If you're a frequent visitor to this site, you may have seen this week's choice and thought "Is he seriously going to rehash that fucking PBS episode again?" As detailed in both "The Ineffable Me" and "Female Mechanic Now On Duty", Sonic Youth filmed an almost entirely instrumental set for PBS in June 1997. The Sessions at West 54th program aired in August, edited down to three songs, the middle of which was "Stil". Unlike the other two songs, it would remain instrumental, and see release shortly thereafter on the SYR2 EP. Also unlike the other two, it would not appear on their forthcoming A Thousand Leaves LP, with an asterisk. We'll get back to that.
Given its presence on a semi-obscure EP, "Stil" may not be one you've paid a ton of attention to (yes, I realize in this age you can hop over to bandcamp or even youtube to hear the track, but my point stil stands). If you haven't, or even if you have, just set aside eight minutes to watch the PBS performance of this song. It's nearly flawless, it captures fascinating angles of all the different instruments (particularly Steve's growing bag of percussive tricks), and most important: It's all one take!! Check it out:
Pretty damn good, eh? The reason I emphasized the "one take" notion (as if a live-in-studio performance would likely be anything but), is due to the brutal Frankenstein nature of the version released on the SYR2 EP. A Thousand Leaves is well known for songs stitched together from multiple takes, but "Stil" has so many audible edit points it's somewhat surprising. It almost sounds like they comped together a bunch of sections they liked from various working takes, just to nail down a demo of the structure, and decided it was good enough to release. They could have just used that PBS version, considering they snipped a large chunk of "Female Mechanic" from the same session! (Okay, Kim hits one bad note on "Stil", which is hard to do when your part is only one note!)
The song was premiered at the June 5th Brooklyn Bridge gig, along with "Female Mechanic" and "Hits of Sunshine". Despite not making the album (again, asterisk) it was performed almost nightly during 1998, establishing its place as the encore opener very early into the North American A Thousand Leaves tour. It kept that spot for the European and Pacific Rim legs, meaning it often wasn't performed at no-encore festivals. When they returned to Europe in February 1999, playing less rigid set lists with old songs mixed in, "Stil" was retired. It wouldn't be heard again until an oddball gig on June 13th at the Seaport Atrium in NYC, which we've discussed before as the premiere of the first two songs from NYC Ghosts & Flowers. It was largely instrumental and full of improvisation, and the sole encore was our returning friend, "Stil".
It wasn't played at their next gig, the July 2nd Berkeley set that would end up being the swan song for their classic gear. Two days later in Irvine, using gear borrowed from other bands, they dropped "Stil" halfway through the set, between "Sunday" and an oddly placed "Heather Angel". This would be its penultimate outing, silenced forever at the next gig three nights later in Austin. You can dig a live version from the May 28th, 1998 Los Angeles gig on bandcamp, an essential one-take representation of the A Thousand Leaves material!
A note on the title: each of the band's self-released EPs on Sonic Youth Recordings was a unique colour and language combination. For the second volume, they chose Dutch, but I think "Stil" had already been titled as such. Its Dutch translation seems to be "quiet" or "hush" - the song was indeed identified as "Hush" on the program they handed out at the November 21st Avery Fisher Hall show. Is it possible the song was always titled "Hush" and the "Stil" title was purely due to the language necessity of the SYR volume?? I mean, I don't think so, but it's something to talk about.
More important, of course, is the aforementioned asterisk. Because eagle-eared listeners will note that the melody from "Stil" appears prominently in a track on A Thousand Leaves called "Snare, Girl". Thurston sings it, vocalizing his exact guitar line from "Stil", having turned the frantic building tornado vibe of that piece into a steady, dark lullaby. In a way it recalls "Little Trouble, Girl". It's a rare insight into the band's ability to repurpose a melody, and creates this special connection with A Thousand Leaves and the SYR2 EP (I suppose strengthening an existing connection considering that the first track on the EP is also on the full length!).
"Snare, Girl" was initially revealed at the end of a prospective track list as simply "Snare". In the final running order, its final track status was bumped by rightful closer "Heather Angel", placed directly before it, now with comma and girl. They never performed this arrangement live, always sticking with "Stil", but I'm sure many people who bought the album but maybe hadn't heard the EP had a moment of "what the!" recognition if they got to hear "Stil" live.
