Hey, welcome back! You know, I briefly considered not writing anything at all, or making the text black so it appeared to be an "empty page". That seemed more annoying than amusing, though if I could afford to push this piece back to April Fools maybe I'd consider it. As it stands, I don't have a lot to say, but I always thought of this track as a bridge between two eras of the band. Like most of the Murray Street songs, "The Empty Page" was originally performed by Thurston in solo acoustic sets. I'm first aware of it turning up on September 16th, 1999 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Parts of this show were released officially on Hurricane Floyd and a compilation called Hangin' From The Devil's Tree, but not "Empty Page", which opened the show. It was a little slower and dreamier than it would later be when adopted by Sonic Youth, who turned it into a straight up rocker, even adding rare pre-Eternal backing vocals from Lee during the final section.
As discussed in the Making of Murray Street promo doc (and the "Rain on Tin" feature), Thurston's batch of tunes earmarked for a potential follow-up to Psychic Hearts became easy candidates for a new Sonic Youth album once he and Kim had moved away from NYC and there was less time to develop new material as a group. They'd written most of NYC Ghosts & Flowers immediately following the July '99 gear theft, and Jim O'Rourke had come along for that album's tour, having assisted with the production and mix. While they did attempt to hash out some new tunes as a group (some of which were collected on The Destroyed Room), they heavily relied on Thurston's existing compositions for the framework of what would become Murray Street.
Thurston did a solo acoustic set containing four new Sonic Youth songs in Buffalo, New York on September 20th, 2001. I can only assume one was "The Empty Page", though I don't have a recording (Jim tagged along but joined him only on "Psychic Hearts", which had seen a revival during the Perspective Musicales events in August 2000). On October 7th, Sonic Youth were able to play their first show since the conclusion of the European SYR4 tour in June. They'd lost access to their Echo Canyon studio, located on the future titular Murray Street, due to its proximity to "ground zero" following the 9/11 attacks. That night's appearance at the Bowery Ballroom served as a WTC benefit, and also marked the debut of five not-entirely-new Sonic Youth songs. While some were still instrumental, "The Empty Page" had a finished vocal and sounded ready for release. Following three shows in November which all contained the new material, they took a break from the stage until the March 2002 All Tomorrow's Parties festival, where the remaining two Murray Street songs were premiered.
Of course, the individual members didn't take breaks, and Thurston did at least one solo show where he performed acoustic versions of "Disconnection Notice" and "The Empty Page", on December 12th, also at the Bowery. It became genuinely difficult to track every single side project and solo performance from each member during this time, but they were typically improvisational affairs rather than acoustic sets by this point. Murray Street dropped in June 2002, accompanied by heavy touring in Europe and North America. They'd usually open with two or three "oldies" before rolling out "The Empty Page", generally followed by "Rain on Tin". "The Empty Page" was the closest thing to a single, though no physical release, promotional or otherwise, ever materialized. It was played every single night for two years straight, including three radio performances (one of which was just Thurston, Lee, and Jim doing arrangements for three acoustic guitars - they recreated this set live on October 23rd in NYC). Thurston even snuck in a solo (electric?) version at the oddball in-store at Waterloo Records in Austin, Texas that served as an unofficial opener for the North American leg of the tour. After the tour wrapped up, Thurston did a solo acoustic gig in Rotterdam on September 21st, playing several Murray Street cuts (including "The Empty Page"), as well as "Altar Boy, Church Basement" (which had since been cannabalized to complete "Rain on Tin", also played) and "Marika", which would turn up five years later as an out-take from his eventual second album of songs, Trees Outside the Academy.
In an era of increasingly few television appearances, they ended up promoting Murray Street (and Dirty?) not on Letterman, not on Conan, but on the show that followed Conan at 1:35 in the morning: Last Call with Carson Daly (which I'm astounded to discover ran for 18 seasons!). They recorded their songs on September 26th, kicking shit off with "100%", then appearing later in the show to perform "The Empty Page". On the same day they also did versions of those two songs plus "Plastic Sun" for Sessions@AOL, an archive of streaming music that may now be lost media? They also filmed an excellent PBS Soundstage set on May 6th, 2003 (which was trimmed down to three songs for broadcast, "Empty Page" left unturned). I'm still a little surprised that they didn't appear on Letterman between 1998 and 2006, or even a Murray Street era Conan spot - both shows filmed in New York City and seemed to appreciate the band. This may have been the time when bands were only allotted a 3-minute slot on Letterman, but "Plastic Sun" could have cooked, if not a grossly truncated "Empty Page"!
