(acoustic guitar) - ♪ I was filming against the light ♪ ♪ When the landscape dropped down ♪ ♪ And we fell into the crack between the window ♪ ♪ And the world ♪ ♪ For 20 years or more we had our screwdrivers out ♪ ♪ Trying to disassemble the columns ♪ ♪ Trying to find our way back to the mountains ♪ ♪ But nothing worked ♪ ♪ We tried prying the door with a bow made ♪ ♪ From the branch of freak tree ♪ ♪ But nothing worked ♪ ♪ The train conductor kept repeating ♪ ♪ This is the last stop ♪ ♪ It's time to tell you what to do ♪ ♪ It's time I'll tell you ♪ ♪ What I'm looking for ♪ ♪ It's right back in your home ♪ ♪ We're gonna take you down ♪ ♪ Down on the town again ♪ ♪ When you stand there all alone ♪ ♪ We're gonna run you out ♪ ♪ Out of your room again ♪ ♪ Take you home ♪ ♪ Right certainty of this particular moment ♪ ♪ I'll take you around and play ♪ ♪ Before they run you out ♪ ♪ Out of your room again ♪ ♪ They'll say right this way, sir ♪ ♪ You only got so much ♪ ♪ Of this love ♪ ♪ Before it breaks you down again ♪ ♪ So you will, and you won't ♪ ♪ You'll say you do, then again you don't ♪ ♪ The marks of time, stay in your face ♪ ♪ Try to find, your state of brace ♪ ♪ Yep ♪ ♪ Yep ♪ ♪ Don't you try to tell me what to do ♪ ♪ I fade into a dream of laying with you ♪ ♪ Late at night we'll settle in ♪ ♪ Promises made too late, can't turn away back home ♪ ♪ So you will, and you won't ♪ ♪ You say you do, then again you don't ♪ ♪ Come on try, stay in your place ♪ ♪ Try to find, your state of place ♪ ♪ You can hate, whilst you lie ♪ ♪ As you pull off to the side ♪ ♪ Your eyes are left behind, ♪ ♪ You always felt so far out of time ♪ ♪ You can run at least, you can hide ♪ ♪ But someday you'll throw all that aside ♪ ♪ I see you downtown ♪ ♪ With all the people that you've met ♪ ♪ Every time I hear your voice ♪ ♪ And the words that you said ♪ ♪ I'm not gonna lie to you ♪ ♪ But I might break your bones ♪ ♪ Every one you loved ♪ ♪ Will try on all of your clothes ♪ (audience applauds) - Each acoustic guitar sounds so different and they have all this resonance, and this kind of natural tone and stuff and I think it was just time for a shift in what I wanted to hear.

And anyway I just started playing more and more acoustic music and in that same period, before Sonic Youth stopped, or before we knew we were gonna stop or anything like that, a friend of mine in France who was booking a festival said I want you to play this festival, but I want you to do an acoustic show.

And that had never crossed my mind, I had never mentioned doing anything like that, and at this point I'd been playing a little bit of acoustic guitar and I had some new songs and I was like okay, I'm gonna try it.

And it was okay, it was a little rough, but it was okay.

It was fun to do.

And over the next year or two I just started doing it a little bit more and it was awkward at first and weird because you don't have a band around you and a lot of noise to cover everything up.

Your kinda naked and alone when you're playing acoustic music.

But I got more and more into it and the last two or three years I've done a bunch of acoustic solo tours and I've finally sort of figured out how to do it and started to have real fun with it.

Partly the thing that made it most fun for me is acoustic shows are normally smaller scale shows and more intimate.

Normally, when I first was doing it, like now I'm standing up, but at first I was sitting down, the audience was sitting down, it had this intimate kind of vibe, that, like rock shows, certainly Sonic Youth rock shows at the end were like big deals with lots of people there and stuff and even my band shows which were much smaller deals, but there were still a lot of people, in a bar talking and stuff.

And this was a whole other experience, it was like people, if people were sitting in chairs, they were generally really quiet and listening and I just found there was something very beautiful about the intimacy of it.

And I got more and more into it.

And that's kind of where I am right now.

(acoustic guitar) ♪ Let's start again, let's make it over ♪ ♪ Let's tip the cup, watch it run on down your drain ♪ ♪ I wanna wake up where the rivers all run colder ♪ ♪ Open up, and let daylight come again ♪ ♪ Let's start out just like a new sun ♪ ♪ Break it down for all to see ♪ ♪ Let's start again, let's make it over ♪ ♪ Back where the story ends, ♪ ♪ The breath just drifted out of range ♪ ♪ I wanna wake up with my head upon your shoulder ♪ ♪ Open up, and let no one share the blame ♪ ♪ It's hard to sing about the same ones ♪ ♪ They fall apart like everybody else ♪ ♪ Let's start again, now we are overflowing with ♪ ♪ Harmonies that never end ♪ ♪ Let's start again, let's see the love keep flowing ♪ ♪ Start again, that's my intent ♪ ♪ Start again, let's take it over ♪ ♪ Back where the story ends, drifting out of range ♪ ♪ Let's start again, the days grow colder ♪ ♪ And we're coming to the end again my friends ♪ ♪ Let's start again, now that you're older ♪ ♪ Let's wait until the lights descend ♪ ♪ Let's start again, now we are overflowing with ♪ ♪ Harmonies that never end ♪ ♪ Let's start again, now we are overflowing ♪ ♪ All the way back to the end ♪ ♪ Let's start again, now we are overflowing with ♪ ♪ All the way back to the end ♪ ♪ All the way back to the end ♪ ♪ All the way back to the end ♪ ♪ All the way back to the end ♪ (audience applauds) Almost since Sonic Youth stopped, the vocal aspect of what I've been working on has been the most important and the most dominant thing to me, over the guitars.