"Stil" has a very intriguing instrumental arrangement at the foundation of its composition. To start with, on the studio take(s), Kim literally plays the open strings for the entire song. You can see her turning her tc electronic phaser pedal on and off over and over and over during most of the song, strumming away at her three open D strings (and sometimes the low CGG). During live versions - indeed the PBS or Seattle videos on this page - she gets a little more adventurous, occasionally hitting some fretted notes (!). Perhaps that's what all the edits on the studio version were working around?
Lee's part is really cool - if things had gone according to plan, I'd be comparing it to his part on "JC" as recently dissected, but alas - he trem picks shapes on the low strings, moving between neutral and atonal, building a minor wall of sound beneath the real star of the song, Thurston's guitar (okay, another asterisk til we get to Steve). He comes in hot with a sick bluesy kind of lead which to be honest, I thought recurred way more throughout the song until I sat down to tab it (cuz I can't stand to transcribe this shit). His tone is glorious, presumably enhanced by his Turbo Rat and Jimi Hendrix Octave Fuzz, a trebley wail that gets only more intense when he turns that Mu-Tron wah/vol on. A minute and a half in he locks into a melody line that, for whatever reason, he chooses to play all one one string, though it spans over an octave. This is the melody from "Snare, Girl", however I think "Stil" is in D while "Snare" is in G. Someone check me on that! Lee does play his own version of that melody line, before it dissolves into ridiculous noise during the song's explosive mid-song freak-out jam. The following section brings a soft, clean, chunky version of the "Snare, Girl" line which Thurston plays til the song winds down, and Lee breaks out the slide for a lovely lick that wraps everything up nicely.
So Steve. He starts the song with a tiny chinese bell on his snare drum, which he taps away at with his sticks, sounding like a bed of wind chimes beneath the song's guitars. Three and a half minutes in, he starts a quiet snare/hat roll that leads into the beat drop twenty seconds later. Check out his big gong hits, too! Then dig his beat as he transitions from the heavy midsection to the "Snare, Girl" reprise, still chiming and gonging. During the final phase of the song he uses a gong placed on his floor tom, as well as the hanging gong, tapping the tom gong and accenting his occasional bass drum kicks with the large gong. The percussion through this entire song has always delighted me, and I encourage you to check the song out with headphones sometime. In these pics you can hopefully see the bell on his snare, the gong on his floor tom, and the gong hanging in the foreground.
While you're doing that, let's scope out some of those edit points. It's not criminal or anything, it's very common to use multiple takes to create a master take, but I just find some of them so curious and jarring. At points Kim and Thurston's guitar swap places in the center and right speakers, which is particularly noticeable when Kim is, as mentioned, playing only one note. The first noticeable cut is at 1:04. There are no panning changes, but Kim is suddenly in the middle of a low C note, and her guitar is much louder. The next jump happens at 3:25, and this time Kim's guitar moves from center to right, and Thurston moves more towards the center. They're mixed back to their previous positions around 5:09 during the transition from the heavy noise to the clean outro, but it doesn't sound like an edit. There's another shift at 5:43 that sounds suspicious, with Steve's fun hat/snare work abruptly switching to a tapped ride with gong sustain. So that's potentially four different takes (or two takes cut back and forth), with noticeable shift in tone and balance. The finished version is certainly an interesting and accurate representation of the song, it's just a bit wild.
Steve's percussion on "Snare, Girl" shouldn't be overlooked either - the chinese bell seems to chime through the entire track, and he also contributes vibraphone, which mirrors Lee's melody during the verses (and occupies the same stereo space). Now, if there was an award for most phasers ever used on a single song, this may very well be a candidate. A Thousand Leaves is basically sponsored by Big Phase as it is, but "Snare, Girl" takes things to a new level. Everyone uses their phasers to make this one of the wettest Sonic Youth tracks ever, and Lee's use of delay and subtle whammy bar work paints a gorgeous, haunting line through the entire song. It also delivered a massive surprise: I've always assumed that "Snare, Girl" used the same tunings as "Stil". Makes sense, right? With no live performance to confirm, it wasn't until I actually sat down to work out Lee's part that I realized GGDAGA was not going to work. It was clear there was an open middle C, so I tinkered with GGCGCD for a bit, and considered the "French Tickler" tuning (but I couldn't hear that low C in "Snare"). I couldn't really hear a low G either, and that was my epiphany - what if C was the lowest note? That suggested a capo, and then it all fell into place: he was using GGDEGB with a capo at the 5th fret, the same setup as "Hoarfrost"! I suppose that makes sense since "Snare, Girl" is in C and "Stil" is really more in D (but again, I think the melody line while played/sang in "Snare" is G).
