Weirdness Flows: The Songs of Dinosaur Jr (151-160)
160 Poledo
You're Living All Over Me (1987)
Lou Barlow’s Throbbing Gristle-influenced sound collage that concludes You’re Living All Over Me is more interesting for its back story (it resulted in him meeting his first wife, Kathleen Billus) than it is to actually listen to. There is something intriguingly haunting about its tape-spliced drones, but ultimately it suffers the same fate as, say, The Fall’s ‘Papal Visit’ - the song that’s the sign to flip the LP over and start again.
Kiss My Ass: Classic Kiss Regrooved (1994)
I was a child of the NWOBHM, and at the age of 11 or 12 was greatly enamoured of Iron Maiden, Saxon, etc. As for Kiss, I was aware of them at the time, but only the makeup and the image; I don’t think I actually heard a Kiss song until ‘Crazy Crazy Nights’ and ‘God Gave Rock and Roll to You’ became their only UK hits. (An American friend of mine remains astonished and disappointed that these are the only Kiss tracks that the majority of UK folk know.)
‘Goin’ Blind’ became my third Kiss experience when I looked up the original for the purposes of this blog, and on that evidence I can’t say I feel like I’ve been missing out. The Dinosaur Jr cover is a fairly straight reading, just a bit heavier, but at least J’s vocals are an improvement on the constipated squawk of the source material.
158 Outta Hand
Without A Sound (1994)
The swirling acoustic riff is pretty, and the understated melody is pleasantly wistful, but the one-paced repetitiveness of the lyric (make it / fake it / take it) is a little wearing.
157 I Got Lost
Beyond (2007)
Aims for tender and melancholy but actually lands on slightly whiny and just a little dull. On the positive side, Murph’s drumming is subtly understated; but overall, it’s eminently skippable.
156 I Misunderstood
Beat The Retreat - Songs by Richard Thompson (1995)
Competent if slightly sluggish and heavy-handed version of a 1991 Richard Thompson track.
155 Houses
Split single with Elyse Weinberg (2021)
I must confess that before I heard this track I was unaware of Canadian singer-songwriter Elyse Weinberg. ‘Houses’ is a song from Greasepaint Smile, the follow-up to her 1969 debut album that was recorded shortly afterwards but not released until 2015. The original is plaintive and delicate; Dinosaur Jr’s version is faithfully respectful, but doesn’t add a huge amount to the source material other than a sprightly guitar solo.
154 What We Do Is Secret
Germs (Tribute) - A Small Circle Of Friends (1996)
Spirited slice of hardcore, but like some of the others covers that have already featured, it doesn’t add a great deal to the original.
153 Throw Down
B-side to Just Like Heaven (1989)
Reasonably memorable melody, delivered by J in trademark off-hand style, and the ghostly slide guitar is a nice touch, but its brevity marks it as clear b-side material.
152 The Little Baby
B-side to The Wagon (1991)
A curious, mildly interesting blend of taut, controlled aggression over which J mumbles about his plans to head into town and passages of abandoned thrash with in-your-face screaming. Can’t fault it for energy, but it’s another where it’s clear why it ended up as a b-side.
151 Sideways
Whatever's Cool With Me (1991)
The gently melancholy dual acoustic passages are pleasant although distinctly overlong; they’re interspersed with a listless riff over which J croons diffidently (‘Not to stall antique is rare’ is an arrestingly cryptic phrase). Inoffensive but a little forgettable.
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