Anyone worried that Sonic Youth’s ageless cool may have been fatally compromised with the announcement this summer that the quartet would be releasing a compilation, entitled Hits Are for Squares, through Starbucks (!), should watch the following video. Videographer Liz Glover spotted Kim Gordon at New York’s recent Fashion Week and asked her why SY shacked up with the king of caffeinated ubiquity. Ms. Gordon, bless her soul, had just five words for Gordon and the bitching blogosphere: “Kim Gordon on the Starbuck Deal”
That, I suppose, is how you save face amid ceaseless cries of “sell out.” You take a back-hand to your own record label. You have to admire Gordon’s panache, and really, does anyone actually think this is about the money or the added exposure? Do we think Sonic Youth – with their 15 albums and 26-year history – are having a little late-game performance anxiety? No. The Starbucks move is simply provocative – stupidly so, for sure – and nothing more. The quartet is famous for waffling between elitism and populism – between the art house and the street fair. Gordon is only reminding us that Sonic Youth, a hallowed indie rock band, signed one of the most publicized major label contracts with Geffen 17 years ago – a fact that did little to affect their popularity and their subsequent canonization.
The Starbucks deal is a mistake, but not a particularly surprising one. And if this video is any evidence, Sonic Youth haven’t lost their edge.
4 comments:
I once read that Starbucks is one of the 50 best companies to work for, however I still have a hard time believing that Starbucks is less evil than Universal.
I have never been on the Starbucks team, yet I must admit that I used to go there occasionally with friends. I even went to the Starbucks next to my school in Nara, Japan almost daily. I did not truly have a problem with the company until January 2004 while living in Paris. The sight of the first Starbucks being build right next to the Opera Garnier made me sick. It still does.
France and french culture revolve around the cult of cafe (I know I'm missing an accent). A typical day for many consists of a morning cafe at the comptoir while reading a paper/engaging in a political debate sparked by an article in a paper, a mid-morning pick-me-up (a cig and a shot of coffee), a post-lunch cafe spent people-watching at an outside table (also a way to prolong an already long lunch), and then perhaps a post-work cafe (or wine/beer).
Starbucks has now invaded the Parisian cafe culture, infiltrating into French life. (See following article: http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0EIN/is_2004_Jan_15/ai_112185456). Even if I choose not to go to one of the multiple locations that have sprung up in the past few years, I was surprised to learn of the company's actual penetration. Starbucks supplies various restaurants, as well as the store, Colette (imagine a world where manga, Warhol and couture collide).
I guess it's au revoir to a world sans starbucks...
Here's an article from the opening of Starbucks Paris:
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0EIN/is_2004_Jan_15/ai_112185456
I feel obliged to mention Kimmy's involvement in the Uniqlo Ads earlier this year.
Post a Comment