Larsen (DoublDwn11) tackled "Stil" back in '98, decoding bits and pieces of each player's part. I've redone it from scratch, hopefully choosing what's worth tabbing and what's just freak-out fare. I probably should have just tabbed the PBS version rather than the patchwork EP cut, but all the riffs should be there. Larsen also did parts of "Snare, Girl", which I've likewise redone, correcting Lee's tuning after 26 years! I'm not sure how accurate my tab for his part is, but I think I worked out a rough idea. Please let me know if you have any comments or corrections!
"STIL"
LAYOUT
A - B - C
KIM
CGGDDD
CENTER/RIGHT
THURSTON
CGDGBB
RIGHT/CENTER
LEE
GGDAGA
LEFT
A SECTION 00:00-03:25
Thurston:
B-----------------12b~~~~~-----12br~~~~~~~- raise + shake w/ bar
B---(11~~~~~~~~~)-11-----------------------
G------------------------------------------ this is just warm up noise before the main riff
D------------------------------------------
G------------------------------------------
C------------------------------------------
B--------------------------------------------------------------------
B------11-13b~~~~~----11-13b-13br---11~------------------------------
G---12-------------12------------12-----12/10-10~~~------------------
D------------------------------------------------------------12b~~~~- SUPER TREBLE WAH
G------------------------------------------------------12-15---------
C--------------------------------------------------------------------
At 0:39 he clicks on his Mu-Tron Wah/Vol and really takes the bite to another level.
B------------------------------------------
B-----------------------*12*~~~~~---0^^^^-- w/ bar could just be pinch harmonics
G------------------*12*--------------------
D---12~12~12~~~----------------------------
G------------------------------------------
C------------------------------------------
He hits that open B string around 0:50 and starts really working it with the bar,
and basically just makes harsh trebley noise until 1:12 when he returns to the main riff:
B-------------------------------------------
B------11-13br~~~~--------------------------
G---12--------------------------------------
D---------------------------------12br~~~~~~ flick toggle back and forth, fx on/off, more noise
G-------------------12-12-12--15------------
C-------------------------------------------
At 1:32 begin the next melody line:
B------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
B------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
G------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
D---12---9--7--5----12-12\14~~-9--7--5---7~~~5-7-\12~--9--7-5--2~~~--9-\14~~--9--7-5--7~~--
G------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
C------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
B------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
B------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
G------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
D---5-7-\12~~--7-9~---2\9-7-5~~---7\12--7-9~~--2~\9-7~--9--\12~~~9--7-5~~~~9-12-14~~~9--7-5--7---
G------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
C------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
B------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
B------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
G------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
D---5-7-\12~~--9-/7--5--2~~--7--\14~~~9--7-5--7----5-7-\12~-7-9~~~--5--3--\9--7--5~~\12~-7-9~~~--
G------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
C------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
B-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
B-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
G-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
D---2~-\9--7--9--12~~---9-12-14~-9----14-14-16/-12-9~~--\16~~14/9--7-5-\12~12~-9-12-14--9---
G-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
C-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
B-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
B-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
G-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
D---14-14-16/-9---\16-16-14/9---7--5--\12~~~--9--7-5~~--12-14-14-14~~~~9--7-5--7~~--5-7-\12~~---
G-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
C-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
B--------------------------------------------------
B--------------------------------------------------
G--------------------------------------------------
D---9/7--5--2~~--12--14~~~~9--7-5--7----5-7-5------
G---------------------------------------------0----
C--------------------------------------------------
Lee comes in at 0:07, trem picking low chord shapes, holding each chord for a while:
A----------------------------/---------------------------------
G---------------------------12---------------------------------
A---/----/----/----/----/---------/----/----/---/-----/---/----
D---7----8----7---10----7---12----7----8---10--12----/7---8----
G---7----8----7----7----7----0----7----8---10--12----/7---8----
G---7----7----7----7----7----0----7----7----7---0----/7---7----
At 1:04 there is an edit so Lee's part kinda loses its pattern. It starts again at
the 7th fret, but I think it's technically the "fifth" chord rather than the start
of a new repeat, since the next chord is the open G again, then it does a bit more
7/8/12. Live versions were basically just the first six shapes above repeated.
