J spent a lifetime mastering his own sound…can’t be replicated or explained. Listen to their album you’re living all over me…his guitar playing is so sick.
Dude if you really just stumbled on Dinasaur Jr here for the first listen i have to say your facial expression response said it all.. u were blown away.. tried to keep up but couldnt.. then settled on how riffing out actually is what can create truely brilliant hooks despite theoretical convention. J mascis is an unassuming riff and fuzz genius of sorts. Just say it already..
Yeah, I'm pretty used to it and somehow just "accepted" it as it is, but when I actually focused on it, it really is kind of crazy, but not in a negative way. It's just so efortlessly "I dont give a damn", but at the same time so... emotional, melodic? That's rather strange combination. I have no idea how to describe it
@@mikesburger7726 he's done 3 rig rundowns with premier guitar, check it out if you want to see exactly how he gets his sound. His clean tone is a tube drive pedal and then he kicks on a big muff for lead. Sometimes mixes in a tonebender or rangemaster as well for the lead tone. Also always plays through three 100 watt full stacks lmao
Saw D Jr at a music fest 10 years ago. No guitar tech. Just 3 minute songs, crushed in front of two Marshall stacks, with Jay tuning his guitar between each song. So raw and unpretentious.
It wasn’t a huge run. But it was a good run. They got 1-2 really good albums of reunite. And perhaps best part, Lou’s version of bass for non original lineup years.
Would be amazing to see you react to Sonic Youth. Incredibly influential band with utterly unique guitar sound. Their “From the Basement” set from 2006 is fantastic. Especially “The Sprawl” and “ Hey Joni.”
Liking and replying because their from the basement set is soooo good. The Sprawl or Incinerate is what I'd love to see reviewed but I also love Hey Joni!
J is a Big Muff fanatic (sometimes stacked with a Superfuzz), usually with another overdrive, and runs super hot Marshall amps. Loudest concert experience I've ever been through, and fantastic.
Saw Dinosaur Jr. one time in the mid 90's with my Mom and they were louder than Metallica when I saw them. My Mom said Mountain is the only band she has seen live that was louder than Dinosaur Jr. lol
That’s the mad man Lou Barlow on bass!! His solo stuff and Sebadoh and Folk Implosion are excellent as well. Excellent song craft. Mascis is rad live - closest thing to a Hendrix experience being able to stand in front of 3 Marshall stacks. Mad respect. ❤ great review as always, Michael.
About time on this one, Michael! Gotta say it though, the recorded version of this song is an absolute monster. You should also give that entire record a shot - there are some truly inspired pieces of joyous lead from J throughout the whole record. In particular the song “Get Me”, the solo on which wrecks me every time I hear it. Trust me. Give it your ear.
After the horrible 80's, their album "You're Living All Over Me" was the return of rock music for me, still their best record. The next records always had great songs like "Out There" and many others.
I meant the mainstream, the movies, the fashion i have a lot of great records from the 80's: from Reckoning, Dead Set , the first 3 of U2, Hüsker Dü, Sister Double Happiness, Screaming Trees and many other SST bands, Pixies, Jeff Healey, John Hiatt and many others @@deepfocus888
what the crap...no one ever talks about Dinosaur Jr, for me it is his singing style that makes them stand out so much, so mellow with all the guitar 'rawness'...back in the 90's I LOVED these guys. The guitar sounds like it is chewing on squeaky cheese curds, yet I love that too...and I am a drummer not a guitar guy. Very 'hooky' indeed yet so raw.
J. Mascis and his Jazzmaster don't get enough love! Also anyone unfamiliar with Dinosaur Jr. should absolutely dive into their album 'Where Ya Been', those 10-13 tracks helped get me through high school
Oh man, me too. Green Mind got me through middle school then WYB carried me through. Got to see DJ with Guided By Voices last Friday and they were incredible.
dude you gotta check more of dinosaur jr out. you'll love them. j, the singer/guitar player writes amazing lead lines. much to learn. greetings from germany!
Its interesting that this band seems to have a special appeal to people that play music themselves. Perhaps because they sound so raw. I always like that they seem so lighthearted as opposed to all the more edgy acts of the 90s. Id love to see more of them here.
