| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| sketch |
Posted - 03/30/2005 : 13:01:34
AHHHHHH! THIS IS THE BEST NEWS EVER!!! Dinosaur Jr is getting back together! Dino brings the rock ‘n’ roll baby…. Original line-up too, and they’re touring: www.dinosaurjr.com I been waiting 15 yrs for this shit. Best band ever.
ROCK AND ROLL BABY: ROCK AND ROLL
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| 30 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Carl |
Posted - 03/24/2007 : 18:34:50
http://music.guardian.co.uk/rock/story/0,,2035045,00.html
Feedback to the future
Grunge pioneers Dinosaur Jr have reformed - and they've brought their famous friends. As Matt Dillon directs their new video, the band rock in all the right places, finds Johnny Sharp
Saturday March 17, 2007
The Guardian
It's customary to find that your favourite screen icons are a disappointment in the flesh. Shorter, acne-scarred - they can never quite live up to the gloried Technicolor image. So it's pleasing to see that even at 43, movie star Matt Dillon looks like movie star Matt Dillon. The battered jeans, T-shirt, the hair - it's all present and correct. Yet he's a fish out of water today. His red Porsche is parked outside a large 19th century house in the small college town of Northampton, Massachusetts, where he's in the basement, directing a video for the reformed original lineup of grunge pioneers Dinosaur Jr, fronted by his good friend J Mascis.
"He is so good looking," coos one female observer.
No, she doesn't mean Mascis, but in his own gently extraordinary way, the indie rock veteran cuts an equally charismatic figure. His long hair now grey-white, and his slothular body clad in a pea-green T-shirt and black track suit, he looks like Pauline Fowler from EastEnders in fancy dress as Kevin The Teenager. He's the undoubted star of the show. Drummer Murph is now bald and looks like a mortgage advisor indulging in his weekend hobby. Bass player and indie demi-celeb Lou Barlow appears to have aged approximately three weeks since he was originally in the band.
Matt is highly accommodating at first, allowing the photographer to take shots as the band go through their paces in a cluttered basement, intended as a homage to their teenage rehearsal days. Then we overstep the mark. "Pushy motherfucker!" he spits, and stomps out. It's a fair cop - our man got in the way of a shot and now our hopes of interviewing Matt and J together look doomed. We're banished to the kitchen upstairs, on the proviso we don't disturb the owners of the house. Who those owners are is not clear, but suffice to say they're big music fans. Rows and rows of vinyl are stored, featuring artists from Stockhausen to the Shangri-Las, along with piles of demo tapes by such unheralded talents as Racists and Hairy Snail. Eventually we get Lou, J and Murph around a table and encourage them to wallow in a bit of nostalgia.
"We practised in the living room of my parents' house," recalls Lou. "Which I can't believe we ever had the balls to do. We would open the window and put stacks out there, in the middle of the town. I can't believe we never got arrested ..."
At this point we are distracted by the sudden presence of alternative rock royalty putting some food out for the dog. It turns out this house belongs to Thurston Moore and Kim Gordon of Sonic Youth. Have we stumbled into a house on the US equivalent of Stella Street?
"It's kind of like a family round here," admits Lou. "Even my mum knows Thurston. He runs his label out of the same building she works in. There's a good music scene here, and Kim and Thurston are the centre of it."
"Thurston's always playing," says J. "Almost every week he's playing with different people. And the same 20 people are there watching."
Ooh, you bitch! Perhaps this is the kind of withering comment that got J his reputation as something of a sneering misanthropist.
"J's an interesting guy," Thurston Moore will confide later. "There's a lot going on there. You have to read between the lines. Or between the pauses."
What we do manage to decipher in those silences is a man with a very dry sense of humour but one who maintains a certain professional distance from his bandmates. It's been suggested that Mascis and Barlow's infamous enmity was mainly healed by witnessing the Pixies' lucrative reformation tour in 2004 ...
"Oh hey, we're no Pixies man," says Lou, scowling. "We're better than that!" Well either way, Dinosaur Jr were certainly influential ...
"Yeah ..." says J, "(seven second pause)... to the Pixies ..."
Back on set, we are now graced by the presence of yet another band. The intro of the video features Lightbulb, the band formed by Thurston and Kim's 12-year-old daughter Coco with two of her friends. They're to be "paid" for their appearance with ice cream. Their scene proves to be the last of the day, and everyone retires to the family kitchen for takeaway pizza.
His work over for the day, Matt Dillon has forgiven our previous faux pas, and when he finds we're British, proceeds to quiz us about the "scene" over here. "Are Teenage Fanclub still around?" he asks. "I love those guys. Awesome. And My Bloody Valentine? Awesome." So does he keep in touch with new music? We hear he's a vinyl obsessive.
"Yeah, I listen to a lot of older music. Pre-1960s, jazz, black music, Brazilian music. But Dinosaur Jr are my era. I'm a little out of touch with new stuff."
It seems most actors have their own bands now. Was he ever tempted to pick up the mic himself? "Never! Never!" he grins. "I always remember Joe Strummer once said to me 'I'll stop making movies when Eddie Murphy stops making records'! So I took the hint."
So how did he come to direct the video?
"I saw Dinosaur play in New York, and he said 'we wanna do a video, are you interested in directing?' So I said 'yeah'. I said to him 'what's the song about?' He said 'uuuh ... chicks'. And I said 'OK, so what do you want in the video?' and he says 'Uuuh ... models?' But I think the whole rock video thing is overdone. I wanted to show they still have that raw edge playing as a band."
