visual lyric sheets for HELEN LUNDEBERG (by me) / REENA (by thurston)
A week after returning from their second of three European festival runs in the summer of 2005, a six-legged Sonic Youth played a brief, likely unannounced set at Flywheel in Easthampton, Massachusetts, an increasingly common site for Thurston's solo exploits. The intact quintet had previously appeared as Peace Attack, playing a set of unreleased, in-progress Nurse material in November 2003. This time, Lee was unavailable and Jim had not been participating in the songwriting sessions at Kim and Thurston's house in Northampton, and would be out of the band four months later once Nurse tour obligations were fulfilled. Thurston, Kim, and Steve played four brand new songs, all with Thurston on vocals: "Helen Lundeberg" "Or" "Do You Believe in Rapture?" and "Pink Steam". This would be the only time (part of) Sonic Youth would attempt "Helen Lundeberg" live, and unfortunately I don't have a recording to offer any insight.
Less than a week later, however, Thurston did a solo gig at Flywheel, playing acoustic versions of the same material, as well as the only known performance of another new song called "Eyeliner". All of these songs were in a new tuning he was using - DD#A#D#GG - and mostly relied on harmonics or percussively tapping the acoustic guitar's soundboard. Aside from slippin' a curious one-off of "Sleepin' Around" into Sonic Youth's second encore on August 16th in Rekyjavic, Iceland (the only performance with Jim, if indeed he even played on it), there would be no further new material debuted until December 28th, when the Lee-less trio dropped by Flywheel again, this time shelving "Helen" but adding "Incinerate" and "Lights Out", plus the already established "Sleepin' Around" (which had been shared on sonicyouth.com as an instrumental demo from the summer of 2005).
"Helen Lundeberg" and "Eyeliner" were both recorded by Sonic Youth, but they did not make the domestic track list for Rather Ripped. Instead, versions taken from their final recording sessions at Echo Canyon were released as a 7" to accompany the album, which itself was recorded at the familiar Sear Sound. I know they officially left Echo Canyon on March 31st, 2006, but I suspect these songs were recorded much earlier than that, possibly even late 2005. Since "Eyeliner" wasn't attempted live by any iteration of Sonic Youth, "Helen Lundeberg" exists as the sole song to be performed only once by an altered version of the line-up. That's not entirely unimpressive! And it's a really fun, weird song, with most of the lyrics taken from artwork displayed in an exhibit by the titular painter. Helen Lundeberg and the Illusory Landscape: Five Decades in Painting appeared at Louis Stern Fine Arts in West Hollywood from April through August 2004, with a book to accompany it.
On March 9th, 2006 Thurston rocked Boulder, Colorado, reading poetry (including many that inspired Sonic Youth lyrics) and performing both acoustic and electric. He played all of the Rather Ripped songs that had already been debuted, minus "Eyeliner", plus "Psychic Hearts". Curiously, "Helen Lundeberg" was stopped after a single verse, with no attempt made to play the chorus. This is the last known live outing of "Helen", though there may be undocumented Thurston solo sets similar to this one.
By now, the band were putting the finishing touches on Rather Ripped and headed to Paris for a handful of gigs in April, including a TV appearance and full live radio set. These shows are noteworthy for being the only performances of Sonic Youth as a quartet since Jim joined in 2000. Kim played bass, and they resurrected some older songs where Thurston played bass to accompany "Rats", which was Lee's new tune (the only Rather Ripped song that Kim plays guitar on). As far as Kim's new songs, only "Turquoise Boy" was glimpsed in France, possibly because Kim had no intention of playing bass on the songs she sang. Missing the freedom that Jim's presence had allowed her, particularly to avoid playing bass on certain songs (severe tendonitis being a major factor), Kim and the band reached out to former Free Kitten bassist Mark Ibold, who officially made his debut with Sonic Youth on June 13th, 2006 at CBGB. Earlier that day, Rather Ripped had finally been released, and the CBGB gig marked the first date of a long summer of touring North America. Just like it opens the album, "Reena" was the first song out of the gate at CBGB, with Kim free to dance and sing while Mark replicated her basslines.
Once "Reena" was unleashed, it became unstoppable, played at almost every single show in 2006 and 2007. Though not technically a single, it appeared on a four-song sampler for the album, and had a video directed the night of its CBGB debut by Braden King (currently uncollected on any official release). It was performed on both Late Night w/ Conan O'Brien and Jimmy Kimmel Live (at the latter taping, only the in-studio audience got to hear the entire song, as "Incinerate" - the first and only proper promo single from the album - was played first, and the TV broadcast had to cut "Reena" halfway, putting it in a rare club with "I Wanna Be Yr Dog" and "Starfield Road"). They also played it on a number of live radio appearances throughout the tour. If "Incinerate" was Thurston's big song of the album, "Reena" was treated like Kim's, and they usually opened with one or the other, always delivering both with energy through the roof!
When the band started doing their Daydream Nation front-to-back sets in 2007, they would typically return with an encore of Rather Ripped material, always highlighting "Reena". That tour ended in February 2008, and "Reena" would vanish from the set after two April gigs in southern USA. They brought it back one last time on October 11th, then retired it for good (also extinguished that night: "The Burning Spear"). This gig in Bolzano is also noteworthy for a unique name drop in "Eric's Trip" and an early, more honest draft of "No Way".
