After the two year moratorium on old material was lifted for the February 1999 European A Thousand Leaves tour, "Teenage Riot" and "Eric's Trip" were chosen to represent Daydream Nation in the set list. Following the gear theft five months later, only "Teenage Riot" remained - "Eric's Trip" required a specific guitar that had been rigged with bass strings since the mid-80s. "Teenage Riot" was the star of 2000, but requests to hear it in 2002 would go unanswered. Instead, fans attending shows on the Murray Street tour were treated to a surprising four songs from Daydream Nation in regular rotation, including the first performances of "Silver Rocket" and "Candle" since 1996, a revamped "Kissability" which hadn't been played since 1989, and the shocking return of "Eric's Trip" courtesy of a replacement guitar built by superstar tech Eric Baecht.

After teasing "Candle" during a pre-tour rehearsal webcast, fans were expecting to hear some "new oldies" in the summer. When Jim joined the band in 2000, they taught him a fair amount of classics, but it seemed like the time was right for a set list switch up. Two nights into the June 2002 European tour, "Eric's Trip" and "Kissability" were enough to raise an eyebrow, as well as Confusion relics "Making the Nature Scene" (which became a staple) and "Inhuman" (which sadly did not). Throughout the tour, "Candle" and "Silver Rocket" would emerge and remain constant, as would "Shadow of a Doubt" and - possibly even more surprising than "Eric's Trip" - "Skip Tracer", making it the only Washing Machine track played after 1996.

More tunes would creep into the set throughout 2003, including the previously discussed random double-shot of "Total Trash" (and the inevitable return of "Teenage Riot"). I find myself thinking of 2002/Murray Street being linked to Daydream Nation in a number of ways. First off, go check out the incredible Chicago 2002 show on bandcamp if you haven't already. At this point in the tour, Sonic Youth were alternating nights opening with "Cotton Crown" or "Candle". Tonight it was "Candle", followed directly by "Kissability" and soon "Eric's Trip", with "Silver Rocket" waiting for the encore. Four songs from Daydream Nation on a tour supporting Murray Street, itself only seven songs long. It's not entirely unusual, they often favored Sister material, but it was exciting at the time to have some different songs back in play. With Jim on board, he provided a third guitar to "Candle" "Silver Rocket" and "Eric's Trip". For "Candle", he would shadow Lee's guitar, for "Eric's Trip" he eventually created his own melody to complement Lee's vocal part. "Kissability" was given a treatment that had been working well with "Kool Thing" and "Drunken Butterfly", assigning Jim the bass responsibilities and allowing Kim to dance and shake a tambourine while singing.

Regarding that aforementioned Murray Street webcast, do you know what they called it? "Rehearsin' For Ya". A title curiously shared with an unreleased (unrealized?) 1988 cassette of Daydream Nation material, a very small amount of which has been released in limited form on the band's web-only Mix Tapes, or Rarities series on bandcamp. It's also slightly interesting to point out that both albums have very atypical structures for Sonic Youth records. Seriously, Murray Street is odd enough at only seven songs, but it leads with three Thurston tunes, then Lee's 11-minute epic, another Thurston tune where Kim gets a few words in, and then ends with two Kim songs. Most SY albums alternate between vocalists with a little more consistency. Likewise, Daydream Nation opens with Kim's voice, introducing "Teenage Riot" which is essentially a Thurston song (often performed without her intro), she sings tracks 3 and 4, and then disappears from the album until track 11, "Kissability". There's a six-song, half-hour block in the middle of the album where one of the primary voices of the band just isn't heard. Meanwhile, Lee gets an unprecedented three leads, all concentrated in the center of the album, tracks 5, 7, and 10. Thurston is, of course, finely spread throughout, singing tracks 1, 2, 6, 9, 12, and 13. Even that strikes me as odd - an album with 14 tracks and Thurston sings less than half of them? Kim gets four and a half, Lee gets three, and Watt gets his shot. I mean, it certainly works, I'm not here to say that Daydream Nation has a flawed track list, I just find it interesting that arguably their most classically regarded album has a somewhat unconventional structure within their catalog.

