The discography of American rock band Sonic Youth comprises 15 studio albums, seven extended plays, three compilation albums, seven video releases, 21 singles, 46 music videos, ten releases in the Sonic Youth Recordings series, eight official bootlegs, and contributions to 16 soundtracks and other compilations.
| Sonic Youth discography | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Studio albums | 15 |
| Compilation albums | 4 |
| Video albums | 6 |
| Music videos | 46 |
| EPs | 8 |
| Singles | 21 |
| Sonic Youth Recordings (SYR) | 10 |
| Bootlegs | 8 |
| Soundtrack and compilation appearances | 17 |
In 1981, Sonic Youth signed with Neutral Records, and released its eponymous debut EP Sonic Youth the next year.[1] The band's first full-length album was Confusion is Sex, released in 1983.[1] Kill Yr Idols was released the same year under the German label Zensor Records.[1] Bad Moon Rising was released two years later on Blast First, a label created specifically for Sonic Youth releases.[1] In 1986, Sonic Youth signed to SST Records and released Evol later the same year. The album gained the band increasing critical acclaim and exposure, and the group released Sister and the double LP Daydream Nation in 1987 and 1988, respectively, the latter on Enigma Records.[1]
In 1990, the band signed to major label DGC Records, and released Goo the same year. The band's 1991 tour with the then little-known band Nirvana was documented in the film 1991: The Year Punk Broke. In 1992, Sonic Youth released Dirty. Two years later, the group released Experimental Jet Set, Trash and No Star, and Washing Machine the following year.[1]
Forced to start from scratch after its instruments and equipment were stolen, the band released NYC Ghosts & Flowers in 2000. Sonic Youth released Murray Street in the summer of 2002, followed in 2004 by Sonic Nurse. Rather Ripped and The Destroyed Room: B-sides and Rarities were released in 2006, the latter featuring tracks previously available only on vinyl, limited-release compilations, B-sides to international singles, and other previously unreleased material. The Eternal was released three years later in 2009.[1][2]
Studio albums
| Year | Album details | Peak chart positions | Sales | Certifications | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [3] | AUS [4] | BEL [5] | FRA [6] | GER [7] | JPN [8] | NLD [9] | NOR [10] | NZ [11] | SWE [12] | UK [13] | ||||
| 1983 | Confusion Is Sex
| — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| |
| 1985 | Bad Moon Rising
| — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| |
| 1986 | Evol
| — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| |
| 1987 | Sister
| — | 151 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| |
| 1988 | Daydream Nation
| — | 144 | 91 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 99 |
| |
| 1989 | The Whitey Album (as Ciccone Youth)
| — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 63 | ||
| 1990 | Goo
| 96 | 106 | — | — | — | — | 71 | — | 22 | — | 32 |
| |
| 1992 | Dirty
| 83 | 22 | — | — | 59 | 53 | 57 | — | 5 | 26 | 6 |
| |
| 1994 | Experimental Jet Set, Trash and No Star
| 34 | 25 | — | — | 87 | 62 | 65 | — | 16 | 27 | 10 |
| |
| 1995 | Washing Machine
| 58 | 34 | 38 | — | — | 94 | 91 | 41 | — | — | 39 |
| |
| 1998 | A Thousand Leaves
| 85 | 66 | 28 | 32 | 84 | 43 | — | 37 | — | 43 | 38 |
| |
| 2000 | NYC Ghosts & Flowers
| 172 | — | — | 61 | — | — | — | 37 | — | — | 113 |
| |
| 2002 | Murray Street
| 126 | 78 | 28 | 48 | 63 | 45 | — | 16 | — | — | 77 |
| |
| 2004 | Sonic Nurse
| 64 | 54 | 23 | 40 | 89 | 47 | 98 | 21 | — | — | — |
| |
| 2006 | Rather Ripped
| 71 | 40 | 20 | 25 | 79 | 41 | — | 13 | — | 46 | 64 | ||
| 2009 | The Eternal
| 18 | 52 | 9 | 19 | 29 | 29 | 90 | 17 | 38 | 28 | 42 | ||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart. | ||||||||||||||
Live albums
| Year | Album details | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1984 | Sonic Death: Early Sonic 1981–1983
|
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| 1986 | Walls Have Ears
|
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| 1991 | Hold That Tiger
|
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| 1992 | Live at the Continental Club
|
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| 2009 | Battery Park, NYC July 4th 2008
|
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| 2012 | Smart Bar Chicago 1985
| |
| 2018 | Chicago, IL • Cabaret Metro • August 17, 2002
|
|
| 2018 | ABC Glasgow August 2007 Daydream Nation
|
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| 2018 | Chicago, IL • Cabaret Metro • November 5, 1988
|