In early 2005, Thurston was hired by HSBC to write short pieces of music for their commercial spots. Only one of these seems to be preserved online, which is also included on an obscure vinyl release by Thurston called Built for Lovin'. It collects a variety of his improv concepts and quick noise ideas, including "Snow Sex in Oslo" (which appears in the HSBC "Windfarm" ad) and "Pornstar in the Morning", which may also be a jingle jam. Steve plays uncredited drums. Thurston discusses this gig in a 2006 Magnet interview, including a relevant tidbit about "Reena": "Actually, some of these songs were taken from these short little cues I made for TV commercials. I got a gig early last year to do some TV commercial cues for HSBC bank. I think they used one or two. [...] Right, like 10-second pieces. So I have this whole grab bag of sonic riffs and I did these miniature jams, really concise. For the TV commercials, they said, “We want something that’s like ‘Kool Thing,’” you know? I think that’s what was being used in the temp track for the images they were using. I could write “Kool Thing” all day and every day, but I choose not to. [Laughs] But I really liked making all these miniatures. I thought maybe we should make a whole record of these 10-second songs, that’d be awesome. [...] Some of them were riffs that I fleshed out into songs. I would bring them into rehearsal and the band would develop them into songs. That’s the genesis, certainly, of the first song, “Reena.”
Another early hint at "Reena" dates back to a soundcheck I recorded in Portland on the Murray Street tour. I could be wrong, but I swear this lick Thurston keeps playing, with some effort seemingly being made to encourage others to join in, is a very proto-"Reena" riff. Another fun fact, the earliest advance copies of Rather Ripped still had some working titles on the back, including "Stonesy" for "Reena" - now, I've honestly never been sure if that was a reference to the Rolling Stones, or their own song "Stones" which has some similar riff structure to "Reena". I'm not sure whether it applies to "Reena" in particular, but while discussing Rather Ripped with Guitar & Bass magazine, Kim stated: "Thurston pretty much wrote all the songs while he was writing for a solo record, so often I'm playing the root notes, reinforcing what he's been doing. I've always been a minimal bass player!"
I don't have much to say about "Helen Lundeberg" - I thought it would be an interesting contrast to "Reena", two Rather Ripped era songs with totally different trajectories - one becoming the lead-off track and star of every show, one getting a single outing by a makeshift, incomplete version of the band. Thurston apparently thinks quite highly of "Helen", citing it as one of his favorite Sonic Youth tracks in a 2020 Vulture interview: "There’s also “Helen Lundeberg.” It’s a 7-inch we put out ourselves about this amazing painter I was reading about that day. I took all these lines from this dissertation on this artist that I thought were really evocative and used them as the lyrics [e.g.: “Helen Lundeberg / Illusory landscape / Five decades of paint / Helen Lundeberg / Illusory landscape / Four expressions of elegance”]. Then I had a poem that I sort of cut up and used for the B side of the record and it was called “Eyeliner.” They only exist on the Japanese version of the Rather Ripped LP, so they’re pretty buried. [chris here - they're actually bonus tracks on the UK version - Japan got a psychedelic mix of "Rapture?"] I would say they’re my two favorite songs we ever wrote, but nobody knows about them." He also discusses some recent Song of the Week tunes, citing "Mariah" among "Helen" as one of their most underrated songs, identifying Coco's favorite song (from this set) and the most "regrettable" song (from a previous set).
FDSwayze cemented his legendary status in 2007, offering full tabs for all of Rather Ripped in proper bar notation. I generally trust his interpretations, though I have made the odd correction when revisiting their work for previous entries. Regarding "Helen Lundeberg", while I don't find it necessary to tab out every skronky bleat that Lee squeezes out during the verses, I don't see any reason not to preserve FDSwayze's original roadmap for this part. I feel bad outright deleting their old tabs, since they put so much effort into structuring them in proper multi-guitar measures. I have a different preference towards how the transcriptions are presented, though I know their design was much more technically and musically accurate. I assume you've probably heard the song before, so you should have a reference as to how the riff and rhythms are played on sight. I'm also fine with generally saying "repeat variation" as opposed to tabbing every single note of a repeated chord progression, so I've trimmed much of that away too.
He did use D#D#A#D#GG for both Thurston and Lee's parts in "Helen Lundeberg", but I'm pretty sure based on the loose notes before the song starts, both have the low D. Lee did raise it to D# for later Rather Ripped material. "Reena" is part of the other half of the album that's in good ol' predictable CGDGCD, with Lee close by in CGDCGD. Lee overdubbed a lovely second guitar, playing heavily echoed melody notes over much of the song, but never really recreated this theme live. In fact, he basically just played the straight ahead chord progression, diverting only during the bridge when he'd do some classic Lee freak out shit. I used a fair bit of FDSwayze's original tab for both songs, but also made a number of changes after some review. I'm always open to comments and corrections! Let me know what you think of this first look at the last Sonic Youth album to be covered in this series. See you in August!
"HELEN LUNDEBERG"
LAYOUT
INTRO - A - B - A - B - A
KIM
EADG
CENTER
THURSTON
DD#A#D#GG
RIGHT
LEE
DD#A#D#GG
LEFT
INTRO 00:00-00:15
Lee can be heard arpeggiating the open strings, then doing the reverse harmonic riff
from "Pink Steam". Then Thurston strums the open strings once.
A SECTION 00:15-00:54
Thurston's riff is basically something you need to listen to in order to imitate.
