The band helped build a vocabulary of music—paving the way for Nirvana, Hole, Smashing Pumpkins and many other acts. Often described as aloof, Kim Gordon opens up as never before in Girl in a Band. Reviewed in the United States on October 1, 2017. Please try again. Girl in a Band: A Memoir is a 2015 autobiography written by former Sonic Youth bass guitarist, vocalist and songwriter Kim Gordon. For details, please see the Terms & Conditions associated with these promotions. For every insightful story, most of them personal and often illuminating to who she really is as a person, there is a large portion of the band's career that is quickly brushed past. Full content visible, double tap to read brief content. Kim Gordon has done just that in her memoir; it is full of beauty and power, inspiration, kindness, boldness and hope.” -- CARRIE BROWNSTEIN, writer, actor, musician CARRIE BROWNSTEIN, writer, actor, musician. To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Top subscription boxes – right to your door, © 1996-2021, Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates, includes free international wireless delivery via. However, I don't think I'll regret this. Reviewed in the United States on June 15, 2019. Girl in a Band is a fascinating and honest memoir full of raw emotion and insight.” (SOFIA COPPOLA, filmmaker) “The best thing one of your heroes can do is make you feel heroic yourself. Get instant access to all your favorite books. growing up and her painfully raw description of the breakup of her marriage were really nicely done. Find all the books, read about the author, and more. Often described as aloof, Kim Gordon opens up as never before in Girl in a Band. After viewing product detail pages, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in. "The Girl," Samantha Geimer's memoir about being raped by Roman Polanski in 1977 at age 13, features a picture the director took of her days before his assault. Gordon takes us back to the lost New York of the 1980s and '90s that gave rise to Sonic Youth, and the Alternative revolution in popular music. But as others have noted, Reviewed in the United States on April 14, 2017. Music, Music, Music. I'm not even a Sonic Youth fan, their music never appealed to me but its worth reading if you are into 90's alt rock. “Girl in a Band” chronicles Gordon’s creative life in and beyond the band. Your recently viewed items and featured recommendations, Select the department you want to search in. Bring your club to Amazon Book Clubs, start a new book club and invite your friends to join, or find a club that’s right for you for free. I'll confess I've wanted this memoir since Kim first announced she was writing it. was released by Sternberg Press in January 2014. Telling the story of her family, growing up in California in the '60s and '70s, her life in visual art, her move to New York City, the men in her life, her marriage, her relationship with her daughter, her music, and her band, Girl in a Band is a rich and beautifully written memoir. Click here to buy it for £11.99 [but] a strange and lovely book about  a woman finding and losing herself onstage and off and crafting a complicated creative life when  none of the molds quite fit.”—Los Angeles Times Book Review, “Engaging and surprisingly intimate.”—Vanity Fair, “More than a memoir, though one of the most riveting music biographies ever penned.”—Examiner.com. Kim writes with a distant coolness, she's intelligent but not patronizing, self-aware and honest without being totally unpeeled, something I can appreciate. Yet, from some of the reviews I was hesitant, thinking I'll be wasting my money. Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 28, 2020. Kim Gordon is an artist, musician, producer, fashion designer, writer, and actress. Bring your club to Amazon Book Clubs, start a new book club and invite your friends to join, or find a club that’s right for you for free. It also analyzes reviews to verify trustworthiness. For many, Kim Gordon, vocalist, bassist, and founding member of Sonic Youth—one of the most influential and successful bands to emerge from the post-punk New York scene—has always represented the epitome of cool. The real sonic deal. This is a thourghly nasty memoir that appears to be an attempt to hit back at people Kim doesn't like. Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 12, 2020. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. . Of all the characters Kim mentions she makes them real, even Courtney Love (although she's still larger than life when presented). Does this book contain quality or formatting issues? A collection of her early critical art writing entitled Is It My Body? Please try your request again later. Boys, Boys, Boys. Brief content visible, double tap to read full content. I hoped for a more engaging, less controlled read, but it makes more sense when you come to understand that Kim Gordon is a shy, self-conscious person who was betrayed by her husband of many years. Narrated by Kim Gordon. Fiercely, honestly, and with the creative abandon of a singular artist." I think she made an error with this memoir. For every insightful story, most of them personal and often illuminating to who she really is as a person, there is a large portion of the band's career that is quickly brushed past. I was glad to read Kim's accounts of not only her time/role in the band Sonic Youth, but also her experience in the art and design worlds. Often described as aloof, Kim Gordon opens up as never before in Girl in a Band. Recent art exhibitions include a show of paintings through the Gagosian Gallery in Los Angeles and the show The City Is a Garden at 303 Gallery in New York. I started reading certain excerpts from later in the book and found myself enamored, then I immediately started from the beginning. The chronological trajectory of the book also seems to take the burdennoff Kim to come up with a specific concept beyond that of the memoir and that is such a wise choise since this brings to front the apologetic tone of the writer in many points. Her stories of her family, growing up and her painfully raw description of the breakup of her marriage were really nicely done. The band helped build a vocabulary of music -- paving the way for Nirvana, Hole, Smashing Pumpkins and many other acts. Nonetheless, I decided to take the chance! After viewing product detail pages, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in. Newsletter. Telling the story of her family, growing up in California in the '60s and '70s, her life in visual art, her move to New York City, the men in her life, her marriage, her relationship with her daughter, her music, and her band, Girl in a Band is a rich and beautifully written memoir. So I was looking forward to reading this but have to say I found it a bit of a disappointment. This is a thourghly nasty memoir that appears to be an attempt to hit back at people Kim doesn't like. Exploring the artists, musicians, and writers who influenced her, and the relationship that defined her life for so long, Girl in a Band is filled with the sights and sounds of a pre-Internet world and is a deeply personal portrait of a woman who has become an icon. See the Terms & Conditions associated with these promotions between Gordon and her painfully raw description of breakup. As never before in Girl in a Band I love Sonic Youth guitarist. 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