Thurston Joseph Moore (born July 25, 1958) is an American musician best known as a singer, songwriter and guitarist of Sonic Youth. He has also participated in many solo and group collaborations outside of Sonic Youth, as well as running the Ecstatic Peace! record label. Moore was ranked 34th in Rolling Stone's 2004 edition of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time." In May 2012, Spin published a staff-selected top 100 ranking Moore and his Sonic Youth bandmate Lee Ranaldo together on number 1.

KNOWN FOR

Late Show with David Letterman
1994
Jimmy Kimmel Live!
2006
Gilmore Girls
2006
Late Night with Conan O'Brien
1996
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
2004
Later... with Jools Holland
1992
Late Night with Jimmy Fallon
2009
Space Ghost Coast to Coast
1996
Classic Albums
2005
The Wizard of the Kremlin
2026
Irma Vep
2022
Watch the Sound with Mark Ronson
2021

FILMOGRAPHY

All
Movies
TV
Acting
119
Directing
1
Writing
2
Producing
2
Sound
14
Art
1
2026
Butthole Surfers: The Hole Truth and Nothing Butt
as Self
2026
Broken English
as Self
2026
The Last Critic
2026
The Best Summer
as Self
2026
The Wizard of the Kremlin
as Synthesizer Player
2025
Pavements
as Self (uncredited)
2025
Sonic Youth: Live in 1991
2024
Scala!!!
as Self
2024
Born Innocent: The Redd Kross Story
2024
The Road to Ruane
as Self
2024
Uncropped
as Self
2023
Louder Than You Think
as Self (archive footage)
2021
Freakscene: The Story of Dinosaur Jr.
as himself
2021
Poly Styrene: I Am a Cliché
as Self
2021
The Sparks Brothers
as Self
2021
Watch the Sound with Mark Ronson
as Self
2020
Thick Air
as Himself
2019
Lydia Lunch: The War Is Never Over
as Self
2019
Creem: America's Only Rock 'n' Roll Magazine
as Self - Sonic Youth
2019
Sonic Youth: Daydream Nation
2019
Swans: Where Does a Body End?
as Self
2019
Sonic Youth: NYC and Beyond
2019
SY NYC 12/12/01: The Demonlover Sessions
as Self
2019
Punk
as Self
2018
Desolation Center
2017
The Public Image Is Rotten
as Himself
2017
Teenage Superstars
as Self
2016
Cassette: A Documentary Mixtape
as Himself
2015
Salad Days: A Decade of Punk in Washington, DC (1980-90)
as Self
2014
It's Not Repetition, It's Discipline
as Himself
2014
Station to Station
2013
I'm Now: The Story of Mudhoney
2013
Lou Reed - Remembered
2012
Ben Lee: Catch My Disease
as Self
2012
The Hardcore Collection
as (archive footage)
2011
Blank City
as Self
2011
Autoluminescent: Rowland S. Howard
as Self
2011
Sonic Youth: Live at SWU Festival 2011
2011
Sonic Youth: Maquinaria Festival
2010
Ecstatic Peace Archives
2010
Jean-Michel Basquiat: The Radiant Child
as Self
2010
Sonic Youth & The Black Keys: Live at Austin City Limits 2011
2009
No Wave - Underground '80: Berlin - New York
as Self
2009
From the Basement
as Self - Sonic Youth
2009
Burning Down the House: The Story of CBGB
as Self
2009
From The Basement
as Self - Sonic Youth
2009
Late Night with Jimmy Fallon
as Self - Musical Guest
2008
I Need That Record!
as Himself
2008
New York Rock at the BBC
as Self - Sonic Youth
2007
Llik Your Idols
as Himself
2007
Dinosaur Jr: Live in the Middle East
as Himself
2007
365 Day Project
as Self
2007
You're Gonna Miss Me: A Film About Roky Erickson
as Self
2007
Welcome to My Castle!
as Self
2006
Cut Shorts
2006
Kill Your Idols: More.
as Self
2006
The Devil and Daniel Johnston
as Self
2006
Noise
as Self
2006
Gilmore Girls
as Cool Dad Troubadour
2006
Jimmy Kimmel Live!
as Self - Musical Guest
2005
Punk: Attitude
as Himself
2005
Day Trip Maryanne
2005
Sonic Youth: Live at Eurockéennes
2005
We Jam Econo: The Story of the Minutemen
as Self
2005
Cecil Taylor: All The Notes
as Himself
2005
Sun Ra: Brother From Another Planet
as Self
2005
Classic Albums: Nirvana - Nevermind
as Self
2005
Classic Albums
as Self
2004
Kill Your Idols
as Self
2004
Sonic Youth: Corporate Ghost
2004
(This Is Known as) The Blues Scale
as Self
2004
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
as Self - Musical Guest
2003
Sonic Youth: Koncertas Stan Brakhage Prisiminimui (April 12, 2003)
2003
Sonic Youth: Live at Soundstage
as Performer
2002
Pavement: Slow Century
as Self
2001
25 Years of Punk
as Self
2001
Money for Nothing: Behind the Business of Pop Music
as Self - Narrator (voice)
2000
Silver Rockets Kool Things - 20 Years of Sonic Youth
as Self
2000
Record Player: Christian Marclay
as Himself
2000
Sonic Youth: Live in São Paulo 2000
2000
The Hardcore Collection
1999
David S. Ware
as Himself
1999
Turn of the Century
as Himself
1998
Free Tibet
as Self - Sonic Youth
1998
Sonic Youth: Festival Internacional de Benicàssim
1997
Don't Bring A Dog
as Himself
1996
Sonic Youth: Rocknacht - Live In Dusseldorf 1996
1996
Tibetan Freedom Concert
as Self
1996
Space Ghost Coast to Coast
as Fred Cracklin
1996
Late Night with Conan O'Brien
as Self - Musical Guest
1995
Sonic Youth: Blood on the Beach
as Self
1995
An Introduction to Harmolodics
1995
The State's 43rd Annual All-Star Halloween Special
as Self
1995
Brian Wilson: I Just Wasn't Made for These Times
as Self
1995
Sonic Youth: Screaming Fields of Sonic Love
1994
Freaks, Nerds & Weirdos
as Self
1994
Nirvana: Live! Tonight! Sold Out!!
1994
Hi Octane
as Self (Host)
1994
Late Show with David Letterman
as Self - Musical Guest
1993
Grunge Pedal
1993
Changing Fashions
1993
Sonic Youth: Live at Campo Pequeno Lisboa
1992
1991: The Year Punk Broke
as Self
1992
Later... with Jools Holland
1991
Notebook
1991
Rap Damage
1991
Goo
as Self
1991
Skeeno H.C. Rules
1989
Weatherman '69
as Jeff Jones
1988
Put More Blood Into the Music
as Himself
1988
Lou Believers
as Himself
1988
Sonic Youth: 930 Club
1986
Sublapse Video Mag 1
1986
Sonic Youth: Mississippi Nights, St. Louis
1985
Submit to Me
1985
Sonic Youth: Gila Monster Jamboree
Sonic Youth - Gila Monster Jamboree - January 5, 1985
Sonic Youth: Tibetan Freedom Concert 1996
Sonic Youth: Full Set From The Basement
as Self