Dinosaur Jr: Dinosaur

Dinosaur Jr: Dinosaur

1985

Jagjaguwar Records

Format I Own it on: Vinyl

Track Listing: 1. Forget the Swan  2. Cats in a Bowl  3. The Leper  4. Does it Float  5. Pointless  6. Repulsion  7. Gargoyle  8. Severed Lips  9. Mountain Man  10. Quest


I used to have this on cassette tape waaaay back in those grunge-filled days of the early 90's...But back then there was no "Jr"...The tape was just labeled "Dinosaur"...It looked like this...

I used to look at that tiny cover art and wonder what in the hell was going on...I can tell you, now that I own a 12x12 vinyl copy of it, I still don't know...The whole thing is so butt-ugly, yet beautiful...Which, come to think of it, is a pretty good way to describe a lot of Dinosaur Jr's music...

Later in the 90's, I bought a CD copy that seemed to have a permanently dusty jewel cast that weighed 10,000 lbs...Y'know what I'm talking about? The jewel cases that just weigh so much more than any other CD in your collection? Anyway, I went to do the post for this album last year and the CD was no longer in the case made of dwarf-star material...So I went to Zia Records to find a replacement CD and found a vinyl reissue instead...However, when I got home, I realized this version doesn't have "Bulbs of Passion" on it...Boooo!!! Hissss!!

Talk about a band figuring out their sound between their first and second album! Sheesh! This album is all over the place, but the follow-up "You're Living All Over Me" sets the formula so precisely they would never stray from it ever again...That's why I love this particular record and find it so intriguing...Sure, maybe only half of it is truly great, but it's a pretty fascinating look into 80's underground...You can hear sensitive jingle-jangle, raging hardcore, cowpunk, corrosive noise and whatever else those floppy-haired college kids were into circa '85...

I count three drop-dead classics: "Forget the Swan" which almost sounds like the Dino we know and love, but with a slightly more country-ish feel...You can also hear the spirits of both Neil Young and Greg Ginn in that ominous guitar line...Then there's the hardcore hoe-down "Cats in a Bowl" where the sound is pure Sebadoh and Meat Puppets...

 "Cats in a Bowl" gets my vote as the album's best track...Careening and catchy as fuck...Although "Repulsion" is right neck-in-neck with it...Now this is the song that points the way to the band's future...It's the only track on here that could appear on any of the band's subsequent albums without raising an eyebrow...And that chorus is a killer... I also think that if the airy "Severed Lips" was a smidge more memorable it might make the classic list....It has one of those brilliant J Mascis  melancholy-yet-speaker-cracking  guitar solos that I like so much...

Again, the rest of it is all over the place.You've got abrasive post-punk goth on "Pointless," lumpy ugliness on "The Leper" and sludge metal on "Mountain Man"...If you're a college rock sub-genre obsess-o, you'll love it...If you're a Dinosaur Jr fan, you'll probably find it hit and miss, but oh, those hits...

 Let's check out a song...Here's "Cats in a Bowl" Enjoy...

Dinosaur Jr: I Bet On Sky

Dinosaur Jr: I Bet On Sky

2012

Jagjaguwar Records

Format I Own it on: Compact Disc

Track Listing: 1. Don't Pretend You Didn't Know  2. Watch the Corners  3. Almost Fare  4. Stick a Toe In  5. Rude  6. I Know It Oh So Well  7. Pierce the Morning Rain  8. What Was That  9. Recognition  10. See It on Your Side



Holy cow.. I was doing some heavy math today and found out I'm going to be 38 years old today...Can that be right?! I demand a recount! I haven't decided exactly how I'm going to celebrate  my birthday yet....I was thinking of going out to Monkey Pants...

 They're the only bar in town that:

a.  Isn't overcrowded on a Friday Night...

 and  b. Isn't so divey that it would drive away everyone I know...Not to mention they have those fried cheese curd thingies that are awesome as long as you don't mind waking up at 3 am with explosive diarrhea...

