Sonic Youth, Infidelity and Powering Through

Righteous Gen-Xers might remember the public weeping when Thurston Moore and Kim Gordon, of Sonic Youth, announced their split a couple of years back. The couple were the king and queen of Alternative Rawk and, I guess, a model for marriage-minded hipsters.

You know what? I've never met anyone--or read anyone--who said that Sonic Youth was their favorite band. Daydream Nation is always in the mix when talking about "best albums" of one stripe or another but their tracks don't often turn up in the legion of Spotify mixes out there. For as respected as they are, they get a lot more lip service than accolades.

Thurston Moore recently poked his head from the rarefied air of genius to make an ass of himself. The AV Club has the rundown.

Moore had an interview in The Fly in which he said that he'd been in a relationship with his current flame for nearly six years, which significantly overlaps with the time he was officially married. Needless to say, the usual suspects lambasted him for dickishness. Moore lashed back, accusing Jezebel, which is normally the most level-headed and understanding of maniacs, with "gender fascism."

Moore is in the same situation that Alec Baldwin recently found himself:  "B-but, I thought we were all cool with each other." Note that mid-80s tone in the "gender fascism" slur. And like the straight white man that he is, he was angry. He probably should have taken the self-flagellating tack that Ani DiFranco (eventually) used; sobbing and admitting that there's so much to learn, so much to repair, God help me.

But Moore is right about one thing:  "[W]hen they grow up, maybe they’ll glean the complexities of real life and love."

Moore's apparent infidelity isn't necessarily understandable and definitely not praiseworthy. Leaving aside his crybaby defense and the stupidity of assuming that no one would do the math, he has a right to take a look at his life and make a bad decision.

But, by God, he should have to walk through the fire if he's so sure he's right. I don't doubt that Kim 'n' Thurston were much like John 'n' Yoko and Bill 'n' Hillary--relationships that became more usefully symbolic than personally meaningful. There's a good chance that the last years of their marriage were public appearances together and separate lives privately, all in support of Sonic Youth, Inc and their image. Their image of authenticity.

None of that means that he shouldn't be subject to ridicule and shaming. That's more or less the entirety of my societal thinking:  You can't be subversive and applauded at the same time. If you're right, you're still right even after you've been thrown to the lions.