Goodbye 20th Century A Biography of Sonic Youth [Paperback]

Rising from the drug-infested streets of '80s New York City, the incomparable Sonic Youth recorded some of the most important albums in alternative music history and influenced an entire generation of indie rockers.

They helped spawn an alternative arts scene of underground films and comics, conceptual art, experimental music, even fashion. More than perhaps any band of their time, they brought art previously considered “fringe” into the mainstream—and irrevocably altered the cultural zeitgeist.

Based on extensive research, exclusive band interviews, and unprecedented access to unreleased recordings and documents,Goodbye 20th Centuryis the definitive biography of the Velvet Underground of their generation.

David Browneis the author of two books and a contributor to theNew York Times, theNew Republic, andSpin, among other publications. He lives in New York City.

An expressway to the soul of the influential band. —Vanity Fair

As much a chronicle of the combustion of music and popular culture Sonic Youth helped ignite as it is an earnest portrait of the band and examination of their work…Browne's book will suck you in…He fleshes out the personalities and occasional tensions behind the band's deadpan image. —Los Angeles Times

The whole scene in you-are-there detail. —New York Post

A rollicking, epic biography…Browne cannily opts to tell, in a crisp, novelistic style, the compelling story of the cultural tornado of galleries, rock clubs and unique personalities (Lydia Lunch, Kurt Cobain and Chloë Sevigny, to name a few) Sonic Youth swirled around in, the band's ongoing fight to maintain the purity of their vision, and above all, their shared passion for new ideas and sounds. —Salon

For almost 30 years, Sonic Youth has been one of the most influential and innovative bands in the rock topogl.