On the other hand just plain ol' picking up a ton of beer and spending the night at home spinning records sounds pretty appealing too...

Actually, let's do that...I'm going to spend my birthday with you guys and we're going to listen to "I Bet On Sky"...

 This is the third album after the band's absurdly unexpected 2007 reunion...As a quick listen to a couple of Sebadoh albums it was apparent that Lou Barlow still held a considerable amount of animosity towards J, but apparently a hatchet was buried somewhere along the way, cos here they were...J, Lou and Murph standing on stage together, collaborating on new albums...

\

I used to own "Beyond" but I realize I must have lost it somewhere along the way...Killer album...I was anxious to hear what the reunited Dinosaur was going to sound like...Would they pick up where "Bug" left off or would it continue the "Major Label" era sound? It turns out it was about 50/50...Definitely heavier than where they left off but more tuneful and mature than the SST era...I should try to find a replacement copy of this...I used to enjoy it...



I never heard "Farm" because I've never found a copy that was reasonably priced...It seemed like every record store I went to was selling this for around the $17 mark...Nuh uh...I always keep my eyes peeled for a used copy, though...Mostly for that beautiful cover...

"I Bet on Sky" is the 3rd album of the reunion era and it kind of reminds me of what "Green Mind" would have sounded like with the original line up...It has that similar feel: Kind of mellow...Kind of funky...But unlike "Green Mind" there isn't really a "Wagon"-level show-stopper...I guess maybe "Pierce the Morning Rain" might fit that bill...It's one of those classic Dino songs that starts off sounding like it's going to be hardcore  but subtly shifts into anthemic indie rock without nothing too drastic happening, which I always thought of as a neat trick...

But really, the whole thing is like this vast plateau where there are neither standouts nor lesser tracks...Just a big, warm, all enveloping sound ...Sort of a hazy, relaxed, end of summer record with a bit of fall color seeping in..You can practically see the leaves turn gold during the wide-screen weeper "Stick a Toe In," so you better grab yerself a rake and make yourself a quick five bucks...

Oh yea...I love Lou's contributions...It's fun to finally hear the Sebadoh sound being fully integrated into the Dinosaur Jr thing...Man, if this shit would have came out during my college years my damn head might have exploded in a violent display of college-rock nerdiness...

"DER...A DINOSAUR JR ALBUM WITH A COUPLE OF SEBADOH SONGS ON IT..."

KA-BOOM!!!

 Anyway...It's Friday night and the birthday clown is scheduled to show up anytime now, so let's stop the blogging and get to beer-ing...Here's "Pierce the Morning Rain" by Dinosaur Jr...Happy Friday everyone!

Dinosaur Jr: Ear-Bleeding Country

Dinosaur Jr: Ear-Bleeding Country

2001

Rhino Records

Format I Own it on: Compact Disc

Track Listing: 1. Repulsion  2. Little Fury Things  3. In A Jar  4. Freak Scene 5. Budge  6. Just Like Heaven  7. The Wagon  8. Thumb  9. Whatever's Cool With Me  10. Not You Again  11. Out There  12.. Start Choppin  13. Get Me  14. Feel the Pain  15. I Don't Think So  16. Take A Run At The Sun  17. Nothin's Gon' On  18. I'm Insane  19. Where'd You Go
 

Man, my head is pounding from the 10,000 beers I drank last night...I feel lousy..

 Liver: I told you to take it easy...

 

 Me: Fuck you, Liver! You organ-y motherfucker!!Always threatening me with your, "If you don't stop drinking, I'm going to kill you!" I don't tell you how to live your life!! I'm just having fun!!! Leave me alone!!!

Liver: Fine...(coughs daintily)...For both our sakes I hope this isn't a case of cirrhosis I'm coming down with....You'd really be sorry then....

Me: NOBODY LIKES YOU LIVER!!! YOU'RE THE GROSSEST MEAT!! THAT'S WHY NOBODY ORDERS YOU AT LUCKY WISHBONE!! YOU'RE GROSS!! YOU SHOULD HAVE BEEN BORN A CHICKEN FINGER!!!!