So, yeah. It was literally played at every Sonic Youth show in 2002 and 2003, as well as every radio and TV appearance, and a handful of acoustic sets (either Thurston alone or in a trio with Lee and Jim). After a couple of pretty abstract albums with not a lot of obvious pop/rock melodies, it was a tight, catchy stand-out that paved the way for a more cohesive structured song type, demonstrating that Murray Street would be a new leaf for them (although it certainly wasn't short on abstract moments either!). Jim was now fully integrated into the song-writing process, offering slick basslines for some of the more straightforward stuff Thurston had been saving for a rainy day. Once the Sonic Nurse tunes started to materialize, it still held its place in the set list, up through the end of the June 2004 Australian tour. It popped up in about a third of the North American Nurse dates, then trickled off, returning occasionally in 2005. On October 26th, 2005 they played "Rain on Tin" for the last time, and this was also the final outing of "The Empty Page" with Jim. However, it became the only Murray Street song played with Mark Ibold, making two rare appearances in February 2007: on the 17th in Providence, Rhode Island and the 23rd in Guadalajara, Mexico, which would be its final performance.
They did make a video for the song, which you can find on the ineffable Corporate Ghost DVD, complete with Sonic Youth commentary. It was filmed by Chris Habib on the Murray Street tour, under some direction by Thurston (who is not Beck). Chris was not only the band's webmaster, but also their ubiquitous videographer, capturing countless gigs, rehearsals, sessions, solo performances, off-stage tour moments and more - many of which appear in the collage of scenery that makes up "The Empty Page". It's a fun snapshot of the band circa 2002, and feels like a celebration of their collective energy that made every show on this tour thrilling! Check out the Chicago gig they released for just one example (and great separation on "Empty Page" if you're looking for clarity on the below tabs!).
Speaking of clarity, we have a rare glimpse into Kim's songwriting notes courtesy of the second edition of the Sonic Matters, Sonik Kollaborations book, which contains some additional Murray Street chord charts and lyrics. There's a lyric page for "The Empty Page", with numbers between 1 and 6 next to each line. I've been told it may have been for choosing the best vocal tracks, does anyone else have theories?
I worked out Thurston and Kim's parts back in the day, but never tackled Lee's - Raj Paden took that challenge back in 2022, and I've updated it a bit here. Thanks Raj! Jim's bassline was never attempted, so I've wrapped that loose end up as well. Please let me know if you have any comments or corrections, and I'll see you next week for a kinda-continuation of Murch Madness (...yeah "March" probably would have been fine.)
"THE EMPTY PAGE"
LAYOUT
A - B - A - B - C - A - B - C - D - E - F - G
KIM
DADABB
CENTER
THURSTON
CGDGCD
CENTER RIGHT
LEE
EEBEBB
LEFT
JIM
EADG
CENTER
A SECTION 00:00-00:29
Thurston:
D------0-------2-0--------------0-------2-0-----------------
C---2--2-2-0-0-0-0-2-0-0-2-0-0--2-2-0-0-0-0-2-0-0-2-0-0-0--- x 1 as intro
G---0--0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-4-0-4-4--0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-4-0-4-4-4---
D---0------------------------------------------------------- x 1 as part of verse riff
G-----------------------------------------------------------
C-----------------------------------------------------------
D---------(3)------------------------------------------------------------------------------
C---------(0)---------------2-2----------------------------------------------------2-2-2---
G---4-0-0--0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0------4-0-0--0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0--4-0-0--0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0---0-4-0---
D-------3--3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3----------3--3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3------3--3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3---3-3-3---
G------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
C------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lee uses his thumb at the 3rd fret:
B------3-3-0-5-5-3--0-3-0----3-3-0-5-5-3--0-3-0--0--0^1-1-1---------------------------------------------
B------3-3-0-5-5-3--0-3-0----3-3-0-5-5-3--0-3-0--0--0^1-1-1---------------------------------------------
E---3--------------------------------------------------------3--1---1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1---
B---3--------------------------------------------------------3--1---1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1---
E---3--------------------------------------------------------3--1---1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1---
E---3--------------------------------------------------------3--1---1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1---
He plays the last chord with a bit of a rhythm, muting the sustain sometimes.
