John Peel was a legendary BBC radio DJ whose decades of "Peel Sessions" became notorious for showcasing unique recordings of thousands of bands. A typical Peel session consisted of three to four songs tracked at BBC studios, and artists were often encouraged to record material that was outside of the box - covers, outtakes, new tunes, etc. I think the first time I became aware of his name was Christmas '92, when I received Nirvana's freshly dropped b-sides & rarities disc Incesticide, which contained three tracks from their 1990 Peel Session (they'd previously been released on the Hormoaning import which I'd thus far been unable to obtain - Sonic Youth would parody this EP the following year). Hormoaning contained all four songs from that session, including covers of Devo, Wipers, and a doubleshot of Vaselines. It became something to keep an eye out for, particularly on the bootleg CDs that were quite prevalent in the early 90s. Sonic Youth would do a total of five Peel Sessions between 1986 and 2000, though only two followed the standard convention. In 1988 and 1989, they visited Maida Vale studio to record their four songs - the first a batch of Fall covers (who hold the record for most Peel sessions), the second a set of oddball half-improvised instrumentals that we should dig into someday. The 1998 and 2000 sessions were merely excerpts from two UK gigs, not studio material. Their first Peel session, which aired on May 17th, 1986, is our topic of discussion this week.
Sonic Youth's first Peel Session was a bit of an anomaly. Rather than going to London, they saved on airfare and just did their four songs at Wharton Tiers' studio, where they'd previously recorded Confusion is Sex, Kill Yr Idols, and the Death Valley '69 7". This session has always intrigued and confused me, particularly the timeframe for when it was recorded. Jumping ahead, two of its tracks were later released on a Blast First compilation, noted as "RECORDED IN NYC IN '85 @ WARTONS[sic] STUDIO FOR A JOHN PEEL SESSION". This is helpful, and knowing Steve is on drums places it likely in the latter half of the year, but it would still be nice to get more specific. We'll get back to this, but let's discuss the four songs first, which consist of one cover, one new song, and two oddball tunes that seem largely improvised, though feature enthusiastic vocals by Lee and Thurston.
I'm going to start with the two oddball tunes because they were my first introduction to this session, when I stumbled across the Nothing Short of Total War compilation on vinyl during one of my many record store deep dives as a teenager. It still had the obi strip with all the details on the songs, and the Blast First catalog inside, and with three Sonic Youth tracks, a Ciccone Youth outtake, and a solo piece by Lee, it was a pretty sweet find. (Butthole Surfers, Dinosaur Jr, Ut, and others also contribute seriously hot shit!) Sonic Youth's domination extends to the inner sleeve, where the band is pictured wearing Disney masks, accompanying a moderately sarcastic retelling of the Blast First story with Sonic Youth as the main star. On the record itself, an answering machine message from Steve is included between songs, and the Claude Bessy introduction from their October '85 London set (as captured on Walls Have Ears) is presented as a locked groove, endlessly looping "there's no fucking culture here".
One of the Sonic Youth songs was just "He's On Fire", a Master-Dik throwaway which was oddly repurposed in the Put Blood in the Music documentary. The other two were, as mentioned earlier, recorded at Wharton's in '85 for a Peel Session. They both seem improvised to some degree, and utilize the mixing board in a curious fashion. They also make use of an Oberheim DX digital drum machine that Wharton had available in the studio. Both songs contain "Magic" in their name, including the longest title in the Sonic Youth canon (sorry Mariah!), "Come and Smash Me Said the Boy With the Magic Penis" and the more pointed "Magic Wand". They later shared a 7" when Blast First released a 7" box set edition of Nothing Short of Total War called The Devil's Jukebox.
"Come and Smash Me Said the Boy With the Magic Penis" seems to be founded on a single riff, which I'm guessing is played in standard tuning since they already had it available for the cover. This further suggests it was a quick idea they scraped together more-so than anything planned, as the band had long abandoned standard tuning for original material. The riff driving "Come and Smash Me" is a simple, palm-muted E to A with a variety of licks to finish, some more exaggerated than others. The guitars are pushed in and out of the mix, with wild, reckless panning. There seems to be a solid hum droning through the song, faded up and down, here and there...It may be Kim's bass feeding back on a low E, since it seems to suspiciously disappear during the few moments she can be heard actually playing bass. It could also be its own separate track.
The big star of the song has got to be that Oberheim DX drum machine. I'm not even sure there are live drums on the track, having sampled a few videos of people demonstrating their sounds. There were three pre-programmed digitally sampled options for bass, snare, hihat, cymbal, and toms, with additional percussion like shakers and claps. You could tune the pitch of each sample, which I think explains some of the higher pitched metallic sounds that I had originally thought were Steve banging on actual metal (Wharton's studio was near the furnace room). Wharton specified the DX, but I do wonder if it was the DMX which had 6 additional sounds, including 3 more toms, a rimshot, and 2 tambourines - both "Magic" tracks feature a tambourine. Of course, that could easily be a real tambourine!
It sounds like the Oberheim is being played live rather than utilizing the beat programming option. When the kick, snare, and hats are heard simultaneously I always assumed it was Steve playing a live kit, but upon closer listening there is something very stilted about the beat. It's also clear that the DX samples are being heard throughout the song, so it's possible that Steve was playing along live with the guitars. Assuming, of course, it's Steve playing. It could be an overdub, played by multiple hands - as I suspect the wild mixing frenzies are courtesy of several members simultaneously riding the faders. In addition to the kick, snare, toms, cymbals, and claps provided by the Oberheim, the sound of running water makes an odd appearance, though that was presumably just a nearby sink miked up. I maintain that some of the clanging metal sounds could be actual pipes or something being struck, rather than the digital cymbals pitched way up. Maybe someone with a DX can can tell me if that's achievable.
Lee sings lead on this song, which was a nice surprise right off the bat (it's the first song on the Total War complication). Lee songs were rare and magical, and here he demonstrated his pleasant voice with some interesting lyrics, paired with a really silly hair rock riff. It's no "Genetic", but I'll take it! Depending on the timing, it would be in competition with "Kat n Hat" for Lee's first solo vocal in Sonic Youth. And no - I don't know the backstory on the title!