I got hooked on Dinosaur in the 80s and the post-Lou 90s stuff, at least the earlier years, absolutely shreds. Glad the original trio is back together and still tearing off heads.
I never noticed this before but you can really hear a lot of Dinosaur Jr. Influence in Foo Fighters tracks. There's a similar energy and rhythms. Dave definitely puts a bit more energy/aggression into his singing but there's some kind of influence I can hear there for sure.
Lou Barlow bassist loves to lay into chords to fill the power trio sound with that heaviness that balances the fuzzy guitar. JMascis was a shredder when he was young he admitted as well as loving the Beatles. The noise and the melody are at the heart of it. Sebadoh the bassists band had a great album in the nineties Bakesale and Harmacy, well worth a listen.
Seen DJ three at least three times. Looking forward to seeing them again next month. Mascis plays in front of a semicircle formed by three stacks fed by an array of overdrive and fuzz pedals. Thank you for illuminating his distinctive style of rhythm and lead guitar; it’s always baffled me. FREAK SCENE is my favorite song; it has a great solo and chugging drum beat played on the floor tom.
In no way Shoegaze, but Kevin Shields was inspired by and a fan of Dino as were Smashing pumpkins (dinosaur predates the pumpkins by four years and and you can hear hear dinosaurs guitar influence on the pumpkins, particularly the use of fuzz and the intentional rawness “sloppy beauty” that both bands utilize). Everything played on a jazzmaster and with fuzz isn’t “Shoegaze” no matter how hard people want to create revisionist history and lump things together.
Get Me by Dino Jr has probably my favorite guitar solos of all time. So much raw emotion. Definitely check out the full studio version, the music video cuts off the last one which is the most intense and beautiful.
Very excited to see you finally come around to Dinosaur Jr! Highly recommend you listen to albums like You're Living All Over Me and Bug. J. Mascis is a constantly overlooked guitarist and is a big influence on bands like Nirvana and Radiohead. Super melodic and catchy songs that J describes as "loud country"
It's not that wierd; it's just good. That Mudhoney/Nirvana type of good. Thanks for sharing your views on all of peoples old favorites and we all get to have new favorites along the way or maybe at least appreciate the stuff we might have missed. We all win.
melody in chaos is totally how i hear DJ. no matter how much dirt and feedback and interesting rhythmic choices J puts in his solos, he's almost always drawing a long and clear melody. he's like Neil Young, in that respect.
J. Mascis was credited by many for bringing back the huge, heavy toned guitar solos. It was after the 80s heavy metal period so long guitar solos were a thing of the past…and then here comes J. With these solos with a massive heaviness to them and LONG in comparison to what else what out there at the time ❤ the thing that always caught me is how heavy they play but how mild and relaxed the vocals are. So difficult to do and keep that separation between the two.
J starting this song off with a winding road of a solo at a time when a guitar solo could literally end your career was absolutely fantastic. Dude is actually a killer drummer as well
One of my favorite guitar players and favorite bands of all time. I’m so happy that J, Lou and Murph were able to put the past behind them because they sound as good as ever.
There’s a vid on YT where J demonstrates the opening/verse riff for Out There. It’s done in Em and revolves around Em > Bm > Cmaj7, but as you point out with capo 3rd fret brings it into key of Gm. J has a trick with his riffs, he starts open chord position keeps his 3rd & 4th fingers for bass strings (6,5,4) and leaves index & pinky to hammer high strings (3,2,1). Other riffs he does this include Thumb, Keeblin, I Don’t Think So.
J mascis and Dinosaur Jr ate feckin epic ! Got to love that guitar tone that Mascis is renowned for! As soon as you hear that guitar sound you know it's him! Rams head at its best! Love them so much - a totally underrated band! ❤️ thanks Micheal! ❤
I always feel like the bottom is always solid but J Masics is wobbling on the edge but always manages to keep from falling over.. I love this sound and have been a fan forever!!