He hits a low harmonic and then runs his hand up and down the strings, playing mostly
muted strings but also some sharp harmonics bleeding in, and resting on a final
harmonic chord - I wish I could see a video of him playing this, but I think he lands
on random frets for the end, sometimes 4th, sometimes 5th, sometimes accenting the
low strings, sometimes accenting the middle strings, etc. It's not super scientific.
The first "harmonichord" doesn't even need to be at the 12th fret, but it works.
G---------------------------------------
G---------X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-*5*---
D#--------X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-*5*---
A#--*12*--X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-*5*--- play variation x 18
D#--*12*--X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-*5*---
D---*12*--X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-*5*---
move muted harmonics up
This is Lee's part as interpreted by FDSwayze. Like Thurston's role, I would listen
and just mimic Lee's jagged stabs at skronky chords like FDSwayze has laid out below,
but I wouldn't worry about necessarily following this exact script:
G--------------------------------------------------------------------
G---8/-/-/-/-/-/16----------14-------x-------------------------------
D#--7/-/-/-/-/-/15----------13-------x-------------------------------
A#--6/-/-/-/-/-/14------12-----------x-------------------------------
D#-------------------------------------------------------------------
D--------------------------------------------------------------------
G--------------------------------------------------------------------
G---8/-/-/-/-/-/16----------18-----------1818181818~~1818181818\-----
D#--7/-/-/-/-/-/15------x-x-17-----------1717171717~~1717171717\-----
A#--6/-/-/-/-/-/14------x-x-16-----------1616161616~~1616161616\-----
D#-------------------------------------------------------------------
D--------------------------------------------------------------------
G--------------------------------------------------------------------
G-------8-8-x-x-----8-8-----12---------------------------------------
D#------7-7-x-x---------7-7-11-------6-6-2-2-3-3-4-4-5-------16------
A#------6-6-x-x-6-6---------10-----------1-1-2-2-3-3-4---0---15------
D#-------------------------------------------------------0-----------
D--------------------------------------------------------------------
G--------------------------------------------------------------------
G------------------------------------------------------------11------
D#--13--9-9-1010111112--x-x-16-------7---x-x-5-5-----5-5-----10------
A#------8-8-9-9-101011--x-x-15-----------x-x-----4-4-----4---9-------
D#-------------------------------------------------------------------
D--------------------------------------------------------------------
G--------------------------------------------------------------------
G--------------------------------------------------------------------
D#-------------------------------------------------------------------
A#-------------------------------------------------------------------
D#--*2*-*3/3/4/4/5/5/6/7/7*-*9*------*2*-*3/3/4/4/5/5/6/7/7*-*7*-----
D---------------------------*9*------*2*-*3/3/4/4/5/5/6/7/7*-*7*-----
G--------------------------------------------------------------------
G--------------------------------------------------------------------
D#-------------------------------------------------------------------
A#--------------------------*5*------*2/2/3/3/4/4/5/5/6/7/7*-*7*-----
D#--*2/2/2/3/3/3/4/4/5/5/5/5*--------*2/2/3/3/4/4/5/5/6/7/7*-*7*-----
D------------------------------------*2/2/3/3/4/4/5/5/6/7/7*-*7*-----
G--------------------------------------------------------------------
G------------------------------------13----------------------11------
D#-----------------------------------12----------------------10------
A#-----------------------------------11----------------------9-------
D#--0------------------------------------0---12--0-0-0-0-0-0---------
D---0----------------------------------------------------------------
G--------------------------------------------------------------------
G-------------------4-------7--------14141414141414~~~~~~~~~~--------
D#----------3-3-------------6--------13131313131313~~~~~~~~~~--------
A#--2---2-2-----2-2-----2-2-5--------12121212121212~~~~~~~~~~--------
D#-------------------------------------------------------------------
D--------------------------------------------------------------------
G--------------------------------------------------------------------
G---14~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~-------------------------------------
D#--13~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~----13~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~-----
A#--12~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~----12~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~-----
D#----------------------------------0~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~-----
D--------------------------------------------------------------------
Kim's part is also quite weird. I think she is bending the D note at the 10th fret,
almost right after picking, then picks again right after releasing back. But she does
it twice in a row, then plays the same note four times quickly with a slight bend
and return at the start, ending on the F# when Thurston hits his final harmonichord.
G------------------------------------
D------------------------------------
A--------------------------------9---
E---10br10--10br10--10br10-10-10-----
FDSwayze's previous tab incorporated the open low E string, but I just don't hear it.
I'm often wrong though, what do you think?
B SECTION 00:54-02:01
Thurston waits a bar or two, then comes in playing a very sloppy riff with heavy treble fuzz:
G------------------------------------------
G------------------------------------------
D#-----0--0-0-0-----10-10-10-10-10-10-10--- slight bend on 10th fret
A#-----7--5-7-0----------------------------
D#---0-0--0-0---10--10-10-10-10-10-10-10--- x 10
D----0-----------0---0--0--0--0--0--0--0---
This is best played sick and loose, with nasty distortion. The riff is a little clearer on the
acoustic performance of the song.