We looked at the premiere performances of the Daydream material back in the "Total Trash" article. "Candle" opened most of those June 1988 gigs, sounding more or less like it would on the record. "Kissability" first appeared on June 16th in NYC, also essentially the same as the album, if a little slower and less lyrically defined. Both songs were staples for the remainder of the Daydream Nation tours, with both being temporarily put to rest in Kiev, Ukraine on April 14th, 1989. While "Candle" would pop up again in summer 1993 (in the same set where "Total Trash" resurfaced), appear at their lone 1994 show, and be semi-regular on the Washing Machine tour, "Kissability" was dormant until 2002, at which point it became dominant, played more than any "oldie" that entire year. Neither song got much play in 2003, though "Candle" was eventually taught to Mark Ibold when he joined in 2006. "Kissability" may never have been played again if it weren't for the 2007 Daydream Nation deluxe edition reissue, which was backed by a tour where the band played the entire album front to back. This time, however, Kim was playing bass, no substitutions. Some of the tracks were only played at the 24 specific "playing the album in order" shows, including "Kissability", which was never played again following the final Daydream show in February 2008. "Candle", on the other hand, was played 23 additional times outside of the "album shows" in 2007. Though they gave it the occasional break, "Candle" was one of the songs the band returned to over and over. Its flame was extinguished for good on October 5th, 2010 in Salt Lake City, Utah on The Eternal tour.

Some of the few tracks that may technically be from the original 1988 Rehearsin' For Ya tape (which I think was more of a concept than a finalized compilation) could be found on Mix Tape #8. Originally posted in January 2011, it included early versions of "Rain King" and "Candle", something called "Skronky Jam", and two Lee home demos from the same era. The first three could very well have been from Rehearsin' For Ya, in addition to the version of "The Sprawl" found on Mix Tape #6 and Rarities 3. Here, "Candle" is eight and a half minutes of meandering instrumental guitar with minor percussive accompaniment, almost serving as incidental music to a band conversation about future practices going on in the background. It may bear some resemblance to "Candle" but it certainly received a lot of work prior to its June premiere.

"Kissability" and "Candle" were both included on the "Teenage Riot" single/sampler. Later, "Candle" would be the third proper single from Daydream Nation, following "Teenage Riot" and "Providence" (multiple "Silver Rocket" singles featured live versions of the track only). It was released as a promotional 12" and cassette, presenting a four-minute edit of "Candle" with no intro and a truncated midsection, two live tracks each from 1985 and 1989, plus an unlisted bonus phone conversation between Lee Ranaldo and Wharton Tiers that pre-dates the recording of Confusion is Sex. The live tracks (minus "Intro", a butchering of Neil Young's "Hey Hey, My My") were collected on Rarities 2. A video for the track marked Kevin Kerslake's third and final collaboration with the band. Until it was made available on the Screaming Fields of Sonic Love VHS in 1995, you'd just have to hope to catch it on TV. It captures the band rocking out in an abandoned insane asylum in New Jersey, the walls spraypainted with phrases like "CICCONE DEATH" and "SUB POP". Footage of a flaming car highlights the instrumental jam (which is trimmed from 16 bars to 12 bars, as the video uses the same edit as the single).

Originally, the single edit was used for the song's inclusion on the Screaming Fields of Sonic Love disc, a compilation of their 80s material released in 1995 by DGC/Geffen. Several promos exist with alternate track lists, but the final version uses the unedited, complete "Candle". The differences between the promo and the official version are minor but worth noting - in addition to the "Candle" edit swap, the promos used a "Teenage Riot" edit that was restored to full length for the final version, "Kissability" was removed altogether, "MacBeth" was traded for "G-Force", and "Flower" was added.