It turns out Matt and J have been friends ever since Matt, a Dinosaur Jr fan, came to a show in 1990. "We see each other now and then - we've been skiing a couple of times, been to a couple of fashion shows."
Apparently J is also a keen skydiver. Which somehow seems about as likely as seeing Bernard Manning out windsurfing. "J's kinda misunderstood," says Matt. "He's a really great guy. People get a little intimidated 'cos he speaks slow, but that's just the way he is, you know?" And with that, he heads off to rejoin this unlikely meeting of minds. We depart with the peculiar image of Thurston Moore, Matt Dillon and J Mascis sharing a large pepperoni pizza imprinted forever on our consciousness.
Mascis Vs Barlow - the truth
Dinosaur Jr went their separate ways in 1989. Mascis wanted to fire Lou, so he told drummer Patrick "Murph" Murphy to call Lou and tell him the band was splitting up. Lou later read the band had hired a new bass player for a tour of Australia. Lou's side project, Sebadoh, became his main concern. He started writing songs about Mascis and yelling abuse at him in the street.
So, J, which of Lou's songs about you do you like best?
J Mascis: "Uuuh ... (smirks and looks at his feet) ... I couldn't possibly choose just one."
Lou Barlow: "But pretty much every Sebadoh song I wrote got interpreted that way. I did actually move on!"
At one point Lou described J as "a borderline sadist".
JM: "Hmmm," (shrugs, still smirking guiltily).
Do you have any regrets J?
JM: (12 second pause) Yeah ... it could have been handled better, but no one was speaking at that point, so we spent a lot of time going through Murph.
LB: I thought that was so bad the way they kicked me out of the band. But then later on when I had to kick people out of bands I ended up fucking people over in a similar way, even after vowing never to do that.
So are you friends these days or just business partners?
LB: (pause) "I'd consider anyone I worked with to be a friend." J Mascis says nothing.
· Dinosaur Jr's Beyond is out April 30 |
| Jefrey |
Posted - 03/10/2007 : 01:36:24
I saw them back in the day and was really pretty disappointed. I may be mis-remembering this, but I think the lineup was Dinosaur Jr. followed by My Bloody Valentine. The only thing remarkable about Dino was the ridiculous amount of amps j. Mascis had chained together. I believe he had his own sound board just for his amps. I'm serious - he had like 10 or so different amps - not 10 Marshall stacks, but 10 different brands of amps, all chained together. Unique, but I thought it kind of sounded like shit.
MBV - it was the same club - it think it was the same show. They were so freaking loud that you felt like puking about halfway through the set. We went out to the parking lot, and it was really enjoyable from there. Just the regular volume level of a proper rock show. From the parking lot! I read in the 33 1/3 book on Loveless that this ridiculous loudness was on purpose to get a reaction, but they all also have severe hearing damage.
I heard a track from the new album and it sounds like when the Lemonheads went pop to me. Dino lite. Way too glossy.
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jeffamerica
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| two reelers |
Posted - 03/09/2007 : 00:17:25
very great news indeed !
can't wait for the new album.
I joined the cult of Souled American / 'cause they are a damn' fine band |
| Carl |
Posted - 10/09/2006 : 04:54:46
Great news for Dino fans....now, if only we can get our favorite band into a studio, we could have a minor classic-indie-rock revival!:
http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003221569
Dinosaur Jr. Delivering New Album, Live DVD
October 06, 2006, 10:25 AM ET
Austin L. Ray, Atlanta
Having reunited last year with its original lineup for the first time since 1989, Dinosaur Jr. is nearly finished with a new studio album, Billboard.com can reveal. Guitarist J. Mascis, bassist Lou Barlow and drummer Murph tracked the as-yet-untitled set at Mascis' home studio in Amherst, Mass., and are eyeing a spring 2007 release on a label to be announced.
Tracks earmarked to appear on the disc include "By the Fire," "This Is All I Came To Do," "Back to Your Heart" and "Stop." Mascis is in the process of finalizing guitar and vocal parts at present.
"We spent the better part of two years touring together, so we might as well make a record together," Barlow tells Billboard.com. "The reunion thing went well, considering we held up and enjoyed it. The new album is just a way of extending it. The band pretty much does one thing at a time. I thought we'd be done after the tour, but then the album magically popped up. We probably won't do anything else, but then again, we'll see."
Barlow says the sound of the new tracks is simpler, but with the definite feel of Dinosaur Jr.'s trademark sound. "Dinosaur is something where the sound just propels us," Barlow says. "It's an energy source unto itself. The minute we started playing together, it was like, 'Oh, there it is.' It didn't surprise me though, since I've always believed in the quality of J.'s material."
The band isn't concerned with living up to the standards of its earlier work, according to Barlow. Instead, Dinosaur Jr. will go right back on the road after the album drops.
"Before we knew what we were doing, I thought, 'F*ck, we're going to get crucified,'" he admits. "In the end, though, one thing I've learned from touring with J. is that he has a devoted following of fans. I think, at some point, those people that do love your music become the most important. When you're younger, it seems like you're more interested in people you haven't tapped into. But at this point, nothing people can write about us can shock or surprise or disappoint me."
Also in the works is a Dinosaur Jr. live DVD, due May 8, 2007. Directed by Mascis' brother-in-law, Phillip Virus, the release will include live performance footage from the first half of the reunion tour, including shows in New York and Boston.