.................................................................................................................................


I wonder how much longer I can drag out these Dinosaur Jr posts...Maybe I'll just review half a song a week and get a few more months out it...Today's a freebie though!  A compilation album!  75 minutes of masterful groan-rock...I think I originally bought this at the Zia Records in Tucson...They used to have this deal where you could buy three new CD's for 10 bucks...And it was always really good stuff...My good buddy Russ and I used to go there every Friday night and then go back home and listen to our scores...This was where the term "Friday Night Record Party" originally came from and even though Russ has moved away I managed to carry on the tradition...Every Friday Night it's mandatory...

 Step 1: You must clock out at work and head straight to the Circle K and/or Safeway to pick up beer (Chicken or big sandwiches are optional)...

 Step 2: Head home, crack the first beer and choose the "pile"...The 50 or so records that you've been hankering to hear all day, but don't forget to close your eyes and pull a few randoms...Give fate a say in the process...Sometimes the randoms end up being the best selections somehow...

  Step 3: Get G.D. hammered and stay up all night drunkenly discussing the merits of Dinosaur Jr...

 Step 4: Ugh...Wake up the next day with the world's biggest hangover and clean up the empties (this is the step I'm currently on)...

It's that simple! 

Y'know..."Ear Bleeding Country" is a pretty good description of Dinosaur's music...Even though it's not country in a boot-scootin' boogie way, there's something undeniably rustic about their sound and J's laid-back drawl in particular...And "ear-bleeding" is what the band does best...Turn that shit up to 11 and let it squall!!  As you listen to all these songs from different eras back to back you really get a feel for how consistent J's songwriting was...Not a lot of surprises, though...I think any Dino fan who was tasked with putting together a comp of the band's best moments would ultimately come up with roughly the same track listing (give or take a few tracks, of course...I would've made room for "Quicksand," "Forget the Swan," or "Mind Glow").

 I already had most of the tracks on here, so why did I pick this up? Easy, it was for the band's cover of the Cure's "Just Like Heaven"!  Now, this is how you do a cover...High points:

1. The Hardcore screams in the chorus

2. J singing "I must have been asleep for days..." Is he sure he it hasn't been years? He still sounds like he could use a few more hours of sleep...

3. The ending is so unexpected that I was convinced my disc was faulty...I took it out of the player...Repeatedly cleaned it...Nothing worked...It was only when I heard the song included as a bonus track on the "You're Living All Over Me" reissue that I realized that the band did this on purpose...Derrr....

Nowadays I mainly keep this around for the couple of tracks I don't have...Getting to hear J emulate the Beach Boys on "Take a Run at the Sun" is just too surreal to part with...I was surprised to hear him pull this off...There's also a couple of tracks from 1997's "Hand it Over" which is an album I still haven't heard...I don't know why either..."Nothin's Goin' On" in particular stands up to anything else on the disc (love that sudden, ear-splitting peal of feedback at the end of J's big solo)...I guess I've just never run across a copy of the album...Or it might come down to that trumpet in "I'm Insane" driving me kinda nuts...Who knows...



The compilation ends with a track ("Where'd You Go") from J's post Dino band  (J Mascis +  The Fog) which (surprise, surprise) sounds exactly like Dinosaur Jr...Oh and "Ziggy Stardust"...That riff sounds exactly like "Ziggy Stardust"...I have to give it up for that mighty drum sound though...

Ultimate, this is  really more of a compilation for newbies or folks who are looking to own only one Dinosaur Jr album...If you already have all the band's albums there's not enough rarities to warrant a purchase...I view "Take a Run at the Sun" as more of a curiosity than an essential Dinosaur Jr track...Still, when I tossed this on at 2 a.m. last Friday night I couldn't bear to skip a track...The whole thing is just so damn awesome...Long may J doodle away noisily on his guitar...

Here's "Nothin's Goin' On" by Dinosaur Jr...Enjoy...