"Magic Wand" is almost looser, with barely a riff beyond Kim's big distorted bass growling. Actually, Thurston can be heard at the start of the track saying "I'm gonna start playing", and begins a figure very reminiscent of his future "Cinderella's Big Score" riff, where he's picking quickly behind the bridge, but still changing the fretted notes. The fretted notes are less important in this song, but it's a very similar concept that he would revisit to much greater effect four years later! There's a point where he starts attacking a really junky chord, but he soon returns to the behind-the-bridge figure. Lee mostly just riffs around a big distorted E chord, joining Kim (who also tosses in the odd harmonic). With the radical mix choices, it's tough to even follow what anyone is truly doing other than Thurston (who also tackles the lead vocal). I always assumed Steve was playing live drums, but I'm less confident now. Aside from the tambourine and "pipe" sounds, which may be DX sourced, something about his drum tone does sound off to me, especially compared to the other two songs from the session. The song ends with some extra obnoxious fader abuse - Wharton recalls that he may have moved up to a 16-track board by this point, which could explain the excessive "all hands on deck" mix.
Curiously, the song is listed in the BBC's files as "Moonbeam Magic in a Glass Head Cage". While it sustains the "magic" theme, it doesn't seem to have originated from the band, and a lyric sheet for "Magic Wand" (well, "Magik-Wand") in Thurston's handwriting cements that title if the Blast First compilations were in any doubt. It's possible it was a Paul Smith rebranding, something we'll revisit later. The lyric sheet is revelatory (and surprising), and the stray line "wish coming true" in addition to the one not-entirely-redacted line "the memory of a magic wheel" both resurfaced in the lyrics for "Cotton Crown".
The cover was Alice Cooper's "Hallowed Be My Name", which Sonic Youth opted to rechristen "Hallowed Be Thy Name". The song originally appeared on the third Alice Cooper LP Love it to Death, released in 1971. Directly before it in the track list: "Is It My Body", which Sonic Youth would cover six years later. It's actually an ambitious rendition, transposing some organ parts to guitar, using minor chords and shit. In a riveting 1984 Forced Exposure interview, they'd previously discussed covering "Desperado", a track from Cooper's follow-up album Killer, also released in 1971! Talk about ambitious... As for "Hallowed Be Thy Name", Sonic Youth performed it live exactly one known time, on September 25th, 1985 at CBGB. It certainly wasn't a flawless take, but it wasn't a total disaster despite Thurston's embarassed quip that they promise to never play the song again. This may be a prominent clue towards the date of the Peel session, given that the band was on tour for all of August and seemingly did not play the Alice cover, nor does it appear on the European tour that immediately followed the CBGB gig. Kim does play a hint of its bassline during the soundcheck at the November 8th Brighton Beach gig, however...
In addition to changing the name, Thurston makes a few lyrical adjustments. Notably, "sluts and the hookers" have no longer taken your money, it's "sons and the daughters". I also think he might be singing "kissing" instead of "cursing" lovers and bibles. He also drops Alice's three-syllable affectation when singing "hallowed".
"Hallowed Be Thy Name" would later be included on the SST soundtrack for Lovedolls Superstar, a film by new sonic friend David Markey. The song is otherwise unavailable officially. Unless tapes of "Straight Edge" "Sinister Purpose" or "Jealous Again" surface, "Hallowed" would be the band's first cover since "I Wanna Be Yr Dog". One of my favorite features of their (typically phenomenal) cover versions is seeing how well they land the ending, as they often fall apart at the finish line. With "Hallowed", they came close to nailing it, though the last drum beats and guitar lick could definitely have been tightened ("Be Your Dog" gets a pass since the Stooges version has a fade ending).
The new song was "Expressway to yr Skull", one of the very first songs written with Steve when he originally joined the band circa May 1985. The first known recording of the song is from June 12th, 1985 - the Folk City gig I used as the thrilling set piece for the "Secret Girl" feature. It sounds more or less like the final version that would appear on EVOL a year later, recorded in March 1986. It was heavily road tested during the August 1985 North America tour (Steve's first out of town gigs with the band) and the October/November European run. All of these tours were theoretically in support of Bad Moon Rising, but new songs were beginning to creep in and "Expressway" seemed to determine straight out of the gate what sort of direction the band was taking with Steve behind the kit. It typically closed the set with its extended open string drone outro. A live version recorded on October 30th in London would give fans a sneak peek of the song via the Walls Have Ears bootleg released behind the band's back by Blast First, and finally embraced earlier this year via official re-release. It was, of course, the final track on EVOL, assuming you purchased the vinyl and not the CD or cassette, which contained bonus track "Bubblegum". In a beautiful use of the feature, side 2 ends with a locked groove, meaning "Expressway" never ends unless you actively raise the needle (a less beautiful use would be Lee's insane From Here to Infinity LP, which moves the needle for you!).
And yes, the sleeve might say "Madonna, Sean, and Me" and the lyric sheet may say "The Crucifixion of Sean Penn" (and Thurston might say anything while introducing it on stage), the official title has always been "Expressway to yr Skull". I assume it's an homage to the 1968 Buddy Miles Express album of the same name, but I'm not positive. I do know that the back of the 1984 Death Valley '69 7" includes the following note in Lee's pen: "RECORDED IN N.Y.C., JULY 1984 at WHARTON'S STUDIO w/ WHARTON himself engineering for EXPRESSWAY to YR. SKULL" - what the hell? "Expressway to your Skull" also tops the list of potential alternate titles for Bad Moon Rising, indicating the name was floating around looking for the right work of art to attach itself to. I'd say they nailed it. By the way, while the album version is infinite, they also prepped an edit for the Starpower single, which also featured an edit of its star track and is the original source of "Bubblegum", an over-the-top Kim Fowley cover recorded with Mike Watt during the EVOL sessions. This 4'28" edit of "Expressway" is stunning, as it loops back to the chorus after the big hurricance cyclone part, then manufactures a false ending assisted by some heavy reverb application to Thurston's voice, plus a short bit of aggressive guitar that is presumably clipped from the outro. It's obviously not the preferred arrangement of the song, but it's kind of a fascinating restructuring.