"I haven't seen it, but I'm kind of terrified because I hate live DVDs," Barlowsays. "Looking at us playing these old songs, that runs a distant second to seeing us when we were really young and f*cked up and struggling. Some really shaky, old video -- I'd rather see that. Seeing us older and more confident and paunchier... I mean, we play the songs well, but so what?"
Dinosaur Jr. is also dealing with the theft of a trailer full of its gear, which went missing in Long Island City, N.Y. Nothing has been recovered, but Barlow says the band has been too busy to dwell on the unfortunate turn of events.
"There's going to be one major heist in your career and it's going to be a bummer, so you have to be prepared for it," he says. "J. had insurance on everything. He took the biggest hit, since he lost all this gear he was comfortable with. But he immediately put himself to the task of getting new sh*t. He didn't let it get in his way, even though his stuff was worth thousands of dollars. I just lost a bass."
http://sdcitybeat.wordpress.com/2007/01/30/will-dinosaur-jr-be-this-years-pixies
Will Dinosaur Jr be this year’s Pixies?
January 30th, 2007 — Troy Johnson
No. But man they released some great records and brought the guitar solo back to underground rock. And it’s another possible chance to see Lou Barlow glare in J Mascis’ general direction. Two shaggy guitar nerds fight fight fight!!! (True side story: In about 1999, we ran a story in SLAMM magazine titled “The Worst Interview in the World” about J Mascis’ one-word answers to my writer’s questions… Three months later, his publicist emailed me to say, “Dude, did you know that because of that article, J Mascis will not do any more interviews… period!? So at least you got that.” We apologize, J. We’ll pass on the kiss, but we’d like to make up.) I just got this press release with all the details of their new album…
PRESS RELEASE:
Hey Everyone,
We’re extremely excited about this and can’t wait for you all to hear it!
It’s the reunion we all thought we’d never see. When J Mascis and Lou Barlow parted ways in 1989 following three hugely acclaimed and enormously influential albums it was generally understood that the relationship was, sadly, irreparably damaged. While J continued with Dinosaur Jr, Lou went on to form Sebadoh & Folk Implosion and the original Dinosaur Jr line-up seemed unlikely to ever rekindle their magic.
Dinosaur Jr are now widely recognized as one of the most significant American rock bands of all time; the sound they pioneered in the late-80s having permeated through the past 20 years. Preceding Nirvana by several years, they were instrumental in bringing the crashing sounds of lead guitar back to indie rock. It wasn’t just their signature metallic haze that made an impression on listeners; their effects-laden guitars were wrapped around some of the best songwriting of the decade. The first three albums – Dinosaur, You’re Living All Over Me and Bug – were cult masterpieces and when the original line up of Mascis, Barlow and drummer Murph re-formed in 2005 for select live dates it was apparent that the years apart had not eroded any of their vitality. In fact, many critics claimed their shows were even better than they used to be. It was natural, then, that the band would begin to work on new material.
It’s not often that a reunion creates work as stellar as what’s gone before, but the new album Beyond, recorded at J’s Bisquiteen studio in Amherst, Mass, isn’t just a great come-back. It’s not even just a brilliant return to form. Quite simply, Beyond, is some of the best music Dinosaur Jr have ever made. From the opening squeals of “Almost Ready” to the crashing closing bars of “What If I Knew..” it’s an adrenaline-inducing ride, not of nostalgia, but of bona fide excitement at a band bursting with ebullient creative energy.
Track List:
1) Almost Ready
2) Crumble
3) Pick Me Up
4) Back To Your Heart
5) This Is All I Came To Do
6) Been There All The Time
7) It’s Me
8)We’re Not Alone
9) I Got Lost
10) Lightning Bulb
11) What If I Knew…
Now signed to independent Mississippi label Fat Possum Dinosaur Jr are set to release Beyond on May 1st, 2007.
Dinosaur Jr will release a new DVD in May 2007 and the long-awaited Dinosaur Jr Nike skate shoe will be available for a limited run in February. Watch this space for news on more astounding live shows.
http://www.edmontonsun.com/Entertainment/Music/2007/03/08/3714102-sun.html
Thu, March 8, 2007
Dinosaur Jr. back from extinction
By STAFF
There may be no bigger rock reunion hitting Edmonton this year than the Police concert taking place at Commonwealth Stadium on June 2.
But don't count out Dinosaur Jr., back from extinction, and appearing at the Starlite Room on May 26.
Along with Sonic Youth and the Pixies, the Dinosaur Jr. lineup of J. Mascis, Lou Barlow and Murph was one of the biggest and most innovative alternative rock bands of the 1980s.
This May, the band is expected to release, Beyond, the first album by the original lineup in 19 years.
Tickets ($29.50) go on sale tomorrow through Ticketmaster online or by calling 451-8000.
Speaking of old-school acts, tickets for the Tony Bennett show at the Jubilee Auditorium on July 3 are on sale tomorrow through Ticketmaster, ranging in price from $83.74-$147.34. |
| HeywoodJablome |
Posted - 09/01/2006 : 07:55:31
Next thing you know Frank and D Jr. will be embarking together on the "Equipment Recovery Tour".
_______________________________________________________________________________________
"My name is Doug and I'm outta hhhhheeeere." |
| two reelers |
Posted - 09/01/2006 : 01:06:38
that's bad.
anyways, i saw them in april or so, and they were really graet. i'm not a huge fan, i just have 2 or 3 records, but i liked the show a lot. incredible musicians - all three of them. any real outstanding guitar rock band needs an outstanding drummer, and mr. murph definitely is.
anybody else feeling that "green mind" is a fantastic album one can't stop listening too ?
