a wonderful band that formed in the
mid 80s somewhere in Massachusetts. They practically played '
grunge' and 'alternative' before those terms became a vogue around 1991. Members are J Mascis on
guitar and most of the vocals, Lou Barlow on bass and
Murph on drums (with images of sunshine faces on the bass drum heads). All their albums are pretty good, 'Green Mind' from 1992 recently got a reissue with bonus tracks. While many other alternative bands have imploded or bit the dust, Dinosaur Jr. is still around and if anything is to be said, they're even better now than ever before.
1. In
2018 I saw Dinosaur Jr. at a beerfest in Marengo,
Ohio and it brought me back to my college days. After everything that's come and gone, musically and otherwise - it's good to see these troopers still in the game. J Mascis now has long white hair, a long white beard and he looks like a wise man. He still sings 'softly' and his guitar playing is fierce and LOUD. And their recent CDs are better than previous. They're better than ever.
2. in
2021 during lockdown Dinosaur Jr. released a new CD, 'Sweep It Into Space'. It's very good. They made a few videos for it, but the pandemic kept them from touring to promote it. So they put on a free internet show for the NPR web page, playing in an empty ballroom with just a cinematographer. On the stage they had namesake toys - inflatable
dinosaur toys of several species, Muppet dolls (like Animal and Ernie), a John
Denver and the Muppets
Christmas album, a Rolling Stones 8-track tape and other props on the stage and for 45 minutes they rocked the house (
sans audience). They were as electric and stellar as when I saw them 3 years before and they made my day. Thanks, guys. Now let's stay
safe for the better times to come.
