"Kool Thing" is a song by American rock band

Sonic Youth Sonic Youth were an American rock band formed in New York City in 1981. Founding members Kim Gordon (bass, vocals, guitar), Thurston Moore (lead guitar, vocals) and Lee Ranaldo (rhythm guitar, vocals) remained together for the entire history of ...

, released in June 1990 in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

(as a

promotional single A promotional recording, promo, or plug copy is an audio or video recording distributed free, usually in order to promote a recording that is or soon will be commercially available. Promos are normally sent directly to broadcasters, such as mu ...

) and September 1990 in

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

, as the first single from their sixth

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

'' Goo''. The song was inspired by an interview bassist/singer

Kim Gordon Kim Althea Gordon (born April 28, 1953) is an American musician, singer and songwriter best known as the bassist, guitarist, and vocalist of alternative rock band Sonic Youth. Born in Rochester, New York, she was raised in Los Angeles, Califor ...

conducted with

LL Cool J James Todd Smith (born January 14, 1968), known professionally as LL Cool J (short for Ladies Love Cool James), is an American rapper and actor. He is one of the earliest rappers to achieve commercial success, alongside fellow new school hip ho ...

for '' Spin''. Although he is never mentioned by name, the song's lyrics contain several references to LL Cool J. Gordon's lyrics make reference to several of the

rapper Rapping (also rhyming, flowing, spitting, emceeing, or MCing) is an artistic form of vocal delivery and emotive expression that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and ommonlystreet vernacular". It is usually performed over a backing ...

's works, including the single " I Can't Live Without My Radio" and the album '' Walking with a Panther''. She also repeats the line "I don't think so", which appears in LL Cool J's " Going Back to Cali".

Chuck D Carlton Douglas Ridenhour (born August 1, 1960), known professionally as Chuck D, is an American rapper, best known as the leader and frontman of the hip hop group Public Enemy, which he co-founded in 1985 with Flavor Flav. Chuck D is also a me ...

also contributed spoken vocals to the song.

Critical reception

David Fricke David Fricke (born ) is an American music journalist who serves as the senior editor at ''Rolling Stone'' magazine, where he writes predominantly about rock music. One of the best known names in rock journalism, his career has spanned over 40 ye ...

of ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' referred to the song as "sexually charged," praising

Thurston Moore Thurston Joseph Moore (born July 25, 1958) is an American guitarist, singer and songwriter best known as a member of the rock band Sonic Youth. He has also participated in many solo and group collaborations outside Sonic Youth, as well as running ...

and Steve Shelley's guitar and drum work, respectively. Also from ''Rolling Stone'', Matthew Perpetua designated the song as a "feminist anthem." Jason Ankeny of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

believed the song "teeters on the brink of a cultural breakthrough but falls just shy of the mark."

Robert Christgau Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and later became a ...

praised

's performance on the song, citing "Kool Thing" as a standout track from '' Goo''.

Music video

The

music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...

for "Kool Thing", released on June 4, 1990, was the band's first for a major label. The video was directed by

Tamra Davis Tamra Davis (born January 22, 1962) is an American film, television and music video director. Early life Davis was born the second of four children in Studio City, California. She was exposed to the media industry at an early age by her grand ...

. The video focused on Gordon's fascination with 1960s radicalism (particularly Patty Hearst and the Black Panthers), and featured the band wearing glam style clothing. The video was stylized after LL Cool J's " Going Back to Cali" video, down to the black-and-white camera and go-go dancers. Gordon initially wanted to wear a beret and carry an Uzi, as a self-described " poseur-leftist girl lusting after Black Panthers concept". However, Geffen vetoed the plan. Chuck D appeared in the video. '' Spin'' designated the video as one of the greatest music videos of 1990.

Live performances

On July 29, 1992, Sonic Youth performed "Kool Thing" on ''Hangin' with MTV'' in New York City.