I joined the cult of Souled American / 'cause they are a damn' fine band |
| Daisy Girl |
Posted - 08/31/2006 : 14:23:45
you know what that really sucks.
has anyone thought of adding little tags with a litte tracker hidden inside the instrument??? if they can add them to the stuff you buy at the grocery store they should be able to add it to an instrument. it's call RFID or something like that.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RFID
|
| HeywoodJablome |
Posted - 08/31/2006 : 10:43:54
Well that blows.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
"My name is Doug and I'm outta hhhhheeeere." |
| Carl |
Posted - 05/09/2006 : 11:34:48
http://www.nashvillescene.com/Stories/Arts/Music/The_Spin/2006/04/13/The_Spin/index.shtml
April 13, 2006
The Spin
Fossil fuel
It was the early ’90s all over again Sunday night at the DINOSAUR JR.
show at City Hall, replete with hoodies, relaxed-fit jeans, weak stage
diving and weaker mosh pits. We spent most of the opening acts counting
how many mini-LOU BARLOWS we spotted (at least 10). When the no-
longer-extinct Dinosaur finally went on, the show was a lot like watching
the reunited Pixies—a reminder that not only did both bands put some
noise back into the alt-rock underground, but also that for both acts it was
never about the performance and always about the songs. Just like the last
two times The Spin saw Dinosaur Jr., they didn’t talk much and the volume
was deafening. Make that earsplitting—this time around, one attendee
remarked that it was so loud he was actually disoriented.
But maybe it was just the more obscure material being played. As a girl
exclaimed near the set’s end to a friend, “It’s like nobody knows the
music!” Ah, yes: Dinosaur Jr. released three whole albums before the
more palatable Green Mind, and the early stuff—particularly You’re Living
All Over Me—got preferential treatment. Since this tour features the
original lineup, there was no point playing the stuff Barlow didn’t know. Not
that it mattered: J MASCIS’ status as indie guitar god is cemented, but
songs like “In a Jar,” “Lung” and “Kracked” confirmed the beauty and
simplicity of his melodies all over again, even if he all but buries them
under a brain-frying sludge of solo chained to solo chained to solo over
MURPH’s furious drumming.
We wanted to yell something sassy like “Just Gimme Indie Rock!” to
Barlow, but it just didn’t feel right. The crowd, which included BOBBY
BARE, JR., Superdrag’s JOHN DAVIS and a host of local club owners, was
clearly split between a small group of core fans and (mostly) latecomers to
the Dinosaur era. There was a double encore in which Mascis and company
covered the Cure song “Just Like Heaven,” transforming Robert Smith’s
wistful sadness into frustration and rage. But even though Mascis’ long hair looked blonde in the
greenish-blue stage lights, we knew it was gray. Barlow, meanwhile, was but a beefier version of
himself, still looking like that alternative guy from junior year. “Freak Scene” garnered the biggest
crowd response, and a group of guys tried to get a mosh pit going. But it didn’t quite take—it’s been
too long since the year punk broke.
Barney He’s Not Dinosaur Jr.’s J Mascis. photo: ericengland.net
http://www.nme.com/news/dinosaur-jr/24158
Dinosaur Jr's gear stolen mid-tour
The band appeal for help
Dinosaur Jr. have had all their gear stolen from a trailer which was parked outside their hotel in Long Island City, New York.
Following a performance at Warsaw in Brooklyn, New York on Tuesday night (August 29), the band checked into the hotel, with plans to travel to New Haven the next day for a show last night (August 30).
However, when the band woke up the next morning, they discovered all their equipment had been stolen.
In an email circulated to music industry friends and colleagues, the band listed the stolen gear and appealed for help in tracking down the stolen gear, a sentiment they reiterated on their website:
'We would appreciate spreading the word and passing this list around in hopes of recovering their gear. Please notify and alert your local guitar shops, pawn shops, music and web stores etc. to keep an eye out for this gear. Feel free to send this list to any and all band, tour and production managers, guitar freaks, touring personnel, venues, musicians and or thieves that you think could help us.'
The band is due to play Buffalo tonight (August 31).
Dinasour Jr
Picture: Kevin Scanlon
5 hours ago |
| Apesy |
Posted - 04/14/2006 : 21:20:23
 
...?
-=Apesy |
| floop |
Posted - 04/14/2006 : 11:20:19
one more week
"I don't have any money to buy new clothes and if they paid me to get some I'd probably buy more hoodies." - Mark Wainfur |
| cassandra is |
Posted - 04/14/2006 : 10:02:09
Hey, Jay's got a t-shirt of the Wipers on that picture! Cool, didn't knew he was a fan of that band.
pas de bras pas de chocolat |
| Carl |
Posted - 04/08/2006 : 07:34:39
http://www.rctimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060407/ENTERTAINMENT0102/604070332/1005/MTCN0303
Friday, 04/07/06
See Dinosaur Jr. before band goes extinct again
Along with Sonic Youth, the Pixies, R.E.M., and a select handful of others, Dinosaur Jr. was a cornerstone of what would become grunge and ''alternative'' rock in the '90s, with the band actually ascending to semi-star status during its Lollapalooza co-headlining heyday.