Lou plays guitar but when he makes bass lines for dinosaur jr. I believe he said he just does it like a guitar part but for a bass. if that makes the chord thing make sense in his playing.
your enthusiasm, as well as the explanations themselves, are infectious and really awesome! Loved this and definitely gonna go away and try and write some 'hooky 4ths!!!' myself now!
Remember seing the line up with Mike on bass... somehow there was a snafu with the bass amp on one of the songs so Mascis just cranked his guitar even more to even it out. The stage tech managed to get the bass amp back on and a monster guitar solo followed. After the song Mascis said: "That song got a little too long so maybe I should apologize....but Hawkwind never apologized so.." That was all he said during the entire show apart from the usual "thanks" and whatnot😂 Absolutely brilliant. One of my top 3 shows to this day ( this was back in the 90's).
one of my favorite tune, i always wondered why J mascis said he didnt know how to play guitar .. this video is amazing. .. the sound and accuracy is crazy
Often J cascades multiple big muffs (sometimes other fuzzes) into each other. That is likely what yr hearing on all the leads and really gnarly rhythm parts.
It's so weird. My music taste has changed in the 25 years or so I've been really into music. Teenage years were skater pop/screamo, then it went mental, then Indie, then pop punk, then punk punk, blues and soul and finally folk/legit country. So I want to appreciate styles like this, but I'm not able to flip like that. With that said, I was introducing a friend to Tool - Parabola in the car the other day. So I do get moods. Thought I'd mention Tool as I dont even know what genre I'd place them in. Edit: As I was writing this, I was listening and now I'm digging the song. Weird how that happens. 🤣
Good to see you looking back a occasionally at some older music. DJ was never mainstream but one of those “if you know, you know” bands. The Jesus and Mary Chain had a similar sound. Personally my favorite DJ tune was always “See You” off of Farm (2009). Oh love the bass - my first real guitar was a black Rickenbacker bass which I stupidly later sold and have regretted ever since.
Hey Michael soooo stoked that you are hitting one of my absolute favorite guitar players in J Mascis! Please do more Dinosaur Jr, especially some of the stuff off of the albums in the early 90's(like this one) where J was playing every instrument. Here's a few of my favorite songs of his guitar playing: "See it on your side", "Said the people", "Ocean in the way", "Get Me", & "Start Choppin'"
J is the real deal - no pretensions, no BS, just the truth. I saw him come out in front of a festival crowd out to there, alone, with a shitty-looking little acoustic guitar, and he laid us all down and blew the trees off the hills. Whatever he had happening between his fingers and our ears made it sound like a sonic blitzkrieg, his voice dripping with Cobain-level angst. SEE HIM LIVE!!!
When I met my wife she introduced me to this band. I felt the same as a guitarist, this band is great, however it keeps doing things that my brain is hearing where it should go, and then it get's to the same place, but in a different path somehow,,, It's all aiming at the same target with different weapons. Great video sir!
I think that to analyze a Dinosaur Jr song it would be better in its studio version, in live J. improvises and never plays any solo in the same way, although the structure of the song is the same. In the studio versions, everything sounds perfect, he is probably one of the most imaginative guitarists in history, as well as a great songwriter.
Great job sir! Now try to do the same thing but having a 1cm between the strings and the fretboard! 🤓 and singing at the same time! ✌️ we love Mr. J Mascis!
Dinosaur Jr is one of my all-time favorites. I have seen them live a few times and am always blown away. They conjure lightning and fight it into some type of control and direction. Wizards.
This song saved the existence of the guitar solo” when it came out (ok, lil melodramatic, but still, context of grunge…). And I agree, the raw just-off bends and sloppy looseness are intentional. Yet each nuance got stamped on my brain, I can still mimic every note of each hooky melodic guitar lead. What you might not have picked up on is how complex the rhythm parts are under the vocals, definitely not just power chords, basically playing two parts at once, suspensions and melody over the power chords (and yes, that inverted F), while faking that he sings like a 13yr old stuck in a tenement house…. Great song, not sloppy at all, beautifully constructed & performed
I remember seeing them a few times back in the 90's and they always sounded just like on their albums. J Mascis always had a ton of pedals on the floor I'm pretty sure everything he was using helped him with his unique guitar sounds.