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| 2018 | New York, NY • CBGB • December 13, 1988
|
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| 2018 | Berlin, Germany • Columbiahalle • October 21, 2009
|
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| 2018 | Brooklyn, NY • Williamsburg Waterfront • August 12, 2011
|
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| 2019 | Los Angeles, CA • Veterans Wadsworth Theatre • May 28, 1998
|
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| 2019 | Asheville, NC • Orange Peel • August 20, 2004
|
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| 2019 | Trenton, NJ • City Gardens • May 22, 1987
|
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| 2019 | San Francisco, CA • The Warfield • March 5, 1993
|
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| 2019 | Irvine, CA • Crawford Hall • November 3, 1990
|
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| 2019 | Paris, France • Olympia • June 7, 2001
|
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| 2019 | Live in Moscow April 12–13, 1989
|
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| 2020 | Live in Yugoslavia 1985/1987
|
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| 2020 | Live at Brixton Academy 1992
|
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| 2020 | Live at All Tomorrows Parties 2000
|
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| 2020 | Live in Denver 1986
|
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| 2020 | World Trade Center Benefit 2001
|
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| 2021 | Live in Austin 1995
|
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| 2021 | Live in Dallas 2006
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| 2022 | Live in Kyiv, Ukraine 1989
|
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| 2023 | Live in Brooklyn 2011
|
Extended plays
| Year | EP details | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1982 | Sonic Youth
|
|
| 1983 | Kill Yr Idols
|
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| 1987 | Master-Dik
|
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| 1993 | Whores Moaning
| |
| 1994 | TV Shit
|
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| 1998 | Silver Session for Jason Knuth
|
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| 2001 | In the Fishtank 9
|
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| 2002 | Kali Yug Express
| |
| 2009 | Sensational Fix
|
Compilations
| Year | Compilation details | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Screaming Fields of Sonic Love
|
|
| 2006 | The Destroyed Room: B-Sides and Rarities
|
|
| 2008 | Hits Are for Squares
|
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| 2016 | Spinhead Sessions 1986
|
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| 2020 | Rarities 1
|
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| 2020 | Rarities 2
|
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| 2020 | Rarities 3
|
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| 2022 | In/out/In
|
|
Sonic Youth Recordings (SYR) series
Sonic Youth have released a number of mostly experimental and instrumental releases under their own label Sonic Youth Recordings. The SYR series has established a tradition where each album is released in a different language. SYR1 has song titles and album sleeve artwork all in French, SYR2 is in Dutch, SYR3 is in Esperanto, SYR4 is in English, SYR5 is in Japanese, SYR6 is in Lithuanian, SYR7 is in Arpitan, SYR8 is in Danish, SYR9 is in French, and AUG5 is in English.
| Year | Album details | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1997 | SYR1: Anagrama
| |
SYR2: Slaapkamers met slagroom
| ||
| 1998 | SYR3: Invito al ĉielo
|
|
| 1999 | SYR4: Goodbye 20th Century
|
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| 2000 | SYR5: ミュージカル パ一スペクティブ
|
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| 2005 | SYR6: Koncertas Stan Brakhage prisiminimui
|
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| 2008 | SYR7: J'Accuse Ted Hughes
|
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SYR8: Andre Sider Af Sonic Youth
|
| |
| 2011 | SYR9: Simon Werner a disparu
|
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| 2020 | AUG5: Perspectives Musicales – Live at Cat's Cradle 2000
|
|
Official bootlegs
| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1988 | Stick Me Donna Majick Momma |
|
| 1990 | 4 Tunna Brix | |
| 1991 | Goo Demos |
|
| 1994 | Live in Bremen |
|
| 1995 | Live Venlo, Holland December 27, 1983 |
|
| Blastic Scene |
|
Singles
- Note: Sonic Youth have never charted on the Billboard Hot 100.
