Kim Gordon Shares the Best Songwriting Advice That Neil Young Gave Her: 'That Stuck with Me'

Mar. 15, 2025

Kim Gordon; Neil Young.Photo:Jon Kopaloff/WireImage; Emma McIntyre/Getty

Jon Kopaloff/WireImage; Emma McIntyre/Getty

The best adviceKim Gordonever received was from a fellow rock icon.

The former Sonic Youth frontwoman, 70, revealed inan interview withRolling Stonethat she considers the “best” piece of advice she’s ever received came fromNeil Young. She explained that the legendary folk-rock artist, whom she toured with in the ‘90s, gave her a songwriting pointer that she’s still held onto years later.

“Neil Young told me that it doesn’t matter how good your voice is, in terms of range or whatever,” said Gordon, who famously sings in a lower contralto range and has blended her vocals into the instrumentation on tracks for years.

She toldRolling Stonethat Young convinced her “it’s about how authentic it sounds.”

“That stuck with me,” Gordon added.

Steve Shelley, Thurston Moore, Lee Ranaldo and Kim Gordon of Sonic Youth in February 1991.Paul Natkin/Getty

Paul Natkin/Getty

Although the alternative star didn’t specify when the Godfather of Grunge offered her his bit of advice, Sonic Youth joined Crazy Horse and Neil Young out on the road when they toured their albumRagged Gloryin 1990.

Gordon just may have considered what the “Old Man” singer told her recently, as she’s on the cusp of releasing her second solo effort,The Collective.

Kim Gordon.Danielle Neu

Danielle Neu

“Well, I’m not a natural singer. I know what works for me in the sense of using rhythm and space, and I really do like working off rhythms,” the “Paprika Pony” musician explained. “I really just wanted to do more of that.”

Gordon continued, “I feel much freer in what I’m singing about in a certain way. I don’t feel like I have to hold myself back in some way.”

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She will release sophomore solo LPThe Collectiveon March 8 via Matador Records. The project follows her acclaimed 2019 debutNo Home Record.

Gordon announced the album in January when she dropped the lead single “BYE BYE.” The tracks “THE MAN” and “Psychedelic Orgasm” have since followed.

Kim Gordon’s ‘The Collective’ album artwork.Courtesy of Matador Records

Courtesy of Matador Records

Later this March, the multi-hyphenate will celebrate the release with six shows across the U.S. in Burlington, Vermont, Washington, D.C., New York City, Los Angeles, Ventura, California and San Francisco.

Gordon has worked on individual projects, including her 2015 best-selling memoirGirl in a Bandand her own music, since Sonic Youth disbanded in 2011.

The group — featuring the core lineup of Gordon, Thurston Moore, Lee Ranaldo and Steve Shelley, as well as the later addition of Mark Ibold — broke up in 2011 following the separation and subsequent divorce in 2013 of Gordon and Moore, 65. (The two were married in 1984 and a couple for much of Sonic Youth’s career. They share a daughter, Coco, 29.)

source: people.com