Reuters - Thirty years into their career, the members of the art-rock band Sonic Youth are consistent as ever in the studio, although they're changing their strategy outside of it.

The newest Fantasies track gets a simple treatment: "Sick Muse" features a lower-tech sound stage than "Gimme Sympathy" and none of the layered animations of "Help, I'm Alive," and it feels more alive because of it. (Thanks for the tip, Mark.) Basically, a stationary camera cuts between the (ever wardrobe changing) band hamming it up and rocking...

Pearl Jam, Beastie Boys, Sonic Youth and Elvis Costello are among the artists who will perform on the 35th season of the renowned Austin City Limits US television series this autumn.

When we caught up with Thurston Moore recently, he told us, "I think the Matador record shows us in an excited and newly liberated state of play." The John Fahey bedecked Matador album in question, The Eternal, the band's followup to the duskier, tauter Rather Ripped, is indeed a rollicking good time. When you stop to think about it, it's actual...

The Eternal, complete with its "heavy ass weirdo hooks," is Sonic Youth's 16th album, but the band (now with Mark Ibold) come off as energized as ever in this clip of them performing the Lee Ranaldo track "What We Know" on Jools Holland. Lee's songs nail a sort of blustery darkness that makes me think of a NYC pulse that doesn't actually exist ...