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A Cult Band Poised for a Mass Audience

Rock critic Ken Tucker is only now fully absorbing Sonic Youth's 1988 album Daydream Nation. The band makes use of alternate guitar tunings, and takes its lyrical cues from sci-fi writers like Philip K. Dick. Tucker says that, while the record may be band's most accessible to date, no one could accuse Sonic Youth of playing standard rock and roll.

06:33
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Other segments from the episode on January 5, 1989

Fresh Air with Terry Gross, January 5, 1989: Interview with Janet Levine; Review of Sonic Youth's album "Daydream Nation"; Interview with Jane Kramer; Review of the film "Dangerous Liaisons."
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27:48

A White South African's Fight Against Apartheid

Janet Levine is a white, liberal South African woman and anti-apartheid activist. She later resigned from public office and exiled herself in the United States; she believed that whites' unavoidable complicity with racist policies undermined the efforts of black activists. Her memoir new memoir is called Inside Apartheid.

Interview
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09:34

A New Yorker Writer on Europe

Jane Kramer regularly writes about the culture and politics on the continent. She says immigration -- and the xenophobic response to immigrants -- has played a big part in shaping Europe's changing identity.

Interview
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03:54

Dangerous Liaisons: The Fresh Air Review

Director Stephen Frears directed the adaptation of the play, Les Liaisons Dangereuses, about a contest of sexual conquest and infidelity. Film critic Stephen Schiff praises how it handles eroticism. Despite some casting missteps, he believes it's "a brilliant tarentella" of a movie.

Review

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09:47

Sonic Youth Bassist and Singer Kim Gordon

Gordon's band, founded in 1981, recently released the critically-acclaimed double album Daydream Nation. Gordon joins Fresh Air to discuss her experience as a woman rock musician in a male-dominated scene, playing concerts, and her desire for a larger audience.

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27:24

The Best Music of 1988

Rock critic Ken Tucker talks with Fresh Air host Terry Gross about the year in music. He says 1988 had an eclectic array of hits, with folk and hard rock albums both reaching the top of the charts.

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06:56

From "Warsaw" to "Joy Division" to "New Order."

Rock and roll historian Ed Ward traces the development of the band "New Order." In 1977, a 21-year-old in Manchester, England saw the Sex Pistols and decided to form his own band. He called it "Joy Division." In the decade since, the band, now called "New Order," evolved to become one of the most influential of their time, with such hits as "True Faith" and "Bizarre Love Triangle."

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