Uploaded May 2026 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
Short Video Description
Recorded live at New York City's Artists Space on December 5, 1986, this historic 38-minute audio track captures the legendary collaborative performance "Plato's Cave, Rothko's Chapel, Lincoln's Profile."Fronted by visionary artist Mike Kelley's manic spoken-word poetry, the performance features iconic noise-rock pioneers Sonic Youth (Thurston Moore, Kim Gordon, Lee Ranaldo, and Steve Shelley) acting as the live "house band." Instead of standard rock songs, they unleash a continuous, improvisational "sonic storm" of screeching feedback, heavy guitar drones, and avant-garde percussion that directly mirrors Kelley's surreal stage actions. Captured on-site by audio recordist Carole Parkinson, this rare 38-minute mix stands as a monumental crossover milestone between the 1980s New York No Wave underground scene and the fine-art world.
Short Video Description
Recorded live at New York City's Artists Space on December 5, 1986, this historic 38-minute audio track captures the legendary collaborative performance "Plato's Cave, Rothko's Chapel, Lincoln's Profile."Fronted by visionary artist Mike Kelley's manic spoken-word poetry, the performance features iconic noise-rock pioneers Sonic Youth (Thurston Moore, Kim Gordon, Lee Ranaldo, and Steve Shelley) acting as the live "house band." Instead of standard rock songs, they unleash a continuous, improvisational "sonic storm" of screeching feedback, heavy guitar drones, and avant-garde percussion that directly mirrors Kelley's surreal stage actions. Captured on-site by audio recordist Carole Parkinson, this rare 38-minute mix stands as a monumental crossover milestone between the 1980s New York No Wave underground scene and the fine-art world.