"Expressway" would continue closing sets throughout the 1986 tours, and while they didn't drop it in 1987 it took on a new role, often mid-set, paired with "PCH" which used the same tuning. They even resorted to playing a similar structure to the "edit" from the Starpower single on the European tour! The song's lengthy outro was typically tightened up for the Sister sets. It was locked up for the 1988 Daydream Nation tours but did resurface early in 1989, popping up occasionally on the European leg, an encore treat stretched out for ten minutes. It had a brief break on the various 1990 Goo tours, but returned in 1991 with a vengeance, closing most of the sets for their three month opening stint on the Neil Young & Crazy Horse tour in support of Ragged Glory. Here, the song served as a final kiss to the arenas full of Crazy Horse fans that were not at all interested in Sonic Youth's special blend of gooey magic. Ironically, they'd be treated to many similar extended feedback endings from the man himself once Sonic Youth left the stage, and Neil credited their nightly "Expressway" closers with psyching him up for those physical and expressive gigs.
The song continued getting heavy play during the Dirty tour, with the occasional guest - Stephen Malkmus joined the band on November 17th in Copenhagen. Pavement had been a frequent opener of Pretty Fuckin' Dirty tour shows, and they were starting to bring their brand of madness to Sonic Youth's encores. "Expressway" got backburnered in 1993, but returned for the occasional shining moment in 1995, like when they opened with it on August 18th in Mountain View, California, the final date of the Lollapalooza tour. Stephen Malkmus once agained joined them on stage, Pavement having been along for this ride as well. He sang "Expressway", and a bit of footage is available on Pavement's excellent Slow Century DVD along with a Thurston blurb. In 1998, the band shelved their entire back catalog to focus on A Thousand Leaves and SYR material, but when they loosened up in 1999, "Expressway" saw a little bit of action. They were still generally closing with "Death Valley '69", bleeding into an extended noise outro with improvised vocals by Kim, now a staple of Sonic Youth's live show. Occasionally they would give "Expressway" the same treatment, a blistering fifteen-plus minutes in Paris on February 8th, for example. It survived the gear theft, but once the NYC Ghosts & Flowers material entered the picture, "Expressway" was rested for quite a while. It wouldn't resurface until 2003, which probably seems insignificant now but as an impatient fan longing to hear the song in person, it was maddening. Even more so when my one opportunity to hear it in 2003 was thwarted by rolling black outs that cancelled flights across the entire continent. Wahoo! As you'd imagine, the song was the perfect venue for Jim era noisefests. It reached ridiculous heights on the 2004 and 2005 Nurse tours, where the outro would sometimes push thirty minutes, a celebration of their extended improv abilities.
Stephen Malkmus joined them once again to sing "Expressway" on June 18th, 2006 at the Bonnaroo Festival in Tennessee. At this point, Mark Ibold had only been playing with the band for a week and was mostly focused on learning the Rather Ripped material, with a handful of oldies rotated in. This was the first "Expressway" since Jim, so I took my chance and made specific requests for the shows I attended in Seattle and San Francisco, which I note now are the only other appearances of the song on this North American leg. I remember being right up against the stage in Seattle, fully digging the Rather Ripped shit (and my first "Catholic Block" and mystifying "Shaking Hell"), then bam - second encore! My first "Expressway", and it was glorious. Anyone who was fortunate enough to catch it live knows what I mean. They didn't return to it often, only 35 times total between June 18th 2006 and October 4th 2010, when it sang its swan song in Denver, Colorado.
The Peel session version, presumably recorded in the latter half of 1985, was released on a semi-official 7" in 1988 as "Stick Me Donna Magick Momma", furthering the "Magic" theme carried through this session (though probably chosen by Paul Smith, who provided the material for the single). It was later collected on the digital only collection Rarities 3. Countless live versions are available, including August '85, October '85, April '86, July '86, May '87, June '87 (twice), August 1991, December 1992, and an epic version from August 2004 that clocks in at 26 minutes! Don't forget the killer rendition that closes 1991: The Year Punk Broke, recorded at the finale of their brief but legendary European jaunt with a pre-fame Nirvana. It was likely this performance that first cemented the song as something special in my young brain.
I was hoping to be able to narrow down the recording date a little closer than "the second half of 1985", but I'm stumped. I think them playing "Hallowed" a single time on September 25th is interesting, as is a statement Thurston made prior to "Expressway" on July 5th at the Peppermint Lounge: "This is from a new album that's coming out tomorrow that we recorded. It's called E-V-O-L." Obviously he was just goofin', but had they already recorded "Expressway"? Could this session be from July or earlier? The late callback to "Hallowed", unless someone specifically requested it at the September show, has me hesitant to place the recording session that early.
Steve wrote some liner notes for Rarities 3, including this blurb for the Peel "Expressway": "This early version of Expressway To Yr Skull was recorded with Wharton Tiers engineering in his makeshift basement studio, Fun City, located in the furnace room of his apartment building. It was my first recording session with Sonic Youth. We had worked on Green Light and Expressway during my first rehearsals with the band in spring of 1985. We were invited to record a session for John Peel but being that we were located in NYC we recorded remotely, not visiting the famous Maida Vale studios in London, where countless Peel sessions were recorded, until the next year or so for our infamous Fall covers session. Regardless, we were in Wharton’s famous basement studio where Confusion is Sex had been recorded - this version of Expressway was not played on Peel’s program until May 19, 1986. During this session we also recorded Alice Cooper’s Hallowed Be My Name, Magic Wand and Come and Smash Me Said The Boy With The Magic Penis."
