By Chuck Myers
Knight Ridder Newspapers

BALTIMORE -- After 20 years, public taste might have finally caught up with Sonic Youth's experimental brand of rock music.

Few groups master the art of feedback and distortion as well as this one. Over the past two decades, guitarists Thurston Moore and Lee Ranaldo, bassist/guitarist Kim Gordon and drummer Steve Shelley skillfully have woven what many would deem dissonance -- even pure noise -- into lush and inventive melodies.

While not exactly the youngest kids on the block, the avant rockers are hardly in the twilight of their careers. Music observers declared Sonic Youth's latest album, "Murray Street" (Interscope/Geffen), one of the band's finest in years. In addition, a new member, guitarist and mixing guru Jim O'Rourke, has brought extra punch to the group. Before a recent concert near Baltimore, Gordon sat down and discussed the group's character, O'Rourke's involvement and the role of women in music.

Different music styles have blossomed and faded since Sonic Youth formed in 1981. Rap was born, grunge exploded and techno became a favorite in dance clubs. But through each trend, Sonic Youth remained true to its nature -- as a band closer to the cutting edge than the mainstream.

"We listen to a lot of different kinds of music," explains Gordon, who shares singing duties in the band with Moore and Ranaldo. "Each member of the band brings in different sensibilities. And some of it overlaps. I think it's in a way easy to get across with a band if you pick one thing or one sound and go for it. But I think if you combine a hybrid of sounds, there's just more room to grow and do stuff, and not be pigeon-holed over the long run."

O'Rourke's arrival and contribution to "Murray Street" only further enhanced the band's varied sound.

"It's fun working with Jim because he likes all kinds of music," says Gordon. "He loves the craft of song writing. He likes pop music as much as he likes pure noise. ... He's not like a gratuitous addition. He has definitely changed the dynamic of the band in a positive way. He's a good communicator and facilitator."

Gordon says the band is pleased with the reception "Murray Street" has received. But she tempers her satisfaction about its success when it comes to the album's marketing.

"We feel pretty good about the record. We like it," says the 49-year-old guitarist. "We wish the record company wouldn't sell it for so much. There's no reason for CDs to be as much as they are. ... If we had a bigger marketing budget, a lot of that would go for actually selling the record for a less amount of money."

Gordon's long association with Sonic Youth gives her a unique perspective on the changing role of women in music. Although women artists have made strides and become more high-profile since Gordon first picked up a guitar, she believes that women were actually more active in music when she started playing than they are now -- particularly outside the mainstream.

"As far as women in what you would call alternative music -- there really aren't that many," asserts Gordon. "It's all very obscure, below the radar of the mainstream. And yet there are all these articles that continue to persist that there are more women in rock than ever. And it's really not true because they're taking about Pink and Eve. They're talking about in the mainstream, in the traditional roll of woman entertainer. I realize that you can actually flip through the radio and not hear a song by a woman."

Sonic Youth would like to begin work on its 17th album sometime in 2003. In addition, the group's celebrated 1992 record, "Dirty," will be reissued.

This should be good news for Sonic Youth fans, old and new.

"We have a really wide age span of people at our shows," notes Gordon. "It would be nice to think that with every record a few more people discover you."

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