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Dinosaur Jr.

Band formed in 1983 in Amherst, MA

Dinosaur Jr.'s Genre:

Alternative Pop/Rock, Alternative/Indie Rock, Indie Rock, American Underground

Biography

Dinosaur Jr. were largely responsible for returning lead guitar to indie rock and, along with their peers the Pixies, they injected late-'80s alternative rock with monumental levels of pure guitar noise. As the group's career progressed, it turned into a vehicle for J Mascis' songwriting and playing, which had the ultimate result of turning Dinosaur's albums into largely similar affairs. Over time, Mascis shed his hardcore punk roots and revealed himself to be a disciple of Neil Young, crafting simple songs that were delivered at a crushing volume and spiked with shards of feedback. Consequently, Dinosaur Jr.'s '90s albums -- when the group was essentially a front for Mascis -- don't sound particularly revolutionary, even with their subtle sonic innovations, yet their original '80s records for SST were a different matter. On their early records, Dinosaur lurched forward, taking weird detours into free-form noise and melodic soloing before the songs are brought back into relief by Mascis' laconic whine. Dinosaur's SST records laid the foundation for alternative rock's commercial breakthrough in the early '90s, and while the band's profile was raised substantially in the wake of Nirvana's success, they never really became much bigger than highly respected cult figures.

Mascis (born Joseph D. Mascis; guitar, vocal) formed Dinosaur Jr. in Amherst, MA, after his hardcore punk band Deep Wound broke up in 1983. Hooking up with fellow high-school student Lou Barlow (bass), Mascis initially played drums in Dinosaur, but shortly afterward, former All White Jury drummer Murph (born Emmett "Patrick" Murphy), joined the group and J moved to guitar. Over the next year the group developed a local following, and in 1985 the trio released its debut album, Dinosaur, on the Homestead label. The record and the group's crushingly loud concerts developed a cult following over the next year. By the end of 1986, a hippie rock group called Dinosaur -- featuring former members of Jefferson Airplane and Country Joe & the Fish -- sued the band, which changed its name to Dinosaur Jr.

In 1987, Dinosaur Jr. signed to Black Flag's indie label SST and released You're Living All Over Me, which became an underground sensation, with groups like Sonic Youth championing Mascis' wild, feedback-drenched guitar. Early in 1988 they released the seminal single "Freak Scene," a song that captured the feeling and tone of the emerging American post-punk underground. "Freak Scene" became a college radio hit, and it led the way for their acclaimed 1988 album Bug. Although the band's popularity continued to grow, tensions were developing between Mascis and Barlow, who rarely talked to each other. In 1989, Mascis told Barlow that the group was breaking up; the following day, he "re-formed" Dinosaur Jr., this time without Barlow, who went on to form Sebadoh.

Without Barlow, Dinosaur Jr. relied on a rotating array of guest bassists, including Don Fleming and the Screaming Trees' Van Connor. In 1989, the group had an underground hit with their non-LP cover of the Cure's "Just Like Heaven." The following year, they signed with Sire Records. After "Just Like Heaven," Mascis remained quiet for several years as he produced acts like Buffalo Tom and collaborated with friends like Sonic Youth and Fleming's Velvet Monkeys. Green Mind, Dinosaur's 1991 major-label debut, was recorded almost entirely alone by Mascis, and its varied, eclectic sound was received poorly in many alternative rock circles. Before the Green Mind tour, former Snakepit member Mike Johnson became the group's full-time bassist. On the subsequent tour, Dinosaur Jr. were supported by Nirvana, whose success with Nevermind soon overshadowed Dinosaur's.

