Sonic Youth Burger to be Sold at Sonic Fast Food Chains

I’m just kidding. But they will sell their new compilation album at Starbucks. (Gasp!)

I understand that Starbucks has become the “new record store,” as Thurston Moore put it, but it irks me a little. Maybe it shouldn’t. Starbucks is a corporation like any other record label. The only difference is that in addition to selling music, they monopolize the coffee market (there are now four Starbucks locations in hometown of Montclair, NJ and in NYC it’s easier to find a Starbucks than a subway station). Should this matter?

I have a bunch of albums from Starbucks that really rock. Last summer before a long trip I stopped off for a Starbucks (”a Starbucks” has become “a coffee” for a generation jacked up on Starbucks coffee. Starbucks could be like Kleenex, Band-Aid, or Q-tip. The brand replaces the name of the product). Waiting in line, and the lines are very long, I saw Wilco’s” Sky Blue Sky” on display. I didn’t have it on disc because I downloaded the leaked version months before, so I bought it for the ride. It stayed in my car all summer and I basically burned a hole through it.  We have a bunch of killer Starbucks records that my dad picked up at Starbucks over the years. Most recently he bought a DVD of the Johnny Cash TV show featuring great Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, and Bob Dylan performances. Now that I think about it, my family really treasures the music we bought at Starbucks.

I remember Paul McCartney was the first person to sign to Hear Music, the Starbucks record label, and he made a statement about using Starbucks as a way to have his music heard, stressing the integrity of the label as well as the great artistic freedom the label gave him. That’s not a quote, but I remember reading it and thinking about it. In an interview with Spin, Thurston Moore said something similar about his solo album “Trees Outside the Academy” which he released on Hear:

So, the rap against Starbucks is that it has made New York more generic. And you guys, up until recently, were quintessentially New York. How did you get involved with them?
The only reason I thought it would be a good idea is, the record companies aren’t doing anything [to get] our records out beyond where they already are. Chains like Tower started going under, and record companies have no working relationship with independent retailers, who we already have a history with. So, if I could get a CD into Starbucks — I kind of liked the absurdity of Sonic Youth coexisting with the mainstream like that. I don’t care if it’s Starbucks or Dunkin’ Donuts, those guys are selling CDs. But a lot of people have this [hang-up]: “Oh, they’re corporate.” But what do you think [Geffen parent] Universal Music is? That it isn’t a corporate enterprise? And we’ve been involved with them for years. People pick and choose who’s more evil than who in the global economy

Why get worked up over Starbucks if they produce fantastic albums? I will probably get the Sonic Youth compilation that Radiohead, Dave Eggers, Beck, David Cross, etc. put together. It looks sweet. So what’s the problem? Why do I viserally want to turn away from the idea that Starbucks is the new record store?

It’s because I don’t think there should be a new record store. I like the ones we have left. Other Music on W. 4th street is an amazing place to pick up music. I find a lot of amazing music there, like new Bonnie “Prince” Billy or old live Karen Dalton. I saw Toumani Diabate perform live inside the store to promote his new Solo album. (Watch the video; it’s amazing. And you can see me in a couple shots! Neat!) At Other Music I can talk to people who are insanely knowledgeable about music and make helpful recommendations; it’s an experience that you will never come by in Starbucks.

Brittany mentioned last night that Kim’s on St. Mark’s place, the famed music and movie mecca, is rumored to move out of that space because the rent went up (I think this is actually only a rumor; I couldn’t find any evidence of truth). But Kim’s is one of the few thriving record stores. Unlike Starbucks, who have locations of every block of the city grid, record stores hold on tight as they are washed away by iTunes and the internet. The catch is that buying physical albums is becoming more and more rare and Starbucks can still get people to purchase them. In that way, they preserve an aspect of the record store that I love so much. I can’t be angry about that.

Still, I just want my Sonic Youth without soy milk or an extra shot of espresso. But oh well.