Like I'm playing rhythm guitar basically, I'm writing the stuff, but I'm not really playing that much lead or crazy guitar, noisy guitar.

I'm playing rhythm guitar and singing and really putting a lot of effort into the vocals and into the singing.

When Raoul and I worked on that acoustic record together, I think that's what kinda sparked him wanting to work with me.

We did this record for four or five days in the studio with all the band, Tim was playing stand up bass, and Steve was playing percussion, and me and Allen were playing acoustics.

And it was going pretty good, and then I spent a couple days with Raoul just doing the vocals and he was like wow, I really love the way you're singing and the way you sing.

And I think he was a little surprised, maybe he hadn't heard me sing like that before.

Or didn't, or something.

But I think that was part of the impetus for him to say let's work on a record of new songs.

So he really pushed to work on the vocals and then we started layering voices and stuff and to me, that's kind of one of my main focuses right now, not just the lyrical side of that, but thinking about what's possible with three or four singers in a group, and working on vocal textures and things like that.

And I'm sure I'm gonna do more stuff like that in various different capacities.

(acoustic guitar) ♪ Yesterday when you came sweetly ♪ ♪ I had a sense that I could have you so completely ♪ ♪ But it's always the same thing ♪ ♪ You had a few of your own ♪ ♪ Those everyday feelings ♪ ♪ Like sweets they get zoned ♪ ♪ Yesterday while you were dawning ♪ ♪ Arranging a change after a lifetime spent ♪ ♪ Reigning it all in ♪ ♪ The amazing ways we play the circular stories we told ♪ ♪ It's everyday things ♪ ♪ We're here and then gone.

♪ ♪ When you gaze out on your city ♪ ♪ Do you wonder if it's time to make it your home again?

♪ ♪ Now that you are free ♪ ♪ Now that you're right as rain ♪ ♪ Yes you can be ♪ ♪ Alone again ♪ ♪ Yesterday the first thing in your morning ♪ ♪ You were reading the papers, it was all about that ♪ ♪ Forced one again ♪ ♪ But you're right as rain ♪ ♪ Hold on to a sane view of your home ♪ ♪ It's always the same ending ♪ ♪ The hero be gone ♪ ♪ You're ancient ♪ ♪ Family ♪ ♪ Overhaul ♪ ♪ So specific ♪ (audience applauds) I don't wanna have a band that people will come to see and feel like, okay, it's kind of like a Sonic Youth derivative band and it kinda sounds like Lee's part in Sonic Youth, and that will always be the case to some degree, and with any one of the four of us, whatever we do will always have a bit of that vibe to it.

But I'm kinda happy stepping aside from that and trying a bunch of different avenues right now.

I mean going solo acoustic guitar in my mid 50s, it's a weird time to go solo to begin with, but it's been one of the most rewarding times I've been really digging in so deeply into it and it's been super fun, kept me really excited about what I've been doing.

(acoustic guitar) ♪ We use the sea to hide our submarines ♪ ♪ Disguise our faces with names ♪ ♪ We use the night to conceal our dreams ♪ ♪ And clouds to hide our aeroplanes ♪ ♪ Throw it over the wall, throw it over the wall ♪ ♪ Throw it over the wall again ♪ ♪ Throw it over the wall, throw it over the wall ♪ ♪ Throw it over the wall again ♪ ♪ We smuggle facts inside a magazine ♪ ♪ Interpret sadness as shame ♪ ♪ Swung out a hammer to teach them to believe ♪ ♪ They believe behind the frame ♪ ♪ Throw it over the wall, throw it over the wall ♪ ♪ Throw it over the wall again ♪ ♪ Throw it over the wall, throw it over the wall ♪ ♪ Throw it over the wall ♪ ♪ Last of your kind ♪ ♪ Are you still hard my friend?

♪ ♪ Or maybe now, ♪ ♪ Broken glass and you're off in a rage ♪ ♪ Cities pass or maybe not ♪ ♪ Show us what you got ♪ ♪ From my place to your embrace ♪ ♪ Show what you got ♪ ♪ Hello?

♪ ♪ Hello?

♪ ♪ It's always rise and a fall ♪ ♪ The real deal certainty ♪ ♪ Of it all ♪ ♪ The last of your kind, are you still hard?

♪ ♪ Show us what you got ♪ ♪ We use the sea to hide our submarines ♪ ♪ Disguise our faces with names ♪ ♪ We use the night to conceal our dreams ♪ ♪ The clouds to hide to hide our aeroplanes ♪ ♪ It's all that eclipse to blot out black moon ♪ ♪ But like to cover the sun ♪ ♪ We're set to land to confront the world ♪ ♪ A child to one who holds the night ♪ ♪ Throw it over the wall, over the wall ♪ ♪ Throw it over the wall again ♪ ♪ Throw it over the wall, over the wall ♪ ♪ Throw it over the wall again ♪