But along with his axe there was always an albatross strung around slacker guitar god/frontman J Mascis' neck — what might have been had he and original member Lou Barlow survived the passive-aggressive ego wars that split them early on. We'll never know, but now we can at least experience what it's like to see them back onstage together when their reunion tour passes through City Hall. The band's Web site says this will be its last set of shows for ''some time.''
Showtime is 7 p.m. Sunday, City Hall, $22, Ticketmaster: 255-9600, ticketmaster.com. Dead Meadow and Priestess are also on the bill.
— Jason Moon Wilkins, Staff Writer
The reunion tour of Dinosaur Jr. stops at City Hall on Sunday.
http://www.denverpost.com/entertainment/ci_3703786#
Article Launched: 04/14/2006 01:00:00 AM MDT
music
Back from the brink of extinction
By Ricardo Baca
Denver Post Pop Music Critic
Dinosaur Jr.'s records from the mid-'80s - "Dinosaur" and "You're Living All Over Me," especially - amount to an aural history lesson, a solid yet volatile chunk of Indie Rock 101.
The seminal group was a flash point in independent rock, but it was a brief blast of flame and noise. It formed in 1983 in Amherst, Mass., disbanding five years and three groundbreaking albums later when frontman J Mascis kicked bassist Lou Barlow out of the band.
That's why it's kind of a big deal that the original lineup is together and playing the Fox Theatre tonight and Saturday.
"It's OK," Mascis said last week via telephone from Myrtle Beach, S.C., his signature could-care-less tone masking any real excitement. "It's kinda the same, but everybody's a bit more mellow, or something."
Mascis never has been considered a great conversationalist or communicator. Michael Azerrad's treat of a book, "Our Band Could Be Your Life," paints a comical, dysfunctional picture of the trio, which is filled out by drummer Murph, but Mascis' role in the indie rock revolution is undeniable. Even Barlow, who later created iconic bands Sebadoh and Folk Implosion after his ouster from Dinosaur, concedes Mascis' influence.
"I never tried to be that loud with any other band I played with," Barlow said from Washington, D.C. "My bass playing style is a response to J's playing, and it's also very influenced by him. I developed it with him, and the way I strung the bass is unique to that band."
While it never broke beyond cult status, Dinosaur Jr. was one of those bands in the '80s that kick-started grunge and hand-molded indie rock. If names such as Nirvana and the Pixies are springing to mind, you're on the right track.
"Dinosaur Jr. absolutely deserves to be in the same sentence as The Pixies," said Scott Campbell, owner of the Larimer Lounge, a club that has hosted solo shows for Mascis and Barlow. "They pushed indie rock forward in the late '80s and early '90s to the point where it just took one band to break through to bring everybody up, and that was Nirvana."
Campbell remembers a 1991 concert that signaled, to him and a few others, rock music's future. Jesus Lizard opened, Nirvana played second in support of its Sub Pop debut, "Bleach," and Dinosaur Jr. headlined.
"It was all Dinosaur Jr. and The Pixies and Nirvana," said Campbell, "and from then on, it was like a freight train throughout the '90s."
There was something obviously special about the chemistry of Mascis and Barlow in those first three albums, making for an audible void in Dinosaur's late, post-Barlow records. They retain Mascis' recklessly messy stamp, but something's missing. That's why Dinosaur's current tour features songs that appeared on the first three records, save for one deviance: "The Wagon" shows up on the band's set lists, and it's a track from 1991's "Green Mind." It was the band's first record after Barlow's ouster.
"I like that song," Barlow said. "I actually suggested that we play it."
The band's recent reunion has spurred solid reviews and message boards abuzz with vivid accounts of the band's pummeling wall of sound. But for one reason or another, it's all a surprise to the guys in the band.
"It was surprising that it was good," Barlow said. "It felt good. Right away I felt like, 'Wow, we're a good band, and I'm glad we're doing this.' I really thought that it was possible we might not be a good band, that we wouldn't have it together as much as I thought we would."
Added Mascis: "I'm surprised sometimes when people show up to the gigs. Last night we were in Jacksonville, Fla., on a Monday night. And it was sold out. And I couldn't believe it."
Mascis doesn't talk much about hisdisagreements with Barlow. But Barlow never has shied from that dark period.
When Barlow played an intimate, conversational solo show at the Larimer Lounge a year ago, someone in the crowd shouted over his storytelling, "I liked it better when you hated J." Barlow's retort: "Who said I didn't?" Barlow said it took a long while to get over the experience. The music helped.
"It took a lot of mental processing, I guess, on an emotional level to handle the rejection and heartbreak," Barlow said. "But as far as what it did for me musically, I had already had a band when I was kicked out, so I just kept doing that band as a real band and Sebadoh became a touring entity. It takes me a long time to process anything."
Barlow's reasons to reunite Dinosaur were simple. He was curious what it would be like. He thought it would be a good challenge to play in that style again. And, of course, he needed the money. (The tour comes right after Merge Records' re- issuing Dinosaur Jr.'s first three records, each coupled with bonus videos.) So far it's working.
"We figured out a way to make it work, and it's been pretty easy," Barlow said. "It's the same, and we're all still the same, but there's still a lot of water under the bridge. We just have real goals to play a good show every night, and we're all pretty much committed to that, and that brings us together and keeps too much (expletive) from intervening."
Pop music critic Ricardo Baca can be reached at 303-820-1394 or rbaca@denverpost.com.
Dinosaur Jr.
