Weirdness Flows: The Songs of Dinosaur Jr (71-80)

June 11, 2024

80 Imagination Blind

Farm (2009)

Farm concludes with a typically brooding, intense Lou Barlow composition. Once again we can hear his knack for downbeat melodies that erupt into soaring choruses, and this one is a particularly fine example.

79 Thumb

Green Mind (1991)

A listless groove from the second half of Green Mind that’s more than amply rescued by J’s touchingly tender vocal (‘pretty good / not doing that fine’), a haunting flute / keyboard line and a carefully understated solo.

78 See You

Farm (2009)

Somehow simultaneously breezy and melancholy, and simply lovely throughout. My only criticism is that the solo at the end is curtailed just when it seems set to fly, although this is compensated by the delightfully spry guitar part in the intro.

77 Lightning Bulb

Beyond (2007)

Typically doomy yet melodic Barlow offering which pounds along determinedly, with an echo-laden trippy psychedelic interlude in the middle. A customarily impenetrable lyric has religious overtones (Convey the Saviour's name / complain about my soul’) which reinforces the apocalyptic mood.

76 Get Out Of This

Without A Sound (1994)

A stomping, chunky, descending riff is accompanied by a vocal melody that’s not dissimilar to ‘What Else Is New?’ in places. It’s flavoured by several earthy bluesy fills and topped off with a lovingly crafted solo that builds in intensity.

75 Budge

Bug (1988)

Bursts in with a galloping chorus, cuts to a more restrained verse with a choppy guitar riff and a coiling bass part; does that again, then we get a chorus and a half before we fade out on the choppy riff. No solo, no middle eight; admirably concise. The Peel session version isn't radically different other than a more tinny drum sound. Lyrically, it's very much a drug song (‘See who wins for most fried… Let's talk weed / You can crush as I speed’), although you'd be forgiven for missing that if you went by some of the dodgy online transcriptions.

74 Not You Again

B-side to The Wagon (1991)

A short and sweet little punk-pop gem tucked away as a b-side. No idea who or what ‘the blob’ that J was thinking of is, but the song has several charmingly throwaway lines (‘I got no advice about anything / Just f*ck it up yourself’). The way that J mumbles his way through too-long-to-fit phrases ‘forget I brought it up’ and ‘sorry, I f*cked it all up again’ is also loveable. The downbeat passage at the end is rather reminiscent of ‘Freak Scene’, although the climax here is, regrettably, curtailed much more abruptly.

73 Rude

I Bet On Sky (2012)

Uncharacteristically jaunty for one of his compositions, ‘Rude’ is still unmistakably a Lou Barlow song. Sitting somewhere between 60s psych-pop and a hoedown, it bounces along with vigour whilst maintaining a dark undertone (‘nothing I could say will gain control / nature rushing me back to the cell’). Arguably just a little lacking in depth compared to some of his contributions, it’s nonetheless a bracing little refresher in the middle of I Bet On Sky.

72 What Was That

I Bet On Sky (2012)

A couple of tracks down the line on the same album, we get something rather different. Hesitant and vulnerable, but with the promise of redemption, it’s packed with layers of distorted arpeggios and keening solo guitar. The urgent coda is particularly moving.

71 To Be Waiting

Sweep It Into Space (2021)

Deliciously hazy and melodic, reminiscent of Neil Young circa Zuma and Teenage Fanclub circa Thirteen. Not the first time J has pulled the ‘guitar solo fades away into the downbeat interlude’ trick, for sure, but it works a treat here; especially as it’s swiftly followed by a another tender moment (‘of all the times to jump ahead…’) The song is also enhanced by judicious use of J’s falsetto and some swooning tremolo.