At 1:34 when Thurston starts the main melody line, he begins loosely following along:
A--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
G--------------------*7*-----------------7~~-----7\9~~---------------------------
A----------------------------*7*------------------------------9-9~~----7-7^9-7~~-
D----------------*7*-----*7*----------------9~~---------7\9~~~------9~~----------
G--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
G---*7*~~~~~---------------------------------------------------------------------
2:13
A------------------------------------------------------
G------------------------------/----/----/-------------
A------------------------------/----/----/----/--------
D---7-7\9~~---7/5-7------7-----7----8----7----/----0---
G--------------------------7---7----7----7----9----0---
G----------------------0-------7----7----7----7----0---
Around 2:13 he starts droning the chords like the intro, with heavy distortion and
trem picking. He doesn't follow the exact same progression, but listen to hear
how long he holds the chords for. Around 2:43 he releases to the open low G
strings and I think he just lets the open feedback ring with assistance from various
effects until the next section.
Kim strums the open strings, while turning her tc electronic phaser one and off over and over:
D---0-0-0-0-0-0-0--- etc
D---0-0-0-0-0-0-0---
D---0-0-0-0-0-0-0--- she mostly emphasizes the D strings, but when the edit cuts at 1:04
G--(0)-------------- her low strings become much more prominent
G--(0)--------------
C--(0)--------------
B SECTION 03:25-05:09
Thurston goes center:
He begins by just tearing into the G chord ringing from the previous section, kicking his
wah/vol into overdrive and just making noise.
Around 3:46 he hits a super stinging harmonic:
B---*5*~~~~~~------------------------------------------------------------------------
B----------------------11~-----11-13b-13b-13b-13b~~~13b-13b-14b-11~~~11--11----------
G-----------------11--------11-----------------------------------------11--11-10b~~~~
D------------------/-----------------------------------------------------------------
G------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
C------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Okay he basically just does squealing sonic shred, no point in tabbing it specifically
cuz he's just "freaking out". Get higher, push that whammy bar to its limits, lean into
the wah/vol + octave fuzz. End in total meltdown leading to next section!
Lee starts by basically making wild motorcycle sounds and then settles into a descending
figure slowly moving from the 15th to 12th fret, with so many effects you can hardly
tell what note he's actually playing sometimes:
A-----------------
G---15///////12---
A---15///////12---
D---15///////12---
G---15///////12---
G----/--------/---
There's lots of feedback with whammy bar infused sustain. This is basically the "freak out"
section, but while Thurston keeps freaking out, Lee actually calms down ahead of the big
climax, killing the distortion around 4:47 or so and just trem picking the D notes with
heavy phase:
A-------
G-------
A---/---
D---/---
G---7---
G---7--- this leads to the next section
Kim goes right:
D---0--- keep strumming this chord
D---0---
D---0---
G-------
G-------
C-------
During live versions, Kim would often add fretted note accents during this part.
Around 4:45 I think she turns on some distortion and starts to sustain feedback
from the open strings. At the end of this noise she is panned back center.
C SECTION 05:09-07:27
Thurston back right:
B--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
B--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
G--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
D---12--9--7--5----9--12--\14---9-7--5--7----5-5-9-\12---7\9-7-5-2----9-12-\14---9--7-5--7---
G--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
C--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
B---------------------------------------------------
B---------------------------------------------------
G---------------------------------------------------
D---5-7-\12-7-9----2\9-7-5----12--5-\9----2\9-7-9---
G---------------------------------------------------
C---------------------------------------------------
At 5:43 it cuts to a different take, and on this version he includes the open G string
droning through the riff.
