It's been a long time since we've looked at a Dirty song, so I've got three lined up for this month. I'd only planned on one (next week's), but I found a few thematic links that I liked and decided to go all in. "On the Strip" is the last in a run of songs featuring Kim on guitar, and is one of the first big "Kim guitar" songs once she started playing it again. After stabbing at six strings on early tunes like "The Good and the Bad" "Shaking Hell" and "Inhuman", she stuck to bass for Bad Moon Rising through Daydream Nation. For Goo, she developed a new tuning and used it to paint one masterpiece: "My Friend Goo". Thurston borrowed that tuning (EGDGED) for the next decade, inspiring some of their greatest works. On Dirty, she plays guitar on four songs, including three which she sings (we've already discussed her abstract part on the fourth, "Wish Fulfillment"). On Experimental Jet Set, Trash and No Star she dropped to two guitar songs, before jumping to six strings as a rule for Washing Machine and A Thousand Leaves. So, "On the Strip" was pretty early in the Kim guitar era, and is a great example of her using a hint of melody in her fuzzy detuned riffage (contrast this to her part on "Swimsuit Issue", or the 2-note improv of "Creme Brulee").
Like "100%", no demo of "On the Strip" was included on the deluxe version of Dirty, which is a shame because there's only one other known version, a single live performance on September 19th, 1992 in Dallas, Texas. It was the fourth show of the Pretty Fucking Dirty tour but unfortunately no set list data for the two opening nights in Austin has surfaced, and the Houston tape has no encore. In Dallas, they return to the stage following a ferocious set to start their encore with a song that Thurston acknowledges they've never played in front of people before (Lee seems to question this). They launch into a seemingly killer version of "On the Strip" marred only by the video camera's low vocal volume. Yes, video camera! Fortunately for us, this single known performance of the song was captured on film, which I'd encourage you to watch below (jump to 54:35).
You may notice something else cool about this take, something different from the Dirty version...Lee sings backing vocals during the chorus! Like that one version of "Titanium Expose" (also in Dallas!), it's a welcome addition. "On the Strip" totally works as an encore opener, but after "JC" was premiered at the next gig in Denver, that song would quickly establish itself in that role for the duration of the tour. Given the holes in 1992 set lists, I can't be 100% sure they didn't play it again, so I tentatively place it in the same rare category as "J'accuse Ted Hughes", with an asterisk. Being the second longest song on the album, it doesn't surprise me that it wasn't in heavy rotation, but it's too bad that it seemed to get the "Disappearer" treatment.
Lyrically, Goodbye 20th Century suggests that "On the Strip" contains references to Courtney Love, particularly following Kim's experience producing Hole's Pretty on the Inside LP. However, Kim's memoir Girl in a Band paints it as more autobiographical, about her time in Los Angeles. Indeed, she spent time with a guy named Bruce Berry, who is name-checked in the song. Neil Young beat her to it by nearly 20 years, sculpting his excellent "Tonight's the Night" around the roadie's death, an overdose. She addresses it briefly, but I do wonder if she ever mentioned to Neil that she'd known Bruce back then, particularly since Neil and Crazy Horse were closing many shows on their shared tour with ferocious versions of "Tonight's the Night". I feel like that would have blown his mind, but maybe not.
I fucking love Steve's drums on this song. I don't talk about his parts enough when I write these, or the guitar lines for that matter. I have so much appreciation for the way each member would construct an individual part that wove together beautifully with everyone else, and Steve is 100% part of that discussion. He mentions in his very thorough 1993 Modern Drummer interview that he was experimenting with James Brown/R&B-influenced beats on Dirty, and I think some of that surfaces during "On The Strip", particularly the hi-hat maneuvers during the verses. I also love the big-ass snare rolls he tosses in throughout the verse, and the way everyone connects for some of the heavier accented transitions during the "Hold tight and feel a little bit" parts. The breakdown is sinister in its simplicity, with Steve keeping everyone just above water as things threaten to totally fall apart. Kim slowly raises a super fuzzed note on the lowest string, while Thurston and Lee demonstrate a similar rising approach. Again, Steve's control during this section takes what could be a simple noise break to something with passion and movement and a climax and resolve, with another moment I love as they return to a subdued version of the verse to wrap things up. It's a simple transition, just a drum fill while Thurston slides into his verse riff, but so sweet coming out of the chaos. I love that whoever filmed the live version took their time to pan over to Steve during the meltdown, so we can see him kickin' ass. It mystifies me that this wasn't attempted more often!
