The buzz word in the music industry is branding, which is a nice way of saying “selling out.” If you have a brand, you of course monetize it.

Latest candidate: Sonic Youth, with the help of Starbucks and a host of hipster celebs not above lending their names to a cheesy collection of product for the coffee checkout line.

From a press release I just got:

Sonic Youth’s Hits Are For Squares

Beck, Dave Eggers, Chloe Sevigny, Eddie Vedder, Gus Van Sant and More Choose Their Favorite Sonic Youth Songs For Starbucks Compilation

The limited-edition CD will be available exclusively at select Starbucks locations in Boston, Chicago, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Seattle, Los Angeles, New York City and Washington, D.C.

New York, May 27, 2008 – On June 10, 2008, Universal Special Markets and Starbucks Entertainment will co-release Sonic Youth’s Hits Are For Squares. The limited-edition CD features Sonic Youth fans from music, film and literature selecting their favorite recordings from the band’s voluminous body of work that dates to 1981. It also includes a new, exclusive track from Sonic Youth, “Slow Revolution” recorded last year with longtime producer John Agnello.

Hmmm… A limited edition available in limited cities. I can’t imagine why this won’t be available in Des Moines. The celebs involved include everyone from the folks listed above to Juno screenwriter Diablo Cody and (collectively, one assumes) Radiohead and the Flaming Lips.

In Juno, you’ll recall, the Justin Bateman character, a jingle writer named Mark Loring who lived in a bland suburban manse, used to play in a band that opened for the Melvins and loved Sonic Youth, though young Juno, a Stooges fan, didn’t know who they were.

Those distinctions made no sense in the movie. (So as not to confuse viewers, the Sonic Youth song you heard in the movie was … a Carpenters cover!) This CD should be called “The Mark Loring Collection,” to capture the sheer implausibility of the yuppie embrace of a noise band that never sold any records but is in the process of cashing out its name in the twilight of its career.

The full track list, according to the press release:

1. “Bull in the Heather” selected by Catherine Keener
2. “100%” selected by Mike D
3. “Sugar Kane” selected by Beck
4. “Kool Thing” selected by Radiohead
5. “Disappearer” selected by Portia De Rossi
6. “Superstar” selected by Diablo Cody
7. “Stones” selected by Allison Anders
8. “Tuff Gnarl” selected by Dave Eggers and Mike Watt
9. “Teenage Riot” selected by Eddie Vedder
10. “Shadow of a Doubt” selected by Michelle Williams
11. “Rain on Tin” selected by Flea
12. “Tom Violence” selected by Gus Van Zant
13. “Mary-Christ” selected by David Cross
14. “World Looks Red” selected by Chloe Sevigny
15. “Expressway to Yr Skull” selected by Flaming Lips
16. “Slow Revolution” exclusive new Sonic Youth recording