B------------------------------------------------------------------------
B------------------------------------------------------------------------
G------------------------------------------------------------------------
D---12-9-7-9---5-7----5-5--\12-7-9---2-9-7-5--5-5-5-\12-7-9----2-9-7-9---
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---
C------------------------------------------------------------------------
B---------------------------------------------------------------
B---------------------------------------------------------------
G--------------------------------------------------------------- play variation x 4
D---12-12-9-12-\14-14-9---14-14-16/-9----16-16-14/9---7-5-5-5---
G----0--0-0--0---0--0-0----0--0--0--0-----0--0--0-0---0-0-0-0---
C---------------------------------------------------------------
During live versions he repeats this lightly til end, on the record he's playing
even quieter:
B-------7---
B-------0---
G---0-0-----
D-----------
G-----------
C-----------
Lee cleanly picks around the 7th fret for a bit:
A-------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------
G-------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------
A-------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------
D---/------7-------7------- ---------7--8----------7--10----------10--10-10-8---7---
G---7----7---7---7---7----- ---7-7-7---------7-7-7---------7-7-7----------------7---
G---7----------0-------0--- ---0-0-0---------0-0-0---------0-0-0----------------0---
A--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
G--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
D---10-10-9---------------------------9--7-9-9-9---9--------7--7\8-8-----8---8-----7---
G----7--7-7----7^9-9----9-9-9-9-7-7-7-9--7-9-9-9---9---7---------------7---7---7^9-7---
G----0--0-0----0---0----0-------------0--0-0-0-0---0---0---------------------------0---
That ends at 5:43, where there's a huge cut. Lee drops out here, returning at 5:59 with
a slide riff:
A--------------------
G-------------------- x 4
A--------------------
D---15-----15//12---- w/ delay, phaser, etc
G--------------------
G--------------------
Then he starts playing the low G strings with heavy reverb/delay and of course, phaser.
He may switch to 5th string harmonics for a moment, or that could be the Bi-Phase going
nuts.
At 7:00 he does one last hint of the melody:
A-----------------------
G-----------------------
A---9---7---------------
D-----------9---7---5---
G-----------------------
G-----------------------
Kim back center:
D---12---
D---12---
D---12---
G--------
G--------
C--------
Around 5:48 she goes back to open D strings.
Then maybe something like this towards the very end:
D---12---
D---12---
D----0---
G--------
G--------
C--------
text + tab by Chris Lawrence
historic thanx to Larsen '98!
"SNARE, GIRL"
LAYOUT
A - B - C - B - E
KIM
CGGDDD
CENTER
THURSTON
CGDGBB
RIGHT
LEE
GGDEGB (capo 5)
LEFT
ALL GUITARS WITH PHASERS ON.
A SECTION 00:00-00:45
Thurston:
B---14---14-14-14-12-12-15---15-15-15-12-12---
B---14---14-14-14-12-12-15---15-15-15-12-12---
G----0----0--0--0--0--0--0----0--0--0--0--0--- play variation x 4
D---------------------------------------------
G---------------------------------------------
C---------------------------------------------
At 0:23 he hits the low C:
B--------
B--------
G---12---
D--------
G---12---
C----0---
Lee has heavy analog delay for the entire song, in addition to a very busy Mu-Tron Bi-Phase:
E----0-------0--0------------------------------0--0---
C----0-------0--0------14----------------------0--0---
A---11------11-11---------14------------------11-11---
G---12------12-12------------12-----9-9-11----12-12---
C----0------------------------------0-0--0-----0--0---
C-----------------------------------------------------
E-----------/-------/--/--/-/------0---
C-----------/-------/--/--/-/------0---
A-----------7///---11/10/ 9/7------7---
G-----8-8---8///---12/11/10/8------8--- hold last chord til verse
C-----------0-------0--------------0---
C---0---------------0--------------0---
Kim plays one chord:
D---10---
D---10--- keep picking
D---10---
G----0---
G----0---
C----0---
At 0:34 she starts to just play the low C, in a rhythm very reminiscent of Thurston's
riff in "Karen Koltrane":
D---------------------
D---------------------
D---------------------
G---------------------
G---------------------
C---0-0--0---0-0--0--- etc
B SECTION 00:45-02:15
Thurston sticks to one chord while he sings:
B--------
B--------
G--------
D--------
G---12---
C----0---
Lee:
E---------------------------------*12*---
C--------------*12*----------*12*--------
A-----------------------*12*------------- x 2
G---------*12*-----*12*------------------
C----------------------------------------
C---*12*---------------------------------
E-----------------------------
C-----------------7-----------
A--------------------7----7--- etc
G-----------------------7-----
C---0-0-0---------------------
C---0-0-0---------------------
E---------------------------------*12*---
C--------------*12*----------*12*--------
A-----------------------*12*-------------
G---------*12*-----*12*------------------
C----------------------------------------