Then just staccato stomp this chord at "biological fantasy":
G--------
G--------
D#-------
A#---7--- x 24
D#---0---
D----0---
Lee holds a very long bent note and trem picks it extensively, moving it up and down slightly:
G----17b----
G----17b----
D#----/-----
A#----/-----
D#----/-----
D-----------
Then he switches to his own stomper chord:
G--------
G--------
D#-------
A#---6---
D#---8---
D----8---
Kim:
G----------------------------
D----------------------------
A---------------------------- x 3
E---9--9--9--9--9--9--9--9---
G----------------------------------
D----------------------------------
A------------------9-9-9-9-9-9-9--- x 9
E---9--9--9-9-9-9------------------
G------------------------------------------------------------------------------
D------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A------------------------------------------------------------------------------
E---9--9--9--9--9--9--9--9--9--9--9--9--9--9--9--9--9--9--9--9--9--9-0-9-0-9---
A SECTION 02:01-02:40
Again, Kim plays the riff twice before Lee and Thurston enter.
The bass riff is played 20 times, Thurston plays his progression 18 times.
Lee per FDSwayze:
G---------------------------------------------------------------------
G---8/---------/14----------18-------(18)------------------------8/---
D#--7/---------/13----------17-------(17)------------------------7/---
A#--6/---------/12----------16-------(16)------------------------6/---
D#--------------------------------------------------------------------
D---------------------------------------------------------------------
G---------------------------------------------------------------------
G------/18------15151616----------------------------------------------
D#-----/17------14141515-------------x-x-x-x-----7---x-x-x-x-10-------
A#-----/16------1313141414--13-------x-x-x-x-6-6-----x-x-x-x-9--------
D#--------------------------------------------------------------------
D---------------------------------------------------------------------
G---------------------------------------------------------------------
G---------------18--18\-17---------------17---------------------------
D#----------17--17--17--16--16---------------16--16--16---------------
A#------16------------------15-------------15--15--15--15-------------
D#--0--------------------------------0--------------------------------
D---------------------------------------------------------------------
G---------------------------------------------------------------------
G---12----------13----------13-----------12----------11--12-----------
D#--11----------11----------12-----------11----------11--11-----------
A#--------------------------------------------------------------------
D#--------------------------------------------------------------------
D---------------------------------------------------------------------
G---------------------------------------------------------------------
G------------------------------------14-------------------------------
D#--13-------------------------------13-------------------------------
A#--12-------------------------------12-------------------------------
D#-----------------------------------0--------------------------------
D---------------------------------------------------------------------
G---------------------------------------------------------------------
G---------------------------12----------------------------------------
D#------8-----------8-------11----------------------------------------
A#------7-------7-------7---10----------------------------------------
D#-----------------------------------0---*2/2/3/3/4/4/5/5/5*-*7*------
D---------------------------------------------------------------------
G---------------------------------------------------------------------
G---------------------------------------------------------------------
D#--------------------------------------------------------------------
A#--------------------------------------------------------------------
D#--0---*2/2/3/3/4/4/5/5/5*-*7*------0---*2/2/2/3/3/4/5/6/7*-*9*------
D------------------------------------0---*2/2/2/3/3/4/5/6/7*-*9*------
G---------------------------------------------------------------------
G---------------------------17\------------------------------5/6------
D#------16----------15------16\----------4-4-5-------5-------4/5------
A#------15------14------14--15\----------3-3-4---4-------4---3/4------
D#--------------------------------------------------------------------
D---------------------------------------------------------------------
G---------------------------------------------------------------------
G-------13------------------13-------(13)-----------------------------
D#----------12------12------12-------(12)-----------------------------
A#--11----------11------11--11-------(11)-----------------------------
D#--------------------------------------------------------------------
D---------------------------------------------------------------------
B SECTION 02:40-03:50
Thurston plays his riff 10 times, then hits his stomper chord 28 times (4 more than previously).
Lee sticks to the same idea but gets a little wilder with the bended note he's hitting.
Kim switches to the F# note one rep sooner, and stretches out the end, adding more open E
string stings coming off the C# (these ones I *do* hear!).
G----------------------------
D----------------------------
A---------------------------- x 2
E---9--9--9--9--9--9--9--9---
G----------------------------------
D----------------------------------
A------------------9-9-9-9-9-9-9--- x 10
E---9--9--9-9-9-9------------------
G-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
D-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
E---9--9--9--9--9--9--9-0-9-0-9--9--9--9--9--9--9-0-9-0-9--9--9--9--9--9-0-9-0-9--9-0-9-0-9-0-9---
A SECTION 03:50-04:38
Everyone comes in together this time.
Thurston starts by picking behind the bridge, with really harsh trebly distortion. He may be
playing the same harmonic motif while doing it, I'm not sure. When he sings "Helen Lundeberg"
the second time, he goes back to playing the harmonic riff, 8 times til end.
