I LOVE YOU GOLDEN BLUE by SONIC YOUTH Tab by Chris Lawrence (silvercircle@shaw.ca) w/ thanx to Cody Knoefel TUNINGS ------- THURSTON: F#F#F#F#EB (check tuning guide - bottom 3 F# strings in unison) LEE: CGDCGD / organ JIM: GGDEGB (capo 11) LAYOUT: A - B - C - B - C - D - B - C - D - E - F - D A SECTION 00:00-01:53 To quote the man himself from the Summer 2004 issue of Guitarist: "I only use those when I get in to insane parts. There's a song called "I Love You Golden Blue" where, for the whole of the intro, I do this thing where I take the guitar cord out of the guitar and I click on the Turbo Rat and the Wah setting on the Mu-Tron all the way up on high, and I plug that cord in to the other input on the amp so it loops through the amp it creates this frequency feedback that is just below dog's ears. A very high frequency, but a totally great pitch. I play with that a bit by improvising on the different pedals. That's a sound that I'm really in to right now, just rockin' that. And just playing the amplifier." I don't think Lee plays any guitar during the intro, but he is playing organ. Jim strums on the "wrong" side of the capo for the duration of the intro. B SECTION 01:53-02:27 Thurston plays a pretty simple figure, varying his picking on repeats. He uses his thumb for the 7th fret. B-----------5--------------7-------------0--------------0---------- E-------5-----5------------5-5-5-----0-----0--------------0-------- F#-------------------------0-0-0--------------------7-------7------ x 4 F#---0-------------0--0--0-0-0-0--7----7-----7-7--7---7--------0--- F#---0----0--------0--0--0--------7----------7-7------------------- F#---0----0--------0--0--0--------7----------7-7------------------- Lee does not play guitar during this part. Jim comes in on Thurston's 3rd rep. He is playing very similar things in both speakers. It sounds like he has some modulation on the 5th fret hammer-on part, and might be using an octave effect too? B-------------------------------- G-------------------------------- E-------------------------------- D-----0-------3----5---3^5^3^5--- x 2 G---0-----2^3------5---3^5^3^5--- G---0--------------5---3^5^3^5--- C SECTION 02:27-02:45 Thurston plays this riff, reversing the order of the walking notes on the repeat. It's not as clear on the record, but in live versions he would step on his MXR Phase 90 almost at random during the middle of this riff, particularly when going up to the 10th fret on the B string. B------------10-----12--9------------------7-9--- E---------9----------------------------7-9------- F#--------7---------12--9----------7-9----------- F#---0-0-----------------------7-9--------------- F#---0-0----------------------------------------- F#---0-0----------------------------------------- B------------10-----12--9------7-9--------------- E---------9------------------------7-9----------- F#--------7---------12--9--------------7-9------- F#---0-0-----------------------------------7-9--- F#---0-0----------------------------------------- F#---0-0----------------------------------------- Lee enters at 2:38 on the second rep of this section: D-------------------------------------- G---2-2----4--1--------11\13--13/11---- C-------------------------------------- D-------------------------------------- G---2-2----4--1--------11\13--13/11---- C-------------------------------------- Jim: B---------------------------------------------- G------------------5--2-----0^2^0-------------- E-------------6-------------------1--1^0------- x 2 D-----0---3/5------5--3------------------0----- G---0--------------------------------------3--- G---0------------------------------------------ B SECTION 02:45-03:01 Lee plays a note with very long, heavy delay and modulation: D-------------------------- G---11-----------6--------- C-------------------------- x 2 D-------------------------- G---11-----------6--------- C-------------------------- Jim plays the same riff as before, with a couple extra notes here and there (for example the 2nd fret before the 5th fret chord). B-------------------------------- G-------------------------------- E-------------------------------- D-----0-------3--2--5--3\5/3\5--- x 2 G---0-----2^3-------5--3\5/3\5--- G---0---------------5--3\5/3\5--- C SECTION 03:01-03:18 Lee plays the same thing as before, but twice this time. Jim ends his lick slightly differently the second time so it can lead into the next part. B---------------------------------------------- G------------------5--2-----0^2^0-------------- E-------------6-------------------1--1^0------- D-----0---3/5------5--3------------------0----- G---0--------------------------------------3--- G---0------------------------------------------ B------------------------------------------------- G------------------5--2-----0^2^0----------------- E-------------6-------------------1--------------- D-----0---3/5------5--3--------------3/2-0-2-3~~-- G---0--------------------------------------------- G---0--------------------------------------------- D SECTION 03:18-03:52 Thurston uses his thumb for this riff: B---------0----------------5-5-5-5--5-5-2---2-2-2-2-2-2^0-0--- E-----------0-----------0--0-0-0-0--0-0-0--------------------- F#-----3------3-----3------3-3-3-2--2-2-2--------------------- x 4 F#--3----3-------3----3----3-3-3-2--2-2-2--------------------- F#--3------------3---------3-3-3-2--2-2-2--------------------- F#--3------------3---------3-3-3-2--2-2-2--------------------- Lee: D------------------------------------------------------------- G---2----4-1--------2------1------2------1-------2------1----- C------------------------------------------------------------- D------------------------------------------------------------- G---2----4-1--------2------1------2------1-------2------1----- C------------------------------------------------------------- Jim's part is pretty hard to make out on the album. He's using a Mutron Wah-Vol with some echo to really make the