C---*12*---------------------------------
E----------------0-----------------*12*---
C----------------0------------*12*--------
A----------------0-------*12*-------------
G----------------0------------------------
C---0-0-0-0------0------------------------
C---0-0-0-0------0------------------------
E-------
C---7---
A---7--- pick around this shape like before
G---7---
C---0---
C---0---
E------------------------7-------------------------
C---7-7---7--9-9-----9-9--------11/9-9/4-4/2-2^0--- x 2
A-------7--------7----------7----------------------
G--------------------------------------------------
C--------------------------------------------------
C--------------------------------------------------
Kim sticks to the low C:
D---------------------
D---------------------
D---------------------
G---------------------
G---------------------
C---0-0--0---0-0--0--- repeat
C SECTION 02:15-04:18
Thurston starts strumming this chord:
B--(0)-- the B strings are not played often or necessary
B--(0)--
G---5---
D-------
G---5---
C---0---
At 2:43 he starts picking notes:
B-------------------------------------------------
B-------------------------------------------------
G---12----9---------------------------------------
D--------------12----9----------------------------
G-------------------------9----9-12---------------
C---------------------------------------(0-0-0)---
B------------------------------------------------------
B------------------------------------------------------
G---12----9--------------------------------------------
D--------------12----9---------------------------------
G-------------------------9----9-12----12\14---14\16---
C------------------------------------------------------
At this point, 3:21, there may be another guitar tracked that comes in
right as the last note is played in the previous riff. It is steadily
picking this note:
B---5--- ---5--- ---5---
B---5--- ---3--- -------
G------- eventually: ------- then: ---5--- hold that chord
D------- ------- -------
G------- ------- ---5---
C------- ------- -------
Then add the low C, emphasize the low C, and end up at this chord:
B--------
B--------
G--------
D--------
G---12--- leading into the verse
C----0---
Lee:
E---------------------------------------------------------0---
C---0-------------------0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0---
A---3---3^5-3^5^3-------7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7---
G---5-------------------8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8---
C---0-------------------0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0---
C---0-------------------0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0---
E---/--/-----/--/--/-/----
C---/--/-----/--/--/-/----
A--11/10----11/10/ 9/7----
G--12/11----12/11/10/8----
C---0--------0------------
C---0--------0------------
E-------
C-------
A---/---
G---/---
C---0---
C---0---
E---0-------------0~~--
C-----0----------------
A-------0-------0------ x 2
G---------0---0--------
C----------------------
C----------------------
E----------------*12*---------------------------------------0-0-0-----
C----------------*12*---------------------0-----------0-0-3-----------
A----------------*12*------------------2------------------------------
G----------------*12*------------------------2----0-0-----------------
C---0-0-0--------*12*-------------------------------------------------
C---0-0-0--------*12*---------0-0-0-----------------------------------
E---10-----7-----8---------------------------------------------
C-----------------------0-0-0-------------------7-7/4-2-0-0----
A--------------------------------------------------------------
G--------------------------------------------------------------
C-------------------------------------0-0----------------------
C--------------------------------0-0--0-0-0--------------------
E----------0-0---5-5-2~~~----5-2-----------------------
C---0-0--------------------------4-2-0-0---------------
A------------------------------------------------------
G------------------------------------------------------
C--------------------------------------------0-0-0-0--- 4:00 in now
C--------------------------------------------0-0-0-0---
E------------------------------------------------------------------/---
C-------------------------------------------------------------/--*12*--
A-------------------------------------------------------/---*12*-------
G---0-0----------*12*----------------------------------*12*------------
C---0-0---------------*12*--------*12*-*12*-*12*-*12*------------------
C---0-0-----*12*----------------*12*-*12*-*12*-*12*--------------------
Kim sticks to the low C:
D------------
D------------
D------------
G------------
G------------
C---0-0--0--- repeat
At 2:29 she hits an A# but I think she's still droning the C, then adds the C an octave
above:
D-----------------------------------------------------
D-----------------------------------------------------
D-----------------------------------------------------
G-----------------------------------------------------
G---3-------------------5-5-5-5---5-5-5-5---5-5-5-5--- etc
C---0-0-0-0---0-0-0-0---0---------0---------0---------
By 2:57 it sounds like she's back to just the low C.