Dinosaur Jr: Without a Sound

Dinosaur Jr: Without a Sound

1994

Sire Records

Format I Own it on: Compact Disc

Track Listing: 1. Feel the Pain  2. I Don't Think So  3. Yeah Right  4. Outta Hand  5. Grab It  6. Even You  7. Mind Glow  8. Get Out of This  9. On the Brink  10. Seemed Like the Thing to Do  11. Over Your Shoulder



The Great Dinosaurs of the Crustaceous Period:

The Please-and-Thank-You-o-Saurus

This polite sea-faring beast lived during the early period of Jurassic Park.  Growing up to 55-feet in length, the Plesiosaurus is one of the few dinosaurs that still exists to this day, although the species is close to extinction. There is currently one known Plesiosaur that lives in Loch Ness, in the Scottish Highlands.

Dinosaurus Rex

The phrase "Dinosaurus Rex" combines the Latin phrase Rex (meaning "King") and Dinosaurus (meaning "Dinosaur"), to denote that this creature was indeed king of the Dinosaurs... In recent years, scientists have discovered that the Tyrannosaur was not quite the fearsome, murderous predator its reputation suggested...The Tyrannosaur was in fact, nothin' but a bum!! Y'hear me? A BUM!!

Babysaurus Rex

Babysaurus Rex was the fiercest of the man-eating reptiles. A young  Babysaur is known to eat up to five times its own weight in human flesh...What a ghoul this nightmarish hell-beast was...

Brontosaurus

Known for its delicious burger-like meat, the once mighty Brontosaur was driven extinct by the voracious appetite of the primitive Cro-Magnon bowler Fred Flintstone....

Dinosaur Jr

Godzilla's son....

There, that should earn some poor kid a solid "F" on their  school report on Dinosaurs... Haha! That'll teach you to do online research...Next time you should read every damn book in the library to get a shred of information like I used to!! HA HA HA!!!!

Alright...As much fun as it is diddle-dickin' around, I guess I should get around to talking about "Without a Sound" at some point...I like this one...I remember this being pretty popular at the time, but I seem to remember there was a general consensus that this wasn't quite as good as "Where You Been," but that's not too big a deal...This sounds a lot quieter, more comfortable and insular...Songs like "Moon Glow" and "Outta Hand" are some of J's prettiest moments...All this quietude is probably a result of J being the only band member left...Even reliable ol' Murph is nowhere to be found this time around!

And the  album sure starts out strong..."Feel the Pain" shimmers with fragile beauty and the country-rock stomper "I Don' Think So" has one of their catchiest choruses...I'd easily rank those two tracks as two of the band's best...Oh yea...For some reason whenever I hear "Yea Right" I'm always compelled to replace the lyrics with curse words...Here's an example:

"Yea, so I told you some bullshiiiit,
Yeaaaa, I fuckin' lied...."

It's real fun to sing it that way,...I think J should sing my lyrics for it next time he plays this live...I think the audience would be into it...

In the end, this isn't on the top of my list of favorite Dino albums, but it's a very pleasant listen for a relaxing Sunday afternoon or something...Shit, it's time for work...Work is how I get my beer money, so I better get out of here...Have a great Friday Night everybody...Here's "I Don't Think So" by Dinosaur Jr...Enjoy...

Dinosaur Jr: Where You Been?

Dinosaur Jr: Where You Been?

1993

Sire Records

Format I Own it on: Compact Disc

Track Listing: 1. Out There  2. Start Choppin  3. What Else Is New  4. On the Way  5. Not the Same  6. Get Me  7. Drawerings  8. Hide  9. Goin' Home'  10. I Ain't Sayin



Yuck...I still feel like hammered shit...Why doesn't someone get it over with and cure the common cold already so I can enjoy my damn weekend!!  Sorry, I didn't invite you here so I can bemoan my sorry lot in life...I invited you here to listen to J Mascis endlessly soloing...

