks here with plenty of other bands--the Slits, perhaps?--but I haven't had the chance to mention Wire in some time and their debut album Pink Flag was exactly the kind of conceptual juggernaut that would inspire a band like Sonic Youth to take it up another notch, to not be afraid to think about the music before they even played it.

7) The MC5: While so much is made about Sonic Youth being a conceptual "art" band, they didn't build their music or their fan base on abstract ideas. They built it on a heavy, brutal noise and since I can't technically list the City Of Detroit as an influence, I'll settle for two of its favorite sons. Sonic Youth have never recorded a song as immediate as "Kick Out the Jams," but then again no one else has either. However, they aspire to the spirit and craziness.

6) Arnold Schoenberg: Ah, old "Twelve Tone" himself. The man who took classical music and either sent it into a brave new world or sent it directly into the crapper depending on who you talk to. Controversial to the end. And certainly someone Sonic Youth heard as a viable alternative to whatever easy listening was at hand. If the rest of the world listened to more Schoenberg, I guarantee you the world would be less populated today. Because, trust me, this makes for lousy date music.

5) Brian Eno: The Sonic Youths have always liked musical theory--prepared instruments, alternate tunings. They like to think about their approach and sometimes force themselves to play by prescribed rules. They never added Brian Eno to their line-up like the Talking Heads, but surely they read about his theories and probably tried a few of them along the way. Maybe they secretly hate him. Or maybe they pray to him before each recording session. You never know.

4) Igor Stravinsky: Igor Stravinsky's "The Rite Of Spring" caused riots when it was first performed. These days you can't even get enough people to attend a classical music performance to get a decent fist-fight started. Boy, how times change. Sonic Youth have used enough mind-numbing feedback and played enough shows where they seem to be baiting their audience into some sort of violent freakout. But their fans are usually too schooled to fall for such things. I don't have the actual numbers in front of me, but I'd wager that SY have the most "Fans with Graduate Degrees from Bard College" than anyone this side of Steely Dan. 

3) The Velvet Underground: While the Velvet Underground will always be seen as one of the first "alternative" groups in rock n' roll--that is, a band that sold no records in its time but went on to become a major influence on others--they were really an incredibly diverse band that played all types of music but always slightly out of step with the times. That and initial bad luck ensured them a permanent cult legacy. Sure, everyone figures Sonic Youth memorized "Sister Ray," but they certainly also could appreciate "Who Loves The Sun." Even tough guys get tired of hitting themselves on the head with a hammer, after all.

2) The Stooges: No punk group, no post-punk group, no post-post-punk group can exist without acknowledging the Stooges. Like the Beatles, the Stooges wrote the rulebook for this sort of thing. Sonic Youth are one of the few bands who took "We Will Fall" as seriously as "I Wanna Be Your Dog" and knew they could never top it. But also knew it would be awfully fun trying.

1) Glenn Branca: Thurston Moore and Lee Ranaldo both played with Branca before deciding not to work on Branca's farm no more. They looked at one another and saw kindred souls who both enjoyed the idea that music that doesn't immediately deafen you might be something they'd like to further pursue. Branca has never enjoyed anywhere near the commercial success of his former colleagues. But I bet if he got a good lawyer he could find some way to sue the pants off them for something! I mean, there's always something!