Virtuality

Background and Commentary

“I’ve become the Salman Rushdie of the Internet for daring to poke fun of it. I have some friends who use the Interet productively, but for the most part [this is in 1996] it’s the worldwide wank. (San Jose) . . . I love the image the verse opens up with, seeing a woman’s face through the window in the rain. That’s a really romantic image. Imagination, though, is a little bit of sense input, but the rest of it is just imagination. All I was pointing out there is, here’s a romantic little image, but let’s not pretend that it’s real. You cannot feel the voltage from her fingertips, but you can imagine it. (T4E Premiere)—Neil in Merely Players

“I think Neil is more skeptical than cynical about the rush to embrace the benefits of the Net. I can’t say I agree with him on that front. The song ‘Virtuality’ deals with that and, you know, in one sense I disagree with what the song says and, in the other, I kind of understand that point of view. So, I can do the song even though I don’t wholly agree with it. There is an aspect of the Internet that, like anything, can be abused, that can be a waste of time. But the benefits are tremendous. If you’re researching something, it’s out there.” (Bassics, 1997)—Geddy in Merely Players

“The verse ‘to see the world in a grain of sand, and heaven in a flower, hold infinity in the palm of your hand and eternity in an hour’ comes from William Blake. Alex’s guitar in the chorus tries to simulate a modem initializing online.”—Robert Telleria, Merely Players

“‘Virtuality’ is bound to sound dated, given it’s Internet theme. But it sure does rock, though.”—Martin Popoff, Contents Under Pressure

Lyrics

Like a shipwrecked mariner adrift on an unknown sea
Clinging to the wreckage of the lost ship Fantasy
I’m a castaway, stranded in a desolate land
I can see the footprints in the virtual sand

Net boy, net girl
Send your signal ’round the world
Let your fingers walk and talk
And set you free

Net boy, net girl
Send your impulse ’round the world
Put your message in a modem
And throw it in the Cyber Sea

Astronauts in the weightlessness of pixellated space
Exchange graffiti with a disembodied race
I can save the universe in a grain of sand
I can hold the future in my virtual hand

Let’s dance tonight
To a virtual song
Press this key
And you can play along

Let’s fly tonight
On our virtual wings
Press this key
To see amazing things

Like a pair of vagabonds who wave between two passing trains
Or the glimpse of a woman’s smile through a window in the rain
I can smell her perfume
I can taste her lips
I can feel the voltage from her fingertips

Net boy, net girl
Send your heartbeat round the world

Tablature

By Matt Rasmussen (mattrasmussen@mail.utexas.edu)

Excerpted from Fretplay.

P = pull off
B = bend
\ = slide down
/ = slide up
~~~ = vibrato
N.H. = Natural Harmonic

Guitar I w/heavy distortion & chorus
Intro
Riff A
~~~ w/bar
|————————————————–
|————————————————–
|*————————————————-
|*————P——-P—————–P———-
|————3-0—–5-0—7———–3-0———
|—0–3–4——3/5—–6—-0–3–4——5—3—

End Riff A
~~~ w/bar
———————————————–|
———————————————–|
——————————————-7–*|
————-P——-P—————–P—6–*|
————3-0—–5-0—7———–3-0–7—|
—0–3–4——3/5—–6—-0–3–4———–|

Verse 1
“Like a ship wrecked mariner….”
Riff B ~~~
|————————————————–
|————————————————–
|*————————————————-
|*————P——-P—————–P———-
|————3-0—–5-0—7———–3-0———
|—0–3–4——3/5—–6—-0–3–4——5—3—

End Riff B
—————————————————|
—————————————————|
——————————————-8—7—|
————-P——-P—————–P—7—6—|
————3-0—–5-0—7———–3-0–8—7—|
—0–3–4——3/5—–6—-0–3–4—————|

Guitar I
Riff C End Riff C
N.H…………………………………………………….]
|———————————————————————|
|———————————————————————|
|*—————————————————-(5)——-(5)–*|
|*————————(5)————————-(5)–(5)–(5)–*|
|——————–(5)————————-(5)——-(5)——–|
|–(5)–(5)-(5)-(4)————(5)–(5)-(5)-(4)———————–|

“I’m a castaway……..”
N.H…………………………………………………….]
|———————————————————————|
|———————————————————————|
|*—————————————————-(5)——-(5)–*|
|*————————(5)————————-(5)–(5)–(5)–*|
|——————–(5)————————-(5)——-(5)——–|
|–(5)–(5)-(5)-(4)————(5)–(5)-(5)-(4)———————–|

Chorus w/Guitar II (acoustic) playing the same thing
“Net boy Net girl…….”
Riff D
|——————————–
|——————————–
|*———5———————
|*–2——5——5——7—5—
|—2——3——5——7—5—
|—0————-3——5—3—

“Let your fingers walk and….”
End Riff D
————————2–3-2–|
————————3–3-3–|
———-5————-2–2-2-*|
—2——5——5——0–0-0-*|
—2——3——5————–|
—0————-3————–|

For complete tab, go to Fretplay.