Kim Gordon
Ex-Antifrontwman of Sonic Youth and queen of the grunge underground Kim Gordon has been one of the leading faces of women in rock music. Her story is as unconventional as they come, starting her career as a visual artist in New York before meeting Thurston Moore and fronting indie legends Sonic Youth, taking centre-stage when she much rather preferred to stick it out on the wings. Herself the ex-vocalist, bassist, and guitarist of Sonic Youth – formed with then-lover and now ex-husband Moore – Gordon and co were pioneers of the noise rock and alternative rock genres in America, at a time where it was thought that synths were taking over and guitar music was presumed dead.
Well aware of her reputation as the opposite of what was expected from female musicians in the 80’s (e.g. Madonna), Gordon describes herself in her tell-all memoir, Girl In a Band, as “opaque, mysterious, or even cold.” A forerunner of the Riot Grrrl movement in the 90s – along with Kathleen Hanna and Joan Jett – Gordon was one of the very first female artists to portray themselves as other than a mindless sex object, using their femininity to break through the throngs of a mostly male-dominated rock scene.
Sonic Youth were the cornerstones of the post-punk and experimental rock scenes, focusing on the DIY ethic of the hardcore and noise rock ethos of the indie underground. As Kathleen Hanna of Bikini Kill stated about Gordon, “Just knowing a woman was in a band trading lead vocals, playing bass, and being a visual artist at the same time made me feel less alone… I was in a punk underground scene dominated by hardcore dudes who yelled mean shit at me every night, and journalists routinely called my voice shrill, unlistenable. Kim made me feel accepted in a way I hadn’t before. Fucking Kim Gordon thought I was on the right track, haters be damned. It made the bullshit easier to take, knowing she was in my corner.”
Engineers of the legacy of musical innovation across a career-spanning three decades, Sonic Youth thrived on their gritty blend of noise-punk experimental rock music, achieving breakthrough success without once succumbing to mediocrity. Sonic Youth became a household name for heart, integrity, and that unique kind of cool in a genre of a detached charisma and youth that Gordon is so known for.
Words by Cady Siregar