Icon #1: Thurston Moore
My first idea for an "American Icon" was Thurston Moore, guitarist/vocalist for the band Sonic Youth.
To me, Thurston Moore represents major creativity and innovation in music. When Sonic Youth started in 1981, not many bands were taking the same risks as them. In Sonic Youth, Thurston Moore used his own guitar tunings, a wide variety of effects pedals, and unorthodox methods of playing guitar (like using drum sticks) to create loud, distorted, noise, which at points might not even be recognizable as a guitar. In my opinion, this was more innovative and "Punk Rock" than the bands associated with the Punk movement of the time. In addition to playing guitar for Sonic Youth, Thurston Moore founded DIY label "Ecstatic Peace!", which I find very inspirational, as I have always been drawn to DIY ethics when it comes to music and art.
Sonic Youth is very inspirational to me, and became important to me when I was a young child, being one of the first bands I remember hearing, and seeing live. They are also important to me because of their influence on other bands from my childhood, such as Dinosaur Jr., and innovative "shoegaze" band My Bloody Valentine, both known for their own creative ways of playing the electric guitar and defining genres.
Icon #2: Ariel Pink
My second icon idea was home-recording artist Ariel Pink.
I believe people like Ariel Pink represent how much the music "industry" has changed over the past decade. He is proof that really anybody can make music and put it out for the world to hear. 20 years ago, Ariel Pink would most likely be a name unknown to most, with his 4 track recordings heard only by friends of his. However this is not the case, as he has become widely known and accepted by many.
Although the internet has had some negative effects on music, it's hard not to be grateful for the amount of music I have had the pleasure of hearing over the past few years because of the internet. The first time I heard Ariel Pink, I thought it was inspiring to hear a person with no money who sits at home recording music buried under tape hiss, making drum noises with their mouth, record songs that are a hundred times better than a highly produced, teen pop star. This is inspiring to me because as someone who listens to, and plays music, it makes me happy to know that with patience it's possible to make good art with little resources, and that music is getting to (if not already at) the point where things like record labels, producers, etc. aren't needed to put music out for others to enjoy.
Icon #3: Sonic Boom/Spacemen 3
My third idea was Pete Kember, a.k.a. Sonic Boom.
As someone who enjoys music, I like to buy records from bands I like when I can. One of the rewards of buying vinyl is seeing the packaging, artwork, and album credits listed. On many records I have bought over the years, I would often see the names Sonic Boom or Spacemen 3 listed in thank you lists, or name-checked by musicians in interviews, I knew I had to find out what was so special about them. When I first listened to Spacemen 3 my thoughts on music started to change, I started to wonder how music that consisted of only two or three notes could be so engaging.
Spacemen 3 was a band notorious for the simplicity of their music. Often times their songs would consist of one or two chords used throughout the whole song, and would sometimes last as long as twenty minutes, however they filled their songs with feedback, distorted instruments, and drones, making the songs more of a listening experience that plays with your ears, as opposed to something with a catchy guitar riff you can tap your toe to. This mentality was brought in to Kember's solo projects Spectrum, and Sonic Boom.
My fascination with Sonic Boom is similar to why I thought of Thurston Moore for this. I think that Sonic Boom was another person willing to take risks with music, despite criticism from others. And although he isn't from America, Sonic Boom has influenced many musicians from the states like My Bloody Valentine, and Panda Bear, who also share a similar "less is more" attitude when it comes to their music.
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