Oh my God...Whenever I put on this album it's 1993 again...I'm instantly hanging out in Joe's room on a Saturday afternoon listening to "Start Choppin'" on repeat...I remember back then I used to carry around my CD's in a weird plastic CD carrier...It was this long, hinged box that held maybe 25 CD's...It had a handle and these big tabs that locked it shut...I don't have it anymore and I can't find a picture of it online, so I hastily drew one in MS Paint...

I took this box everywhere...I'd dutifully drag it to school everyday..I'd bring it to my friend's houses when I'd stay the night to inflict my musical tastes upon them:

."Oh, you're listening to Aldo Nova? Turn that shit off, I brought PRIMUS!!"

(♪ Slap slap diddly slap slap ♪ )

Looking at the towering  mountain of CD's that currently clutters my apartment, it's hard to believe that I used to only own 25 CD's... On the other hand, I did have a couple hundred cassette tapes strewn across my teenage bedroom...CD's were a big purchase back then...I had to carefully consider the albums that were important enough to warrant the extra 7 bucks for a CD purchase...Scraping together 15 bucks meant I had to mow about three lawns and maybe a spend a few afternoons babysitting...And "Where You Been" was an album truly worthy of that honor...

 This was the album that got me into Dinosaur Jr, and judging by the fact that this was one of the band's biggest-selling albums, I  can only assume it was the entryway for a lot of other folks too...Why the big uptick in popularity?

See that flannel tied around Joey Lawrence's waist?  GRUNGE!!!

The kids were suddenly all about loud, ugly music that sounded like the performers didn't give a shit about anything...And it's hard to think of  a band that was louder, uglier and sounded like they could give  less of a shit than Dinosaur Jr...Not giving a shit wasn't some MTV slacker pose to these guys...It was deeply ingrained into every fiber of their being...There are a million subtle shades of emotional numbness on display here...They fit the bill perfectly...And it sounds like Dinosaur Jr kind of met the kids halfway this time around...J uses a full band for a livelier feel and the album is full of big, 70's classic rock moves that were being fetishized at the time...Neil Young and Led Zeppelin were to the 90's what Journey and Hall & Oates were to the 2000's...

I know J disagrees with the constant comparisons between Dinosaur Jr and Neil Young, and for the most part I agree with him, but not here...This is an album that kicks off with that growling guitar tone from "Hey Hey, My My"...Furthermore, "Not the Same" and "What Else Is New" recall the Jack Nitzsche ballads on the "Harvest" album, which achieved that same balance between bombast and creepy meekness...J has always included extended guitar solos, but on this album they become especially soaring, bringing back fond memories of the long expanses of guitar soloing on Neil's "Everybody Knows This is Nowhere"...I can't imagine a Neil Young fan not losing their minds over this...

The band were never darker or moodier than they were on "Out There," or catchier than "Start Choppin" or more grandly anthemic than on "Get Me"...There's a lot of room to debate Dinosaur's 80's peak, but their 90's masterpiece is clear...Nothing tops "Where You Been"...Nothing... One of the best albums of the 1990's...This gets my stamp of approval...

                                                                    THA-BOOM!

There it's official...I had a stamp made and everything...This thing rocks my world...

Here's "Start Choppin'" by Dinosaur Jr...Enjoy...

Dinosaur Jr: Whatever's Cool With Me

 Dinosaur Jr: Whatever's Cool With Me

1991

Sire Records

Format I Own it on: Compact Disc

Track Listing: 1. Whatever's Cool With Me  2. Sideways  3. Not You Again  4. The Little Baby  5. Pebbles + Weeds  6. Quicksand  7. Thumb (live)  8. Keep the Glove (live) 