INDIE ROCK/PROTO-GRUNGE | Fox Theatre, Boulder; 9 tonight with Priestess and Monofog opening; 9 p.m. Saturday with Priestess and Bright Channel | Friday: sold out; Saturday: $22.50-$25 | via foxtheatre.com
After disbanding in 1988, Dinosaur Jr.'s original lineup is together and playing the Fox Theatre tonight and Saturday. From left are drummer Murph, frontman J Mascis and bassist Lou Barlow. (Brantley Gutierrez) |
| jimmy |
Posted - 03/16/2006 : 19:14:56
I'm still waiting for Dinosaur Sr. to get back together.
"Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you." JOHN 15:14 |
| darwin |
Posted - 03/15/2006 : 13:54:51
quote:
Originally posted by Chris Knight
Chevy Chase + Halloween wig = old man Mascis
I thinking Eugene Levy. |
| BLT |
Posted - 03/15/2006 : 13:23:15
quote:
Originally posted by J Mascis
I own a telecaster. It's metallic blue.
One night, Frank and I got really shitfaced and he passed out early. I couldn't sleep because earlier that night, I dropped fifteen hits of acid. The only thing keeping me company was my Jazzmaster and the six Marshall stacks I keep in my living room. I took one look at the Jazzmaster, then at Frank's fat, snoring ass and again at the Jazzmaster. I decided that I have two options: 1. Sodomise Frank while he's sleeping or 2. Play a screaming solo and wake his sorry ass up. After exercising option #1, I had a cigarette, well, a couple cigarettes and then plugged in and tore Master of Puppets a new asshole. I looked at Frank and his ears were bleeding, so I walked over to my volume pedal and turned it up. Half way through the solo to Sweet Child O' Mine, I heard a loud grunt. I immediately stopped playing and went into fightin' mode. I heard that grunt before and knew that it only means one thing: Frank is pissed and he's looking for trouble. He was especially pissed that I played a GNR song since at the time, he still hadn't forgiven Slash for driving around his living room on a Harley, dripping oil all over the rug he picked up while touring Sudan. Anyway, I put down my Jazzmaster and waited for the fat fucker to jump me. Instead of going for me, he grabbed my Jazzmaster and fired it out the window. I ran downstairs to survey the damage and it didn't look pretty. I fifteen story fall turned my axe into mincemeat. It was destroyed so much that I haven't ever seen anything that destroyed before. Except when I saw these two black dudes playing dominoes on the street and the one guy really destroyed the other guy. He was really awesome at destroying people in dominoes. He was really fly and talked alot of jive and shit. Anyway, I was really pissed at Frank for wrecking my axe, so I went down the street, broke into his car and stole one of his Teles. I painted it metallic blue and scratched off the serial number. The funny thing is that Frank once borrowed it, used it on a bunch of songs and wanted to buy it, claining that it's the best guitar he's ever heard.
quote:
Originally posted by J Mascis
I bought an AK-47. The next time I see Frank, I'm gonna fire at his feet and watch him do the charleston.
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| Chris Knight |
Posted - 03/15/2006 : 12:51:47
Chevy Chase + Halloween wig = old man Mascis |
| floop |
Posted - 03/15/2006 : 07:24:33
quote:
Originally posted by HeywoodJablome
Gonna see them at the Troubadour, never saw the original incarnation. Can't wait, the people I tell who know anything about them keep telling me to bring earplugs.
______________________________________________________________________________________________
"Charity is doing something for others, while other people are watching."
i'm seein em there too. no ear plugs for me though. i don't mind a little ear damage |
| Doog |
Posted - 03/15/2006 : 02:43:45
quote:
Originally posted by darwin
It's good to see them so happy and united.
Hahahaha...WAYNE'S WORLD! WAYNE'S WORLD! "And with me as always is Garth. And Garth. And Garth."
www.myspace.com/doog = music
www.myspace.com/doogdoogdoog = emo |
| Carl |
Posted - 03/14/2006 : 22:50:28
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/category/story.cfm?c_id=100&ObjectID=10372021
The band have started performing again, just a little slower. Picture / Bob Berg
Jurassic band reignites spark
11.03.06
By Scott Kara
Dinosaur Jr could have been bigger than the Pixies - or even Nirvana.
Nearly 20 years ago they had songs like Little Fury Things, In A Jar, and Freak Scene to do it. But the problem was, frontman J Mascis and bass player Lou Barlow hated each other's guts. They barely talked to each other.
"You can talk about music chemistry and then there's personal chemistry," says Barlow, breaking into a menacing giggle.
"I suppose," he continues sluggishly, "we had a bit of musical chemistry because maybe we're like-minded when it comes to music. But personally ... there was a stunning lack of anything."
Despite this troubled past, Dinosaur Jr - including Murph, the original drummer - are back together on a world tour and recording songs for an album. They play the St James Theatre in Auckland on Monday.
The band's heyday came in the mid- to late-80s but they never got the recognition or reached the heights of contemporaries like the Pixies and Nirvana. But, says Barlow, if he and Mascis had got along then the music would have been even better and who knows what could have happened?
"People always say the discord in the band lent to the power of the music and I just never buy that. There was a period when we were communicating on a musical level at least ... and I really think the best results came from that."
The albums You're Living All Over Me (1987) and Bug (1988), in particular, are examples of Dinosaur Jr's greatness. As Barlow says: "In the mid-80s ... we assaulted the audience." And that's why Dinosaur Jr were so important.
