Dinosaur Jr.

"Dinosaur Jr. was 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.

J. Mascis (b. Joseph D. Mascis; guitar, vocal) formed Dinosaur Jr. in Amherst, Massachusetts, 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 (b. 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 their 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. was 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."

1985 - Dinosaur

01. Forget the Swan

02. Cats in a Bowl
03. The Leper
04. Does It Float
05. Pointless
06. Repulsion
07. Gargoyle
08. Severed Lips
09. Mountain Man
10. Quest
11. Bulbs of Passion

1987 - You're Living All Over Me

 01. Little Fury Things
02. Kracked
03. Sludgefeast
04. The Lung
05. Raisans
06. Tarpit
07. In A Jar
08. Lose
09. Poledo
10. Show Me the Way

1988 - Bug

 01. Freak Scene
02. No Bones
03. They Always Come
04. Yeah We Know
05. Let It Ride
06. Pond Song
07. Budge
08. The Post
09. Don't
10. Keep The Glove (Bonus Track) 

1991 - Green Mind 

 01. The Wagon
02. Puke & Cry
03. Blowing It
04. I Live for That Look
05. Flying Cloud
06. How'd You Pin That One on Me
07. Water
08. Muck
09. Thumb
10. Green Mind 

1991 - Fossil 

 01. Little Fury Things
02. In A Jar
03. Show Me The Way
04. Freak Scene
05. Keep The Glove
06. Just Like Heaven
07. Throw Down
08. Chunks

1991- Whatever's Cool With Me

  1. Whatever's Cool With Me
2. Sideways
3. Not You Again
4. The Little Baby
5. Pebbles & Weeds
6. Quicksand
7. Thumb (live)
8. Keep the Glove (live)

 1993 - Where You Been

 01. Out There
02. Start Choppin
03. What Else Is New
04. On the Way
05. Not the Same
06. Get Me
07. Drawerings
08. Hide
09. Goin Home
10. I Ain't Sayin

1994 - Without A Sound

 01. Feel the Pain
02. I Don't Think So
03. Yeah Right
04. Outta Hand
05. Grab It
06. Even You
07. Mind Glow
08. Get Out of This
09. On the Brink
10. Seemed Like the Thing to Do
11. Over Your Shoulder

Quest

01. Quest (live)
02. Hot Burrito #2
03. Turnip Farm
04. Forget It
05. Kracked (live)
06. Keeblin'
07. Severed Lips (Mark Goodier Session)
08. Get Me (John Peel Session)
09. Thumb (Mark Goodier Session)
10. Quest (acoustic)

pass: discosgrunge.blogspot.com

1997 - Hand It Over

   01. I Don't Think
02. Never Bought It
03. Nothin's Goin' On
04. I'm Insane
05. Can't We Move This
06. Alone
07. Sure Not Over You
08. Loaded
09. Mick
10. I Know Yer Insane
11. Gettin Rough
12. Gotta Know

In Session

01. In A Jar
02. Leper
03. Keep the Glove
04. Budge
05. Bulbs of Passion
06. Raisans
07. Keeblin
08. No Bones
09. Does It Float
10. Get Me

pass: discosgrunge.blogspot.com

Zombie Worm

01. Little Fury Things
02. Repulsion
03. Freak Scene
04. Just Like Heaven
05. Forget the Swan
06. Budge
07. The Lung
08. Bulbs of passion
09. Raisans
10. No Bones
11. Gargoyle
12. In A Jar
13. Yeah We Know
14. Sludge Feast
15. Freak Scene (Live)
16. Forget The Swan (Live)

pass: discosgrunge.blogspot.com

 2007 - Beyond

01. Almost Ready
02. Crumble
03. Pick Me Up
04. Back to Your Heart
05. This is All I Came to Do
06. Been There All the Time
07. It's Me
08. We're Not Alone
09. I Got Lost
10. Lightning Bulb
11. What If I Knew...

2009 - Farm

 01. Pieces
02. I Want You To Know
03. Ocean In The Way
04. Plans
05. Your Weather
06. Over It
07. Friends
08. Said The People
09. There's No Here
10 See You
11 I Don't Wanna Go There
12 Imagination Blind