Alright...I'm back from Tucson...Bad news is I think I'm getting sick...My throat feels like I've swallowed a big wad of sandpaper so that part sucks, but I had a shit-ton of fun, hanging out with old friends I haven't seen in a long while...Plus I got to bring back four gigantic totes of stuff that I had in storage...I probably won't get a chance to properly dig through it until next weekend (provided the weekend doesn't consist of me lying sick in bed), but I know I saw some good shit in there...I might have to make a whole separate blog or something to showcase it all...100's of  old 4-Track tapes...Gigantic totes stuffed with various writings and home-made comics...Manoman... I think I'm going to start the process off by digitizing all the cassettes I found...I'm curious/afraid of what I'm going to find on them...Oh yea!! Best of all I ran across the Purple Tape! If that phrase means anything to you, please be advised I'm working on getting it converted to VHS as we speak, so the precious image of me spraining my leg on camera will be preserved for subsequent generations to cherish... (I can't wait until the poor soul who gets tapped for that particular assignment gets an eyeful of me stripping down to the saggiest, bluest pair of underwear ever captured on film...Oh, it's gonna get hairy)...Oh, 90's memories...

Speaking of 90's memories (segue), many of them were scored by Dinosaur Jr's "Whatever's Cool With Me"...I originally had this on a cassette tape that I bought from the Saginaw Mall and boy, did I play that cassette within an inch of its life..I love this record!

 

 Essentially a collection of B-Sides (mostly from the European version of "The Wagon" 12-inch single), it's looser and more diverse than usual...You get the bubble-gum alt-rock tracks like the title track and "Not You Again, " which has one of the greatest opening lines of all-time:

 "I Thought of the blob today,
I though to of you..."

Guys, unless you're looking for a swift, bracing slap in the face, I wouldn't recommend trying this line out on your lady-friend! It takes a true genius like J Mascis to make such a line come across as charming...On the other side of the coin we have The Little Baby which sounds like a more organic Big Black with...well...A screaming baby on vocals...Is that J? I don't think we've ever heard him go this crazy...Lou Barlow would usually handle the whole screaming thing...

My personal favorite however is the band's cover of David Bowie's "Quicksand" (which throws in the intro to Bowie's "Andy Warhol" for good measure)...I've never really been that big a Bowie fan, but my wife is...I had never heard the original until I heard her listening to "Hunky Dory" one day...



It's rare to find cover songs that top the original, but this is one of those examples...Bowie's original was too cold,arch, and nazi-ish...J replaces most of the words and finds the haunting ache at the songs core with just his voice and an acoustic guitar and just proceeds to break your heart...You can compare 'em if you like...

Here's Bowie's version...

Here's Dino's...

The album ends with a couple live tracks...A mighty version of "Thumb" lacking the studio's psychedelic touches but ruling anyway...I've always loved "Keep the Glove"'s breezy ramble and always wondered where in the hell the song came from...I mean, here's a live version but surely there must have been a studio take...

Apparently I could have heard it years earlier by picking up the SST "Fossils" compilation, but I always passed over it because of that damn troll cover...I hate those trolls and so should you...Just try and avert your eyes as you watch the video below...

Alright...I'm feeling ultra-shitty, it's getting late and those trolls are freaking me out...Let's wrap this up by saying that "Whatever's Cool With Me" is the most Dinosaur Jr-sounding title possible...You can only say it with a shrug...And Dinosaur Jr at their best are like the audio equivalent of the biggest, loudest shrug possible, shedding light on the endless possibilities inherent in the phrase "whatever"...Definitely an old favorite of mine and I've never grown even remotely tired of it...

Here's "Whatever's Cool With Me' by Dinosaur Jr...Enjoy...

Dinosaur Jr: Green Mind

Dinosaur Jr: Green Mind

1991

Blanco y Negro/Sire Records

Format I Own it on: Compact Disc

Track Listing: 1. The Wagon  2. Puke + Cry  3. Blowing It  4. I Live for That Look  5. Flying Cloud  6. How'd You Pin That One on Me  7. Water  8. Muck  9. Thumb  10. Green Mind



Woah! Look at that cover! The baby from the Van Halen "1984" cover grew up...

I can't believe how irresponsible that girl's parents are! Why don't they get that kid an e-cig?!?!

 They come in all kinds of fruity flavors the kids love...

