It's hard to believe that after all these years, Sonic Youth are still shredding. Their Friday show at The Greek Theatre isn't a recently in-vogue "reunion show." This band hasn't taken a break (much less broken-up) in over twenty-five years. Formed in NYC in 1981 and rising from the ashes of the "Please Kill Me" days, it can be said that Sonic Youth were truly the first post-punk band. And they just keep getting better. How's that even possible?

In the beginning, when they were truly youths, Thurston, Kim and Lee were a little lo-fi band that wanted to draw on the free-form noise of The Velvet Underground and The Stooges. In 1983 they released their debut, Confusion is Sex, which became the start of a new genre.

With each subsequent album the cult of Sonic Youth grew. Their sound, continually ammended and tinkered with over the years, became completely their own. Be sure to check out seminal albums Sister, Daydream Nation and Dirty.

Longevity for longevity's sake is nothing noble. Yet Sonic Youth have maintained their artistic integrity for over 20 years. 2006's Rather Ripped is one of their strongest albums yet. Sonic Youth may now be as legendary as the bands that influenced them.

Speaking of Daydream Nation, the band just released a crazy 4xLP vinyl box set of that legendary album. It comes loaded with extra tracks. You should check it out.

And go see some legends on July 20th.

Sonic Youth play The Greek Theatre, on Friday, July 20th.