Girl in a Band has sat on my shelf for a few years now and a recent re-listen of Sonic Youth’s discography has forced me to finally read it. Over a 24 hour period, the extremely readable memoirs of Kim Gordon have proven to be very enjoyable indeed. I particularly liked the stretches where she picked a song or two from each album and discussed the lyrics and context surrounding them. 

I think where it somewhat falls down is that it all plays stronger if you’re a fan of the music. I’m not sure what one could glean if you’re not already aware of Sonic Youth. She is frankly honest in her assessment of how New York has changed however it’s less boomer complaining, more a consideration of how you can’t return to a place or time when you leave. But there is also a lot of name-dropping which might be lost if you don’t know the context. 

Like her songwriting, she has this clear direct nature to her prose that don’t mince words. In particular, learning more about the sadness and trials of her own family life (as a child and as an adult) does make for a relatable narrative despite ostensibly being about a bass player/singer in a successful band. She’s very much a vulnerable human that just makes Kim Gordon even cooler in my eyes.