"Just the way J stepped up the guitar and made it sound modern and more extreme. J made a beautiful racket and he still does.
"But also, in terms of the production and the force that Dinosaur played with, I think we did a pretty good job of that."
Barlow says if it wasn't for J Mascis then Radiohead would never have come up with something like Creep. "That is just so Dinosaur that song," he gushes.
Barlow agrees that Mascis was, and still is, a control freak when it comes to music.
However, he's chuffed about a minor coup he scored in 1987 when Mascis allowed two of his songs to be included on the album You're Living All Over Me.
"But, I mean, it is J's band and he's a formidable presence when it comes to music. He is the architect of the music and he's a very good drummer and an outstanding guitar player. He is the leader."
Barlow hasn't played on a Dinosaur Jr. album since Bug. Throughout the 90s Mascis continued to release Dinosaur Jr. albums - Green Mind and Where You Been? the best of that lot - on which he played most, if not all, of the instruments.
When Barlow was kicked out of the band it was a huge relief since he was angry, frustrated and suffering anxiety attacks.
"I was feeling unwell and when he kicked me out I immediately got much healthier. "I slept better and all that stuff."
He concentrated on his band Sebadoh, then formed Folk Implosion. Last year he released his third solo album, Emoh. The music is a stark contrast to the often frantic, scorching sound of Dinosaur Jr.
"I didn't want to be a member of a band like the Ramones or something. To me a band that establishes its style early on becomes a trap. I wanted to take things in the totally opposite direction - I wanted to bring things down to a whisper.
"I aimed to keep [Sebadoh] free from too much structure, and trying to do something completely different because you can never try and recreate Dinosaur because, well, you can't," he says.
There was no venting session between Mascis and Barlow when the band decided to reform. It helped that they had "grown up a bit" but it came down to wanting to play the songs again. "They [Mascis and Murph] showed up in Los Angeles at my practice space. J walked in, plugged in his guitar, and that was it. We were off.
"I think the [songs] stand up well. They're big. They're really good songs. I hadn't played music quite that forceful in a long time and there's just something about the momentum of Dinosaur, and the force that we play with. But the biggest change now is I see J enjoying his music more, whereas back in the day, just deigning to admit something was good was out of the question.
"So when I see J plug in and enjoy the songs, then I kind of feel like it wouldn't hurt if I stepped in and played in the old style with him."
So what are the new songs like?
"It sounds like Dinosaur. I think the only difference is that it's a little slower.
"I don't think people realised how fast we used to play back then," he laughs.
LOWDOWN
Who: Dinosaur Jr
What: Revolutionary American rockers pre-Nirvana
Line-up: J Mascis (singer/guitarist), Lou Barlow (bass), Murph (drums)
Where & when: St James, Auckland, Monday night
Key albums: You're Living All Over Me (1987); Bug (1989); Green Mind (1991); Where You Been (1993)
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/category/story.cfm?c_id=100&ObjectID=10372623
Dinosaur Jr at St James Theatre, Auckland
15.03.06
Reviewed by Scott Kara
Your ears will hurt after hearing Dinosaur Jr. It's worth it though, because at the St James on Monday they proved themselves one of America's most influential guitar bands of recent times.
But sadly, like other great bands such as Husker Du and Sonic Youth, they have often been overshadowed by the feats of Nirvana, REM, and the Pixies.
Admittedly, you had every right to be sceptical about how good the original line-up of the band, who are on tour and playing together for the first time in more than 15 years, were going to be. You see, during their heyday of the mid-to-late 80s, frontman J Mascis and bass player Lou Barlow didn't like each other at all.
But what the Auckland crowd witnessed was three guys who were back together, loving what they do, and playing better than ever.
When Mascis leans forward and launches into another squally lead break it's easy to see why this guy, who looks like a bloated hippy, is a guitar hero.
He's supported by drummer Murph who beat his kit relentlessly, and Lou Barlow who strummed away on his bass like it was a guitar.
Most of the set was taken from their first three albums (including the excellent You're Living All over Me) with song highlights being In a Jar, Little Fury Things, Freak Scene, and the monstrously muddy tracks from debut album Dinosaur.
After two encores, the lights slowly started coming on, the gear was turned off, and many of the crowd had already left the auditorium. But Dinosaur Jr wanted to play more. Who knows if they were inspired by the girl who jumped on stage and flashed, but they returned for a final sound massacre.
If bands are thinking about reforming then they should make sure they do it like Dinosaur Jr. The standard has been set. |
| darwin |
Posted - 03/14/2006 : 21:23:26
It's good to see them so happy and united.
|
| BLT |
Posted - 03/14/2006 : 20:29:41
After a year of practice, they're finally tight enough to play in public.
 "Chad's just a soul whose intentions are good/O Lord, please don't let Chad be misunderstood" |
| HeywoodJablome |
Posted - 03/14/2006 : 17:32:59
Gonna see them at the Troubadour, never saw the original incarnation. Can't wait, the people I tell who know anything about them keep telling me to bring earplugs.
______________________________________________________________________________________________
"Charity is doing something for others, while other people are watching." |
| Carl |
Posted - 03/14/2006 : 16:42:04
http://www.theage.com.au/news/music/feel-the-girth-of-the-dinosaur/2006/03/09/1141701617211.html
Feel the girth of the Dinosaur
Dinosaur Jr (from left) Emmett Murphy, J. Mascis and Lou Barlow.
Photo: Supplied
March 10, 2006
Dinosaur Jr. is revisiting Melbourne with its original line-up, writes Craig Mathieson.