In the late 90s, one of Thurston's very rare posts to the alt.music.sonic-youth newsgroup was in response to a request for the "Candle" lyrics, which he provided in full. Oddly, the only other song I recall him sharing lyrics for was "Compilation Blues" (and genuinely questioning the lyrics to "Saucer-Like" in somebody's signature), but I may be wrong. Many years later his lyrics would be collected in the essential Stereo Sanctity book.

The major "Candle" mystery for me is only about "Candle" by extension - notes shared in the Sensational Fix book reveal track charts for a song with the working title of "Candle II". Typically this would suggest something in the same tuning as "Candle", but there's so few tracks using those A-root tunings and none seem to match the provisional layout listed here. Chances are these are just Kim's notes for an undeveloped song, but I'd be curious to know when they're from and what composition they actually correspond to. It's in the Daydream section of the book, but it may not necessarily be from that era. Other songs in the "Candle" tunings are "Silver Rocket" "Cinderella's Big Score" "Theresa's Sound-World" "Youth Against Fascism" and "On The Strip". Let me know if you have any thoughts!

"Kissability" has a pretty interesting story, mostly due to its total set list dominance in 2002, thirteen years after being shelved in 1989. I wonder whether they would have attempted playing it in 2002 without the configuration of Jim on bass, or if it would have remained out of consideration until the obligatory 2007 reissue tour. It's also the only Sonic Youth song featuring a xylophone! (The instrument was auctioned in 2011, so maybe it did pop up somewhere else - SYR?)

Due to the overdub-heavy nature of the album, I have leaned towards several live versions of the tracks to help with figuring things out. I specifically referred to the Chicago 2002 and Glasgow 2007 shows, though these arrangements may have changed slightly from the original structures in 1988. For "Kissability", I was able to refer to both the Put Blood in the Music documentary (where a sliver of the song is inserted into the midsection of "Silver Rocket") and the Fa Onrust special from March 1989, which offers a few clues to their original fingerings. However, I've stuck mostly to 2002 and 2007 data. On both the Chicago and Glasgow recordings, Lee is in the left channel and Thurston is in the right, an isolation that makes identifying their parts quite convenient. In 2002, Jim is floating somewhere in the left-center region. I think in 2002, he was using GGDEGB with a capo at the 2nd fret for "Candle", but it may have been GGDDD#D#. Regardless, they're great versions, but if you'd prefer a vintage take, multiple '88 and '89 shows are also available through bandcamp. As it stands, Daydream Nation is probably the most heavily documented album in the Sonic Youth Archive!

The original "Candle" tab dates back to 1993, courtesy of elric, and was a creative merging of both parts into ACCGG#C. Later in '98, Larsen took a stab at Lee's part. I think such a classic song deserves clearer representation, so I've gone back and redone it. Again, some parts are a little closer to the live versions, but I don't think anything is really out of line from the album. Likewise, "Kissability" was an attempt by NO 1 from 1996, combining both parts into EBEEAB. Raj Paden submitted both Thurston and Lee's parts, so I fit them into my template, made a few adjustments based on live videos, and cleaned up the bass part. As always, I'd love to hear any comments or corrections for these tunes!  

A SECTION				00:00-00:46

Thurston:

    ******
C-------------4-----------------4-----------------2-----------------2---------
G#--------4-----4-----------4-----4-----------2-----2-----------2-----2-------
G-------0---0-----0-------0---0-----0-------0---0-----0-------0---0-----0-----
C-----0-------------0---0-------------0---0-------------0---0-------------0---
C---0-----------------0-----------------0-----------------0-------------------
A-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

C-------------4-----------------4---------
G#--------4-----4-----------4-----4-------
G-------0---0-----0-------0---0-----0-----
C-----0-------------0---0-------------0---
C---0-----------------0-------------------
A-----------------------------------------
                                                                  ******
C--------------------------------------------------------------------------
G#----------2---------------2------------------4-----------------4---------
G-------2-----2---2------2----2---2--------4-----4---4-------4-----4---4---
C-----2---2-----2----2-2---2----2---2--4-4---4-----4-----4-4---4-----4-----
C---0---------------------------------(0)----------------------------------
A--------------------------------------------------------------------------

C--------------------------------------------
G#-------------------------------------------
G--------------------------------------------
C------4-4-4-4/2---2-2-2---2-2-0---0-0-0-0---
C------4-4-4-4/2---2-2-2---2-2-0---0-0-0-0---
A---0------------0-------0-------0-----------

Repeat everything between the ****** markers, then hold on 4th fret...
                 
