So when I started playing guitar in high school (it seemed to take so long to convince my parents that I really wasn’t that excited by the piano, which maybe doesn’t reflect well on me, that I wasn’t excited, not that it took so long. Anyway, I was poor but at some point they dropped $500 on a stratocaster, god or somebody bless them) I quickly realized that I was essentially tone deaf. I couldn’t tune the fucker and I could never figure out what my favorite rock and roll people were doing with their guitars on the recordings I wanted to ape. Fortunately, my friend Rick had the ear. He could listen to a chord, even a heavily distorted one (for this was the nature of the music we liked), pick up a guitar, and string by string figure out its components. Amazing.
Now that I’m playing again (with rigorous practicing because time is short) I really wish he were around to help me learn songs. But he’s not. He’s in, like, Colorado last I knew. Even Greg doesn’t get his calls returned, he says. (Hey, I understand the Will to Hole Up). But now there’s the internet. Where tons of people, most of whom are as tone deaf as I am, transcribe songs using guitar tablature so you don’t have to learn to read music. It’s generally crap, or at best hit-or-miss, but it can provide a jumping off point at least.
So, since I’m a community kind of guy, I figure I should give back. As I play more, many of the songs Rick figured out and taught me come back through my fingers. So I transcribed one of the easiest but most fun, “I’m Bored,” by Iggy Pop (and Scott Thurston? It’s credited to Iggy, but a guitar player made this shit up, I’d bet). From the album New Values. Transcribed by axlotl. Figured out by Rick, in, like, 1982. The transcription is impressionistic - this is how I play it. Or did as I typed.
(I should shut up now but an aside: this is a fascinating album. Obviously some A&R guy got ahold of Iggy’s contract and hustled him into the studio and probably had to simultaneously feed and deny drugs to him while employing some talented sidemen in the service of milking out some product. It reeks of mid-70’s Stones but still manages to emerge a pretty amazing piece of work. Deep in Indiana -and thanks to Rick- it was the first Iggy I heard. Obviously it’s no Fun House, but frankly the guitar work is more interesting.)
I'm Bored. Iggy Pop. E---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- B----------10-10-9---------------8-8-7------------7--7------8-7-7-7-----7-7---7------8-7-7-7-----7-7---7-------8-7-7-7------------- G-------9---------------------7-------------------7--7------7-7-9-7-----7-7---7------7-7-9-7-----7-7---7-------7-7-9-7------------- D----9---------------------7----------------9-9--9--9--9-9--9-7-9-7-9-9-----9---9-9--9-7-9-7-9-9-----9---9-9---9-7-9-7------------- A-------------------------------------------9-9--9--9--9-9----------9-9-----9---9-9----------9-9-----9---9-9----------------------- E-------------------------------------------7-7------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ E---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- B--------------------------------4~--4~-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- G--------------------------------4~--4~-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- D----/11-11--11--9--11-9--6-6--6---6----11--11--11--9--11--9--7-7-7-7-7-7-7-------------------------------------------------------- A----/11-11--11--9--11-9--6-6--6---6----11--11--11--9--11--9--7-7-7-7-7-7-7-------------------------------------------------------- E----/9--9-------9--------4-4-----------9---9-----------------5-5-5-5-5-5-5-------------------------------------------------------- E---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- B-----------7-7-7-7------8-7-7-7-----7-7---7------8-7-7-7-----7-7---7-------8-7-7-7------------------------------------------------ G-----------7-7-7-7------7-7-9-7-----7-7---7------7-7-9-7-----7-7---7-------7-7-9-7------------------------------------------------ D-----9-9--9--------9-9--9-7-9-7-9-9-----9---9-9--9-7-9-7-9-9-----9---9-9---9-7-9-7------------------------------------------------ A-----9-9--9--------9-9----------9-9-----9---9-9----------9-9-----9---9-9---------------------------------------------------------- E-----7-7-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- E------------------------5-5-5-5-5-5---4-4-4-4-4-4--3-3-3-3-3-3-3------------------------------------------------------------------ B------------------------5-5-5-5-5-5---4-4-4-4-4-4--3-3-3-3-3-3-3------------------------------------------------------------------ G------------------------6-6-6-6-6-6---5-5-5-5-5-5--4-4-4-4-4-4-4------------------------------------------------------------------ D---/11-11--11--9--11-9--7-7-7-7-7-7---6-6-6-6-6-6--5-5-5-5-5-5-5------------------------------------------------------------------ A---/11-11--11--9--11-9--7-7-7-7-7-7---6-6-6-6-6-6--5-5-5-5-5-5-5------------------------------------------------------------------ E---/9--9-------9--------5-5-5-5-5-5---4-4-4-4-4-4--3-3-3-3-3-3-3------------------------------------------------------------------ E---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- B--------3-3-3-3-2----------3-3-3-3-2---------5-5-5-5-4---------5-5-5-5-4----------------10-10-10-10-9-----------8-8-8-7----------- G------2-----------2------2-----------2-----4-----------4-----4-----------4-----------9----------------9-------7---------7--------- D----2---------------2--2---------------2-4---------------4-4---------------4------9---------------------9--7--------------7--9---- A-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------9---- E-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------