AFTER a delay of a mere 17 years, Lou Barlow is finally touring Australia with Dinosaur Jr. The last time the American noise trio's original line-up - Barlow on bass, vocalist-guitarist J Mascis and drummer Murph, aka Emmett Murphy - were preparing to visit was 1989. But just before the tour Mascis fired long-time friend Barlow.
Barlow wasn't aware he'd been retrenched - he thought Mascis, a case study in passive-aggressive dislocation, was breaking up the group but within weeks a revised Dinosaur Jr. was laying waste to the ears of Melbourne fans.
Obliquely controlled by the perpetually diffident Mascis, Dinosaur Jr. would go on to sign to a big label and enjoy retrospective success when grunge broke in 1991 but it's the founders who retain the critical cachet.
Their three albums - 1985's Dinosaur, 1987's You're Living All Over Me and 1988's Bug (all recently remastered and reissued here on Shiny) - introduced psychedelic sludge to hardcore, supplanted anger with ennui and inspired a generation of bands including My Bloody Valentine and Spiderbait.
It was the successful reformation of fellow Massachusetts alternative icons the Pixies that started the ball rolling for Dinosaur Jr. Mascis' manager - "a very ambitious and aggressive person, which is just what J requires", observes Barlow - made the initial offer and Barlow, who'd enjoyed an equally successful career fronting indie-rock combo Sebadoh and releasing solo albums, considered it on aesthetic grounds.
"I just wanted to know what Murph thought," he says, from his home in Los Angeles.
"When I was asked, I said, 'OK, but what about Murph?' Playing with J is one thing but for me it's playing with Murph that's really important. If he hadn't done it, I wouldn't have."
Last March the rhythm section reconvened in Barlow's LA rehearsal space.
Because Mascis plays at such extreme volume, the bassist and drummer had to reconnect while they still had a chance to hear each other.
A week later Mascis arrived, and a secret club show in Silverlake and a television appearance announced their return. If that appeared well orchestrated, the band's internal dialogue was as nebulous as ever.
"There was nothing approaching any reality TV-style reunion. I'd be too embarrassed to act like that even in private," notes the nebbish, bespectacled Barlow, who instead derives the satisfaction he needs from the band's music.
"I'd forgotten how physically satisfying it really is. There's a depth and physicality to the music but it's not angry - we're generally playing love songs," he says.
"Even when I was in the throes of hating J, I always though the music was great. Now, when we play, it feels like the music is just carrying me along."
Nonetheless, Dinosaur Jr.'s impact is not easily discerned. If anything, Barlow's Sebadoh, where he came into his own as a songwriter, is now more influential, having spawned the lo-fi movement and broken ground for the somnambulant folk scene.
"Right now there's a lot of people apeing the sound of Black Sabbath and heavy jam rock," sighs Barlow, "but there's not much heavy music with heart being played. I'm definitely interested in exploring a heavier sound next - even with an acoustic guitar you can have a real girth to your music. That's really what Dinosaur Jr. is all about: girth."
Dinosaur Jr. play the Corner Hotel, Richmond, on Saturday and Sunday. Lou Barlow plays solo at the Northcote Social Club next Thursday and Friday. |
| Homers_pet_monkey |
Posted - 03/30/2005 : 13:50:22
quote:
Originally posted by floop
Violent Femmes play shows just about every night of the year, all around the country. usually at free downtown festivals or, sometimes, open mic nights.
in fact, i think i can hear them playing "blister in the sun" far off in the distance at this very moment
ist es möglich für ein quesadilla skrotum zu lecken? beim sprechen der quesadillas von LBF, ja. ja in der tatheheheheheheehehee!
I meant they only play London shows when they move their asses to the UK. Obviously.
Hansel and Gretel have formed a band, .....And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Breadcrumbs!!!
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| BLT |
Posted - 03/30/2005 : 13:45:04
When J Mascis stopped posting here, I knew he must have been up to something.
 "Join the Cult of Dan Haggerty / And star in low budget mountain man films" |
| floop |
Posted - 03/30/2005 : 13:35:58
Violent Femmes play shows just about every night of the year, all around the country. usually at free downtown festivals or, sometimes, open mic nights.
in fact, i think i can hear them playing "blister in the sun" far off in the distance at this very moment
ist es möglich für ein quesadilla skrotum zu lecken? beim sprechen der quesadillas von LBF, ja. ja in der tatheheheheheheehehee! |
| Surfer Rosa |
Posted - 03/30/2005 : 13:21:30
Download festival
Please please let me get the passes I want.
The only way to get rid of temptation is to yield to it. |
| Homers_pet_monkey |
Posted - 03/30/2005 : 13:17:03
I saw the advertisement for the London gig in NME today. Didn't think they'd play anywhere else. These old school American bands only ever seem to play one-off shows in London. Violent Femmes, Sonic youth, Throwing Muses etc have all done it.
Hansel and Gretel have formed a band, .....And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Breadcrumbs!!!
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| floop |
Posted - 03/30/2005 : 13:04:31
that could be fun. i saw them when i was about 17 and Nirvana opened up. that shows you how old i am.
maybe i'll go to a show and stand in the back and complain about people bumping into me, then leave early because i have to get up early the next morning to go to Home Depot
ist es möglich für ein quesadilla skrotum zu lecken? beim sprechen der quesadillas von LBF, ja. ja in der tatheheheheheheehehee! |
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