Instead of capitalizing on the commercial breakthrough of alternative rock, Dinosaur released an EP, Whatever's Cool With Me, in early 1992 and disappeared to record their next album. Released early in 1993, Where You Been benefited greatly from the commercial breakthrough of alternative rock, and many of the articles surrounding the album's release hailed Mascis as an alternative godfather. It became the first Dinosaur album to chart, peaking at number 50, and it generated the modern rock hit "Start Choppin." That summer, the group played on the third Lollapalooza tour. Mascis recorded the band's next album without Murph, who unceremoniously left the band; he later joined the Lemonheads. Dinosaur Jr. released Without a Sound in 1994 to mixed reviews, but the album was a moderate hit, thanks to the MTV and modern rock hit "Feel the Pain." In the fall of 1995, Mascis launched his first solo acoustic tour, which was captured on his first official solo album, Martin & Me, released in the spring of 1996.

After contributing several Brian Wilson-styled songs to Alison Anders' 1996 film Grace of My Heart -- he also made an appearance in the movie -- Mascis completed Dinosaur's next album on his own, leaving Johnson to his solo career. Upon its spring 1997 release, Hand It Over was hailed as Mascis' best album in years, although it failed to generate a significant hit. By the late '90s, Mascis decided to break up Dinosaur Jr. and launch a solo career, resulting in the release of More Light in 2000 (under the name of J Mascis + the Fog, a group that also featured former Minutemen bassist Mike Watt). The new group's ensuing tour was cut short in June of 2001, however, when their tour bus was involved in a serious accident in Sweden, resulting in Mascis cracking two vertebrae. In the wake of their breakup, a pair of postmortem Dinosaur Jr. collections saw the light of day in the early 21st century: 2000s live-in-the-studio BBC Sessions and 2001's Ear-Bleeding Country: The Best Of. In addition, the history of Dinosaur Jr.'s original lineup was documented in Michael Azerrad's excellent 2001 book of '80s alt-rock pioneers, Our Band Could Be Your Life.

In 2005 the first three albums were reissued on Merge and Mascis announced the original band would be reuniting for a short tour. A year later, Green Mind and Where You Been were reissued by Sire with bonus tracks while Rhino released J Mascis Live at CBGB's, a recording of an acoustic gig from 1993. To coincide with the 2006 reissues, the reunited band began a world-wide tour and announced plans to work on material for a new album, which surfaced in 2007 in the form of Beyond. The reunion stuck, and the original lineup of Dinosaur Jr. eventually releasing Farm in 2009, followed by I Bet on Sky in 2012. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine & Greg Prato

AOL Radio Stations Dinosaur Jr. is Featured on (14)

Grunge: 20 Years Later

August and September 2011 mark 20 years since the release of Pearl Jam's Ten and Nirvana’s seminal album Nevermind, two records that forever changed the course of music history. Slacker DJ Marco Collins- who worked at legendary Seattle radio station "107.7 The End" during the Grunge explosion- is your host on this station. You'll hear the bands that influenced the Grunge movement, the artists that were right in the middle of it, and the bands that followed. You''ll also hear exclusive interview content from Marco Collins' archive with artists like Chris Cornell, Courtney Love, and Mike McCready. Grunge: 20 Years later on Slacker Radio is a conclusive look at a local movement that changed rock music forever.

Boston Strong

The residents of Boston have had a heartbreaking and difficult week. Today, Slacker is paying tribute to the resilient residents of one of the greatest cities in the world the only way we know how: via the universal language of music. On this station you'll hear the greatest musical artists to come from Boston, and there's a ton of them. The music spans many genres and eras, but they are all united by one thing: they are all Boston Strong.

Delta Spirit Showcase

This is the Delta Spirit Artist Showcase station on Slacker Radio. Tune in to hear a station built entirely by the band including music that is hand-picked by Jon, Brandon, Matthew, Kelly and WIlliam as well as commentary by each about the songs that influenced their music and their lives.

Coachella 2013

The 14th Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival will be held over two consecutive weekends in Indio, CA- the first on April 12-14 and the second on April 19-21. The 2013 line-up includes headlining performances from The Stone Roses, Blur, Phoenix, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Coachella 2013 also features some historic reunions, featuring performances by Blur, Jurassic 5, and The Postal Service. Hear all of this year's Coachella artists in one place- on the Coachella 2013 station on Slacker Radio!

