Pitchfork

Jim O'Rourke has accomplished many things in his thirty-six years: produced, remixed and collaborated with countless indie- and avant- rock heavyweights, recorded a slew of solo pop and experimental albums, been a member of Gastr del Sol, Loose Fur and, until last week, Sonic Youth. But, it turns out, what he really wants to do is direct. Just like George Clooney.

In an interview with Pitchfork on Friday, Sonic Youth guitarist/vocalist Lee Ranaldo confirmed rumors that O'Rourke has left the band. "We are in the process of parting ways for a number of different reasons--all of them amiable," he said. However, he isn't closing the door to the possibility of future collaborations. "We will continue to work together in various capacities, but he's been in a period recently of re-examining a lot of aspects of his own life and what he wants to do. I think that what he really wants to do at this point is move more into working in film. I don't think he really wants to do that much music at this point.

"I think he's really absorbed in the world of cinema and would like to be making films with directors and to be a director. I think he just felt that we were busy enough that he wasn't able to pursue that as a goal at this point. I think he'd really like to live in Japan for awhile and get further immersed in the world of Japanese cinema."

O'Rourke is no cinematic newbie. He was "music consultant" on Richard Linklater's Jack Black tour de force School of Rock (helping the kids learn how to play their instruments, if I remember the DVD extras correctly) and has worked on the soundtracks to such films as Grizzly Man, Love Liza and Julien Donkey-Boy. He has also named three of his solo albums after Nicolas Roeg movies. Does any of that mean he'll be a good director? Who knows? Although "Halfway to a Threeway" would make a pretty rad movie.

Ranaldo also hinted at what's in store for the Sonics in the Post-O'Rourke age. "We've decided that we're going to go ahead and make our next record as a four-piece again," he said. "It's gonna be interesting because on one hand it's what we've always been, except this last period with Jim, but on the other hand, having a fifth member opened up the group to different things. We could flex different muscles as a five piece."

"I really don't have any idea what the future will hold, whether we'll bring other people out on tour with us or if we'll just go out as a quartet. But we are most of the way through a really cool group of songs that are being written as a quartet." He added, "Change is always good. It always works out for the better. It brings you to a new place." Unless that place is NYC Ghosts & Flowers, we're cool with it.

Ranaldo described the new songs as "sort of rocking in a way that maybe we haven't really tried before. Some of them are kind of an extension of the last couple records, and some of them are almost more like noise-slash-sound pieces that either shoot off in their own direction or hark back to earlier works. There are a few things that are more sound-process pieces."

As previously reported, Ranaldo recovered two of his beloved custom-modified guitars, lost since an equipment heist in 1999, this summer in California. Although the guitars are currently in pretty bad shape, Ranaldo is optimistic that they will be rehabilitated to working order soon. And then he can get back to ripping up "Eric's Trip" just like the old days.