| Year | Single | Peak chart positions | Album | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Alt. [24] | AUS [4] | IRL [25] | NZ [11] | UK [13] | |||
| 1984 | "Death Valley '69" | — | — | — | — | — | Bad Moon Rising |
| 1985 | "Flower/Halloween" | — | — | — | — | — | |
| 1986 | "Flower / Satan Is Boring" | — | — | — | — | — | |
| "Starpower" | — | — | — | — | — | Evol | |
| "Into the Groove(y)" (as Ciccone Youth) | — | — | — | — | 165[26] | The Whitey Album | |
| 1988 | "Teen Age Riot" | 20 | — | — | — | — | Daydream Nation |
| "Silver Rocket" | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1989 | "Candle" | — | — | — | — | — | |
| "Providence" | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Touch Me I'm Sick/Halloween" | — | — | — | — | — | split with Mudhoney | |
| 1990 | "Kool Thing" | 7 | — | 24 | — | 81 | Goo |
| "Disappearer" | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1991 | "Dirty Boots" | — | 145 | — | — | — | |
| 1992 | "100%" | 4 | 67 | — | 30 | 28 | Dirty |
| "Youth Against Fascism" | — | — | — | 39 | 52 | ||
| 1993 | "Sugar Kane" | — | — | — | — | 26 | |
| "Drunken Butterfly" | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1994 | "Bull in the Heather" | 13 | 90 | — | — | 24 | Experimental Jet Set, Trash and No Star |
| "Superstar" | 26 | — | — | — | 45 | If I Were a Carpenter | |
| 1995 | "The Diamond Sea" | — | — | — | — | — | Washing Machine |
| 1996 | "Little Trouble Girl" | — | — | — | — | 81 | |
| 1998 | "Sunday" | — | — | — | — | 72 | A Thousand Leaves |
| 2000 | "Nevermind (What Was It Anyway)" | — | — | — | — | — | NYC Ghosts & Flowers |
| 2003 | "Kim Gordon & The Arthur Doyle Hand Cream" | — | — | — | — | — | split with Erase Errata |
| 2006 | "Helen Lundeberg/Eyeliner" | — | — | — | — | — | Rather Ripped |
| "Incinerate" | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Beautiful Plateau" | — | — | — | — | — | The Destroyed Room | |
| 2019 | "Bull in the Heather" (live) | — | — | — | — | — | Battery Park, NYC: July 4th 2008 |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart. | |||||||
Music videos
| Year | Title | Director |
|---|---|---|
| 1985 | "Death Valley '69" | Richard Kern |
| 1986 | "Shadow of a Doubt" | Kevin Kerslake |
| 1987 | "Beauty Lies in the Eye" | |
| 1988 | "Teen Age Riot" | Sonic Youth |
| "Silver Rocket" | Charles Atlas | |
| "Providence" | Peter Fowler Sonic Youth | |
| "Candle" | Kevin Kerslake | |
| "Addicted to Love" (as Ciccone Youth) | Kim Gordon | |
| "Macbeth" (as Ciccone Youth) | Dave Markey | |
| 1990 | "Kool Thing" | Tamra Davis |
| "Disappearer" | Todd Haynes | |
| 1991 | "Dirty Boots" | Tamra Davis |
| "Tunic (Song for Karen)" | Tony Oursler | |
| "Mary-Christ" | Steve Shelley | |
| "Mote" | Ray Agony | |
| "My Friend Goo" | Dave Markey Joe Cole Kim Gordon Thurston Moore | |
| "Mildred Pierce" | Dave Markey | |
| "Cinderella's Big Score" | ||
| "Scooter + Jinx" | Richard Kern | |
| "Titanium Expose" | Phil Morrison | |
| 1992 | "100%" | Tamra Davis Spike Jonze |
| "Youth Against Fascism" | Nick Egan | |
| 1993 | "Sugar Kane" | |
| "Drunken Butterfly" | Stephen Hellweg | |
| "Swimsuit Issue" | Morty | |
| 1994 | "Bull in the Heather" | Tamra Davis Kim Gordon |
| "Superstar" | Dave Markey | |
| 1995 | "Little Trouble Girl" | Mark Romanek |
| "The Diamond Sea" | Spike Jonze Lance Bangs Dave Markey Steve Paine Angus Wall | |
| 1998 | "Sunday" | Harmony Korine |