Well, it's in the "Silver Rocket" pairing of tunings, which turns up three times on Dirty, before disappearing forever. Kim uses her Dirty guitar tuning, DEGDBB, on the East German Eterna guitar that she would return to following the gear theft. Calling this guitar's tone "weird" is an understatement, especially when you put it in Kim's hands, but she plays a very cool part that drives the melody along with Thurston (Lee mostly rocks his wah to a big open A chord). On the tour, she'd switched to the Les Paul Junior for this tuning. Lee uses his Fernandes Strat copy, tuned to AAEEAA, and relies mostly on his CryBaby wah and some distortion. Thurston played the red Fender Jaguar in ACCGG#C.
Many years ago, before the tunings were confirmed, I took a weird stab at this song in GABDEG. I recall Larsen may have made a more sensible attempt in ACCGG#C. Later in 2007, FDSwayze submitted one of his classic 3-part guitar charts for the entire song, though in review I'm wondering if he had the Bs tuned to the wrong octave in Kim's tuning. I've consulted his work extensively and also took my own notes from the video and LP version. Please let me know if you have any comments or corrections!
"ON THE STRIP"
LAYOUT
A - B - A - B - A - B - A - C - D - E - D - E - F - G - H
KIM
DEGDBB
CENTER
THURSTON
ACCGG#C
RIGHT
LEE
AAEEAA
LEFT
A SECTION 00:00-00:29
Thurston initially starts his riff with a quick strum of the G chord before going into
the main riff, which does end with the same chord:
C------------------4-----------------------------4------------------------
G#-------------------4-----------------------------4----------------------
G---7-7-7-7----4-------4------4---4-7-7-7----4-------4------4---4-7-7-7---
C---7-7-7-7-4----4-------4--4---4---7-7-7-4----4-------4--4---4---7-7-7---
C---7-7-7-7-4-----------------------7-7-7-4-----------------------7-7-7---
A-----------0-----------------------------0-------------------------------
Then Kim starts singing over the same riff. Each further A section is just the
4 reps with the vocal.
C-----------4------------------------
G#------------4----------------------
G-------4-------4------4---4-7-7-7---
C----4----4-------4--4---4---7-7-7--- x 4
C----4-----------------------7-7-7---
A----0-------------------------------
Lee:
A---0---
A---0---
E---0--- sustain w/ massive wah rockin' // this is basically all he does in the verses
E---0---
A---0---
A---0---
Kim comes in after Thurston plays his riff once, playing once instrumentally and
four times under her vocal. Future A sections are just four times with vocal.
