Weirdness Flows: The Songs of Dinosaur Jr (131-140)
140 Entertainment
MP3 download only (2013)
A cover (for some reason described as a 'remix') of a track by French band Phoenix, who I must confess I’d never heard of. Dinosaur’s laid-back version is, as Stereogum describes, a ‘slow, gorgeously stoned contemplation’ and is most definitely a huge improvement on the original.
139 Creepies
Farm (deluxe edition bonus track) (2009)
An instrumental that featured in the 2009 skateboarding film Mind Field. The angular, staccato riff at the outset is a delight, but whilst it gallops along enthusiastically, it does feel a little slight. Great opening track for a mixtape though.
The video is here; below are some stills from the film:
138 Mountain Man
Dinosaur (1985)
A full-on punkish rocker from the debut. What it lacks in subtlety it makes up for with twitchy energy. Contains the excellent lyric ‘Got to fight off grizzly bears / got to eat, so I grab a few hares’ as well as some enjoyably abandoned wah-wah soloing.
137 Forget It
B-side to Start Choppin (1993)
Nothing whatsoever wrong with this, and the soaring lead guitar that suddenly erupts after the quiet, introspective opening is a highlight, but ultimately it falls squarely into ‘solid but not exceptionally memorable b-side’ territory.
136 Chunks
B-side to Just Like Heaven (1989)
A cover of a song by Last Rights, who were a hardcore band from Boston that only ever played one gig (Deep Wound were also on the bill) and released one 7" single, on which 'Chunks' appeared. Dinosaur's version is a pretty straight cover, although it has a slightly wilder energy than the original (and a fuller sound, no doubt the result of it being recorded in a better equipped studio than Last Rights would have had access to). Dinosaur also recorded a version for John Peel in April 1989.
135 Better Than Gone
B-side to The Wagon (1990)
Composed and sung by Don Fleming, who had been in B.A.L.L. with drummer Jay Speigel, both of whom joined Dinosaur Jr for a brief period after Lou Barlow's departure, along with bassist Donna Dresch (credited here under the pseudonym 'Donna Biddle').
It's an engaging enough melodic slice of lo-fi punkish power-pop, reminiscent of early Lemonheads. The sound is a little messy: the idea of having Spiegel and Murph play together (apparently Spiegel is in the left channel, Murph in the right) is an interesting one, but it actually makes the track less sharp and coherent than it might have been. There's a certain appeal to its raw energy, but ultimately, it's not much more than an interesting curio.
134 Keep The Glove
B-side to Freak Scene (1988)
Lopes along engagingly enough, with a pleasingly melodic chorus; just when you think it’s going nowhere special it explodes into a squall of splendidly lo-fi abrasive noise.
133 Pebbles + Weeds
B-side to The Wagon (1991)
Shambolic fun. Lots of frenetic soling to admire, but it does sound a little like several half-formed ideas thrown together randomly.
132 Mirror
Give A Glimpse Of What Yer Not (2016)
The penultimate track on Glimpse is mid-paced and meditative, framed around a two-chord refrain and punctuated by a blues-rock riff that’s just a touch awkward and clunky. It’s lifted by the transition into the ‘waste of time’ chorus and ‘I don’t see no reason’ middle eight, but overall it’s probably best described as a fairly decent effort. It’s not helped by the somewhat phoned-in lyric, which, for example, rhymes ‘know us’ with ‘focus’.
131 I Know It Oh So Well
I Bet On Sky (2012)
Undoubtedly groovy and catchy, but the wah-wah is a little overdone to the point where it’s hard, at times, to hear anything else. Improves notably in the middle section, where it gets into a blues-rock groove and throws in a fluid solo.
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