Lee as per FDSwayze:
G--------------------------------------------------------------------
G-----------------------------------------------------------12-------
D#-------------------------11-------10\-\-\-\-\-\-\3--------11-------
A#---------11--9-----------10-------9-\-\-\-\-\-\-\2--------10-------
D#-----------------10------------------------------------------------
D--------------------------------------------------------------------
G--------------------------------------------------------------------
G-----------------------------------18\-----18\-----18\-----18\------
D#----------------------------------17\-----17\-----17\-----17\------
A#-------121214141515------16-------16\-----16\-----16\-----16\------
D#---------------------15--------------------------------------------
D--------------------------------------------------------------------
G--------------------------------------------------------------------
G------------------8-------8--------8-----------------------7--------
D#-------------7-----------7--------7---------------6-------6--------
A#---------6---------------6--------6-------5---5-------5---5--------
D#-------------------------------------------------------------------
D--------------------------------------------------------------------
G---------------------------------------------------------------------
G---------------------------9--------------------------------8--------
D#--x-------7---x---x---x---8--------3-------3/--9-----------7--------
A#--x---6-6-----x---x---x---7--------2---------------8-------6--------
D#--------------------------------------------------------------------
D---------------------------------------------------------------------
G--------------------------------------------------------------------
G------17\-----------------11-------20------20--x---20\--------------
D#-------------------------10-----------19------x-----------7--------
A#-------------------------9--------------------------------6--------
D#-------------------------------------------------------------------
D--------------------------------------------------------------------
G---------------------------------------------------------------------
G---20--20\-----------------8----------------x---x---x---x---*3*-*3*--
D#--19----------------------7--------7\------x-x-x-x-x-x-x------------
A#--------------------------6--------6\--------x---x---x--------------
D#--------------------------------------------------------------------
D---------------------------------------------------------------------
G---*3*-*3*--------------------------*3*-*3*--------------------------
G-----------*3*-*3*---------*3*-*3*----------*3*-*3*------------------
D#------------------*3*-*3*--------------------------*3*-*3*----------
A#-----------------------------------------------------------*3*-*3*--
D#--------------------------------------------------------------------
D---------------------------------------------------------------------
G---------------------------------------------------------------------
G------------------------------------------------------------11-------
D#-----------------------------------------------10----------10-------
A#-------------------------------------------9-----------9------------
D#--*2/2/3/3/4/4/5/5/6/7/7*-*7*------0--------------------------------
D---*2/2/3/3/4/4/5/5/6/7/7*-*7*---------------------------------------
G---------------------------------------------------------------------
G---8---------------8-------10-------13-------------------------------
D#--7-----------7-------7---9--------12-------------------------------
A#--6-------6---------------8--------11-------------------------------
D#--------------------------------------------------------------------
D---------------------------------------------------------------------
G---------------------------------------------------------------------
G---13----------------------------------------------------------------
D#--12-------------------------------12-------------------------------
A#--11-------------------------------11-------------------------------
D#-----------------------------------0--------------------------------
D---------------------------------------------------------------------
G------------------------------------
G------------------------------------
D#--(12)-----------------------------
A#--(11)-----------------------------
D#--(0)------------------------------
D------------------------------------
Kim plays her bass riff 20 times.
text + tab by Chris Lawrence and FDSwayze (2007)
"REENA"
LAYOUT
A - B - C - A - B - C - D - E - A - B - C - D
KIM
EADG
CENTER
THURSTON
CGDGCD
RIGHT
LEE
CGDCGD
LEFT
A SECTION 00:00-00:13
Thurston:
D-----------5-------3-----3------------------0--------------0---------
C-------6-----6-----4-4---4--4-------------0---0--------------0-------
G---7-7-7-7-----7-5---5-5-5--5-5-5-------5-------5------7-------7-----
D---7-7-7-7-----7-5-----5------5-5-----5--------------7---7-------7--- x 2
G----------------------------------3-3------------3/5-----------------
C----------------------------------3--------------3/5-----------------
Lee:
D------------------------------------------------------------------------
G-------11-12-11------10-9----10--9------------7----------------9--------
C------------------------------------------------------------------------ x 2
D---12------------12/-----10--------10/--8-8-8---8/10--10-10-10----10/---
G------------------------------------------------------------------------
C------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kim:
G-------------------------------------------------12--12-12-12-12-12-12-10--10-10-10--10-10-10---
D---12--12-12-12-12-12-12-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10------------------------------------------------ x 2
A------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
E------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
B SECTION 00:14-00:21
Thurston:
D------9-9-9-9-9-x-7--7--5-5-5-7-x-5-------------------------------
C------7-7-7-7-7-x-5--5--5-5-5-5-x-3---3-3-3-----------------------
G---0--0-0-0-0-0-x-0--0--0-0-0-0-x-0---0-0-0------------3--5b6r5---
D---0-----------------------------------------------3-5------------
G-----------------------------------------------3-5----------------
C------------------------------------------------------------------
Lee:
D---9--9-9-9-x-7--5--5-7-5--5~~~ w/ bar --------------------
G---7--7-7-7-x-5--5--5-5-5--3~~~------------3--5b6r5---------
C---7--7-7-7-x-5--5--5-5-5--3~~~-----------------------------
D---------------------------------------3^5----------3/(5)---
G-----------------------------------3^5----------------------
C------------------------------------------------------------
Kim:
G------------------------------------------------------------------------
D------------------------------------------------------------------------
A---10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-8/---
E------------------------------------------------------------------------
C SECTION 00:21-00:34
Thurston:
D------------------------------------------------------------------------------
C------------------------------------------------------------------------------
G------------------------------------------------------------------------------
D------------------------------------------------------------------------------
G---7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-\10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3---
C---7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-\10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3---
D-----------------------------------------------------------------------
C-----------------------------------------------------------------------
G-----------------------------------------------------------------------
D-----------------------------------------------------------------------
G---7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-3-3-5-3-3--3-5-3/-5-5-7-5-5-5-7-5---
C---7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-3-3-5-3-3--3-5-3/-5-5-7-5-5-5-7-5---
Lee plays chords an octave above Thurston, with a looser rhythm that has certain beats to hit.