Kim mostly plays the low D and A strings:
B-----------------------------------------------
B-----------------------------------------------
A-----------------------------------------------
D-----------------------------------------------
A---5-5-5----5-5-5----5-5-5----5-5-5----5-5-5---
D---5-5-5----5-5-5----5-5-5----5-5-5----5-5-5---
B-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
B-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
A-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
D-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
A---3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3---
D---3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3---
Sometimes she mimics Jim and Lee's rhythm for the F part, sometimes she just plays
the notes steady.
Jim plays some very quick/subtle hammer-on/octave stuff during this song, as he often did.
I've tabbed fairly close to the record but it's worth watching him in action to see how
fluidly he plays this song.
G--------------12---------------12-----------12---------------12-------------
D-----------------12----------------------------12---------------------------
A---10-10-10---------10-10-10------10-10-10--------10-10-10-------10-10-10---
E----------------------------------------------------------------------------
G-------------------
D-------------------
A---8-8-------8-8--- x 5
E--------8^10-------
B SECTION 00:29-00:36
Thurston moves between strumming/picking these chords:
D---5-------3----
C-----------0----
G---0-------0----
D---5-------3----
G---0------------
C----------------
Lee moves between these shapes:
B---3-------1----
B---3-------1----
E---3-------1----
B---3-------1----
E---3-------1----
E---3-------1----
Kim:
B---------------------------------------------------------------------
B---------------------------------------------------------------------
A---------------------------------------------------------------------
D---------------------------------------------------------------------
A---5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3---
D---5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3---
Jim:
G-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
D-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A---10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8---
E-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A SECTION 00:36-00:55
This time Thurston doesn't play an intro, just play that very first riff once during the verse.
B SECTION 00:55-01:03
C SECTION 01:03-01:24
Thurston:
D---8-8--8-8-8\10-10-10--5-5--5-5-\12-12-12-12---
C------------------------------------------------
G------------------------------------------------ x 3
D---8-8--8-8-8\10-10-10--5-5--5-5-\12-12-12-12---
G------------------------------------------------
C------------------------------------------------
D---8-8--8-8-8\10-10-10--5----5-5-5-3--3-3-3---
C----------------------------------------------
G----------------------------------------------
D---8-8--8-8-8\10-10-10--5----5-5-5-3--3-3-3---
G----------------------------------------------
C----------------------------------------------
Lee:
B-----------------------------------------
B----------------------------------------- he slides between chords sometimes
E---6-6-6-6-8-8-8-8-3-3-3-3-10-10-10-10--- x 3
B---6-6-6-6-8-8-8-8-3-3-3-3-10-10-10-10---
E---6-6-6-6-8-8-8-8-3-3-3-3-10-10-10-10---
E---6-6-6-6-8-8-8-8-3-3-3-3-10-10-10-10---
B-------------------3-----------------1---
B-------------------3-----------------1---
E---6-6-6-6-8-8-8-8-3--3-3-3-3--3-3-3-1---
B---6-6-6-6-8-8-8-8-3--3-3-3-3--3-3-3-1---
E---6-6-6-6-8-8-8-8-3--3-3-3-3--3-3-3-1---
E---6-6-6-6-8-8-8-8-3--3-3-3-3--3-3-3-1---
Kim:
B---------------------------------------------
B---------------------------------------------
A---------------------------------------------
D--------------------------------------------- x 3
A---8-8-8-8-10-10-10-10-5-5-5-5-12-12-12-12---
D---8-8-8-8-10-10-10-10-5-5-5-5-12-12-12-12---
B-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
B-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
D-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A---8-8-8-8-10-10-10-10-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3---
D---8-8-8-8-10-10-10-10-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3---
Jim:
G---------------------------------------------
D---------------------10\12-12--12-10\12-12---
A----------------------8\10-10--10--8\10-10--- x 3
E---6-6-6--6-6-8-8-8--------------------------
G--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
D---------------------12----------------------------------------------10---------------------------------
A---------------------10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10--8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8---
E---6-6-6--6-6-8-8-8-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A SECTION 01:24-01:43
B SECTION 01:43-01:51
C SECTION 01:51-02:12
Thurston plays the same thing, but does a big distorted slide into the next section.