The Cribs Showcase

This is The Cribs Artist Showcase on Slacker Radio. Tune in to hear a station built entirely by The Cribs including music hand-picked by Gary, Ryan and Ross as well as commentary about the songs that influenced their music and their lives.

Indie 500

After much debate and consideration, Your Slacker curators have come up with the top 500 indie songs of all time. Slacker’s Indie 500 is actually a showcase of the greatest songs from many different sub-genres, all unified by a common spirit and ethos. Call it College Rock, Post-Punk, Pre-Emo, Indie Rock, Twee Pop, Indietronica, Riot Grrl; call it whatever you like. Just know that all the songs on this station were created with the same independent spirit. Hear indie hits spanning from the late 70's up until now.

Hedley Showcase

This is the Hedley Showcase station on Slacker Radio. Tune in to hear a station built entirely by Hedley including music hand-picked by Jake and Dave as well as commentary about the songs that influenced their music and their lives.

Family of the Year Showcase

This is the Family of the Year Showcase station on Slacker Radio. Tune in to hear a station built entirely by Family of the Year including music hand-picked by the band as well as commentary about the songs that influenced their music and their lives.

Jimmy Eat World Showcase

This is the Jimmy Eat World Artist Showcase station. Tune in to hear a station built entirely by the band members of Jimmy Eat World including music hand-picked by Jim, Zach, Rick and Tom as well as commentary by each about the songs that influenced their music and their lives. Jimmy Eat World’s sixth studio album "Invented" is available in stores and digitally now. The album marks the reunion of the band and producer Mark Trombino who served as producer on the band’s two biggest selling albums "Clarity" and "Bleed American."

Matt Nathanson Showcase

This is the Matt Nathanson Artist Showcase station on Slacker Radio. Tune in to hear a station built entirely by Matt including music that he hand-picked as well as commentary about the songs that influenced his music and his life.

'90s Alternative

90's Alternative on Slacker Radio highlights one of the most profound decades of Alternative Music. You'll hear the powerhouse artists of the Seattle grunge movement including Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Alice In Chains, Soundgarden and the Screaming Trees. You'll also get a heaping helping of non-Northwest classics like Stone Temple Pilots, The Smashing Pumpkins and Sublime as well as recalling the Punk resurgence with classics like Green Day's "Dookie" or the Offspring's "Smash" and the offbeat sounds of The Flaming Lips, Beck and Cake.

Classic Alternative

Call it "Alternative," "Modern Rock," "College Rock" - call it whatever you like. Classic Alternative on Slacker Radio is all of those things and more- from the golden age of Alternative. Spanning various decades, this is radio for people that were raised on 120 Minutes. David Bowie, The Clash, The Smiths, Erasure, Depeche Mode, New Order, INXS, Midnight Oil, R.E.M., 10,000 Maniacs, Nine Inch Nails, Nirvana, Weezer, and many more!

The Current

The Current brings you the best authentic new music alongside the music that inspired it, from unique to universal, indie to influential, new to nostalgic. Broadcasting from the musical hotbed that is Minnesota, listen to The Current and you’ll see why we say, “Great Music Lives Here.” Find playlist, interviews and more at thecurrent.org.

Dinosaur Jr.

This station plays the best music from and music from related artists like Sonic Youth, Pixies, Pavement, The Breeders, Hüsker Dü, The Jesus and Mary Chain, The Flaming Lips, The Replacements, The Lemonheads, Radiohead and more.

All Stations

Dinosaur Jr.'s Selected Discography (31)

Chocomel Daze (Live 1987)

2012 Merge Records201211 Songs

Farm

2009 Jagjaguwar200912 Songs

Hand It Over

2007 Warner Music UK Ltd. & Rhino Entertainment Company200812 Songs

Beyond

2007 Dinosaur Jr. Inc. under exclusive license to Fat Possum200711 Songs

Green Mind [Bonus Tracks]

2006 Warner Music UK Ltd & Rhino Entertainment Company. Manufactured & marketed by Rhino Entertainment Company, a Warner Music Group Company200613 Songs

Bug [Bonus Videos]

