Starship de Spacemen 3

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Song: Starship
Performer: Spacemen 3
Album: The Perfect Prescription (Taang! Version)
Writers: Ra/MC5/Kember/Pierce

Transcribed by Aaron Heisler
([email protected])

_Notes:_ A "sort of cover", if you catch my drift. I'm not  precisely>
sure which version this song is simply because the Taang! CD does not
correctly give a track length (the sleeve reads 11:26, but it's less
than half that). It was apparently written by MC5 but the lyric is by
Sun Ra (I can't hear any lyric on this version though, save for what 
amounts to some heavily echo-laden, strung-out burbling by Sonic at its
inception). G I guess you could say this is an Sp3 cover of the Mc5 
cover. :-) I don't have the Threebie 3 EP so I doubt this version of
the song is the same.

I've never seen a transcription of this song.  Surprising since it's a
fairly "well-known" (at least the Mc5 version is) song amongst music
fans, although from what I've heard the Spacemen 3 interpretations are
quite different. The frequency of its fifth chords make it easy to 
begin a transcription but mildly difficult to complete.

_Effects:_ Good distortion pedals, anything generic.  The cheaper the
pedal, the dirtier (and in this case, better) the song sounds and
therefore the more Mc5-esque way of playing would be no pedals at all
but with guitars and amps up to 12. :-)

_Tuning:_ This song is played in standard tuning.
(EADGBe)

Define chords:


E  - 022100
E3 - 0221XX
E5 - 022XXX
G3 - 3554XX
G5 - 355XXX
A5 - 577XXX

This song is played in 4/4. The strumming pattern is
quite simple. The
song starts out made of up bars which can be
constructed with 1 quarter
note and 1 dotted half note. Then, later, in the
"chaotic" portion with
howlin' solos courtesy of J Spaceman, the chords are
strummed with 
normal, 4 quarter note frequency. In the rhythm
section below I've 
shown the drumbeat sitting below the chords strummed
so you can play it
easily. As this is an instrumental a good knowledge of
the song won't 
hurt either :-)

Ok:

The song begins with howls of feedback (stand parallel
to your amp and
fiddle with the guitar's tone controls)...to cause
that jagged, 
propulsive effect that fades the feedback out, rapidly
switch pickups
whilst turning the volume down and up (this is a
two-hand exercise and
as a result you can't play an notes like this which is
alright because
there is no melody as of yet)...

Drums come in >here 

Play this over the feedback:

e 0-0------3-3------5-5-3-3-0-0
B -----------------------------
G -----------------------------
D -----------------------------
A -----------------------------
E 0-0------3-3------5-5-3-3-0-0

(if you like you can form the chords, and I strongly
suggest you play
this bit with a forefinger barre)

This bit is almost inaudible amidst the feedback,
drums and bass 
rumblings. After this the rhythm guitars kick in. Play
them like this:


       E-E3 G3-G5 A5   G5   E5
       1234 12-34 1234 1234 1234
                         ^
Drum beat goes like this |



Because the rhythm guitars on this song are barely
audible anyway, 
keeping in time is more important than playing the
right chords! :-)


You can visit my Spiritualized site at
http://www.angelfire.com/ok3/electricity/index.html
for more information about this band. There is also a
guitar tabs section where things like this are
exchanged but as this is a Spacemen 3 tab it does not
fit...

Comments or questions should go to
[email protected]

Thanks again...