"I THINK OF MYSELF AS UNCONVENTIONAL. I MAYBE ALWAYS HAD A PROBLEM WITH AUTHORITY, LIKE A STUBBORNNESS ABOUT WHAT'S EXPECTED."

Sebastian Kim

I met Kim Gordon in 1996. She and her husband, Thurston Moore (from whom she separated in 2011), were in San Francisco playing, and she wanted to talk to me about writing something on their band, Sonic Youth. I was intimidated to meet her and kept putting it off. She is, after all, a rock icon and a force of nature onstage, plus an artist, plus a designer, plus someone I had admired for years. Finally, a friend persuaded me (“Mary, just go and make a friend!”) and I went. The minute I met her, I stopped being nervous. In addition to everything I have noted, Kim was lovely—warm, down-to-earth, direct, and sharp, but also generous and deeply connected. I don’t remember what we talked about, just that it was fun, like life had instantly gotten more juicy and intense.

Here.