2005 Merge Records200512 Songs

Dinosaur [Remastered]

2005 Merge Records200512 Songs

You're Living All Over Me [Remastered]

2005 Merge Records200512 Songs

Without a Sound

2007 Warner Music UK Ltd. & Rhino Entertainment Company199411 Songs

I Bet on Sky

2012 JagjaguwarDIGITAL201210 Songs

Where You Been [Bonus Track]

2006 Warner Music UK Ltd & Rhino Entertainment Company. Manufactured & marketed by Rhino Entertainment Company, a Warner Music Group CompanyDIGITAL200611 Songs

Now The Fall b/w Ricochet

2013 JagjaguwarSINGLE20132 Songs

Pieces

2009 JagjaguwarSINGLE20092 Songs

Watch the Corners

2012 JagjaguwarDIGITAL1 Songs

Whatever's Cool with Me

1991 Reprise RecordsCOMPILATION19918 Songs

Ear-Bleeding Country: The Best of Dinosaur Jr.

COMPILATION200119 Songs

Feel the Pain

EP19943 Songs

Bug [Bonus Track]

200812 Songs

Where You Been

199310 Songs

Dinosaur

199111 Songs

Dinosaur [Bonus Tracks]

200714 Songs

Green Mind

199010 Songs

Bug [Bonus Tracks]

198812 Songs

You're Living All Over Me

198710 Songs

Freak Scene

20052 Songs

Get Me

EP19923 Songs

Just Like Heaven

EP19913 Songs

Little Fury Things

EP19903 Songs

Bug Live at 9:30 Club: In the Hands of the Fans

201211 Songs

Live in the Middle East [DVD]

200619 Songs

Bug: Live at the 9:30 Club, Washington, DC, June 2011

20129 Songs

All Albums

Artists Related to Dinosaur Jr. (50)

