Soul-crushing words nobody ever expected or wanted to hear: the future of Sonic Youth appears to be in doubt. Kim Gordon and Thurston Moore announced their separation on Friday night, after 27 years of marriage. The band has a few upcoming November gigs in South America; it’s officially “uncertain” if the band will continue after that. But they should. Oh, how they should.

The first time I heard Sonic Youth play “Eric’s Trip” was October 1988, in Boston. They were previewing material from their forthcoming Daydream Nation, which meant we were all hearing these wondrous songs – “Teenage Riot,” “Hey Joni,” “‘Cross the Breeze” – for the first time. At the end, during “Silver Rocket,” Moore got furious with his equipment and threw his guitar down. (It didn’t break; it bounced off the stage and back up at his face, which made the moment startling. Never saw a guy fail to smash his guitar before.)

The last time I heard them play “Eric’s Trip” was just 2 months ago, at Brooklyn’s Williamsburg Waterfront, their only U.S. show of 2011. Any punk angst was long gone from the song – angst is for kiddies – replaced by intense curiosity, always a tougher emotion to translate into music, but always the emotion Sonic Youth has expressed better than anyone. Lee Ranaldo raved with a mix of bafflement and wonder: “The sky is blue…the sky is the deepest purest blue I’ve ever seen…and points on the globe are just…points on the globe!”

To read the complete interview visit ROLLING STONE.