Preview
  • Girl in a Band

  • A Memoir
  • By: Kim Gordon
  • Narrated by: Kim Gordon
  • Length: 7 hrs and 14 mins
  • 4.4 out of 5 stars (2,002 ratings)

Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Girl in a Band

By: Kim Gordon
Narrated by: Kim Gordon
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $17.09

Buy for $17.09

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

Kim Gordon, founding member of Sonic Youth, fashion icon, and role model for a generation of women, now tells her story - a memoir of life as an artist, of music, marriage, motherhood, independence, and as one of the first women of rock and roll, written with the lyricism and haunting beauty of Patti Smith's Just Kids.

Often described as aloof, Kim Gordon opens up as never before in Girl in a Band. Telling the story of her family, growing up in California in the '60s and '70s, her life in visual art, her move to New York City, the men in her life, her marriage, her relationship with her daughter, her music, and her band, Girl in a Band is a rich and beautifully written memoir.

Gordon takes us back to the lost New York of the 1980s and '90s that gave rise to Sonic Youth, and the alternative revolution in popular music. The band helped build a vocabulary of music - paving the way for Nirvana, Hole, Smashing Pumpkins, and many other acts. But at its core, Girl in a Band examines the route from girl to woman in uncharted territory, music, art career, what partnership means - and what happens when that identity dissolves.

Evocative and edgy, filled with the sights and sounds of a changing world and a transformative life, Girl in a Band is the fascinating chronicle of a remarkable journey and an extraordinary artist.

©2015 Kim Gordon (P)2015 HarperCollins Publishers
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

Editorial reviews

Editors Select, February 2015 - Kim Gordon: Artist, musician, and trail blazer for women of the post-punk generation. She is among the rare breed of artists who have made a mark on music and on popular culture...and yet she is not someone I'd consider a household name. Sonic Youth, her band, was always about the sound...in all it's wonderful dissonance - the personalities were secondary. In Girl in a Band, Kim gets personal: talking about the break-up of her marriage and her band when she and Thurston Moore split after 27-years together, and about her relationship with her daughter. It's a panoramic and atmospheric look at her life as opposed to a deep look into her psyche. I can't wait to hear her narrate this book, and I can't wait to hear what she comes up with next! Tricia, Audible Editor

Featured Article: Tune In to Our Favorite Music Memoirs


We’ve been finding solace in stories that follow our other favorite thing to listen to: music. We’ve gathered a selection of pitch-perfect memoirs from music legends in a variety of genres and styles. By turns bold, brash, and moving, these listens shed light on the sold-out shows, backstage drama, and sometimes dark underbelly of the recording industry, while highlighting the charisma, energy, and artistry that had us hooked from the first soundwave.

What listeners say about Girl in a Band

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    1,205
  • 4 Stars
    515
  • 3 Stars
    213
  • 2 Stars
    51
  • 1 Stars
    18
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    1,107
  • 4 Stars
    396
  • 3 Stars
    199
  • 2 Stars
    50
  • 1 Stars
    20
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    1,063
  • 4 Stars
    444
  • 3 Stars
    191
  • 2 Stars
    51
  • 1 Stars
    14

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

I really wanted to love this book..

What did you like best about Girl in a Band? What did you like least?

...but I just could not seem to get through it. I still think Kim Gordon is great but why did she fall prey to depending on name dropping and boring cliche rock star detail? Maybe it was the publishers..I'll give her that. I am glad she read it herself, it did seem more real and I am thankful for when she did talk about her true feelings. I grew up listening to her genre and I thought there just might be more of interest, but maybe we were all just young and looking for something that was never really there in the first place.

Would you recommend Girl in a Band to your friends? Why or why not?

Yes, but not worth my only audible credit this month..

What three words best describe Kim Gordon’s voice?

A little monotone, but I was glad she read it not someone else.

Was Girl in a Band worth the listening time?

I guess..

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

better then I expected with a lot of vulnerability

better then I expected with a lot if vulnerability.
I would love to hear her reflection on the affair a few years from now when it is less fresh.
it is a complete taboo what he did, but a relationship is always 2 people.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Enlightening

I enjoyed her life story and the way she told it. The story bounced in time, but still seemed to flow forward. The part I liked best was her reflections on being a 'girl'. I could relate to some of her stories, and enjoyed her reflections.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Fantastic

This is one of the best celebrity memoirs, in terms of story and writing quality, I've ever read/listened to. Smart, well-paced, and well-read by Gordon. Love it.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

She is a good story

Great band, great story. Liked the honesty and delivery. Would have liked more insight into the process of choosing to be an artist.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Powerful listen for right-now.

If you’re a fan of Sonic Youth, I don’t have to tell you what Kim Gordon has done for generations of women artists, just by creating without compromise, and overcoming barriers that should never have been there in the first place.

But even if you don’t have a relationship to Sonic Youth’s lyrics and meanings, there’s a lot to gain from listening to this memoir, besides a probable inspiration to seek out their work. If you want to know about a Los Angeles art scene that no longer exists, or immerse yourself in a crazy New York art scene that no longer exists, Kim can guide you there, with details that are vivid, observant, poetic, and human.

If you’ve had to contend with a loss of trust in a person that you’ve been devoted to, Kim is your incredibly sympathetic friend, bravely laying out her own feelings and struggles with the betrayal of Thurston Moore, her husband and creative partner for twenty-seven years who wrecked their marriage with a long-time affair.

If you grew up in a crazy bohemian household, Kim’s openness about raising her daughter might be cathartic for you as it was for me. If you grew up in the OPPOSITE of such a household, a staid environment that discouraged open expression, then certainly Kim and her family’s lively adventures could provide a welcome perspective for you.

Lastly, if you’re a woman and you’re DONE right now, just fucking DONE?? Kim’s got you. Her voice is strong and emotive but also palpably tired, and it was exactly what I needed.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Frustrating, but great listen.

Really well read. Always a bonus to hear the author read the book.
The storyline is incredible and insightful, though frustrating knowing the twists and turns of the relationships involved.
Pairs really well with Patti Smith’s latest novel as well for music fans stuck in quarantine, longing for a means of feeling present in music elsewhere and outside of the music itself...

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Interesting recapture

Kim Gordon’s story is interesting on a lot of levels, but especially as a view into the art world of the 80’s and 90’s. She recalls names of artist that may not been as well known as bands during a very interesting time period for visual art.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Kim Gordon Brought Me Into Her World!

Kim Gordon dove right into her life from the first sentence and took me on an unforgettable journey through her life, musical and artistic careers, marriage and future implosion of her devoted relationship with Thurston and so much more. An unforgettable, incredibly moving listen.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

She's really just the best.

The best. She's one of my favorite people and I love that she told her story in her own voice.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!