Sometimes he'll hold a chord and shake it with his bar, sometimes he'll just strum it.
D-------------7--10--10-10-10-10-10---5--5-5-5-7-3---3---7-7-7-7-7-2--2--2-2-2\3-3-3-3--5--5-5-5-5-5-5---
G-------------7--10--10-10-10-10-10---5--5-5-5-7-3---3---7-7-7-7-7-2--2--2-2-2\3-3-3-3--5--5-5-5-5-5-5---
C-------------7--10--10-10-10-10-10---5--5-5-5-7-3---3---7-7-7-7-7-2--2--2-2-2\3-3-3-3--5--5-5-5-5-5-5---
D---(3)/5~~----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
G--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
C--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kim:
G-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
D-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A---10--10-10-10-10-10-13--13-13-13-13-13-13-13-------------------------------------------
E-----------------------------------------------13--13-13-13-13-13-11-11-11-11-11-11-11---
G-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
D-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A---10-10-10-10-10-10-----------------------------------------------------------------
E---------------------10--10-10-10-10-10-10-11--11-11-11-11-11-13-13-13-13-13-13-13---
A SECTION 00:34-00:47
B SECTION 00:47-00:54
C SECTION 00:54-01:27
Thurston plays the previous C section in its entirety TWICE, then adds an extra:
D-----------------------------------------------------------------------
C-----------------------------------------------------------------------
G-----------------------------------------------------------------------
D-----------------------------------------------------------------------
G---7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-3-3-5-3-3--3-5-3/-5-5-7-5-5-5-7-5---
C---7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-3-3-5-3-3--3-5-3/-5-5-7-5-5-5-7-5---
Lee plays the same as before, then adds (at 1:07):
D---7-7-7-7-7--10--10\12---5--5-5-5-7-3--3-3-3-3--7-7-7-7-7-2~~~--2-3~~~---5~~~-- w/ bar
G---7-7-7-7-7--10--10\12---5--5-5-5-7-3--3-3-3-3--7-7-7-7-7-2~~~--2-3~~~---5~~~--
C---7-7-7-7-7--10--10\12---5--5-5-5-7-3--3-3-3-3--7-7-7-7-7-2~~~--2-3~~~---5~~~--
D--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
G--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
C--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
D---7-7-7-7-7-2--2-2-2-2-3-3-3-3-3-5-5-5-5-5-5-5---
G---7-7-7-7-7-2--2-2-2-2-3-3-3-3-3-5-5-5-5-5-5-5---
C---7-7-7-7-7-2--2-2-2-2-3-3-3-3-3-5-5-5-5-5-5-5---
D--------------------------------------------------
G--------------------------------------------------
C--------------------------------------------------
Lee also has an overdub starting at 1:10
w/ delay
D------------------------17----19------------------------------------------------------------
G---19---------19-----------------------19--17--15--14--15--17--12--14--12--10--12--10-------
C--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
D---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------12---
G--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
C--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kim:
G-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
D-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A---10--10-10-10-10-10-13--13-13-13-13-13-13-13-------------------------------------------
E-----------------------------------------------13--13-13-13-13-13-11-11-11-11-11-11-11---
G-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
D-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A---10-10-10-10-10-10-----------------------------------------------------------------
E---------------------10--10-10-10-10-10-10-11--11-11-11-11-11-13-13-13-13-13-13-13---
Play whole thing twice, then:
G-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
D-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A---10-10-10-10-10-10-----------------------------------------------------------------
E---------------------10--10-10-10-10-10-10-11--11-11-11-11-11-13-13-13-13-13-13-13---
D SECTION 01:27-01:58
Thurston:
D----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
C-------9-9-9-9-9/-12--------12-12-14--------7-7-7-7-7-9-9-5--5---5---5-5-5--------
G-------x-x-x-x-x---x---------x--x--x--------x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x--x---x---x-x-x--------
D-----7-7-7-7-7-7/-10-----10-10-10-12-12-----5-5-5-5-5-7-7-3--3-3-3-3-3-3-3--------
G---7-7-7-7-7-7-7/-10--10-10-10-10-12-12-12--5-5-5-5-5-7-7-3--3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3/---
C---7-7-7-7-7-7-7/-10--10-10-10-10-12-12-12--5-5-5-5-5-7-7-3--3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3/---
D------------------------------------------------------------------------
C-------9-9-9---9-4----------4-4----------5-5-5-5-5-7--------7-7-7-------
G-------x-x-x-x-x-x----------x-x----------x-x-x-x-x-x--------x-x-x------- x 2
D-----7-7-7-7-7-7-2----2-2-2-2-2--------3-3-3-3-3-3-5----5-5-5-5-5-5-5---
G---7-7-7-7-7-7-7-2--2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2--3-3-3-3-3-3-3-5--5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5---
C---7-7-7-7-7-7-7-2--2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2--3-3-3-3-3-3-3-5--5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5---
D----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
C---------9-9-9-9/-16-----------16-16-16------------17-17-17-17-17-19--19-19-19-19-19-19-------
G---------x-x-x-x---x------------x--x--x-x-x---------x--x--x--x--x--x---x--x--x--x--x--x-x-x---
D-------7-7-7-7-7/-14--------14-14-14-14-x-x--15-15-15-15-15-15-15-17--17-17-17-17-17-17-x-x--- x 2
