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Sonic Youth in their glamourous major label days

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Sonic Youth's Thurston Moore has confirmed for the first time in almost 20 years, the NYC noiseniks are once again an "independent rock band".

With the Rather Ripped album of 2006, the art-rock quintet completed their contract with major label Geffen. And singer/guitarist Thurston Moore recently told Rolling Stone: "The last four or five records we did were just so compromised by [the major label] situation. But that's the way it goes."

So now Sonic Youth will now be releasing albums on an independent label, just like they did before their commercial breakthrough 22 years ago with Daydream Nation.

Moore adds. "There's one label we are certainly going to go with at this point, but I don't think I'm allowed to disclose that right now. I don't want to risk having a shit storm." However, he does concede that the band are once again going "indie" and "it feels great".

This is indeed all "great", but it does beg the questions:

- Is there any band more 'indie' in spirit than Sonic Youth, even during their major-label years?

- Have they really been "compromised"? If any MR listener can point to a "poppier song" of recent times that seemed unnatural, let us know. Because I can't hear one.

- CD sales collapsing + Sonic Youth leaving a major label = the blinding obvious, surely?

It's good and sane news for all concerned. If the 50-year-olds in Sonic Youth (and I even like them) were still on a major, we'd have real proof the major labels truly are fucked.