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Dinosaur Jr.

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Dinosaur Jr.

Dinosaur Jr is an American alternative rock band formed in Amherst, Massachusetts in 1984. Originally named Dinosaur prior to legal issues, the band disbanded in 1997 until reuniting in 2005. Guitarist J Mascis, bassist Lou Barlow and drummer Murph were the band's founding members; however, Mascis has been the group's sole continual member.

Their distinct sound, characterized by high gain, extensive use of feedback and distortion, and frontman J Mascis's melodic guitar solos, were influential in the alternative rock movement of the 1990s, exemplified by the success of acknowledged fans Nirvana.

History

Formation

Mascis and Barlow had previously played together in a hardcore punk band called Deep Wound, which formed in 1982 while the pair were attending high school in Amherst, Massachusetts. By the time they were attending college, they began exploring slower yet still aggressive music such as Black Sabbath, The Replacements, and Neil Young. Mascis' college friend Gerard Cosloy introduced him to bands like Dream Syndicate, which Mascis in turn showed to Barlow. Barlow explained, "We loved speed metal […] and we loved wimpy-jangly stuff".[1]

Deep Wound broke up in mid-1984. Cosloy had dropped out of the University of Massachusetts Amherst to focus on running his independent record label Homestead Records, and promised Mascis that if he were to make a record he would release it. Mascis wrote a number of songs by himself and showed them to Barlow, whom he offered the bassist position. While Barlow had played gutiar in Deep Wound, he accepted as he was impressed by the material Mascis was creating. Barlow said the songs "were fucking brilliant […] They were so far beyond. I was still into two-chord songs and basic stuff like 'I'm so sad.' While I was really into my own little tragedy, J was operating in this whole other panorama." Mascis enlisted vocalist Charlie Nakajima, also formerly of Deep Wound, and drummer Emmett Patrick Murphy, otherwise known as Murph, to complete the band. Mascis explained the concept behind the group as "ear-bleeding country."[2]

The band was initially named Mogo, and played their first show on University of Massachusetts Amherst campus in the first week of September 1984. Nakajima went into an anti-cop rant during the performance, and Mascis was so appalled by his behavior at the show (in addition to his marijuana use) that he disbanded the group the next day. A few days later Mascis called Barlow and Murph to form a new band without telling Nakajima; "I was kind of too wimpy to kick him out, exactly," Mascis later admitted, and explained, "Communicating with people has been a constant problem in the band." The trio named themselves Dinosaur, and Mascis took over lead vocal duties.[3]

Dinosaur and You're Living All Over Me

Mascis took Cosloy up on his offer to release an album and Dinosaur recorded their debut album for $500 at a home studio in the woods outside Northhampton, Massachusetts.[4] Their eponymous debut album, Dinosaur was released in 1985. The album sold about 1,500 copies in its first year and was largely ignored by the music press.[5] After the record's release, Dinosaur would drive to New York City to perform shows. New York band Sonic Youth was unimpressed by the first Dinosaur performance they saw, but after watching them play several months later, approached the band declaring themselves as fans.[6] The band was bewildered by Sonic Youth's praise; Barlow recalled, "We're like, 'What? How could the coolest band in the world like us?'"[7] Sonic Youth invited Dinosaur to join them on tour in the American Northeast and northern Midwest in September 1986.

Dinosaur recorded much of their second album You're Living All Over Me with Sonic Youth engineer Wharton Tiers in New York. During the recording process, tension emerged between Mascis and Murph because Mascis had very specific ideas for the drum parts. Barlow recalled, "J controlled Murph's every drumbeat [. . .] And Murph could not handle that. Murph wanted to kill J for the longest time."[8] Gerard Cosloy was excited by the completed album, but was devastated when Mascis told him the band was going to release it on SST Records. Mascis was reluctant to sign a two-album deal with Homestead, but Cosloy felt betrayed; Cosloy said, "There was no way I couldn't take it personally."[9] After the album's completion Mascis moved to New York, leaving the rest of the band feeling alienated.[10]

You're Living All Over Me was released in 1987; early copies of the record in the Boston area were packaged with the Weed Forestin' tape, the first release by Barlow's side project Sebadoh. Immediately following its release, another band called The Dinosaurs, featuring ex-members of Country Joe and the Fish and Jefferson Airplane, sued them over the use of the name, prompting the addition of "Jr".

Bug and Barlow's Departure

Dinosaur Jr had a major breakthrough in the United Kingdom with their debut single for Blast First, "Freak Scene" in 1988,[11] a version with censored lyrics being issued for radio consumption. It reached #4 in the UK independent chart, staying on the chart for 12 weeks.[12] The band's third album Bug followed shortly afterwards, reaching #1 on the UK independent chart and spending 38 weeks in the chart.[12] The band's first UK singles chart placing came in 1989 with their cover of The Cure's "Just Like Heaven".