The timing of this has me curious, since the session wasn't aired until May 1986. Sonic Youth were in London in October 1985, staying in England for the first week of November. I understand that schedules may not have aligned to record at BBC studios on that tour, but if they'd recorded these songs in summer 1985, could they not have presented them during their fall '85 visit to London? Also, the band was literally in London the week prior and the week after the session aired in May 1986, so it seems they had ample opportunity to record a session at the BBC - it's not like the session was broadcast at some point between their European visits. Would they really offer a tape they'd been sitting on for at least six months, if not more? Maybe it was originally intended to be aired when the band wasn't on tour, but got held back to coincide with their UK EVOL dates?
I also find the choice of songs curious. If the session was around September 1985, "Secret Girl" and "Green Light" were already in development along with "Expressway", though they may not have wanted to preview every new song. How about "Kat n Hat", known only to exist in July and August 1985, slowly becoming Lee's potential first solo vocal on a Sonic Youth track. It was unceremoniously abandoned after the August tour, and seems like it would be the perfect candidate for a Peel session. Instead we got "Come and Smash Me Said the Boy With the Magic Penis"? Unfortunately, without knowing exactly when the session was recorded, it leads me to make too many assumptions, when nothing can be confirmed (yet!). There's a chance it was recorded much later in 1985 than I think.
The band would record proper Peel sessions at the BBC in 1988 and 1989, as well as a 1992 Mark Goodier session (which has sadly only seen official release via one song, the incredible acoustic "Purr"). Later sessions were not recorded in studio, simply taken from live performances. It's a shame Sonic Youth didn't record more of these, as they always seem to capture a fun side of any band that truly committed to the opportunity. Having said that, I revisit their sessions as mere curiosities, not essential in the way that Pavement or Nirvana's were. I do intend to dissect that group of weird instrumentals from '89 someday, assuming this series gets renewed.
Some notes on the transcriptions: "Hallowed Be Thy Name" took me a while to decode, but I think I cracked it. It's in standard tuning, but they changed the key from Gm to G#m for some reason. You can hear the open strings of the guitar on the live version, confirming the actual key. As I mentioned, the Alice Cooper original has a heavy organ presence, including the entire intro, which Sonic Youth replicated with guitars. I think what's happening is that Thurston is playing the chunky rhythm guitar down the middle, and Lee is playing the two guitars that start the song, panned left and right. In the live version, Thurston does play one of the lines during the intro, but I think on the record they're both Lee. And to be honest, I think there might be a third guitar playing in a higher octave, mixed deeper during the intro. So who knows! They actually did a pretty complex interpretation of the various parts on the original version, and the guitar tone is so weird that it can make simple standard tuning riffage deceptive sometimes. I don't think this is 100% accurate by any means, but hopefully good enough.
For the two "Magic" songs, I mean...good luck. I can't imagine anyone being too curious about these ones anyway, beyond deciphering all of the different elements at play in the wacky mix. I'd be curious to know if the metallic sounds can be replicated with the Oberheim drum machine, or if Steve really was banging on metal. It certainly wouldn't be out of character for the band, and may even be some odd percussion that they brought along. I think it's the running water that always made me think "boiler room" when I heard those sounds.
As for "Expressway", Larsen more or less worked it out back in '98, though I've redone Lee's part and fixed my own bass tab. Special thanks to Raj Paden as well. Extra special thanks to Wharton and Lee for their memories! I don't like to present a mystery and then not solve it, so I'm hoping someday the date for this session will be confirmed. If you think you have any clues that I might have missed, please let me know! And likewise, let me know if you have any comments or corrections in general. Goodbye everybody!
"HALLOWED BE THY NAME"
LAYOUT
A - B - C - D - B - C - E - B - C - F
KIM
EADG
CENTER
THURSTON
EADGBE
CENTER
LEE
EADGBE
LEFT/RIGHT
A SECTION 00:00-00:15
Thurston hits an open B string over the 2nd note of Lee's intro (**), then strikes a G#m just
before coming in for the verse (##).
Lee plays:
LEFT:
** ##
E----------------------------------------------------------------------------
B----------------------------------------------------------------------------
G------8--\10--6---8-10-11--8-----10-6------------6--6-6------------6--6-6---
D---6-------------------------9----------6--6-6---6--6-6---6--6-6---6--6-6---
A----------------------------------------6--6-6---4--4-4---6--6-6---4--4-4---
E----------------------------------------4--4-4------------4--4-4------------
RIGHT:
E-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
B-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
G------8--10--11---12-9-----8-9--10-11/------8--\10--6---8-10-11--8-----10-6/---
D---6-------------------10----------------6-------------------------9-----------
A-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
E-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
There may be a third guitar playing an octave higher, buried in the right speaker.
Kim doesn't play during the intro.