Lee doesn't play during the intro on the album, but he did improvise notes during live versions.

Kim does random slides from high to low:

G----------
D----------
A---12///--
E----------

B SECTION				00:46-01:00

Thurston:

C---4-4-4-4-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-0-0-0-0---                  -------
G#--4-4-4-4-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-0-0-0-0---                  -------
G---4-4-4-4-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-0-0-0-0---  x 4	end on: -------
C---4-4-4-4-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-0-0-0-0---                  ---4---
C---4-4-4-4-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-0-0-0-0---                  ---4---
A-------------------------------------                  ---0---
                 
Lee:

A-------*7*----------*12*--                 --(0)--
A-------*7*----------*12*--                 --(0)--
E-------*7*----------*12*-- x 4     end on: ---0---
E--------------------------                 ---0---
A---7/-----------12/-------                 ---0---
A--------------------------                 ---0---

Kim:

G---9\--7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-5-5-5-5-5-5---  x 4   end on:   ---2---
D-------------------------------------                  -------
A-------------------------------------                  -------
E-------------------------------------                  -------

C SECTION				01:01-01:08

Thurston:

C------------------------------------
G#---------------------------0-------
G-----------6------------------------   x 2
C-------6------6---------6-----6-----
C-----4---4------4-----4---4-----4---
A---0----------------0---------------
                 
Lee:

A---4-------3-------
A---4-------3-------
E---0-------0-------  slide into next section
E---0-------0-------
A---0-------0-------
A---0-------0-------

Kim:

G---2---
D-------
A-------
E-------

D SECTION				01:08-01:39

Thurston sticks to one chord for the verse. Sometimes he kinda lifts off or mutes it briefly.

C-------
G#--0---
G---6---
C---6---
C---4---
A---0---
                 
Lee grooves over a droning A progression:

A----------------------------------
A----------------------------------
E--------10^9-9--9--10-12-10-12/--- repeat variation
E--------10^9-9--9--10-12-10-12/---
A---0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0----
A---0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0----

In live footage from 2007, he is clearly holding a shape that appears to be 003355 to 005577.
However, I just can't hear those notes on the E strings, so I'm wondering if he's actually
muting the middle strings rather than fretting them, except then I would just expect him to
play it up at the 10th fret like I've shown above. This is what he played circa 2002-2007:

A------------5-7--7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7------------5-7--7-7-7-\10-10-10---
A------------5-7--7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7------------5-7--7-7-7-\10-10-10---
E-------------------------------------------------------\10-10-10--- repeat variation
E-------------------------------------------------------\10-10-10---
A---0--0-0-0-0-0--0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0---0--0-0-0-0-0--0-0-0---0--0--0---
A---0--0-0-0-0-0--0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0---0--0-0-0-0-0--0-0-0---0--0--0---

Kim:

G-------------------------------
D---7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7---
A---0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0--- etc
E-------------------------------

E SECTION				01:40-01:58

Thurston:

     "I'm the cocker    on the rock"     "wind is.."     "stupidmop"
C---4----------------2-----------------4----------------2--------------4-----------------
G#--4----------------2-----------------4----------------2--------------4-----------------
G---0----------------0-----------------0----------------2--------------4-----------------
C---0----------------0-----------------0----------------2--------------4-----------------
C---0----------------0-----------------0----------------2--------------4-----------------
A----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                 
Lee plays something based on this:

A---10----12--10-----------------8----8----\10-10--8------------
A---10----12--10-----------------8----8----\10-10--8------------
E----8------------12-10-10/8--6----6----6------------10-8--10---
E----8------------12-10-10/8--6----6----6------------10-8--10---
A---------------------------------------------------------------
A---------------------------------------------------------------

