Girl in a Band Audiobook By Kim Gordon cover art

Girl in a Band

A Memoir

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Girl in a Band

By: Kim Gordon
Narrated by: Kim Gordon
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About this listen

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
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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

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    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..

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3 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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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.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    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.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    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.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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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.

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    5 out of 5 stars

Great book!

I loved hearing her story of growing up and how she developed her artistic life. Very honest, real and inspiring.

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4 people found this helpful

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Rock mom revealed

Author narrates so listening felt like a conversation. I have always been curious about this perspective and I enjoy hers...juggling world tours with motherhood...finding career streams...what a great life despite the struggles!

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Needs no description.

Written with total bare bones clarity. Chapters begin and end abruptly, without introduction or conclusion, only the facts of the amazing life of an iconic artist. Presented humbly and honestly-who but Kim herself could read this? Wonderful.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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A great reading by author

It brings so much more to the memoir to have Kim's be the voice which reads. I sunk right into her story.

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Kindred spirit.

Kim Gordon's story mirrors mine in time...she is a year older, moved to NYC at same time, experienced Lennon's death, 9/11, garbage strikes, even having a child at the same time, etc. Her details are different from mine but a great listen and to hear her tell a story about a band I sometimes followed kept me wanting to know her more. New respect for the GIrl in a Band, especially since I have played in bands with "girls".

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