While I don't have a particular ear for Sonic Youth's unique and revered brand of dissonant alternative rock, I'll always have a place of respect for them in my heart -- for years, they were my late brother's favorite band. In fact, I have a distinct memory of using a Sonic Youth poster (featuring that vaguely creepy orange yarn chew toy from the cover of 1992's Dirty album) to cover a hole in my brother's wall that was the direct result of an scuffle we'd had when he was 16 and I was 21 (i.e., old enough to know better).

My brother was also a coffee aficionado, working in several local coffee shops during his college years, so a bittersweet smile crossed my face this morning when I read that Thurston Moore and the other members of the venerable act were part of a project for the chain of all coffee chains, Starbucks (NASDAQ: SBUX).

A compilation record will feature the favorite tracks of celebrities, including singer-songwriter Beck, Arrested Development star (and Ellen DeGeneres' long-term companion) Portia de Rossi, and Wilco frontman Jeff Tweedy, all of whom will write a small note about why the selected song is a favorite. In addition, the band itself will record one exclusive song for the album.

With your scone and your caramel macchiato, you can pick up a fresh mix of some of Sonic Youth's most beloved classics. In an interview with Pitchfork, Moore jokes that "Starbucks is the new record, store, right?" Paul McCartney would likely agree.



Beth Gaston Moon is an analyst at Schaeffer's Investment Research.