B----------------------------
B----------------------------
D---10------------12-12-10---
G------9-9--9-9-9-11-11--9---
E----------------------------
D----------------------------
B SECTION 00:29-00:37
Thurston:
C--------------------------------
G#-------------------------------
G---9-9-9--9-9-9---------7-7-7---
C---9-9-9--9-9-9------7------7---
C---9-9-9--9-9-9----7------------
A---0-0-0--0-0-0--7--------------
Lee:
A-------7--7-7--7-7-7---5---5-5-5\7-7-7---
A-------7--7-7--7-7-7---5---5-5-5\7-7-7---
E-------5--5-5--5-5-5---3---3-3-----------
E-------5--5-5--5-5-5---3---3-3-----------
A---0-------------------------------------
A---0-------------------------------------
Kim:
B---------------------------------------------
B-----------------------------------0-0-0-----
D---------------------------------------------
G---7--9-9--9-9-9----7\9-9--9-9-9---------0---
E---------------------------------------------
D---------------------------------------------
A SECTION 00:37-00:53
B SECTION 00:53-01:01
Lee:
A-------5\7--7-7--7-7-7---5---5-5-5\7-7-7---
A-------5\7--7-7--7-7-7---5---5-5-5\7-7-7---
E-------3\5--5-5--5-5-5---3---3-3-----------
E-------3\5--5-5--5-5-5---3---3-3-----------
A---0---------------------------------------
A---0---------------------------------------
A SECTION 01:01-01:17
B SECTION 01:17-01:25
Lee:
A------7--7--7-7-7---5---5-3-2--- ring last note through next part
A------7--7--7-7-7---5---5-3-2---
E------5--5--5-5-5---3-----------
E---0--5--5--5-5-5---3-----------
A---0----------------------------
A---0----------------------------
A SECTION 01:26-01:41
Lee rings B from previous section, then hits big A when Kim sings "left from RIGHT".
C SECTION 01:41-01:53
Thurston starts droning the lower notes of this chord, then starts palm muting at 1:50, adding
the note on the G string:
C-------
G#------
G--(4)--
C---4--- end w/ a big slide
C---4---
A---0---
Lee holds the open strings then trem picks two notes:
1:46 1:50
A------------------------
A------------------------
E---0------3-------7-----
E---0------3-------7-----
A---0------/-------/-----
A---0------/-------/-----
Kim picks these notes, changing at the times specified:
1:47 1:50
B------------------------
B------------------------
D------------------------
G---9------4------\16----
E------------------------
D------------------------
D SECTION 01:53-02:09
Thurston plays a nice heavy riff with some really biting trebley distortion. This is a
pretty good transcription but it's one of those things you'll wanna get the feel for and
then just play it your own way, as loose as Thurston.
C--------------------0-2b-------------------------2-4-4-------
G#-----------------3-----3--------------------3-3-------------
G-----------4-0--0---------0-----------4-0--0---------4/2/0--- play variation x 2
C-----------4-0------------------------4-0--------------------
C-------4-0------------------------4-0------------------------
A---0-0------------------------0-0----------------------------
Lee plays something like this:
A--------------------------------12-10-12-10-------------------------------12\14-14---
A--------------------------------12-10-12-10-------------------------------12\14-14---
E-----------12-----12---10-12-10----------------------12-----12---10-12-10------------
E------8\10-----10-------------------------------8\10-----10-------------------------- x 2
A---0-----------------------------------------0---------------------------------------
A---0-----------------------------------------0---------------------------------------
Kim:
B-------------------------
B-------------------------
D-------------------------
G---9-9-9-9-9---7-7-7-9--- x 4
E-------------------------
D-------------------------
E SECTION 02:09-02:18
Thurston:
C---7br-4-----4br-------
G#------4---------3~~~--
G------(4)-------------- big slides
C------(0)--------------
C-----------------------
A-----------------------
Lee:
A---2^3-2~~~~-------0-------------------
A---2^3-2~~~~-------0-------------------
E--------------3--0---------------------
E---------------------------------------
A--------------------------\12/---\12/--
A---------------------------------------
Kim:
B--------------------
B--------------------
D--------------------
G---9-9-9----4-4-4---
E--------------------
D--------------------
D SECTION 02:18-02:33
Thurston plays a slightly heavier version of the previous riff, but it's basically
the same thing. Just heavy and sloppy with sick distortion.
Lee plays a more loose and vigorous version of the previous riff:
A------------12-----------------10-12-10-----------------12-----12-------12-12-12\14-14---
A------------12-----------------10-12-10-----------------12-----12-------12-12-12\14-14---
E------10^12----12-10-12--10-12----------12-10-----10^12-----12-12----12------------------
E------10^12----12-10-12--10-12----------12-10-----10^12-----12-12----12------------------
A---0-------------------------------------------0-----------------------------------------
A---0-------------------------------------------0-----------------------------------------
That's just a rough idea, if you watch that Dallas video you can see how he just kinda improvises
this section.
