Start of the New Revolution: Thurston Moore

Monday, April 14, 2008

Ciccione Youth

Ciccone Youth is an experimental band which was formed in 1986. It is a side project of Sonic Youth members Steve Shelley, Kim Gordon, Lee Ranaldo, and Thurston Moore, with the Minutemen/fIREHOSE member Mike Watt.

The band's name is a play on the names "Sonic Youth" and "Ciccone", the original surname of pop singer Madonna.

Band history

The band never played live, but released two records. The first was released on New Alliance Records in 1986, and consisted of three tracks: "Into the Groove(y)" (a cover of Madonna's hit "Into the Groove", incorporating snippets of her recording) and the short "Tuff Titty Rap" on the A side (both performed by the Sonic Youth members), and "Burnin' Up" (performed by Watt with additional guitars by Greg Ginn) on the B side.

The Whitey Album

The second record was a full-length album called The Whitey Album on Blast First Records in 1988, incorporating the previously released 3 tracks. It was rumored to cover songs by The Beatles, but actually contains cover songs by various artists, in particular a cover of "Addicted to Love" by Robert Palmer, which was recorded in a karaoke booth.

Influence

The Sonic Youth album Sister, released in 1987, also contains material heavily influenced by Ciccone Youth. One such example is "Master-Dik", in which Moore mentions Ciccone Youth several times.

Ciccone Youth
The Whitey Album (2006 Re-mastered)