The Three Bands That Made Indie Rock Possible (Full History)

TIMESTAMPS 00:00 The History of Dinosaur Jr. 13:54 The History of the Pixies 26:08 The History of Sonic Youth ABOUT DINOSAUR JR. Picture this: it's 1982, yeah? Ronald Reagan is playing nuclear chicken with the Soviets, MTV still plays music videos, and in the quiet college town of Amherst, two teenagers - J Mascis and Lou Barlow - are about to invent the template for modern alternative rock while accidentally forging one of the most toxic band relationships in history. Their first band? Deep Wound. Their next move? Forming Dinosaur Jr., a partnership so brilliant and self-destructive it would both change music forever and blow itself to bits along the way. ABOUT THE PIXIES Picture this: it's 1984, yeah? Reagan's in the White House, MTV is still playing actual music videos, and at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, two college kids living next door to each other in a dorm are about to accidentally invent the template for every alternative rock band that would follow. Their names? Charles Thompson IV (soon to be Black Francis) and Joey Santiago. Their secret weapon? They're too obsessed with weird music and too broke to care about making anything that sounds professional. ABOUT SONIC YOUTH Picture this: it's 1981, yeah? Ronald Reagan's just gotten shot, MTV has launched with "Video Killed the Radio Star" (how fucking prophetic), and in the experimental art wasteland that is downtown New York, three misfits with cheap thrifted guitars and a profound misunderstanding of how rock music is supposed to work are about to accidentally reinvent the entire concept of what a guitar can do. Their names? Thurston Moore, Kim Gordon, and Lee Ranaldo. Their band? Sonic Youth. Their secret weapon? They're too artistically pretentious and too broke to play anything that sounds remotely normal.