B SECTION 00:15-00:24
Thurston plays:
E----------------------------
B----------------------------
G---4-----4-4----6-x-x-6-6--- x 4
D---6-x-x-6-6--x-6-x-x-6-6---
A---6-x-x-6-6--x-4-x-x-4-4---
E---4-x-x-4-4----------------
Lee plays the same thing in both speakers:
E---4--4-4-4--------------
B---4--4-4-4---6--6-6-6---
G---4--4-4-4---6--6-6-6--- one guitar may play the C# up at the 9th fret
D---6--6-6-6---6--6-6-6---
A---6--6-6-6---4--4-4-4--- x 4
E---4--4-4-4--------------
Kim plays:
G--------------------
D-------------------- x 4
A-----------4--4-4---
E---4--4-4-----------
C SECTION 00:24-00:37
Thurston plays:
E------------------------------------------
B------------------------------------------
G---5-7-8-7-6---5-7-8-7-6---6--4--6-6--4---
D---5-7-8-7-6---5-7-8-7-6---6--6--6-6--6--- x 2
A---3-5-6-5-4---3-5-6-5-4---4--6--4-4--6---
E------------------------------4-------4---
Lee plays:
E---------------------------11--4--11-11--4---
B---------------------------11--4--11-11--4---
G---5\7/8\7/6---5\7/8\7/6---12--4--12-12--4--- one guitar may play the D# @ the 6th fret
D---5\7/8\7/6---5\7/8\7/6---13--6--13-13--6---
A---3\5/6\5/4---3\5/6\5/4---13--6--13-13--6--- x 2
E---------------------------11--4--11-11--4---
Kim plays:
G------------------------------------------
D------------------------------------------
A---3-5-6-5-4---3-5-6-5-4---4-----4-4------ x 2
E------------------------------4-------4---
D SECTION 00:37-00:42
Thurston plays:
E----------------------------------------
B----------------------------------------
G---6-----------7-----------8------------
D---7-7-7--7-7--8-8-8--8-8--9-9-9--9-9---
A---7-7-7--7-7--8-8-8--8-8--9-9-9--9-9---
E---5-5-5--5-5--6-6-6--6-6--7-7-7--7-7---
Lee plays:
LEFT:
E-----------------
B------------16b-- the left guitar is silent during the rising chord progression
G---16-15-13------ and only joins for the lick at the end
D-----------------
A-----------------
E-----------------
RIGHT:
E----------------------------------------------------------------16b---
B-------------------------------------------------------16-15-13-------
G---13~----13~---------17~---17~--------18~---18-----------------------
D-------15~---15~~--18~~---18~~-18~~-19~----19~~--19~~-----------------
A----------------------------------------------------------------------
E----------------------------------------------------------------------
Kim plays:
G----------------------------------------
D----------------------------------------
A----------------------------------------
E---5-5-5--5-5--6-6-6--6-6--7-7-7--7-7---
B SECTION 00:43-00:52
C SECTION 00:52-01:04
E SECTION 01:04-01:30
Thurston plays:
E----------------------------------------------------------------
B-------------10---10-10---------12~12~--------------------------
G---11---9-11------11-11-11-9-11--------11~11~11~-11b-11-11-r11--
D----------------------------------------------------------------
A----------------------------------------------------------------
E----------------------------------------------------------------
E----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
B---------------------10~-10-10b--r10----10~---------12~-12br----------------------
G---11~11~11~-11-9-11-11~-------------11~----11-9-11--------11~~-11-11br-11-11br~--
D----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
E----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Then it sounds he's just strumming viciously at this chord or something like it:
E-------- ----------------------------------------
B-------- ----------------------------------------
G---11--- ----------------------------------------
D-------- ---5-5-5--5-5-6--6-6--6-6-7--7-7--7-7--- he makes a quick muted skronk
A----9--- until: ---5-5-5--5-5-6--6-6--6-6-7--7-7--7-7--- beneath Lee's lick
E----/--- ---3-3-3--3-3-4--4-4--4-4-5--5-5--5-5---
Lee plays:
LEFT:
E--------------------------------------------------------------------------
B-------------------------12~~12br----------------------------12~~12br-----
G---11~-----11-14~--11-14---------11~---11~-----11-14~--11-14---------11~--
D--------14----------------------------------14----------------------------
A--------------------------------------------------------------------------
E--------------------------------------------------------------------------
E-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
B-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
G---11b-11--11-r11~~---11b-11--11-11-r11~~-------15~---15~---------18~---18~-----22~-22~22~--22~22/---
D--------------------------------------------14b----14b---r14~-17b----17b---r17~-21~-21~21~--21~21/---
A-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
E-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
E---18^16----22b--
B---------19------
G-----------------
D-----------------
A-----------------
E-----------------
RIGHT:
E----------------------------------------------------------------------------
B-------------------------12~~12br-------------------------------------------
G---11~-----11-14~--11-14---------11b~--11r----11~~----11-14b----------13~~--
D--------14-----------------------------------------14--------15-14-12~------
A----------------------------------------------------------------------------
E----------------------------------------------------------------------------
E---------------------------------------------------------------17--17-17--17-17-----17----x-22b--
B---------------------11~-------14~---14~---------17~---17~-----17--17-17--17-17--------17--------
G---12~---13~---13b---------13b----13b---r13~-16b----16b---r16~-----------------------------------
D-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
E-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kim plays:
G---------------------- ----------------------------------------
D---------------------- ----------------------------------------
A---------------------- ----------------------------------------
E---2--\5-4--2--\5-4--- x 6 end on: ---3-3-3--3-3--4-4-4--4-4--5-5-5--5-5---
B SECTION 01:30-01:39
C SECTION 01:39-01:52
F SECTION 01:52-02:36
Thurston plays:
E--------------------------------------------------------------
B--------------------------------------------------------------
G------------------------------------------------10-11-12-13--- play with increased intensity
D---10-12-13-12-11--13-12-11-6---10-12-13-12-11--10-11-12-13--- open strings ringing out etc
A---10-12-13-12-11--13-12-11-6---10-12-13-12-11---8--9-10-11---
E----8-10-11-10--9--11-10--9-4----8-10-11-10--9---------------- x 6
Lee plays some glitchy blips of skronk during the outro, more-so in the left speaker. There's a
little more going on than I've tabbed, but it will give you an idea. Listen for how he kinda just
attacks these certain notes.
LEFT:
1:58 2:04 2:11
E--------- ------------16-------------16-------------16--- --------
B--------- ----------------------------------------------- ---17---
G---11---- ---16-16-16-------16-16-16-------16-16-16------ ---16---
D----/---- ----------------------------------------------- ---15---
A--------- ----------------------------------------------- ----/---
E--------- ----------------------------------------------- --------
very end:
E----------22~-22b---
B---21--21~----------
G--------------------
D--------------------
A--------------------
E--------------------
RIGHT:
2:19
E---19-----
B---21~----
G----/-----
D----------
A----------
E----------
very end:
E-------x-22b---
B---21~---------
G---------------
D---------------
A---------------
E---------------
Kim plays:
G-------------------------------------------
D-----------------------------------4-5-6--- x 6
A---3-5-6-5-4--6-5-4-----3-5-6-5-4----------
E--------------------4----------------------
text + tab by Chris Lawrence
"COME AND SMASH ME SAID THE BOY WITH THE MAGIC PENIS"
LAYOUT
A
KIM
EADG
CENTER
THURSTON
EADGBE
LEFT
LEE
EADGBE
RIGHT
I'm not 100% sure who plays which guitar, to be honest.