notes sound almost like, well, Lee's organ. Which this part blends into since they're both mixed towards the left speaker. I would recommend checking out a live version, preferably a video, to see/hear how he approached the part live. Check out Portland 2004 and then one of the summer 2005 festivals and see how much he's expanded his part to include some pretty busy licks. At the heart of it, he's playing around these two shapes at the 3rd and 2nd fret, with a heavy filter courtesy of the Wah-Vol. This is just an approximation, he does not play the little lick at the end that mimics Thurston's riff each time, but it's part of the overall theme. B------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------ G------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------ E------------------------------------------0----------------------- shapes: ---0----0--- D---3--3-3-3----3--3-3----3------3-3-3-3-3------\7-7-7-5-5/3-3~~--- ---3----3--- G-------------3---------3---3-2------------------------------------ ---3----2--- G------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------ B SECTION 03:52-04:09 Lee plays the same thing as before but with heavier modulation, and more emphasis on the F# notes than the C#. C SECTION 04:09-04:26 Lee plays the same riff twice. Jim repeats a simile of his previous C section riff with the alternate ending. D SECTION 04:26-05:00 Lee: D------- G---2--- C------- Lee plays the first note of this section, then his guitar drops out until 6:20 D------- G---2--- C------- Jim plays a variation on his Wah-Vol echo tweeting. E SECTION 05:00-05:46 Thurston: Start this section by strumming the low F# strings, then pick out these notes: B---12-----9-------------------------------------------------- E----------------12-----9-----9-9-11-12-11-9--9-11-12-12-11--- listen for the "blues" rhythm F#----------------------------0-0--0--0--0-0--0--0--0--0--0--- F#----------------------------0-0--0--0--0-0--0--0--0--0--0--- F#----------------------------0-0--0--0--0-0--0--0--0--0--0--- F#----------------------------0-0--0--0--0-0--0--0--0--0--0--- Play that whole progression 4 times, then repeat the full "blues riff" two more times. Lee does not play guitar during this part. Jim goes back to strumming behind the capo for this part. It sounds like both in the left and right speakers. However, I'm pretty sure the guitar following Thurston's notes is also him. At first he's in sync, then he steps back a beat. During live performances, he would actually strum behind the capo with his right hand for this entire section, but fret the notes (with heavy modulation) along with Thurston with his left hand. Check it out! On the record I assume he did pick the part out. I did consider that this was Lee's part on the album, since his guitar seems to leave the mix at this point, and maybe Jim just tried to incorporate some of it into his live role since Lee was on organ. However, it really sounds like it's a continuation of Jim's left speaker part. He plays the low strings momentarily while Thurston is droning his, then starts picking along with Thurston's riff: B---1----------------------------------------------- G---------2----------------------------------------- E---------------1-------------3--5-3------3---5-3--- D---------------------0-------0--0-0------0---0-0--- G---------------------------0---0-----0-0---0------- G---------------------------0---0-----0-0---0------- Play that whole progression 4 times, then repeat the full "blues riff" two more times. F SECTION 05:46-06:20 Thurston: B---21---------------------------------- E-----------19--21-------21-19---------- F#------------------------------21-19--- F#-------------------------------------- drone open low F#s throughout F#-------------------------------------- F#-------------------------------------- Lee does not play guitar during this part. Jim: B--------------------------------- G--------------------------------- E-----3-------3----3-------3------ D-------2------------2------------ G---5------------5---------------- G--------------------------------- B-------------------------------------------------- G-------------------------------------------------- E------0------------------------0------------------ D---3----3---------3---------3----3--------3------- G-----0----------0-------------0---------0--------- G--------------------0-----------------------0-0--- B---------------------------------------------- G---------------------------------------------- E-----3~-------3~---------3~-----------3~~----- D---2---2~~--2----------2---2~~--2~--2~--2~---- G------------------------------------------2~-- G---------------------------------------------- B---------------------------------------------------- G-------2~---------2~---------2~---------2~---------- E-----3---3~~----3---3~~----3---3~~----3---3~-------- D--------------------------------------------3^0-0--- G---------------------------------------------------- G---------------------------------------------------- D SECTION 06:20-07:03 Lee: D-------------------------------------------------------- G---2----4\6--4----------------8\9-----13\14---16---11--- C-----------------8-------8\9---------------------------- D-------------------------------------------------------- G---2----4\6--4----------------8\9-----13\14---16---11--- C-----------------8-------8\9---------------------------- D---------------------------------------------- G------------------------16\18--16----14-13---- C---------------------------------------------- D---------------------------------------------- G---14-----13-----14-----16\18--16----14-13---- C---------------------------------------------- Jim plays a variation on his Wah-Vol echo tweeting. End on F#. Last updated: 01/12/24 ------------------------------------------------ THE SONIC YOUTH GUITAR/BASS TABLATURE ARCHIVE: http://www.sonicyouth.com/mustang/tab/index.html ------------------------------------------------