G---7-7-7-7-7-7-7/-14--14-14-14-14-14-14-x-x--15-15-15-15-15-15-15-17--17-17-17-17-17-17-x-x---
C---7-7-7-7-7-7-7/-14--14-14-14-14-14-14-x-x--15-15-15-15-15-15-15-17--17-17-17-17-17-17-x-x---
Lee continues the same motif:
D---7-7-7-7-7--10--10\12--5--5-5-5-7-3--3-3-3-3--7-7-7-7-7-2~~~--2-2-2-3~~~-3-5~~~-- w/ bar
G---7-7-7-7-7--10--10\12--5--5-5-5-7-3--3-3-3-3--7-7-7-7-7-2~~~--2-2-2-3~~~-3-5~~~--
C---7-7-7-7-7--10--10\12--5--5-5-5-7-3--3-3-3-3--7-7-7-7-7-2~~~--2-2-2-3~~~-3-5~~~--
D-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
G-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
C-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
D---7-7-7-7-7-2--2-2-2-2-3-3-3-3-3-5-5-5-5-5-5-5---
G---7-7-7-7-7-2--2-2-2-2-3-3-3-3-3-5-5-5-5-5-5-5---
C---7-7-7-7-7-2--2-2-2-2-3-3-3-3-3-5-5-5-5-5-5-5--- play variation x 3
D--------------------------------------------------
G--------------------------------------------------
C--------------------------------------------------
Lee's overdub also continues throughout this part, w/ delay:
D--------------------------------------------------------------------15------15--17---
G-----------10--12--14--12--15--14--12--10-----12----------15^17-19------19-----------
C-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
D---(12)------------------------------------12------12--------------------------------
G-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
C-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1:39
D---17-17-19-20--19--17-20--17---------------------------------15----17---------------------
G-------------------------------20-19-17-----19-17-19-17-19----------------17-19-17-15-17---
C-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
D--------------------------------------------------------------15----17---------------------
G--------------------------------------------------------19---------------------------------
C-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1:52
D---15--17-----------------------------
G------------------0--14--15--17--19--- (there may be a third guitar doing the lower notes here)
C--------------------------------------
D-----------0--------------------------
G--------------------------------------
C--------------------------------------
Kim:
G-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
D-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A---10--10-10-10-10-10-13--13-13-13-13-13-13-13-------------------------------------------
E-----------------------------------------------13--13-13-13-13-13-11-11-11-11-11-11-11---
G-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
D------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- x 4
A---10-10-10-10-10-10-----------------------------------------------------------------
E---------------------10--10-10-10-10-10-10-11--11-11-11-11-11-13-13-13-13-13-13-13---
E SECTION 01:58-02:23
Thurston:
D----------------------------------------------------------------------
C----------------------------------------------------------------------
G----------------------------------------------------------------------
D----------------------------------------------------------------------
G---14-14-14-x-x-x-x-14-x-x-14--14-14-14-14--15-15-15-15-17-17-17-17---
C---14-14-14-x-x-x-x-14-x-x-14--14-14-14-14--15-15-15-15-17-17-17-17---
D----------------------------------------------------------------------
C----------------------------------------------------------------------
G----------------------------------------------------------------------
D----------------------------------------------------------------------
G---14-14-14-x-x-x-x-14-x-x-14--14-14-14-14--17-17-17-17-15-15-15-15---
C---14-14-14-x-x-x-x-14-x-x-14--14-14-14-14--17-17-17-17-15-15-15-15---
D-----------------------------------------------------
C-----------------------------------------------------
G-----------------------------------------------------
D---2--2----------2------2---2--2---3-3-3-3-5-5-5-5---
G---2--2--x-x-x-x-2--x-x-2---2--2---3-3-3-3-5-5-5-5---
C---2--2--x-x-x-x-2--x-x-2---2--2---3-3-3-3-5-5-5-5---
D-----------------------------------------------------
C-----------------------------------------------------
G-----------------------------------------------------
D---2--2--x-x-x-x-2--x-x-2---2--2---5-5-5-5-3-3-3-3---
G---2--2--x-x-x-x-2--x-x-2---2--2---5-5-5-5-3-3-3-3---
C---2--2--x-x-x-x-2--x-x-2---2--2---5-5-5-5-3-3-3-3---
Both of Lee's guitars just strum this chord quickly:
D---12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12---
G---14-14-14-14-14-14-14-14-14-14-14-14-14-14-14-14-14-14-14-14-14-14--- etc etc
C---14-14-14-14-14-14-14-14-14-14-14-14-14-14-14-14-14-14-14-14-14-14---
D----0------------------------------------------------------------------
G-----------------------------------------------------------------------
C-----------------------------------------------------------------------
When Thurston goes an octave down, Lee plays:
D-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
G-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
C-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
D---2--2--x-x-x-x-2--x-x-2---2--2---3-3-3-3-5-5-5-5---2--2--x-x-x-x-2--x-x-2---2--2---5-5-5-5-3-3-3-3---
G---2--2--x-x-x-x-2--x-x-2---2--2---3-3-3-3-5-5-5-5---2--2--x-x-x-x-2--x-x-2---2--2---5-5-5-5-3-3-3-3---
C-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
During live versions, Lee would start with the second riff, then play up around the 12-15th fret w/ delay
when Thurston goes down low.
