Kim Gordon Opens Up in New Memoir

I first learned of Kim Gordon when I was a teenager, poring over the pages of Sassy magazine, which I immediately subscribed to after getting the premier issue free in the mail in March 1988. As one of the founders of the experimental rock band Sonic Youth, Kim Gordon came across as the epitome of cool.
 

Kim Gordon.
Image via www.ontheragmag.com

Gordon played guitar, bass, and sang in the band, and she just seemed like an all-around badass. As the 1980s segued into the 1990s, a new music emerged from the Pacific Northwest region of the United States and got the attention of the mainstream media, which called it "grunge." Many in the new music scene cited Sonic Youth as an influence, and some looked upon them as mentors. Soon, Kim Gordon came to be seen as the "Godmother of Grunge."

Years later, I saw Sonic Youth play what would be - unbeknownst to all - their last show in the United States. The show was in August 2011, at an outdoor venue that was right on the waterfront in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. It was a stunningly bright and beautiful summer day, and concert-goers were kept cool by a steady breeze blowing in off the East River. Once the sun set, Sonic Youth emerged from the sides of the stage and played an amazing set. No one in the audience that night would have ever guessed that trouble was brewing among the bandmates.
 

Kim Gordon and Thurston Moore playing in Sonic Youth in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, August 2011.
Photo courtesy of the author of this blog

Shortly after that New York concert date, news reports surfaced that Sonic Youth were breaking up after 30 years together as a band. Rumors swirled that behind the breakup were marriage problems between Gordon and her husband and Sonic Youth bandmate and cofounder, Thurston Moore, who was believed to have been having an affair with a younger woman. The news not only shattered fans of the band but also admirers of Kim Gordon and Thurston Moore, who were long viewed as an indie rock "It" couple by many. It was a weird time.

Gordon will be talking about that weird time and brighter periods in Sonic Youth's history in her forthcoming memoir, Girl in a Band. "Often described as aloof, Kim Gordon truly opens up in Girl in a Band. Telling the story of her childhood, her life in art, her move to New York City, her love affairs, her marriage, her relationship with her daughter, and her band, this is a rich and beautifully written memoir. At the heart of the book is the examination of what partnership means - and what happens when it dissolves," reads one description of the book.
 

The cover of Kim Gordon's forthcoming memoir, Girl in a Band.
Image designed by CHIPS-NY.com/via the interwebs

To be published by HarperCollins imprint Dey Street Books, the memoir is further described as an "atmospheric look at the New York of the '80s and '90s that gave rise to Sonic Youth, as well as the Alternative revolution in popular music that Sonic Youth helped usher in, paving the way for Nirvana, Hole, Smashing Pumpkins and many other acts." It will be released on February 24, 2015, according to the HarperCollins website, and will be available in hardcover for the retail price of $27.99. Fingers crossed that Kim Gordon will go on a book tour to promote it.

To keep up with Kim Gordon's current goings-on, follow her on Twitter HERE.

McDonald's Entering the Children's Book Business

I've mixed feelings about fast-food giant McDonald's including a children's book in each Happy Meal at its UK franchises. The pro-literacy bibliophile part of me thinks it's a great idea that should spread to the States as well. But the anti-corporation, farmers' market-going part of me that believes it's immoral how advertisers target young children really wishes it wasn't McDonald's packaging a book along with foods that aren't healthy as it still markets its "Golden Arches" brand.

The contents of a typical McDonald's Happy Meal: burger, fries, small soft drink, and a toy.

image source: http://eatocracy.cnn.com

Still, it's a step in the right direction - any action that puts books in the hands of children can't be completely frowned upon. And a similar giveaway at McDonald's franchises in Sweden proved to be a huge success. The results will likely be the same in the UK. If they are, I wonder if that will encourage McDonald's to embark on something like that in the United States. And would it be a success?

A Telegraph article on McDonald's temporarily entering the children's book business can be read below.

The Telegraph * January 11, 2012

McDonald's: UK's Biggest Children's Book Seller

McDonald's will briefly become the country's biggest retailer of children's books, after it decided to replace the usual plastic toy in a Happy Meal with a book.

Boys eating a McDonald's Happy Meal.

Photo: ALAMY

By Harry Wollop, Retail Editor

The fast food chain will give out 9 million Mudpuddle Farm books, written by Michael Morpurgo, over the next four weeks, after it signed a tie-up with the publisher HarperCollins.

In 2011, sales of children’s books averaged 1.16 million per week – 6.4 million in a four week period – which means that McDonald’s will be handing out considerably more children’s books than are usually sold in the UK in the same period.

A finger puppet, relating to the series of books, will also be included alongside the Happy Meal.

McDonald's said a similar book giveaway in Sweden had proved very popular.

This is the latest attempt by McDonald's to improve its reputation, following the decision to sell only organic milk, print calories on its menu boards, and refurbish all of its outlets.

Its Happy Meals, which cost about £2.20, have come under fire in the past for encouraging 'pester power'. Alongside a burger or chicken nuggets, chips and a drink children are given a toy, usually tied in to the latest cinema release.

McDonald's started to include bags of fruit after accusations that the Happy Meals were unhealthy.

At the end of last year an American woman filed a lawsuit in California alleging that McDonald's was luring in her daughter through its distribution of free toys.

Literacy campaigners said it did not matter if McDonald's decision was prompted by a desire to improve its image. Eight out of ten all families with young children visit the fast-food company at least once over the course of the year, so there was a strong chance they would end up with a book.

Jonathan Douglas, director of the National Literacy Trust, said: “Our recent research showed that one in three children in this country don’t own a book, which is extremely concerning as there is a clear link between book ownership and children's future success in life. We are very supportive of McDonald’s decision to give families access to popular books, as its size and scale will be a huge leap towards encouraging more families to read together.”

The McDonald’s Happy Meal book promotion will include six titles from the Mudpuddle Farm range: Mossop’s Last Chance; Albertine, Goose Queen; Pigs Might Fly!; Jigger’s Day Off; Martians at Mudpuddle Farm; Mum’s the Word.