Tension between Mascis and Barlow began interfering with the band's productivity, and in 1989, after touring in support of Bug, Barlow was kicked out of the band. Barlow now focused all of his attention on the former side-project Sebadoh. "The Freed Pig", the opening track on 1991's Sebadoh III, documents Barlow's frustration at Mascis and his treatment within the band.

Major label years

Murph continued to tour with Dinosaur into the early 1990s, but starting with the major-label debut Green Mind (1991), Mascis (who had started out as a drummer) began to record albums almost entirely on his own. For their later years, Mascis was supported on tour and infrequently on record by George Berz on drums and Mike Johnson on bass.

In 1992 the band was part of the "Rollercoaster" tour, a package tour based on the successful Lollapolooza festival, which featured The Jesus and Mary Chain, My Bloody Valentine and Blur.

1993 saw the band's commercial success peak with the single "Start Choppin'" reaching the top 20 in the UK, and the album that followed, Where You Been, reaching the UK top 10 and the US top 50. The opening track, "Out There", had an accompanying video and was aired on MTV for a short time, as the show 120 Minutes was still popular as a late-night "alternative" video show.

The commercial success continued with 1994's Without a Sound, which placed well in both the US and UK album charts. After 1997's Hand It Over, Mascis finally retired the Dinosaur Jr name. In 1999, he released the first of two solo albums under the name J Mascis and the Fog.

Reunion

In 2004, Mascis regained the master rights to the band's first three albums from SST, and arranged for their reissue on Merge early 2005. The reissues coincided with the announcement that the original lineup of Mascis, Barlow and Murph was reuniting for a tour. The band continued to perform through 2006 and into 2007. While performing in New York that year, much of the band's equipment was stolen while stored outside their hotel and has not yet been recovered. The band members were among the curators of 2006's All Tomorrow's Parties festival. In May 2007, the original members of Dinosaur Jr released Beyond on Fat Possum Records, their first album of new material together since Bug in 1988.

Musical style

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"Freak Scene"
Sample of "Freak Scene" from the band's third album Bug (1988), an alternative rock song which features Mascis' distinctive vocal drawl and a layered guitar sound.
Problems playing this file? See media help.

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Dinosaur Jr is considered to be an alternative rock band; however the band's musical style, compared to that of its underground contemporaries in the 1980s, was different in several ways. This included the influence of classic rock on the band's music, their use of feedback, extreme volume and the loud-quiet dynamic, and frontman Mascis' droning vocals. Gerald Cosloy, head of Homestead Records, summarised the band's music: "It was its own bizzare hybrid. [...] It wasn't exactly pop, it wasn't exactly punk rock — it was completely its own thing".[13]

Mascis listened to classic rock artists such as The Beatles, Rolling Stones and The Beach Boys, elements of which were incorporated into Dinosaur Jr's sound.[14] Dinosaur Jr's members also combined elements of hardcore punk and noise rock in their songs, which often featured a large amount of feedback, distortion and extreme volume.[15] When the master tape of You're Living All Over Me arrived at SST, the label's production manager noticed the level on the tape was so high it was distorting; however, Mascis confirmed it was the way he wanted the album to sound.[16] To accentuate their use of volume, the band employed and popularised the quiet-loud change of dynamic in many of its songs, a technique that would be later popularised by the Pixies, Nirvana and alternative rock in general during the 1990s.

A key feature of Dinosaur Jr's music was Mascis "whiny low-key drawl", the opposite of the hardcore punk "bark".[17] He attributed his vocal style to artists such as John Fogerty and Mick Jagger,[18] but it more closely resembled Neil Young's; Mascis disputed this, and later commented: "That got annoying, being compared all the time".[19] His drawl epitomised the band's slacker ethos and relaxed attitude; author Michael Azerrad said "even Mascis seemed removed from the feelings he was conveying in the music".[20]

Discography

Main article: Dinosaur Jr discography

Studio albums

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Azerrad (2001), p. 350
  2. ^ Azerrad (2001), p. 351
  3. ^ Azerrad (2001), p. 352
  4. ^ Azerrad (2001), p. 353
  5. ^ Azerrad (2001), p. 354
  6. ^ Azerrad (2001), p. 354-355
  7. ^ Azerrad (2001), p. 355
  8. ^ Azerrad (2001), p. 356
  9. ^ Azerrad (2001), p. 357
  10. ^ Azerrad (2001), p. 358-59
  11. ^ Strong, Martin C. (2002), "The Great Rock Discography, 6th edn.", Canongate, ISBN 1-84195-312-1
  12. ^ a b Lazell, Barry: "Indie Hits 1980-1989", 1997, Cherry Red Books, ISBN 0-9517206-9-4
  13. ^ Azerrad, 2001. p. 353
  14. ^ Azerrad, 2001. p. 348
  15. ^ Azerrad, 2001. p. 347
  16. ^ Azerrad, 2001. p. 361
  17. ^ Azerrad, 2001. p. 353
  18. ^ Azerrad, 2001. p. 353-4
  19. ^ Azerrad, 2001. p. 354
  20. ^ Azerrad, 2001. p. 346

References

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