A------10----12--12-12-12-12^10-----------12----\15--15-12--10--12---
A------10----12--12-12-12-12^10-----------12----\15--15-12--10--12---
E---8---------------------------12----10-----------------------------
E---8---------------------------12----10-----------------------------
A--------------------------------------------------------------------
A--------------------------------------------------------------------

A---9----7----7----5-----
A---9----7----7----5-----
E---7----5----5----3-----
E---0----0----0----0-----
A------------------------
A------------------------

Kim:

G---5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-(7)----------------
D--------------------------------------------------------0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0---
A--------------------------------------------------------------------------
E--------------------------------------------------------------------------

For the descending bit at the end of the chorus, she holds the 2nd fret of the
G string and kinda scrapes the string to the rhythm.

C SECTION				01:58-02:05

D SECTION				02:05-02:30

E SECTION				02:31-02:50

C SECTION				02:50-02:56

F SECTION				02:56-03:47

Thurston:

C---------
G#--------
G---------
C---4-4--- \ slide up to random skronk chord   x 16
C---4-4---
A---0-0---
                 
Lee:

A---0-0---
A---0-0---
E---0-0--- \ slide up to random skronk chord   x 16
E---0-0---
A---0-0---
A---0-0---

Kim:

G---------
D---------  it's hard to tell on the record, on live versions she slides up to a higher notes
A---------
E---5-5---

B SECTION				03:47-04:05

C SECTION				04:05-04:11

D SECTION				04:11-04:37

E SECTION				04:37-04:59

Finish chorus early, end on:

Thurston:

C---4---
G#--4---
G---4---
C---4---
C---4---
A-------
                 
Lee:

A---9---
A---9---
E---7---
E---0---
A---0---
A---0---

Kim:

G-------     ---2---
D---2--- or  -------
A-------     -------
E-------     -------


text + tab by Chris Lawrence

historic thanx to Larsen '98 and elric '93!

INTRO					00:00-00:05

Lee plays:

B---7-----7-7-7---
A---9-----9-9-9---
E---7-----7-7-7---
E---7-----7-7-7---
B---0-----0-0-0---
E-----------------

A SECTION				00:05-00:40

Thurston:

C---7--7--7--7--7--7--7--7-(0)-----------------------
G#--7--7--7--7--7--7--7--7-(0)-----------------------
G--(0)---------------------(0)----------------------- x 12
C--(0)---------------------(0)-----------------------
C--(0)----------------------8--8--8--8--8--8--8--8---
A---------------------------8--8--8--8--8--8--8--8---
                 
Lee:

B---8---------6----------
A---10--------8----------
E---8---------6----------
E---8---------6---------- x 8
B------------------------
E------------------------

B---\8--8-------------------------
A---\10-10---8--------------------  staccato w/ optional bend/vibrato
E---\8--8-------11---10--10--8----
E---\8--8------------------------- x 4
B---------------------------------
E---------------------------------

Kim:

G-----------------------         --------------------	 On the LP, she plays an octave up...
D-----------------------         --------------------
A---15--------8---------         --------------------	 In 2007 she played the lower octave
E-----------------------   or:   ---8--------1-------

B SECTION				00:40-00:52

Thurston:

C------------------------------14--14--14---
G#------------------------------------------
G---------------11-11-11-12--12--12--12----- x 4
C---12-12-14-14-----------------------------
C-------------------------------------------
A-------------------------------------------
                 
Lee:

B----------------------------------------------------------------
A-----------------9--9--10--10--10--10--10--10--10--10--10--10---
E---8--8--10--10------------------------------------------------- 
E---------------------------------------------------------------- x 4
B----------------------------------------------------------------
E----------------------------------------------------------------

live 2002 version:

