Sonic Youth's Hits are for Squares coming this June

The mixtape to dwarf all mixtapes, Hits are for Squares, a compilation of Sonic Youth favorites, will be available in select Starbucks stores (and to listeners everywhere via HearMusic.com) on June 10. A cast of thousands (well, really, 15 or so) from the arts and entertainment world contributed their favorite choices from the Sonic Youth catalog. Radiohead, Beck and Portia de Rossi are among the diverse list of contributors.

“In a way, Sonic Youth has a branded name,” Thurston Moore told Billboard in an interview about the album last year. “People know the name, but not necessarily our music, which might be a little too outsider for some. And when they do hear a little something, it doesn't tell the whole story. I thought it would be interesting to have a CD available in a store like Starbucks where the casual consumer can sort of have access to [our music] more readily.”

The whole story as it relates to selections will be told through statements from the contributors. The album features only one new track, “Slow Revolution,” but fans can anticipate more from the many reincarnations of the band, including the latest release from Free Kitten and solo tours with Moore and Lee Ranaldo.

Hits are for Squares tracklist:
1. Bull in the Heather, selected by Catherine Keener
2. Sugar Kane, selected by Beck
3. 100%, selected by Mike D
4. Kool Thing, selected by Radiohead
5. Disappearer, selected by Portia de Rossi
6. Stones, selected by Allison Anders
7. Tuff Gnarl, selected by Dave Eggers and Mike Watt
8. Teenage Riot, selected Eddie Vedder
9. Shadow of a Doubt, selected by Michelle Williams
10. Rain on Tin, selected by Flea
11. Tom Violence, selected by Gus Van Sant
12. Mary-Christ, selected by David Cross
13. World Looks Red, selected by Chloë Sevigny
14. Expressway to Yr Skull, selected by the Flaming Lips
15. Slow Revolution

Sonic Youth on tour:

July
4 - New York, N.Y. @ Battery Park *

August
4 - Leucate, France @ Les Méditerranéennes Festival
5 - Lokeren, Belgium @ Lokerse Festival
7 - Oslo, Norway @ Øya Festival
8 - Gothenburg, Sweden @ Way Out West Festival
9 - Saint-Nazaire, France @ Escales Festival

* with the Feelies

Thurston Moore:

September
19 - Monticello, N.Y. @ Kutshers Country Club, My Bloody Valentine ATP
27 - New York, N.Y. @ Stone, as Northampton Wools

Lee Ranaldo:

May
22 - New York, N.Y. @ Flea Theater, as Text of Light
28 - New York, N.Y. @ Issue Project Room + **

June

11 - New York, N.Y. @ Issue Project Room, 16 Channel Surround Sound Festival !

July
19 - North Adams, Mass. @ MASS MoCA #

+ performing with Marina Rosenfeld, Zeena Parkins, Ikue Mori
** with the Joshua Light Show
! performing with Leah Singer
# performing with Bang on a Can

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