p = palm mute
A SECTION 00:00-02:50
Thurston fades in on an E chord then starts the main riff:
E-------------------2b--------------------------------------------------
B-----------------------------------------------------------------------
G----------------------4-2-4b-4-r4^2^0------------------2-2-2-2-2-0-0---
D---------------2-0-------------------------------------2-2-2-2-2-0-0---
A---2--2-2--2---2-0---------------------2--2-2--2---2-0-----------------
E---0--0-0--0---------------------------0--0-0--0-----------------------
p p p p p p p p
E---------------------7b-5--5-3---------------------------------------
B-------------------------------5-------------------------------------
G-----------------------------------------------------2-2-2-2-2---0---
D---------------2-0---------------------------------------------2-0---
A---2--2-2--2---2-0-------------0-0---2--2-2--2---2-0-----------------
E---0--0-0--0-------------------------0--0-0--0-----------------------
p p p p p p p p
Lee:
E-------------0----------------------------2--------------------
B-----------2-0-------------------------------------------------
G----------------2--2-2-2-2-2-0---------------4b--2-2-2-2-2-0---
D------2-2-------2--------------0------2-2--------2-2-2-2-2-0---
A---2--2-2-------0----------------2-2--2-2----------------------
E---0--0-0--------------------------0--0-0----------------------
E-----------------------------------------------------------
B-----------------------------------------------------------
G--------------x-x-----------------------------2-----2------
D--------------x-x--0---------------------2-2----2-2---2-0--
A------2-2--2----------3--0------2-2--2---0-0---------------
E---0--0-0--0-----------------0--0-0--0---------------------
p p p p p p
That's just the first four riffs each guitar plays, I'm not going to tab
every variation. The riff for both guitars is basically just:
E-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
B---------------------------------------------
G------------------2-2-2-2-2-0---------------- random skronky lick around A chord
D---------------2--------------0-------------- sharp/trebley bends + pinch harmonix
A------2-2--2---0-----------------2--2-2--2---
E---0--0-0--0---------------------0--0-0--0-------------------------------------------
p p p p p
It's possible that much of Kim's contribution to this song is the humming feedback faded in and out,
in addition to the brief spot where she can be heard playing heavy fuzz bass. I can't be sure that her
bass is providing the droning E note but the hum does stop when she is playing, so...
The feedback is the first sound heard. It does seem to disappear around 0:37 when the bass comes in.
The bass comes in with the drum beat, low in the mix with distortion:
G--------------
D--------------
A--------------
E---0--0-0-0--- repeat variation - there's a bit of muting going on with the picking
The bass may return around 1:48 when the feedback drops out again. There isn't much audible bass on the
song overall, and the feedback hum plays throughout most of the song.
The highlight of the song is the Oberheim DX drum machine that provides the percussion. In addition to
the basic beats played during the verse, there are also lots of stray claps, toms, pitched-up cymbals,
and possibly even some real metal. Some running water can be heard at one point too.
The band is also "playing" the faders throughout the track, pushing various elements in and out of the
mix during the whole song. It seems like the guitars are always playing that main big dumb riff, the
bass is likely responsible for the recurring hum that opens and closes the track, and the rest is DX
and possibly some boiler room ambiance. Plus Lee's cool vocal!
text + tab by Chris Lawrence
w/ thanx to Raj Paden
"MAGIC WAND"
LAYOUT
A
KIM
EADG
CENTER
THURSTON
EADGBE
LEFT
LEE
EADGBE
RIGHT
A SECTION 00:00-02:54
Thurston:
E------------------------------
B------------------------------
G---[11]---[9]---[11]---[14]--- trem pick behind the bridge
D-----/-----/------/------/----
A-----/-----/------/------/----
E------------------------------
He plays that beneath everything for quite a while, and around 1:46 while singing "Seventeen"
he stops picking behind the bridge and can be heard strumming a really jagged, junky chord
that is probably just an E of some sort, maybe with some muted strings. It sounds like he
probably cranked up the treble on his amp to get the chiming behind the bridge stuff to sound
clear, and his guitar during this section just sounds like it's all attack and pitch isn't relevant.
He goes back to the behind-the-bridge figure at 2:09. You can hear him kinda goofing around with the
last note in the riff, then drops out, then is faded back in, bounced back and forth, up and down, etc.
Lee comes in at 0:34 with the drums:
E--------------------
B--------------------
G--------------------
D-------2------2-5---
A---5-2-2------2-5---
E---3-0-0------0-3---
p p
Around 0:50 his guitar is mixed back in, he's still playing low E power chords:
E------------------------------------
B------------------------------------
G------------------------------------
D------------------------------------ this is barely worth tabbing, just listen to how
A---2-2-2-2-2-2-------2-2-2-2-2-2---- he does a palm muted rhythm
E---0-0-0-0-0-0-------0-0-0-0-0-0----
At 1:06 his guitar is faded back in with low E feedback but it bounces back and forth between the
left and right speaker in the mix.
At 1:18 he's faded in while playing notes:
E-------------------------
B---5-0-0-5-0-0-5-0-0-5--- etc etc
G-------------------------
D------------------------- the panning gets pretty choppy while Thurston sings "Seventeen..."
A-------------------------
E------------------------- but basically Lee just stomps out an E chord with the occasional G
At 1:53 he starts doing a trilly little riff:
E---------12-------12-------12---
B---12^14----12^14----12^14------ etc etc but that falls apart pretty quickly
G--------------------------------
D--------------------------------
A--------------------------------
E--------------------------------
Then he keeps stabbing at an E chord (whether a full 022100 E or 0799xx power chord type) until being
faded out. I don't hear much of his guitar during the fade-off in the outro.
Kim has heavy distortion on her bass:
Fade in at 0:19
G---------*7*---------
D---------------------
A----------------0----
E---0------------0----
She kinda lightly drones the low E while Thurston sings, though I think she doubles Lee on the
big G chord at 0:40
G---------
D---------
A---------
E---0-3---
Back to a low E drone.
Around the 1:00 mark she's less audible but probably still chunking a low muted/scraped E.
