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Watch The PBS 1988 Documentary On Sonic Youth In Its Entirety Now
By
Ben Yakas
Published May 25, 2012
Modified May 25, 2012
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By
Ben Yakas
Published May 25, 2012
Modified May 25, 2012
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The current state of everyone's favorite alt-noise band Sonic Youth may be vague at best—as guitarist Lee Renaldo told us, "We're all talking, but we're not really talking about the future of the band right now." But the prolific group has scoured the screaming fields of sonic love and produced so much over their 30+ year history, there's always some awesome nuggets to be dug up and enjoyed. To that end: did you know that PBS produced a documentary about Sonic Youth at the height of their powers in 1988?
We didn't know about it before now—below, you can watch the entire South Bank Show documentary "Put The Blood In The Music." There are weird floating talking heads juxtaposed against '80s NY scenes; there's Thurston Moore going through his record collection for recommendations; there's a freakishly-young looking Steve Shelley; and there are testimonials from the likes of John Cale, Bob Bert, Glen Branca, Lenny Kaye, and Lydia Lunch.
Best of all, the band discusses their early career, their ambitions, and what it was like finding the future of rock video in Macy's. The whole thing ends with a live version of "Silver Rocket." Truly, "post-new wave drone rock" has never sounded better.
Tagged
1980s
documentary
Music
pbs
rock
sonic youth
Ben Yakas
Ben Yakas is a former Gothamist reporter.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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