Legacy

Brian Molko Brian Molko (born 10 December 1972) is a British-American musician who is the lead vocalist, guitarist, and lyricist of the band Placebo (band), Placebo. He is known for his nasal voice and high registered vocals, feminine/androgynous appearance ...

Placebo A placebo ( ) can be roughly defined as a sham medical treatment. Common placebos include inert tablets (like sugar pills), inert injections (like saline), sham surgery, and other procedures. Placebos are used in randomized clinical trials ...

said that "Kool Thing" was the first song he ever heard by Sonic Youth, adding that if it were not for them, his own band would never have existed. "Kool Thing" has also been frequently featured in TV shows, films and

video game A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...

s, including '' Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock'', '' Simple Men'', ''

Gilmore Girls ''Gilmore Girls'' is an American comedy drama television series created by Amy Sherman-Palladino, starring Lauren Graham and Alexis Bledel. The show debuted October 5, 2000, on The WB and became a flagship series for the network. The show ran fo ...

'', '' True Crime: New York City'', ''

Once Upon a Time "Once upon a time" is a stock phrase used to introduce a narrative of past events, typically in fairy tales and folk tales. It has been used in some form since at least 1380 in storytelling in the English language and has started many narrative ...

'' and ''

Mr. Robot ''Mr. Robot'' is an American drama thriller television series created by Sam Esmail for USA Network. It stars Rami Malek as Elliot Alderson, a cybersecurity engineer and hacker with social anxiety disorder, clinical depression, and dissoci ...

'', in addition to appearing as downloadable content for ''

Rock Band ''Rock Band'' is a series of rhythm games first released in 2007 and developed by Harmonix. Based on their previous development work from the Guitar Hero, ''Guitar Hero'' series, the main ''Rock Band'' games have players use game controllers mod ...

''.

Track listings and formats

*7" vinyl and cassette single #"Kool Thing" (LP version) – 4:04 #"That's All I Know (Right Now)" – 2:30 *12" vinyl #"Kool Thing" (LP version) – 4:04 #"That's All I Know (Right Now)" – 2:30 #"Kool Thing" (8 track demo version) – 4:13 *CD single #"Kool Thing" (LP version) – 4:07 #"That's All I Know (Right Now)" – 2:18 #" Dirty Boots" (Rock & Roll Heaven version) – 5:26 #"Kool Thing" (8 track demo version) – 4:13

Credits and personnel

Credits and personnel are adapted from the ''Goo'' album liner notes. Sonic Youth *

– guitar, production *

Lee Ranaldo Lee Mark Ranaldo (born February 3, 1956) is an American guitarist, singer and songwriter, best known as a co-founder of the rock band Sonic Youth. In 2004, ''Rolling Stone'' ranked Ranaldo at number 33 on its "Greatest Guitarists of All Time" li ...

– guitar, vocals, production *

– vocals, bass guitar, production * Steve Shelley – drums, percussion, production Guest musicians *

– additional vocals Technical * Nick Sansano – production, recording, additional percussion *

Ron Saint Germain Ron Saint Germain (alternate spellings Ron St. Germain, Ron Saint-Germaine and similar) is an American record producer, audio engineer, and mixer born in post-war Frankfurt, Germany, into a career Air Force family. Prior to his career in music ...

– production,

engineering Engineering is the practice of using natural science, mathematics, and the engineering design process to Problem solving#Engineering, solve problems within technology, increase efficiency and productivity, and improve Systems engineering, s ...

, mixing * Nick Sansano – additional engineering * Dan Wood – assistant engineering * John Herman – assistant engineering * Judy Kirschner – assistant engineering *

Howie Weinberg Howie Weinberg is an American audio mastering engineer. Over the course of his career, he has received over 2,257 mastering credits, three TEC Awards, 21 Grammy Awards, two Juno Awards, and one Mercury Prize. Career Weinberg mastered Herbie Ha ...

– mastering

Charts

References

External links

* {{Authority control Sonic Youth songs 1990 singles Grunge songs Music videos directed by Tamra Davis 1990 songs Geffen Records singles