"like being held hostage in a room with someone who refuses to turn on the lights"

In Wonder Town: Thirty years of Sonic Youth Sasha Frere-Jones uses metaphors like the above to describe a very unique brand of music a fittingly unique way. 

I really enjoyed the way Frere-Jones described Sonic Youth’s sound. From “the most hideous noise possible” to his comparison, “[i]f the bright, square notes of “Into the Groove” came from a world of easy round numbers, Sonic Youth’s music was made of intricate fractions” I found his language descriptively fun. As someone with very little exposure to the Sonic Youth, I took the time to listen to their songs as they were brought up in the profile and I have to say that I found myself nodding in agreement with Frere-Jones as I listened to the music and simultaneously read his interpretations of it.

I also thought Frere-Jones did a sound job of zooming in and describing the band members in the middle of recounting his own story in relation to the band. This piece was concise, vibrant, informative and flowed well. I also want to say that I found the lede intriguing and effective. The graphic descriptions of art and performances that seem to contradict most every preconceived stereotype about musical performance was striking in a way only paradoxical images can be.