B------------------0---------------------------------
A----------9--10/--6------------9--10/---17--17-17---
E------10----------6--------10----------------------- x 2
E---8--------------------8---------------------------
B----------------------------------------------------
E----------------------------------------------------

live 2007 version:

B------------------------------------------------------------------
A------10-----10-----------8--10-------10-----10---------------8/--
E------------------10--11---------------------------10-10--11------ x 2
E---8------8------------------------8-----8-8----------------------
B------------------------------------------------------------------
E------------------------------------------------------------------

I'm basing Kim's part off the live version from 2007. I think it's similar to what
she played on the album, but it's hard to tell. It sounds like Jim used some kind
of filter effect for the bass during this section (check out the 2002 Chicago
bandcamp show, Lee's guitar drops out for a second and you can hear it clearly).

G-----------------------------
D---7-*7*-7-*7*-7-*7*-7-*7*---  etc.. she's doing SOMETHING at the 7th fret 
A-----------------------------
E-----------------------------

A SECTION				00:52-01:16

Play 8 times.

B SECTION				01:16-01:38

Play 8 times.

C SECTION				01:39-02:07

Thurston:

C-----------------------12-12--11-11--(9)--x-x-x-x-x---
G#----------------------12-12--11-11--(9)--x-x-x-x-x--- mutes can be 9th fret harmonics
G-----------------------12-12--11-11--(9)--x-x-x-x-x---
C----9-9-9-X-X-9-9--X-X--------------------x-x-x-x-x---  x 10
C----9-9-9-X-X-9-9--X-X--------------------------------
A----0-0-0-----0-0-------------------------------------
                 
Lee:

On live versions Lee definitely goes from the 5th fret to the 12th-ish fret for this part,
before exploding into his solo, but on the record he plays this. While there are many overdubs,
this is also the part he plays for the "live" version used on the Daydream Deluxe set.

B-----------------------------------
A-----------------------------------
E-----------------------------------
E---5--5-5-5-5-5-5------------------
B---5--5-5-5-5-5-5------------------
E---5--5-5-5-5-5-5--8^5-5-8^5-5-5---

Most of this solo is played with rapid tremolo picking. This is an approximation 
of the album version, listen for timing:

B---19-----------------------------20--21---20---------------------
A-----------------------------------------------19-----------------
E-------19br-17-19--19br-17-19-----------------------19--19br-17---	trem pick all notes
E------------------------------------------------------------------
B------------------------------------------------------------------
E------------------------------------------------------------------

B---19----------------------------------22-----22/20-19-----------
A-----------------------------------21----------------------------
E-------19br--------------------20-----------------------19br-----	trem pick all notes
E---------------------------19------------------------------------
B---------------19brbr--------------------------------------------
E-----------------------------------------------------------------

Kim:

G------------------------------
D------------------------------
A------------------------------
E---5--5--5-5-5-7--7-7-7-7-7---  (---8---)    on the 2007 version she adds the 8th fret note

D SECTION				02:08-02:19

Thurston:

C--------7-------------0-------
G#----------7--------------0---
G-----0-------------0---------- repeat variation w/ bar exaggerations
C---0---------------0----------
C----------------8-------------
A----------------8-------------
                 
Lee:

B---8---------6----------
A---10--------8----------
E---8---------6----------
E---8---------6---------- x 2
B------------------------
E------------------------

I can't hear Kim on the record, on the 2007 version she has her hand at the 7th fret
and it looks like she's picking a harmonic or mute at each chord change.

A SECTION				02:20-02:43

Play 8 times.

B SECTION				02:43-02:54

Play 4 times.

C SECTION				02:54-03:09

Play riff twice.

Thurston ends on:

C---7---
G#--7---
G---0---
C---0---
C---0---
A-------
                 
Lee:

B---8---
A--10---
E---8---
E---8---
B-------
E-------

Kim:

G-------          -------
D-------          -------
A---6--- (album)  ---3--- (live 2007)
E-------          -------


text + tab by Chris Lawrence

special thanks to Raj Paden for Thurston and Lee's parts!

historic thanx to NO 1 '96