Hollywood Girl

Gossip Girl Musical Two-fer: Sonic Youth’s Cameo and Leighton Meester’s Single

Today, Gossip Girl became a little more entangled with two big musical moments: Sonic Youth’s appearance last night, and then today’s leaking of Blair, err, Leighton Meester’s first single.
First up, there’s that Sonic Youth appearance.
Brows furrowed when it was announced that Sonic Youth would be appearing in this third season of Gossip Girl. The tween girl audience cooing over Dan couldn’t possibly be old enough to understand the New York musical behemoth that is Sonic Youth. They know who Kings of Leon are, but the brand of alternative rock Kim Gordon and gang helped herald is just another category in Wal-Mart’s music section.
And from Sonic Youth’s end, it was hard to imagine their edge fitting into the sexy UES melodrama Gossip Girl lives for — even if they are huge fans of the show. It all made about as much sense as Jenny’s seemingly sudden affinity for eyeliner — you know, like, not a lot.
But call us crazy, after watching the scene play out, we can’t help but think that maybe this whole plot line isn’t so far fetched after all — at least by Gossip Girl standards. In last night’s episode, Kim Gordon shows up to officiate Rufus and Lilly’s wedding and then stays to play “Antenna” from Sonic Youth’s latest, The Eternal.  It’s plausible that an ex-New York musician and a former rock photographer would have some connection to Sonic Youth, a band deeply-rooted in New York. And hey, didn’t Rufus say he opened for Sonic Youth all those years ago?
Anyways, the most realistic part of this scene is in the kids’ reactions — or, well, lack there of. Sonic Youth isn’t exactly turning heads in this episode. Serena and Chuck leave the room as they play, and Chase passes them by without even turning his head. The New York of Gossip Girl is not the New York of Sonic Youth, and well, in this scene, it mostly plays out that way.