Lee plays the same progression, but turns super distortion on for the final chord (F).
Jim stops playing the chords and alternates notes now:
G---------------------------------------------
D----------------------------------10\12-12---
A----------------------8\10-10--10------------ x 3
E---6-6-6--6-6-8-8-8--------------------------
G--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
D---------------------12----------------------------------------------10---------------------------------
A---------------------10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10--8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8---
E---6-6-6--6-6-8-8-8-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
D SECTION 02:12-02:32
Thurston:
D---8-8--8-8-8\10-10-10--3\5-5--5-5-10\12-12-12-12---
C----------------------------------------------------
G---------------------------------------------------- x 3
D---8-8--8-8-8\10-10-10--3\5-5--5-5-10\12-12-12-12---
G----------------------------------------------------
C----------------------------------------------------
D---8-8--8-8-8\10-10-10--5~~~~\19~~//3~~---
C------------------------------------------
G------------------------------------------ (he swipes his hands over pick ups during live versions)
D---8-8--8-8-8\10-10-10--5~~~~\19~~//3~~---
G------------------------------------------
C------------------------------------------
Lee plays full chords with distortion, still with a sliding rhythm:
B---6-6-6-6-8-8-8-8-3-3-3-3-10-10-10-10---
B---6-6-6-6-8-8-8-8-3-3-3-3-10-10-10-10---
E---6-6-6-6-8-8-8-8-3-3-3-3-10-10-10-10--- x 3
B---6-6-6-6-8-8-8-8-3-3-3-3-10-10-10-10---
E---6-6-6-6-8-8-8-8-3-3-3-3-10-10-10-10---
E---6-6-6-6-8-8-8-8-3-3-3-3-10-10-10-10---
B---6-6-6-6-8-8-8-8-3--3-3-3-3--3-3-3-1---
B---6-6-6-6-8-8-8-8-3--3-3-3-3--3-3-3-1--- you can still emphasize the lower notes,
E---6-6-6-6-8-8-8-8-3--3-3-3-3--3-3-3-1--- just feel free to use the high notes too
B---6-6-6-6-8-8-8-8-3--3-3-3-3--3-3-3-1---
E---6-6-6-6-8-8-8-8-3--3-3-3-3--3-3-3-1---
E---6-6-6-6-8-8-8-8-3--3-3-3-3--3-3-3-1---
It also sounds like Lee might have an overdub playing one note down the center the whole time:
B---20---
B---20--- just keep playing through whole section
E--------
B--------
E--------
E--------
Kim plays the same part as the C section, with some distortion.
Jim:
G-------------------------------------------------
D------------------------------------------------- x 3
A---1-1-1--1-1-3-3-3--3-3-------------------------
E-------------------------1^3-3--3-3-1^3-3--3-3---
G-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
D-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A---1-1-1--1-1-3-3-3--3-3-------------------------------------------------------------------
E-------------------------3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1---
E SECTION 02:33-03:17
Thurston picks out the main melody, perhaps tossing in the odd open string by mistake:
D---------------14-----------------------------14---------------------------
C---14-14-14-11----14-14-11-14-11--14-14-14-11----14-14-11-14-11-11-11-11---
G---------------------------------------------------------------------------
D---------------------------------------------------------------------------
G---------------------------------------------------------------------------
C---------------------------------------------------------------------------
D--------------------------12-12--------------------------------------------------12-12----------
C---11---------------------------11------------------------11---------------------------11-------
G------12-10--10-10-10-10-----------12-10-----10-10-10-10-----12-10--10-10-10-10------------12---
D-----------------------------------------12--12-12-12-12----------------------------------------
G------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
C------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
D-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
C-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
G---12--12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-10--10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10---
D-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
G---12--12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-10--10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10---
C-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
During live versions, he would strum behind the bridge during the G and F chord part.
