Sonic Youth’s Kim Gordon has long been heralded as one of the original instigators of grunge. But if you cast your mind back to the Manhattan band’s humble beginnings, you’ll find that Neil Young played a pivotal role in bringing the experimental rockers to the attention of the masses when he offered Sonic Youth an opening slot on the 1991 leg of his Ragged Glory tour.

Whilst both bands operate on the fringes of mainstream rock and have a penchant for noise, it was a choice that perhaps baffled Young’s diehard fans. But for Sonic Youth – it was a rite of passage. Young’s 1979 distortion-driven album, Rust Never Sleeps, is widely regarded by grunge icons as ‘the OG’, pre-empting ‘the year that punk broke’ (1991) by more than a decade and earning him the honorary title, Godfather of Grunge. 

On Friday, Kim Gordon is set to release her debut solo album, No Home Record, a rebellious, post-punk ode to L.A, a city that shaped much of Young’s output. In the lead-up, she recorded this video for the New York Times’ “My Favorite Song” series and chose to discuss “On the Beach,” the title track from Young’s 1974 album.

My Favourite Song | Kim Gordon

Gordon reflects on how, in her early 20s, Young’s carefully chosen words shaped her relationship with fame by helping her understand the duality of being both a shy person and an extraverted performer. 

“It’s interesting how shy people, including myself, in a performance situation are able to open themselves up more,” Gordon says, adding that, while Young’s music has had little influence on her own sound, he once shared an observation that emboldened her distinctive style: “One thing he said about singing … that it doesn’t matter how good your voice is, as long as it’s authentic … gave me a lot of courage and made me think about it in a different way.”

Listen to the album that inspired a generation to hijack mainstream rock with angst-driven grunge with Neil Young’s Rust Never Sleeps on Spotify:

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