’90s Alternative Rock Icons’ Unexpected Selfie Has Fans Begging for a Collab originally appeared on Parade.
Two worlds collided in the best possible way this week when iconic guitar player Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth shared a selfie with another legendary guitarist — and fans are begging the duo to join forces onstage (or in the studio).
Moore, 66, took to Instagram on Sunday, June 22 to post a photo of himself smiling for the camera as Nels Cline of Wilco planted a kiss on his cheek backstage at London’s Royal Albert Hall, where Wilco played over the weekend.
“A kiss from the Cline,” Moore wrote in his caption.
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A post shared by Thurston Joseph Michael Moore (@thurstonmoore58)
Moore’s followers hoped the photo was a sign that a musical collaboration might be forthcoming, particularly since the pair have teamed up in the past (on the 1996 album Pillow Wand).
“You guys need to do something!” one person declared, with a second adding, “Last week, watching Wilco play, i dreamed about you both doing something creative together…”
“Pillow Wand reunion ❤️,” somebody wrote, as someone else agreed, “More Pillow Wand!”
“SWAK! Two of the most imaginative guitar players ever! 😍😍” gushed another fan.
While it’s not clear whether Moore and Cline, 69, are planning on recording another album or playing any shows together anytime soon, they’ve both spoken fondly about Pillow Wand in the years since its release. In a 2011 interview with WBUR, Cline opened up about how the project came to pass.
“My recollection is that as a fan of Sonic Youth, and knowing Thurston from when he was shopping at Rhino Records in West L.A. a hundred years ago, we were talking about doing something textural and something dreamy, so we were calling it the ‘Dream Guitar’ project,” he said, adding, “And we thought a good metaphor for Dream Guitar was Pillow Wand, which was the makeup applicator from a makeup ad on TV in the 70s.”
The album was improvised, he explained, with a few “agreed upon parameters,” Cline said, “and some dreamy layers, but for the most part it’s just two guitars.”
“I can’t really describe adequately the process of improvisation, but I have to say I’ve been listening to Thurston for many, many years and I feel an affinity with his guitar approach. I feel like when we start we just basically are in the sand box,” he added.
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’90s Alternative Rock Icons’ Unexpected Selfie Has Fans Begging for a Collab first appeared on Parade on Jun 23, 2025
This story was originally reported by Parade on Jun 23, 2025, where it first appeared.