	Sonic Youth	Sonic Youth were one of the most unlikely success stories of underground American rock in the '80s. Where contemporaries R.
	Pixies	Combining jagged, roaring guitars and stop-start dynamics with melodic pop hooks, intertwining male-female harmonies and evocative, cryptic lyrics, the Pixies were one of the most influential American alternative rock bands of the late '80s.
	Pavement	With their fractured songs, unexpected blasts of feedback, laconic vocals, cryptic literate lyrics, and defiant low-fidelity, Pavement were one of the most influential and distinctive bands to emerge from the American underground in the '90s.
	The Breeders	One of alternative rock's most promising -- and frustrating -- bands, the Breeders were conceived initially as a way for Pixies bassist Kim Deal and Throwing Muses guitarist Tanya Donelly to let out some suppressed creative energy and to take a break from being the second bananas in each of their main bands.
	Hüsker Dü	Hüsker Dü and R.E.M. were the two American post-punk bands of the '80s that changed the direction of rock & roll.
	The Jesus and Mary Chain	Like the Velvet Underground, their most obvious influence, the chart success of the Jesus and Mary Chain was virtually nonexistent, but their artistic impact was incalculable; quite simply, the British group made the world safe for white noise, orchestrating a sound dense in squalling feedback which served as an inspiration to everyone from My Bloody Valentine to Dinosaur Jr.
	The Flaming Lips	Even within the eclectic world of alternative rock, few bands were so brave, so frequently brilliant, and so deliciously weird as the Flaming Lips.
	The Replacements	The Replacements initially formed in 1979, when Paul Westerberg joined a garage punk band formed by brothers Bob (guitar) and Tommy Stinson (bass) and drummer Chris Mars.
	The Lemonheads	The Lemonheads' evolution from post-Hüsker Dü hardcore punk rockers to teenage heartthrobs is one of the strangest sagas in alternative music.
	Radiohead	Radiohead were one of the few alternative bands of the early '90s to draw heavily from the grandiose arena rock that characterized U2's early albums.
	Violent Femmes	The textbook American cult band of the 1980s, the Violent Femmes captured the essence of teen angst with remarkable precision; raw and jittery, the trio's music found little commercial success but nonetheless emerged as the soundtrack for the lives of troubled adolescents the world over.
	Jane's Addiction	Jane's Addiction were one of the most hotly pursued rock bands when they gained notice in Los Angeles in the mid-'80s, with record companies at their feet.
	Beck	Initially pegged as something as a voice of a generation when “Loser” turned into a smash crossover success, Beck did wind up crystallizing much of the post-modern ruckus of the ‘90s alternative explosion, but in unexpected ways.
	Screaming Trees	Where many of their Seattle-based contemporaries dealt in reconstructed Black Sabbath and Stooges riffs, Screaming Trees fused '60s psychedelia and garage rock with '70s hard rock and '80s punk.
	Meat Puppets	Out of all of the bands that made SST Records a towering force in the American underground during the mid-'80s, Meat Puppets lasted the longest, surviving where other bands fell apart.
	Built to Spill	Built to Spill were one of the most popular indie rock acts of the '90s, finding the middle ground between postmodern, Pavement-style pop and the loose, spacious jamming of Neil Young.
	Mudhoney	Nirvana may have been the band that put an entire generation in flannel, and Pearl Jam and Soundgarden both sold a lot more records, but Mudhoney were truly the band that made the '90s grunge rock movement possible.
	The Smashing Pumpkins	Of all the major alternative rock bands of the early '90s, Smashing Pumpkins were the group least influenced by traditional underground rock.
	Nirvana	Prior to Nirvana, alternative music was consigned to specialty sections of record stores, and major labels considered it to be, at the very most, a tax write-off.
	The Cure	Out of all the bands that emerged in the immediate aftermath of punk rock in the late '70s, few were as enduring and popular as the Cure.
	R.E.M.	R.E.M. marked the point when post-punk turned into alternative rock. When their first single, "Radio Free Europe," was released in 1981, it sparked a back-to-the-garage movement in the American underground.
	The Smiths	The Smiths were the definitive British indie rock band of the '80s, marking the end of synth-driven new wave and the beginning of the guitar rock that dominated English rock into the '90s.
	Fugazi	If history is kind to Fugazi, their records won't be overshadowed by their reputation and methods of operation.
	Modest Mouse	Modest Mouse were one of the most surprising commercial success stories of the new millennium -- while their music was by turns taut and elliptical, and the lyrics sometimes cryptic and introspective, the band broke through to the mainstream audience with the platinum-selling Good News for People Who Love Bad News, and they became genuine rock stars at a time when their musical peers remained cult figures.
	Blur	Initially, Blur were one of the multitude of British bands that appeared in the wake of the Stone Roses, mining the same swirling, pseudo-psychedelic guitar pop, only with louder guitars.
	Sebadoh	As much a collective of musicians as a band, Sebadoh was the quintessential lo-fi band of the '90s. Formed by singer/songwriter Lou Barlow while he was the bassist for Dinosaur Jr.