At 3:27 she returns to the octave, then back to the low C again til the verse.
B SECTION 04:18-05:12
Thurston holds one chord:
B--------
B--------
G--------
D--------
G---12---
C----0---
Lee:
E---------------------------------*12*---
C--------------*12*----------*12*--------
A-----------------------*12*------------- x 2
G---------*12*-----*12*------------------
C----------------------------------------
C---*12*---------------------------------
E-------------------------------------------------
C------------------------------------------*12*---
A------------------------------------------*12*---
G-----------------------0------------------*12*---
C---0-0-0-0--------*12*------------*12*-----------
C---0-0-0-0----*12*------------*12*---------------
E------------------------7-------------------------
C---7-7---7--9-9-----9-9--------11/9-9/4-4/2-2^0--- x 2
A-------7--------7----------7----------------------
G--------------------------------------------------
C--------------------------------------------------
C--------------------------------------------------
Kim continues the low C drone:
D-------------------------------------------
D-------------------------------------------
D-------------------------------------------
G-------------------------------------------
G-------------------------------------------
C---0-0-0-0---0-0-0-0---0-0-0-0---0-0-0-0--- etc
At 4:45 she starts adding this note to the start of each line, while still droning:
D---10---
D---10---
D---10---
G--------
G--------
C--------
E SECTION 05:12-06:37
Thurston:
B--------------------- ---------------------
B--------------------- ---------------------
G--------------------- x 2 then: ---5~5~5~5~5~5~5~5~-- etc basically quick bend/return
D--------------------- ---------------------
G---5-5br-5-5b-5-5r--- ---------------------
C--------------------- ---------------------
Then he starts playing both octaves:
B---------------------
B---------------------
G---5~5~5~5~5~5~5~5~-- etc etc
D---------------------
G---5~5~5~5~5~5~5~5~-- basically tweak the chord each time you play it
C---------------------
It might be an overdub playing this starting around 5:30
B-----------
B-----------
G-----------
D-----------
G---9--12---
C---0---0---
The bendy one fades at 5:55 and the lower one continues, playing the melody in octaves:
B------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
B------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
G---12-12-12-12-9-12-14-14-9-9-9-9-9-9-14-14-16-16-9-9-9-9-16-16-14-14-9-9-7-7-5-5--- x 2
D------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
G---12-12-12-12-9-12-14-14-9-9-9-9-9-9-14-14-16-16-9-9-9-9-16-16-14-14-9-9-7-7-5-5---
C------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
B---0-------
B-----------
G---9--12--- x 4
D-----------
G---9--12---
C-----------
Lee:
E-----------------------7-----10-----10~-----------14~-----0--0---
C---0-------0-0---------0------0------0-----6--------------0--0---
A---3-------7-7---------6------6------------6-------------11-11---
G---5-------8-8---------7------7------------7-------------12-12---
C---0-------0-0---------0------0------------0--------------0--0---
C---0-------------------------------------------------------------
5:41
E---15-15-15---------------------------
C------------15-15---------------------
A------------------15-15-------15-15---
G------------------------15-15---------
C--------------------------------------
C--------------------------------------
He picks a little more at that shape, then starts lightly but quickly strumming it, with
extreme MuTron BiPhase influence. This goes til end. Another guitar pops up right at the very
end trem picking the below note with heavy delay.
E---15--- ----------
C---15--- ----------
A---15--- 6:16 overdub note: ----15----
G-------- ----------
C-------- ----------
C-------- ----------
Kim sticks to this chord:
D---10---
D---10---
D---10---
G----0---
G----0---
C----0---
At 6:10 she winds down to just the low C til end.
text + tab by Chris Lawrence
historic thanx to Larsen '98!
Return to the Sonic Youth Guitar/Bass Tab Archive