Then repeat the first two parts, continuing into the next section.
Lee's guitar moves to center/right for this part, basically just playing what he plays
during the verses the first time, then adding a melodic variation:
B---3--3-0--5--3--0-3-0---3--3-0--5--3--0-3-0----0^1-1-------------3------1-----
B---3--3-0--5--3--0-3-0---3--3-0--5--3--0-3-0----0^1-1-------------3------1-----
E---------------------------------------------------------1\3-1----3------1-----
B------------------------------------------------------------------3------1-----
E------------------------------------------------------------------3------1-----
E------------------------------------------------------------------3------1-----
That last lick (1\3-1) is more prevalent in live versions, and the build up on the
G and F chords is not necessarily the full chords (this is when the band joins in).
B---3--3-0--5--5\6-6-5-3---3--3-0--5--\8-6-5-3---0^1-1-1-------3-0-1---
B---3--3-0--5--5\6-6-5-3---3--3-0--5--\8-6-5-3---0^1-1-1-------3-0-1---
E----------------------------------------------------------------------
B----------------------------------------------------------------------
E----------------------------------------------------------------------
E----------------------------------------------------------------------
Kim starts on G (5th fret of D string) while Thurston and Lee play their "solo" parts, coming in
with the drums and bass between the two "solo" bits:
B-----------------------------------------------------------------------
B-----------------------------------------------------------------------
A-----------------------------------------------------------------------
D-----------------------------------------------------------------------
A---5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-5---
D---5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-5---
Jim starts the section on the G note, then holds off while Thurston and Lee play their riffs,
coming in with Kim and the drums:
G------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
D------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A---10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8\10---
E------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Then hold while Thurston and Lee do their second round.
F SECTION 03:17-04:03
Thurston:
D---------12-----------------0---------------
C------------12----------------0-------------
G---12----------12--12/10--------10--10\12---
D-------------------------------------------- repeat G to F progression til end
G---12--------------12/10------------10\12---
C--------------------------------------------
Lee comes back in on the left, and starts his lead around 3:25 w/ delay:
G F G F G F G
B---3-------1-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
B---3-------1-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
E---3-------1------8\10--8--7----7\8--7---------------------------------------------------------
B---3-------1----------------------------8----8\10--7\8------------8/6-----3-3-3-3\5--\5--3-3---
E---3-------1-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
E---3-------1-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
F G F G F
B--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
B-------------13-13----15-15----17-17----15-------15---15----15/13---12----------------------------------
E--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
B---12-12\13-----------15-15----17-17----15----15---15----15----------------12\13---15------15--15^17----
E--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
E--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kim:
B---------------------------------------------------------------------
B---------------------------------------------------------------------
A--------------------------------------------------------------------- x 6
D---------------------------------------------------------------------
A---5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3---
D---5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3---
Jim comes back in playing G to F, you can choose your octave (he seemed to switch up live). You can hear
him doing subtle hammer-on lead-ins to the notes but it's just going between G and F.
G---------------
D---5------3---- x 4
A---------------
E---3------1----
For the last two times, he plays a walking part:
G-----------------------------------------------------------------------
D-------------------------------------2-2-2-2---------------------------
A---------------------5-5-5-5-2-2-5-5---------3-3-3-3------------------- x 2
E---3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3---------------------------------5-5-5-5-1-1-1-1---
G SECTION 04:03-04:20
Thurston:
D------------------
C------------------
G--10----12----7---
D------------------
G--10----12----7---
C--10----12----7---
Lee can either play chords or just highlight the delay notes:
B---6----8----3---- ---------------------
B---6----8----3---- ---------------------
E---6----8----3---- ---13----15----------
B---6----8----3---- ---------------15----
E---6----8----3---- ---------------------
E---6----8----3---- ---------------------
Kim:
B------------------
B------------------
A------------------
D------------------
A---8----10----5---
D---8----10----5---
Jim:
G------------------
D------------------
A---1----3---------
E-------------3----
text + tab by Chris Lawrence w/ Raj Paden
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