Thurston Joseph Moore (born July 25, 1958)[7] is an American guitarist, singer and songwriter best known as a member of the rock band Sonic Youth.

[12] He enrolled at Western Connecticut State University in fall 1976, but left after one quarter and moved to East 13th Street between Avenues A and B in New York City to join the burgeoning post-punk and no wave music scenes.

He defended the band's decision to sign with DGC Records explaining that they knew what they were getting into and viewed it more as "buying in" than "selling out".

[37][38] In the early 1990s, Moore formed the side band Dim Stars, with Richard Hell, Don Fleming, Steve Shelley with a guest appearance by Robert Quine.

The album also features collaborations between Mascis and Charalambides' Christina Carter, who performs a duet with Moore on the track, "Honest James".

[41] In 2008, Moore and former Be Your Own Pet vocalist Jemina Pearl recorded a cover of the Ramones song "Sheena Is a Punk Rocker" for the Gossip Girl episode "There Might Be Blood".

The release coincided with the SXSW Festival where they made numerous appearances including a free show at Mellow Johnny's bike shop.

He played guitar on "This Town Ain't Big Enough for Both of Us" alongside Ron and Russell Mael in a 2013 Sparks concert at the Union Chapel, Islington, London.

In 2014, Moore released The Best Day, a solo album featuring Steve Shelley and My Bloody Valentine's Debbie Googe as rhythm section, and James Sedwards on guitar.

Among the twelve person orchestra were Deb Googe, Jonah Falco, Ray Aggs, Joseph Coward and others.

[45][46] The first track, "Alice Moki Jayne", is a 63-minute long song named for the spouses of John Coltrane, Don Cherry, and Ornette Coleman.

[48] Moore is an executive producer of the industrial metal opera "Black Lodge" by David T. Little and Anne Waldman featuring Timur and the Dime Museum, in 2023 on Cantaloupe Music.

In 2007, Moore also appeared with noise/improv group Original Silence, featuring Norwegian drummer Paal Nilssen-Love, guitarist Terrie Ex, Jim O'Rourke, saxophonist Mats Gustafsson and bassist Massimo Pupillo.

Moore reviewed new music in Arthur in a column entitled "Bull Tongue" written jointly with Byron Coley.

Since the demise of Arthur, Bull Tongue exists as a fanzine edited by Coley and features underground music writing.

He published a highly influential list of collectible free jazz records in Grand Royal magazine.

[53] The company publishes mainly poetry, but also a collection of books about the early Norwegian black metal scene, experimental jazz from the 70s and other niche subjects.

[54] In 2015 Moore was appointed honorary professor at the Rhythmic Music Conservatory (RMC) in Copenhagen, Denmark, where he periodically conducts workshops and master classes.

[63] In November 2019, along with other public figures, Moore signed a letter supporting Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn describing him as "a beacon of hope in the struggle against emergent far-right nationalism, xenophobia and racism in much of the democratic world" and endorsed him in the 2019 UK general election.

On October 14, 2011, the couple announced that they were separating[27] due to an extramarital affair Moore engaged in with art book editor Eva Prinz, who was also married at the time.

He has used the ProCo Rat, Big Muff, and MXR Blue Box pedals in various combinations to achieve his unique distorted and feedback-laden guitar sound.

In 2009, Fender introduced a Lee Ranaldo signature edition of a Sapphire Blue Transparent version featuring two Fender Wide Range humbucking pickups and a Forest Green transparent finish for Moore, equipped with a pair of Seymour Duncan Antiquity II Jazzmaster single-coil pickups.

[73] With Sonic Youth With Chelsea Light Moving With Pvre Matrix With Twilight Limited edition noise, experimental, drone Free improvisation Live Caught on Tape series With Diskaholics Anonymous Trio With Original Silence With Glenn Branca With the Coachmen Singles Split LPs Remixes Guest appearances