At 1:18 fade in again:
G-------*12*-------
D------------------
A------------------
E---0----------0--- sustain low E til 1:31 or so
When Thurston starts singing "Seventeen" hang on this note:
G--------
D--------
A--------
E---12---
At 2:08 hit the low E again:
G------- -----------
D------- -----------
A------- -----------
E---0--- then: ---15b-0--- x 4
The bass fades out then back in making feedback with the droning open strings, then she hits the low E
again at 2:40
G-------------------
D-------------------
A--------*7*--------
E---0-----------0--- the last note is faded in and out
This is quite a strange arrangement, with a similar "wacky mix" approach as "Come and Smash Me".
I think the basic elements are:
- Thurston's guitar, which is mostly untouched in the mix
- Lee's guitar, which is basically just riffin' in E, faded and panned radically in and out
through the whole song
- Kim's bass, with heavy fuzz, also faded in an out but not as heavily
- The percussion may be courtesy of the Oberheim again, or it may be a live drum kit with lots of
metallic accents like cracked cymbals, perhaps an oil drum lid, and a very rickety tambourine that
is heard through most of the song (the Oberheim DMX model had a tambourine sample, and more tom
samples, which may be what is heard at the end)
- Thurston's vocal
- After the vocal, there's about 25 seconds of random mixing including toms, droning bass distortion,
and T's guitar
text + tab by Chris Lawrence
"EXPRESSWAY TO YR SKULL"
LAYOUT
A - B - C - D - E
KIM
EADG
CENTER
THURSTON
EG#EG#EG#
CENTER LEFT
LEE
EG#EG#EG#
CENTER RIGHT
A SECTION 00:00-01:09
Thurston starts with the intro:
G#--3---3-3-3-3--3-3--3-3--3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3--3-3---
E---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---
G#--3---3-3-3-3--3-3--3-3--3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3--3-3---
E---0---0-0-0-0--0-0--0-0--0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0--------------------
G#--3---3-3-3-3--3-3--3-3--3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3--------------------
E---0---0-0-0-0--0-0--0-0--0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0--------------------
Then he starts the verse progression, which is played three times total.
G#--3--3--3-3-3-3-3-3-3--3-3-3-3-3-3-3--1--1-1--1-1-1-5--5-5-5-5-3-3-0--0-0-0-0-0-0-0---
E---0--0--0-0-0-0-0-0-0--0-0-0-0-0-0-0--0--0-0--0-0-0-0--0-0-0-0-0-0-0--0-0-0-0-0-0-0---
G#--3--3--3-3-3-3-3-3-3--3-3-3-3-3-3-3--1--1-1--1-1-1-5--5-5-5-5-3-3-0--0-0-0-0-0-0-0---
E---0--0--0-0-0-0-0-0-0--0-0-0-0-0-0-0--0--0-0--0-0-0-0--0-0-0-0-0-0-0--0-0-0-0-0-0-0---
G#--3--3--3-3-3-3-3-3-3--3-3-3-3-3-3-3--1--1-1--1-1-1-5--5-5-5-5-3-3-0--0-0-0-0-0-0-0---
E---0--0--0-0-0-0-0-0-0--0-0-0-0-0-0-0--0--0-0--0-0-0-0--0-0-0-0-0-0-0--0-0-0-0-0-0-0---
G#--7-7-7-7--7-7--7-7-7-7--7-7--0-0-0-0--0-0-0-0--0-0-0-0--0-0-0-0---
E---0-0-0-0--0-0--0-0-0-0--0-0--0-0-0-0--0-0-0-0--0-0-0-0--0-0-0-0---
G#--7-7-7-7--7-7--7-7-7-7--7-7--0-0-0-0--0-0-0-0--0-0-0-0--0-0-0-0---
E---0-0-0-0--0-0--0-0-0-0--0-0--0-0-0-0--0-0-0-0--0-0-0-0--0-0-0-0---
G#--7-7-7-7--7-7--7-7-7-7--7-7--0-0-0-0--0-0-0-0--0-0-0-0--0-0-0-0---
E---0-0-0-0--0-0--0-0-0-0--0-0--0-0-0-0--0-0-0-0--0-0-0-0--0-0-0-0---
Lee comes in with the band:
G#---*7*------------12\13-12-8---
E----*7*-------------------------
G#---*7*---*12*-----12\13-12-8--- x 3
E----*7*---*12*------------------
G#---------*12*-----12\13-12-8---
E----------*12*------------------
G#---*7*------------12\13-12-8---*7*----------------
E----*7*-------------------------*7*----------------
G#---*7*---*12*-----12\13-12-8---*7*---*12*---------
E----*7*---*12*------------------*7*---*12*---0-----
G#---------*12*-----12\13-12-8---------*12*---0-----
E----------*12*------------------------*12*---0-----
He basically continues that motif when Thurston starts singing. He doesn't always do the note run,
just the harmonics. During live versions he would embellish the note run here and there.
Kim alternates between these two notes:
G------- --------
D------- --------
A---7--- and --------
E------- ---12---
Yes, they are both the same E note. I'm guessing she was just aiming to vary
the tone a bit instead of playing the same note for the first two minutes
of the song, but after reviewing multiple videos of her back in '85/'86 I can't
exactly determine a pattern. She seems to go up to the 12th fret when Thurston
plays the 070707 chord, but during the "Mystery train" part she goes back and
forth with no clear repetition.
You can kind of hear on the album when the tone changes but I really don't think
it's necessary to break it down - just play E. I will say, she doesn't seem to
include the low E at all during the vocal section (contrary to the Peel/demo version).
B SECTION 01:09-02:07
Thurston:
G#--3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1---
E---0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0---
G#--3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1---
E---0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0---
G#--3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1---
E---0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0---
G#--0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0---
E---0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0---
G#--0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0---
E---0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0---
G#--0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0---
E---0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0---
Play entire progression twice. On the third time, hold the chord at the 1st fret when the song slows
before the big eruption. He doesn't break to the open strings til the next section starts.
