BOOK REVIEW: Girl in A Band by Kim Gordon

Shane | 8 April 2015 | Reply

BOOK REVIEW: Girl in A Band by Kim Gordon
Allen & Unwin, rrp$29.99
25 February, 2015
Reviewed by Shane Pinnegar
8/10

Sonic Youth’s enigmatic bassist Kim Gordon opens her autobiography with a scathing diatribe against former bandmate and husband of some 27 years, Thurston Moore.

Just as you start to think that this tome is an exercise in proving the ‘hell hath no fury like a woman scorned’ adage, the artist, musician, author and icon delves into much more, although her bitterness lurks under the surface of much of her story.

At its best when describing in fascinating detail how her wandering childhood with an academic father, a strangely standoffish mother and a sadistic, schizophrenic elder brother created her shy, insecure and introspective adult personality – often mistaken for aloofness, she muses that she might only be one step from a sociopath at times – the childhood chapters are of considerably more interest to those less familiar with her music.

Gordon also delves into her early relationships and her immersion in the New York art world, almost by accident. The thought of the nascent artist being derided as “the worst receptionist ever” whilst working for a gallery is more than amusing, and hearing how her own artistic endeavours fed into the music of Sonic Youth is again, interesting stuff.

The book, of course, returns in forensic detail to her husband’s repeated betrayals of her and their family, which by then included sixteen-year-old Coco. This is train wreck writing – reading about the frailty of their relationship feels like an invasion of privacy, yet it is almost impossible to look away.

Girl In A Band Gordon most definitely was, but her book shows that there is so much more to her, so the title is something of a misnomer in some respects, seeing as Sonic Youth consumes les than half of the 273 pages. Nevertheless, it’s a riveting story, and one which Gordon relishes telling with detached fury, hesitating not for a moment when describing her brother’s cruelty, her mother’s brushing off of it, Moore’s early generosity and capacity for love, or the minutae of his later deceit and betrayals.