Sonic Youth co-founder and guitarist Thurston Moore has long been an admirer of The Fall. For our FALLSOUNDARCHIVE guest playlist series, he’s selected 20 of his favourite tracks by Mark E Smith's inimitable group. But first, here are a few words from Thurston on the The Fall...
I first saw The Fall when we (Sonic Youth) played with them at The Speed Trials fest at White Columns gallery in NYC on the 4th of May, 1983. It was the Mark Smith, Hanley brothers, Craig Scanlon, and Karl Burns line-up. They had just come from Chicago. Mark had just met Brix in Chicago and she was there in NYC hanging around. She then flew to Manchester to wait for Mark as he and the band flew to Germany to do more dates. SY was on the same plane the next day. I’ll always remember walking on there and seeing those guys smoking and nursing drinks giving us a smile. The plane stopped in Iceland to refuel. The Fall got off and played an infamous gig there. We carried on and played some shows in Germany, one with the Fall after they were finished melting down Reykjavík. Like the NYC show they were captivating. The two drum thing compulsive and driving, Mark’s cigarette in one hand, the other in his pocket, intoning his mid-tenor recitations, purposefully distant from any sense of seeking acceptance.
Later he’d rag on our band saying we were “students” which is not entirely untrue I suppose. He was always friendly when popping into the dressing room though, taking a seat, crossing his legs, having a smoke and a beer. Gorgeous face and eyes, polite. Though I imagine he could be a scabrous git for anyone stuck in a van with the man. I missed the infamous Brownies (NYC club) show where he got into a physical altercation with his bandmates to the point of them all spilling off the tiny stage.
Their music was always playing in the artworld zones SY cohabitated in. The conceptual artist Dan Graham who was very close to us theorized that the Fall were the contemporary Kinks for punk rock culture. We decided to record only Fall songs for a Peel Session as encouraged and assisted by Epic Soundtracks of Swell Maps releasing it eventually as a semi-bootleg, “All Fall Down”. Mark would go on to say something to the effect of “Can you imagine how horrible it is to be an influence on Sonic Youth?” – something like that. Brilliant and scabrous. He also felt the need to go after Pavement, particularly with Malkmus actually referencing Mark’s vocal style here and there. “No one’s getting rich being influenced by the Fall.” Malkmus wittily rejoindered. 
Last time we met was at the I Am Curious Oranj performance at Sadler’s Wells Theatre in London. Well, we didn’t meet but he saw me there afterwards and shot me a stare as if to say “what are you doing here?” I went along with Kid Congo and Anita Lane (namedropper, me) who had guest list action. But Mark and I never were pals. Brix and I would eventually become besties, though. Brix’ Fall songs and presence in the band for me is perfect Fall, especially with Marcia Schofield on keyboards – the Americanized Fall I suppose. I recall reading an interview Mark gave to Gavin from Bush where Mark told Gavin that he thought Bush were a decent band. Anyone reading that knew how insanely and obviously pandering Mark was being as if he were testing the absurdity of saying such a thing. And then he said in some other mag that Allen Ginsberg was an embarrassingly terrible poet. And in another interview with some U.S. fanzine he told the interviewer that the only good bands around were American. The art of contradiction seems to be at the heart of the art of The Fall (not always) and it seemed to me to be the essence of Mark’s singular poetics. Though the complexities are rampant, timeless, endless, and forever mystifying, continually intriguing, wholly inspired and inspiring. An identity cut into human bone, soul, and heart. All I know is the man was terrifyingly beautiful.
Thurston Moore