E SECTION 02:34-02:41
This time there is no one-two count kicking back into the riff, everyone just holds the last note.
F SECTION 02:41-04:23
Thurston starts this section by basically just getting shrieking feedback from his guitar.
Around 3:04 he starts trem picking these notes:
C-------
G#------
G-------
C---9---
C---9---
A---0---
At 3:20 when the snare starts, Thurston starts adding "skronk" notes to his shape, just
whatever ugly notes you want, and starts moving the shape up and down the neck while
picking furiously. It's basically just a wall of noise until he kicks into his final chord
at 4:11 -
C--------
G#-------
G---11---
C---11---
C---11---
A--------
Lee starts the section by shaking open feedback with his whammy bar, and then completely
pressing it all the way to slack. Then he goes back to some light open string wah action.
Around 3:07 he starts just trem picking the low A string while rocking his Crybaby wah.
Around 3:23 he starts trem picking the open E string too, then begins a series of trem
picked notes around the fretboard:
3:44
A-----------9---10--------------------9---8---9-----10--------------------------9---7--------------8---
A-----------9---10--------------------9---8---9-----10-----------------/-/-/----9---7------/-------8---
E---7---8---/----/------------8---9---9---8---/--8---8-----------------8-7-8----9---7------7---6---6---
E---7---8------------/---/----8---9---9---8------8---8----/---/-----/--8-7-8----9---7---/--7---6---6---
A---/---/------------7---8----/---/---/---/------/---/----7---8---7-8--7-7-7----/---/---6------/---/---
A--------------------7---8--------------------------------7---8---7-8--7-7-7------------6--------------
That gets you about 4 minutes in. He basically just moves around at half step increments while trem
picking. It's not unlike "Green Light". Then he starts bashing out an open A chord before settling on
the last chord he strums til the next section:
A---9---
A---9---
E---7---
E---7---
A-------
A-------
To start with, Kim just hits the open strings with heavy fuzz. Around 3 minutes you can hear
her start to fret notes on the low string, slowly climbing fret by fret throughout this section.
She reaches the highest point around 3:38 and starts going back down, then basically does a quick
speed run through what she just played (open string noise transitioning to a climbing note on the
low string).
G SECTION 04:23-05:16
Thurston:
C-------------------------------------------------
G#------------4---------------------4-------------
G-------7-----4--------------7----4---4-------7--- etc repeat simile
C---4\7----------4--4-4--4\7--------------4\7-----
C-------------------------------------------------
A---------0--------------------0------------------
At 5:08 he hits the open A string and pauses til the next section.
Lee holds this shape and plays clean arpeggios:
A-------------------
A--------------12---
E-----------12------
E--------10---------
A---\12-------------
A-------------------
Kim:
B------------------------------------------------
B------------------------------------------------
D---10---------------------10-------------------- x 5
G------9-9---9-9-11-11-9------9-9--9-9-\11/7-9---
E------------------------------------------------
B------------------------------------------------
H SECTION 05:16-05:42
Thurston:
C--------------------------------------
G#-------------------------------------
G--------------------------------------
C---------12--------12-------7-----7---
C------12--------12--------7-----7-----
A---12--------12---------7-----7-------
end on:
C--------
G#-------
G--------
C--*12*--
C--*12*--
A--*12*--
Lee:
A---------
A---12---- i think he lightly strums the chord shape he's holding, perhaps with the open E
E---12---- instead of the 10th fret - he very softly trem picks w/ focus on the E string
E---(0)---
A---------
A---------
Kim just strums behind the bridge for the outro.
text + tab by Chris Lawrence
w/ massive thanks to FDSwayze for his 2007 efforts!
Return to the Sonic Youth Guitar/Bass Tab Archive