| "Hoarfrost" | Lee Ranaldo | |
| 1999 | "Piano Piece No. 13 (Carpenter's Piece)" | Sonic Youth |
| 2000 | "Nevermind (What was it Anyway)" | Kim Gordon Jim O'Rourke Chris Habib |
| 2002 | "The Empty Page" | Thurston Moore Chris Habib |
| "Disconnection Notice" | Tom Surgal | |
| 2004 | "Peace Attack" | Chris Habib |
| "I Love You Golden Blue" | Dave Markey | |
| 2006 | "Incinerate" | Claire Denis |
| "Do You Believe In Rapture?" | Braden King | |
| "Jams Run Free" | Claire Denis | |
| "Reena" | Braden King | |
| 2009 | "Sacred Trickster" | Tom Surgal |
| "What We Know" | Chris Habib |
Soundtracks, tributes and other compilation appearances
| Year | Title | Track(s) |
|---|---|---|
| 1986 | Sub Pop 100 | "Kill Yr Idols" |
| 1988 | Fast 'n' Bulbous – A Tribute to Captain Beefheart OST | "Electricity" (by Captain Beefheart) |
| 1988 | Sgt. Pepper Knew My Father | "Within You Without You" (by The Beatles) |
| 1988 | The Melting Plot | "I Am Right" (by Saccharine Trust) |
| 1989 | The Bridge: A Tribute to Neil Young | "Computer Age" (by Neil Young) |
| 1990 | Pump Up the Volume OST | "Titanium Exposé" |
| 1992 | Fortune Cookie Prize: A Tribute to Beat Happening | "Black Candy" (by Beat Happening) |
| 1993 | Judgment Night OST | "I Love You Mary Jane" with Cypress Hill |
| 1994 | If I Were a Carpenter | "Superstar" (by The Carpenters) |
| DGC Rarities Volume 1 | "Compilation Blues" | |
| 1995 | My So-Called Life OST | "Genetic" |
| Made in USA OST | Original Score. | |
| 1997 | SubUrbia OST | Three original songs and one from Thurston Moore solo album. |
| Nowhere OST | "Hendrix Necro" | |
| 1999 | Pola X OST | "Blink". |
| 2002 | Demonlover OST | Eight original songs. |
| 2003 | You Can Never Go Fast Enough | "Loop Cat" |
| 2004 | Hidros 3 (To Patti Smith) with Mats Gustafsson | Nine original songs. |
| 2006 | From the Kitchen Archives No. 3 – Amplified: New Music Meets Rock 1981–1986 | "World Looks Red", "Shaking Hell" |
| The Harry Smith Project: The Anthology of American Folk Music Revisited | "Dry Bones" with Roswell Rudd | |
| 2007 | Like a Hurricane: A Tribute to Neil Young | "Computer Age" (by Neil Young) same recording as above |
| I'm Not There OST | "I'm Not There" | |
| 2008 | Juno OST | "Superstar" |
| 2011 | SYR9: Simon Werner a disparu OST | Original score |
Video releases
| Year | Video details | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1985 | Live at Stache's
|
|
| 1991 | Goo
|
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| 1992 | Gila Monster Jamboree
|
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| 1993 | 1991: The Year Punk Broke
|
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| 1995 | Screaming Fields of Sonic Love
|
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| 2004 | Corporate Ghost: The Videos: 1990–2002
|
References
General
- "Sonic Youth – Discography". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on April 2, 2008. Retrieved April 12, 2008.
- "Sonic Youth". Allmusic. Retrieved April 12, 2008.
- "Sonic Youth home page". Sonic Youth. Retrieved April 12, 2008.
- "Sonic Youth : Releases". Geffen Records. Archived from the original on July 24, 2008. Retrieved April 12, 2008.
Specific
External links
- Official website
- Sonic Youth at AllMusic
- Sonic Youth discography at Discogs
- Sonic Youth at Rate Your Music
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