Lee uses a slide for the chorus:
********
G#-------------------------------13~----13\(3)/8~----*7*----------12\13-12-8---*7*----------*12*--
E--------------------------------13~----13\(3)/8~----*7*-----------------------*7*----------*12*--
G#--15/17(\15)-----15/17(\15)----13~----13\(3)/8~----*7*---*12*---12\13-12-8---*7*---*12*---*12*-- x 2
E--------------------------------13~----13\(3)/8~----*7*---*12*----------------*7*---*12*---*12*--
G#---------------------------------------/-----------------*12*---12\13-12-8---------*12*---*12*--
E----------------------------------------/-----------------*12*----------------------*12*---*12*--
(or open)
G#-------------------------------13~----13\(3)/8~\\\\19~~~~~~~~~~/(0)---
E--------------------------------13~----13\(3)/8~\\\\19~~~~~~~~~~/(0)---
G#--15/17(\15)-----15/17(\15)----13~----13\(3)/8~\\\\19~~~~~~~~~~/(0)---
E--------------------------------13~----13\(3)/8~\\\\19~~~~~~~~~~/(0)---
G#---------------------------------------/------------------------------
E----------------------------------------/------------------------------
******* This is an overdub. It is a very long slide panned between speakers, slowly picked from the
13th to 3rd fret with a quick run up to the 8th, where it hangs before the open harmonic section.
On the record, Lee does not play the bracketed notes in the 15/17(\15) part, but it was typically
how it was played live.
Kim plays:
G------- --------
D------- --------
A---7--- -------- see notes in section A
E------- and ---12---
C SECTION 02:08-03:07
Thurston plays a rising trem picked progression:
G#--0---1---3---5---7---8---10---12---10---12---13---15---17---19---20---22---
E---0---0---0---0---0---0----0----0----0----0----0----0----0----0----0----0---
G#--0---1---3---5---7---8---10---12---10---12---13---15---17---19---20---22--- strum all chords furiously
E---0---0---0---0---0---0----0----0----0----0----0----0----0----0----0----0--- increase w/ intensity
G#------------------------------------10---12---13---15---17---19---20---22--- past 12th fret
E-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Listen to hear how long each chord is played for. It gets a little fuzzy when he hits the 12th fret and
seems to backtrack a bit, and his guitar is heavily drowned out by the rest of the band on the record.
Once he goes past the 12th fret he doesn't hold the chords as long, and he sticks to the final chord
for a while before the section breaks.
Lee starts by doubling Thurston, then gets wild with the slide:
G#--0---1---3---5---7---8---10---12---
E---0---0---0---0---0---0----0----0--- switch to slide and just pick rapidly while quickly running
G#--0---1---3---5---7---8---10---12--- the slide up and down (and past) the fretboard
E---0---0---0---0---0---0----0----0---
G#--0---1---3---5---7---8---10---12---
E---0---0---0---0---0---0----0----0---
Kim plays:
G-------------------------------------------
D------0---0-0-----0------0---0-0-------0--- repeat variation more and more aggressively
A---7----------7-7-----7----------7-7-7-----
E-------------------------------------------
@ 2:54 --
G--------------------------------------------------------------
D--------------------------------------------------------------
A---20-20-20-20-20-20-20-20-20-20-20-20-20-20-20-20-20-20-20---
E--------------------------------------------------------------
D SECTION 03:08-04:30
Thurston just strums all the open strings while Lee does his slide riff. After that he quiets down,
picking behind the bridge or tapping the back of the neck to ring the open strings.
Lee starts with a slide riff:
G#--5\3\0---5\3\0---
E---5\3\0---5\3\0--- play several times then drift off to open strings like Thurston
G#--5\3\0---5\3\0---
E-------------------
G#------------------
E-------------------
Kim plays a descending riff while droning the low E:
G-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
D-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A-----------------------------------19-19-19-19--19-19-19-----------------18-18-18-18--18-18-18---
E---0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-----------------------0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-------------------------
G---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
D---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A-------------------17-17-17-17--17-17-17-----------------16-16-16-16--16-16-16---
E---0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-----------------------0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-------------------------
G---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
D---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A-------------------15-15-15-15--15-15-15-----------------14-14-14-14--14-14-14---
E---0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-----------------------0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-------------------------
G---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
D---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A-------------------13-13-13-13--13-13-13-----------------12-12-12-12--12-12-12---
E---0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-----------------------0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-------------------------
G---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
D---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A-------------------11-11-11-11--11-11-11-----------------10-10-10-10--10-10-10---
E---0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-----------------------0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-------------------------
G-------------------------------------------------------------------
D-------------------------------------------------------------------
A-------------------9-9-9-9--9-9-9-----------------8-8-8-8--8-8-8---
E---0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0----------------0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0------------------
G-------------------------------------------------------------------
D-------------------------------------------------------------------
A-------------------7-7-7-7--7-7-7-----------------6-6-6-6--6-6-6---
E---0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0----------------0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0------------------
G-------------------------------------------------------------------
D-------------------------------------------------------------------
A-------------------5-5-5-5--5-5-5-----------------4-4-4-4--4-4-4---
E---0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0----------------0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0------------------
G-------------------------------------------------------------------
D-------------------------------------------------------------------
A-------------------3-3-3-3--3-3-3-----------------2-2-2-2--2-2-2---
E---0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0----------------0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0------------------
G----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
D----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A-------------------1-1-1-1--1-1-1------------------1-1-1-1--1-1-1-----------------
E---0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0----------------0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-----------------0-0-0-0-0-0-0---
E SECTION 04:30-infinity
Thurston lightly taps the back of his guitar's neck, letting all of the open strings sound
with heavy reverb.
Lee would tap his guitar's body or neck with a mallet or his hand, similar to Thurston.
Kim just knocked the back of her bass neck to lightly sound the open strings during the song's outro.
Obviously this section began to become a much livelier venue for heavy improvisation, though the
song's open tuning and expressive feedback always gave whatever depth of noise they attempted a
hint of recognition.
text + tab by Chris Lawrence
w/ historic thanx to Larsen '98 for doing all of Thurston's part!
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