Why The Sonics Sound So TERRIBLE (and So GREAT at the Same Time)
In 1966, The Sonics dropped their second album, BOOM, on Etiquette Records. After that, they largely faded away. But what what’s gone isn’t always forgotten. This is the story of how The Sonics’ Boom and their debut Here Are The Sonics festered in the background and went on to influence punk, grunge, and more.
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WATCH NEXT:
✓ The Sonics & Early PNW Garage Rock: https://youtu.be/f5ENuJ6v4ko
✓ The Tragic Beauty of Nirvana’s MTV Unplugged: https://youtu.be/9DwnXWmJVBs
✓ Does David Bowie Still Matter? https://youtu.be/RaHTvrjeIjU
🎥 All Poetic Wax Episodes: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLylroYWVYWWXL84MH1T4Qr0wrRzjwlGMR
Get The Sonics on Vinyl 🎧 https://amzn.to/3OptgSE
Poetic Wax is hosted by Andy Fenstermaker.
CHAPTERS:
0:00 The Story of The Sonics’ Boom
1:30 The Sonics’ Early Days & Here Are The Sonics
4:06 A Brief History of The Sonics’ Boom
5:59 A New Sound That Struggled to Find Footing
8:06 The Sonics’ Booming Legacy
CLIPS & REFERENCES
The Sonics “Cinderella” (Live on KEXP, Dec 17, 2016): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YtrIQkcScPc
The Sonics “Psycho” (Live at Easy Street, Seattle, Apr 16, 2016) via KEXP: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wvEA8HtySiE
Mark Arm (Mudhoney) on the Influence of The Sonics: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xtRheuBXQKs
The Sonics Interview with Mike Stax via Tiki Oasis TV: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QaIxHKQ-POw
King5 Seattle Covers The Sonics (OCT 11, 2018): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dl9E43qz_D0
#thesonics #garagerock #protopunk #60smusic #vinylcommunity #vinylrecords #vinylcollection #andyfenstermaker #fensepost #vinylchannel #poeticwax #musicessay #musicstory #albumstory #musichistory #albumhistory #musicdocumentary
@Christine-u5l
June 12, 2026 at 1:33 pm
Yeah!
@dicksatan6444
June 12, 2026 at 1:33 pm
The Monks
@Crosstiewalker
June 12, 2026 at 1:33 pm
To me they're more like a "frat rock" band than a "garage" or "psych" band. But that's not a knock on them at all because "frat rock" is good time music.
@luiszuluaga6575
June 12, 2026 at 1:33 pm
This is a fantastic production. These fellas are legendary. Thank you. 😎🫰🏼🎶
@Pretermit_Sound
June 12, 2026 at 1:33 pm
Bought ‘Maintaining My Cool’ sometime in the mid nineties after hearing the band mentioned during a Nirvana interview. Wow. What an incredible band 😧
@David-y1x8y
June 12, 2026 at 1:33 pm
Who writes this crap ? Get a clue.
@davybones7111
June 12, 2026 at 1:33 pm
Every time I think about the sonics when no music is playing. I have to sing to myself. Look out mama on the road again.
@Jupiterbotz
June 12, 2026 at 1:33 pm
The Seeds!
@kelhard5632
June 12, 2026 at 1:33 pm
Why was the sound terrible? Cheap studio, cheap mic’s, an engineer not trained to record hi-test rock. Drums are raw with prob 1 mic (maybe 2) on the kit. I don’t know exactly what the studio had for gear, but at best it was probably only 2-track. But in that sonic chaos & distortion, there was ferocity, energy & they wanted to rock the bejeebers out of us. I love them. (Oh I had my head blown that the first album was also released in stereo. Primitive again but blew me away on 1st listen. )
@carlosalbertogomez1391
June 12, 2026 at 1:33 pm
For what i know,iggy pop loved the sonics and the seeds too.the stooges were pretty much in line with this.
@hanskloss1331
June 12, 2026 at 1:33 pm
that current KEXP footage only has one or two of the "original" members
@leandrobastos6962
June 12, 2026 at 1:33 pm
Sorry, but the first punk band was Los Saicos, from Peru.
@toofusnook
June 12, 2026 at 1:33 pm
In the late 90s garage rock revival in Detroit, you could hear multiple Sonics covers by different bands in one night. My band had two up our sleeve.
Later, Detroit engineer Jim Diamond worked with the reformed Sonics. Jim was a big part of what was happening here in the mitten.
@Thegrungegeek
June 12, 2026 at 1:33 pm
Please cover the first Seeds album!
@Unfunny_Username_389
June 12, 2026 at 1:33 pm
Who is that at 1:15, please?
@berislavpavisic3121
June 12, 2026 at 1:33 pm
Lady, you ought to pronounce The Sonics with much more respect
@megaperl
June 12, 2026 at 1:33 pm
"sound terrible", the sonics??? hahahahhaha!!! And you call yourselves music journalists????? Go back to school, kids, you most definitely need it.
@dgs1933
June 12, 2026 at 1:33 pm
Hard disagree on them being unique, just a slightly more extreme version of what was the standard approach of bands from the PNW at the time.
@FirstBoyOnTheMoon1
June 12, 2026 at 1:33 pm
Great story, great sound.
@kookadams85
June 12, 2026 at 1:33 pm
The Sonics compilation Full Force is THE album!
@PaulHolmanIII
June 12, 2026 at 1:33 pm
YES Do a Monks episode. The Seeds are cool too(I once smoked a bowl with Sky Saxon!). That would be FAB!
@paultiffany7629
June 12, 2026 at 1:33 pm
sonics hype – no music. next, I waste my time trying to find sonics music.
@waskerbasket9601
June 12, 2026 at 1:33 pm
dont know why you say they sound terrible
@Cheshire_Alchemist
June 12, 2026 at 1:33 pm
Oh yeah, do all three! I’d like to hear your take on The Beatles, but they really is precious little on YouTube about The Monks or The Seeds.
The Fuzztones also covered a number of Sonics songs. Cinderella, Strychine, AND The Witch!
@harvey1954
June 12, 2026 at 1:33 pm
Hardly the best "Louie Louie". That would be Rockin' Robin and the Wailers. Everything else is just a copy of theirs.
@athosmagnani9411
June 12, 2026 at 1:33 pm
niceee! a video about the monks would be great
@trainsurfer7593
June 12, 2026 at 1:33 pm
Great video – The Sonics truly were the foundation for a lot of punk and alternative music today.
I'd love you to do a video on The Monks, who were even more obscure but sneakily almost as foundational as The Sonics.