Anyway...Is it Friday yet? This week's been dragging on forever...Huh? It is?!?! Friday?!?!?!YES!!!! I think I'm going to Tucson this weekend...Forgoing the usual real-life Friday Night Record Party for a change of pace...Hey! I should do a special Tucson edition of the Friday Night Record Party blog...Kind of like when Facts of Life went to Paris...

Ahhh, here we are in beautiful downtown Tucks-son...With it's cozy shops, fine dining and vibrant music scene...

Why here's Mike from local favorites Blues Choogler...Listen to him slap and pop that funky bass...Who would have thought "Born to Be Wild" would sound so good with slap bass? Why, only a visionary like Mike from Blues Choogler could conceive of such a thing...The locals have dubbed the band's music as "Desert Rock" because it's as boring as the dirt of the Mighty Sonoran Desert...

 Hey, Blair...Let's ditch this place and go get an Eegee's...No one can visit Tucson and not get an Eegee's...Especially the watermelon flavor...They're the best (In reality, could secretly care less about any of them...Just want Ranch Fries)...

Now I'm trying to remember what I liked about Tucson...Oh yea... The restaurant where you can get a box of Cap'N Crunch in a giant bowl!!! What was that place called?

 
The Grill!! That's right...Huh? They closed down? Awww....

Hey! I used to love going to the Wildcat House on Friday Nights and getting hammered to high heaven on quarter beers!!! What?!?! That place closed down too? Shit...

 At least Lucky Wishbone is still open...That place is pretty cool...They'd deep-fry your shoes if you'd let 'em... Long Live Deep Fried Chicken Gizzards!! ...and that garlic toast they sell that's just on regular-ass white bread...That shit is the best...

What's that, Tootie? Why am I talking about Tucson when I'm supposed to be talking about "Green Mind" by Dinosaur Jr?  I dunno...I must have gotten carried away again...Here, I'll write a sentence or two about "Green Mind"...ahem...

"Green Mind" is the first album of the post-Lou Barlow (pre-Lou Barlow reunion) era...Hell, even Murph is hardly on this one...I guess it's pretty much a J Mascis solo album, which is probably the healthiest mind-set if you're stepping into this fresh from the SST albums...It's much more cleaned up and professional sounding...The bass is no-longer always distorted and bull-dozing everything in its path...This is just normal bass guitar playing, which makes Dino's sound a bit less distinct and exciting, but you almost get over that about a minute or so into "The Wagon" which is so fucking awesome that you're willing to forgive anything..

I'm calling it the band's second best song after "Freak Scene...A super uptempo pop-rock song (with a few slabs of metal riffage and some sitar thrown in for color)  with the normally drowsy J delivering one of his most exuberant vocals (complete with a falsetto chorus!):

"I ring the doorbell in your mind
But it's locked from the outside
You won't see me..."

Sure, the lyrics look a bit sullen and moody on paper (yes, this blog is printed on 100% recycled paper)  but the performance gives it a sweetly nostalgic feel...The sort of indie rock summer hit anthem, evoking long glowing days of doin' nothin', sweet nothin'...

My other favorite track has to be "Thumb," where the band (?) busts out the Mellotron and get all "Strawberry Fields Forever" on us...That is, if "Strawberry Fields Forever" had a distorted, almost industrial rock bassline and long stretches of flaming, extended guitar-hero soloing...This is good lighter-hoisting music...

 "Muck" is a nice surprise too...You get to hear the band get funky...Who knew such a thing was possible...And who would have guessed it would sound so great? Perhaps, Mike from Blues Choogler?

This is the Dinosaur Jr album I reach for the least, but whenever I play it I always think to myself, "Why don't I listen to this one more?" I thin it's always been overshadowed by the two album's surrounding it, which are two of my favorites...Still, this is a damn fine listen and I'm always psyched to hear it again..."Puke + Cry"...The title track...Come on...It's all great...I have a feeling this is gonna end up in my heavy rotation again...

Let's check out "The Wagon" by Dinosaur Jr...Friday Forever!!...