It's no exaggeration that without Sonic Youth vast sectors of the independent rock community would not exist. Before Sonic Youth signed to Geffen in 1990, alternative rock, Riot Grrrl, and MTV grunge didn't exist.
In April 2008, the band released the seventh of their experimental and instrumental releases on their own SYR label, called SYR 7 and toured the US, followed by France, Belgium, Norway and Sweden.
An exhibition entitled Sonic Youth etc: Sensational Fix – a complete overview of the history of the band and their collaborations, the directions taken by the band and their possible future collaborations is touring Europe from October 2008 until 2010.
It was as a direct result of their influence that Nirvana released Nevermind on a major label.
