By David Browne
(Da Capo Press)

Rock lore abounds with stories of pivotal yet scarcely attended happenings. It's said that of the few who bought the Velvet Underground's debut record all went on to start a band - the same of the sparse crowd that witnessed the Sex Pistols' first show at the Manchester Free Trade Hall. The history of Sonic Youth has no such eureka moment. The band's members arrived in New...