	Yo La Tengo	Yo La Tengo are in many respects the quintessential critics' band: in addition to their adventurous eclecticism, defiant independence, and restless creative ambition -- three qualities that virtually guarantee music press acclaim -- the group's frontman, Ira Kaplan, even tenured as a rock scribe prior to finding success as a performer.
	Butthole Surfers	Arguably the most infamously named band in the annals of popular music -- for years, radio found their moniker unspeakable, and the press deemed it unprintable -- Butthole Surfers long reigned among the most twisted and depraved acts ever to bubble up from the American underground.
	My Bloody Valentine	Like the Velvet Underground, Sonic Youth, and the Jesus and Mary Chain before them, My Bloody Valentine redefined what noise meant within the context of pop songwriting.
	Joy Division	Formed in the wake of the punk explosion in England, Joy Division became the first band in the post-punk movement by later emphasizing not anger and energy but mood and expression, pointing ahead to the rise of melancholy alternative music in the '80s.
	The Clash	The Sex Pistols may have been the first British punk rock band, but the Clash were the definitive British punk rockers.
	Guided by Voices	Inspired equally by jangle pop and arty post-punk, Guided by Voices created a series of trebly, hissy indie rock records filled with infectiously brief pop songs that fell somewhere between the British Invasion and prog rock.
	The White Stripes	The White Stripes formed on Bastille Day in 1997, aiming to create simple, vigorous rock & roll with little more than Meg White's percussion and Jack White's guitar-and-vocal attack.
	They Might Be Giants	Combining a knack for infectious melodies with a quirky, bizarre sense of humor and a vaguely avant-garde aesthetic borrowed from the New York post-punk underground, They Might Be Giants became one of the most unlikely alternative success stories of the late '80s and early '90s.
	Sugar	After two solo albums, ex-Hüsker Dü guitarist/vocalist Bob Mould formed Sugar in 1992, with bassist David Barbe and drummer Malcolm Travis; the band signed with Rykodisc in the U.
	The Velvet Underground	Few rock groups can claim to have broken so much new territory, and maintain such consistent brilliance on record, as the Velvet Underground during their brief lifespan.
	The Ramones	The Ramones are the first punk rock band. Other bands, such as the Stooges and the New York Dolls, came before them and set the stage and aesthetic for punk, and bands that immediately followed, such as the Sex Pistols, made the latent violence of the music more explicit, but the Ramones crystallized the musical ideals of the genre.
	Weezer	As one of the most popular groups to emerge in the post-grunge alternative rock aftermath, Weezer received equal amounts of criticism and praise for their hook-heavy guitar pop.
	The Stone Roses	Meshing '60s-styled guitar pop with an understated '80s dance beat, the Stone Roses defined the British guitar pop scene of the late '80s and early '90s.
	Spoon	With their heady blend of precision punk and serpentine classic rock (the band has drawn comparisons to everyone from the Pixies and Sonic Youth to Elvis Costello and Tom Petty), enigmatic, Texas-based indie pop outfit Spoon went from underground press darlings to one of the genre’s premier commercially and critically acclaimed alternative rock acts.
	Pearl Jam	Pearl Jam rose from the ashes of Mother Love Bone to become the most popular American rock & roll band of the '90s.
	Echo & The Bunnymen	Echo & the Bunnymen's dark, swirling fusion of gloomy post-punk and Doors-inspired psychedelia brought the group a handful of British hits in the early '80s, while attracting a cult following in the United States.
	Minutemen	More than any other hardcore band, the Minutemen epitomized the free-thinking independent ideals that formed the core of punk/alternative music.
	Wilco	Wilco rose from the ashes of the seminal roots rock band Uncle Tupelo, which disbanded in 1994. While Jay Farrar, one of the group's two singer/songwriters, went on to form Son Volt, his ex-partner Jeff Tweedy established Wilco along with the remaining members of Tupelo's final incarnation, which included drummer Ken Coomer as well as part-time bandmates John Stirratt (bass) and Max Johnston (mandolin, banjo, fiddle, and lap steel).
	Ween	Ween was the ultimate cosmic goof of the alternative rock era, a prodigiously talented and deliriously odd duo whose work traveled far beyond the constraints of parody and novelty into the heart of surrealist ecstasy.
	Soundgarden	Soundgarden made a place for heavy metal in alternative rock. Their fellow Seattle rockers Green River may have spearheaded the grunge sound, but they relied on noise rock in the vein of the Stooges.
	Iggy Pop	There's a reason why many consider Iggy Pop the godfather of punk: every single punk band of the past and present has either knowingly or unknowingly borrowed a thing or two from Pop and his late-'60s/early-'70s band, the Stooges.
	Talking Heads	At the start of their career, Talking Heads were all nervous energy, detached emotion, and subdued minimalism.
	Social Distortion	The enduring L.A. punk band Social Distortion has overcome numerous personnel shifts, the demise of the Los Angeles hardcore scene that spawned them, and the heroin addiction of singer/guitarist/bandleader Mike Ness to achieve a measure mainstream acceptance for their rootsy, hard-hitting punk without compromise.
	Interpol	Although formed during the late '90s, Interpol rose to international attention in 2002 as part of New York City's post-punk revival.