Dinosaur Jr.: Brilliant or crap?

I'll get even weirder and say that I think his most recent solo album on Sub Pop ("Tied to a Star") is one of my favorite things he's done!

Soft spot for Where You Been, just because of the timing of its release.

I love both of the solo records.

YLAOM is definitely the best, bug is a close second. i can't really listen to the solo mascis "dinosaur jr" stuff anymore even though i dig recent solo mascis. the reunion stuff is perennially on my list of stuff to listen to but i never get around to it

as far as the sebadoh stuff goes i think the freed weed is all i need. winners & losers is also pretty good. whenever i think of the type of dope barlow smoked nonstop during the freed weed i imagine it is the driest brownest seeds & stems schwag ever, right? there ain't no fuckin way barlow as smoking anything kind.

Tied To A Star is excellent!

I interviewed J when the first three LPs got reissued, and he said, re: Bug: “I interviewed Ozzy Osbourne once, and he said he hated Sabotage, that it just reminded him of Sabbath recording with lawyers sat in the studio. I guess I feel the same way about Bug.” I love Post and Freak Scene, obvs, but its the lesser album of that early trilogy to me.

Stevie, do you know if Mascis is touring w/ a band here in January? Must admit, not so much into J as acoustic minstrel

Press release doesn't state clearly, though I must say I've seen J play solo before, and it was pretty remarkable.

Thanks, couldn't see any info on his website either - but you're selling me on it now (he's playing a nice venue in Glasgow)

I saw him play the Underworld circa the Fog album, on his lonesome, and he wasn't really all that unplugged - strums acoustic while singing, but then cranks a pedal and fires up for the solos. That might not be your cup of tea, but it certainly was mine!

no, heavy on the solos = exactly what i want out of a j mascis gig

http://i.imgur.com/oj24H0F.jpg

dude better have a valid handicap parking permit, is all I'm saying

jay

question for people who know: are the other reunion albums anywhere near as good as Farm, or should I be checking out stuff from their original run instead? (I got the Ear-Bleeding Country comp when it came out years ago, so I've heard and enjoyed 'the hits' at least; I'm more curious about consistency/listenability of entire albums)

J M8SC15

bernard: You're Living All Over Me is a psychedelic masterpiece, their best perhaps. Where You Been probs the best of their Warners output, and very strong.

i wish he had bought a vw rabbit instead so i could make a little fury things joke

xp yeah I like Where You Been, that's the one other album I have... but there's no excuse for my not having sought out YLAOM before now. I guess I know what I'll be getting into this summer!

xp Golf and Rabbit are the same thing.

question for people who know: are the other reunion albums anywhere near as good as Farm, or should I be checking out stuff from their original run instead? (I got the Ear-Bleeding Country comp when it came out years ago, so I've heard and enjoyed 'the hits' at least; I'm more curious about consistency/listenability of entire albums)

― bernard snowy, Friday, May 6, 2016 6:51 AM (1 hour ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

About the reunion albums: If you like Farm, I Believe In Sky is more in the same vein. The hard songs are a bit harder, but the songwriting is there.

Beyond is a good deal fuzzier, probably not as good as Farm, but some amazing tracks--"We're Not Alone," "Almost Ready," "This Is All I Came to Do," "It's Me"

They're not as strange or brilliant as Bug or You're Livin' All Over Me, but they're great straightforward rock albums and worth checking out

I like Beyond a lot. stevie's picks for 80s and 90s are OTM. tbh I like all their albums to some degree. The 2 after Where You Been are probably my least favourite overall but they don't suck.

they're working on a new album.

bug bug bug bug bug bug

shoulda boughta bug

I genuinely like all their albums and think they all have good songs and interesting moments. Green Mind has been kind of written out of the band's history, but it's got incredible songs and it's really fun and varied.

Without A Sound is the one I'd avoid; weakest material (ironically on the album with their biggest hit). Beyond is in hindsight a little weak, too, but I like I Bet On Sky as much as Farm.

Even the Whatever's Cool With Me EP is pretty sensational

xp Golf and Rabbit are the same thing.

― Ⓓⓡ. (Johnny Fever), Friday, May 6, 2016 2:31 PM (49 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

haha what? that's dumb. now i have to think of a joke

The Wagen

i really don't love bug. freak scene is great. post is great. the rest i could live without.

saw them a few times when it came out and 'yeah we know' was always a huge high point of their set for me

my pal bob fay got together with lou recently and went over old unreleased deluxx folk implosion stuff. they want to put it out. for people who are into that sort of thing...(i know some people who like that stuff the most, actually.)

Green Mind has been kind of written out of the band's history, but it's got incredible songs and it's really fun and varied.

Even the Whatever's Cool With Me EP is pretty sensational

― Evan R, Friday, May 6, 2016 7:10 AM (1 hour ago)

green mind and the 8-song version of whatever's cool are my favorite dinos besides you're livin all over me and bug bug bug bug bug. and "just like heaven".

i still love the debut tbh

i asked my kid rufus - he's 13 - what he was really digging lately and he said "i'm really enjoying you're living all over me. i want a wah pedal."

the western mass circle of life.

Green Mind ftw. I guess it's the annoying production that sucks but there's not a dud on it, and The Wagon might be my fave Djr song

The debut is a wonderful curiosity. If it was the only LP they ever released, it would still guarantee them a small cult following

My favorite comment on a Dinosaur Jr. forum, from way back in the mid '90s, was in response to a fan saying he just saw the band. Somebody responded "Did J play any new songs? Or did he just play 'Thumb' the whole time?"

when i saw them a dude managed to get his bare leg on the security fence to show J his magnificent tattoo of him, screaming 'J! You are my hero! You are my hero!' J just gave the thumbs up, everyone laughed. important to mention that this first original lineup tour (2006 I think) in a while.

lou gave me such a nice shout-out in newsweek! so nice.

http://www.newsweek.com/dinosaur-jr-guide-western-massachusetts-487059

Kudos!

that's awesome!

I just came here to post that link. Good on yer, Scott!

aww, rad

Rat On! Just posted that on Twitter, where I then saw this, about thee continuing saga of Used Kids----also interesting:
http://pitchfork.com/features/article/9927-what-it-takes-for-an-independent-record-store-to-survive-now/

New album is EXCELLENT

j shredded over "rockin in the free world" at last night's pearl jam show at fenway. magical.

I really like the new one and I've never really bothered with them before, where's best to go next?

Like I get the sense that his voice has improved with age? I've found some of the vocal straining actively offputting in the past.

You're Living All Over Me is their best album overall, messy and psychedelic and wonderful. Where You Been probably the best of their major label era - the most anthems, the most guitar solo-age. But they've really never made a duff album AFAICT.

^^^ Both good suggestions, giving both 'extremes' of the per-reunion output. Otherwise, 'Beyond' (the first reunion record) is probably the most similar to the latest, and also has better tunes.

I meant "pre-reunion output", obvs.

Matt DC, if you like this one, you'll probably like the rest of their post-reunion output. Farm is sort of an outlier because it's jammier, with songs that stretch beyond the 8-minute mark, but the band is in top form and J's guitar work is incredible.