Kim:
G----------------------------------------------------------------------
D----------------------------------------------------------------------
A----------------------------------------------------------------------
E---10-10-10-10-10--10-10-10--10-10-10-10-10-11-11-11-11-13-13-13-13---
G----------------------------------------------------------------------
D----------------------------------------------------------------------
A----------------------------------------------------------------------
E---10-10-10-10-10--10-10-10--10-10-10-10-10-13-13-13-13-11-11-11-11---
Play whole thing twice.
A SECTION 02:23-02:36
B SECTION 02:36-02:43
C SECTION 02:43-03:15
Thurston:
D------------------------------------------------------------------------------
C------------------------------------------------------------------------------
G------------------------------------------------------------------------------
D------------------------------------------------------------------------------
G---7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-\10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3---
C---7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-\10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3---
D-----------------------------------------------------------------------
C-----------------------------------------------------------------------
G----------------------------------------------------------------------- x 4
D-----------------------------------------------------------------------
G---7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-3-3-5-3-3--3-5-3/-5-5-7-5-5-5-7-5---
C---7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-3-3-5-3-3--3-5-3/-5-5-7-5-5-5-7-5---
Lee's main guitar doubles Thurston, and his lead comes in around 3:02 playing:
D---------------------------------------------3\5-------5-7--7/5-5---0^3\5--0---
G---5^7--5^7-3-2--2-3--5-7-5--5-7--5-5-7/---------3-5---------------------------
C-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
D---------------------------------------------3\5-------5-7--7/5-5---0^3\5--0---
G---5^7--5^7-3-2--2-3--5-7-5--5-7--5-5-7/--0------3-5---------------------------
C-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The emphasis is on the higher notes, but it sounds like the lower octave is there at times. He may
be fingerpicking.
During live versions, he does none of this, but might fill out his chords with the bottom 3 strings,
using all 6 strings.
D SECTION 03:15-03:47
Thurston:
D----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
C---------9-9-9-9/-16-----------16-16-16------------17-17-17-17-17-19--19-19-19-19-19-19-------
G---------x-x-x-x---x------------x--x--x-x-x---------x--x--x--x--x--x---x--x--x--x--x--x-x-x---
D-------7-7-7-7-7/-14--------14-14-14-14-x-x--15-15-15-15-15-15-15-17--17-17-17-17-17-17-x-x--- x 2
G---7-7-7-7-7-7-7/-14--14-14-14-14-14-14-x-x--15-15-15-15-15-15-15-17--17-17-17-17-17-17-x-x---
C---7-7-7-7-7-7-7/-14--14-14-14-14-14-14-x-x--15-15-15-15-15-15-15-17--17-17-17-17-17-17-x-x---
Then just strum this chord furiously from 3:27 til end:
D----------------------------------------------------------------------------
C---21-21-21-21-21-21-21-21--21--21-21-21-21-21-21-21-21-21-21-21-21-21-21---
G----x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x---x---x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--- etc etc
D---19-19-19-19-19-19-19-19--19--19-19-19-19-19-19-19-19-19-19-19-19-19-19---
G---19-19-19-19-19-19-19-19--19--19-19-19-19-19-19-19-19-19-19-19-19-19-19---
C---19-19-19-19-19-19-19-19--19--19-19-19-19-19-19-19-19-19-19-19-19-19-19---
On the record it sounds like he might end on 19th fret harmonics on the low strings,
but live he would just hit the open G chord.
D---------- -------- -------
C---------- -------- -------
G---------- -------- ---0~~-
D---*19*--- ---19--- ? ---0~~-
G---*19*--- ---19--- ---0~~-
C---*19*--- or ---19--- OR.... -------
Lee's main guitar continues the same motif:
D---7-7-7-7-7-2--2-2-2-2-3-3-3-3-3-5-5-5-5-5-5-5---
G---7-7-7-7-7-2--2-2-2-2-3-3-3-3-3-5-5-5-5-5-5-5---
C---7-7-7-7-7-2--2-2-2-2-3-3-3-3-3-5-5-5-5-5-5-5--- play variation x 2
D--------------------------------------------------
G--------------------------------------------------
C--------------------------------------------------
At 3:27 his main guitar hangs on a chord roughly like this:
D---7---
G---7---
C---7---
D---7--- emphasis on higher strings
G---7---
C---7---
End on:
D----------
G---*12*---
C---*12*---
D---*12*---
G---*12*---
C---*12*---
His possibly fingerpicked, definitely delayed overdub continues from the previous section:
D---7--8--5--7/-3--3\5-5-5----7--7-8-10--12/10-8-10--5\7--5\7-7---
G-----------------------------------------------------------------
C-----------------------------------------------------------------
D---7--8--5--7/-3--3\5-5-5----7--7-8-10--12/10-8-10--5\7--5\7-7---
G-----------------------------------------------------------------
C-----------------------------------------------------------------
At 3:27:
D---5----12----14----15----17/15-17-15--15-15\17-15---17-15\17-15---17-15--17--19--- end
G-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
C-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
D---5----12----14----15----17/15-17-15--15-15\17-15---17-15\17-15---17-15--17--19---
G-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
C-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kim:
G-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
D------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- x 4
A---10-10-10-10-10-10-----------------------------------------------------------------
E---------------------10--10-10-10-10-10-10-11--11-11-11-11-11-13-13-13-13-13-13-13---
End on:
G--------
D---10---
A--------
E--------
text + tab by Chris Lawrence and FDSwayze (2007)
Return to the Sonic Youth Guitar/Bass Tab Archive