Solid Little Rock Jams

Dinosaur Jr - Beyond(2007)

Sorry J Mascis, I know you don't want people listening to this album or anything yet. But I want to openly say to you, in case you're reading this on your imac or were browsing the SOMB and got linked to this blog (because you are obviously post under the alias "simakos" there) that this is going to be my favorite album of the year.

No, really. I mean, I don't see how anything can top this one for me. Thanks for letting Lou Barlow and Murph back into your band, by the way. Maybe this is all you needed again to write some truly classic songs. Thanks for combining those pop sensibilities you figured out in the 1990s but weren't able to fully express with your dyno-mite hard rocking 80s style. With age and time, I guess you finally figured out how to get it all to gel.

This album has some people dissing the production. Wow, shut the fuck up. What do you want, Green Mind? That album sounds like it was recorded in the laundromat down the street from where I live. You want acoustic guitars or something? I don't really know what to tell you. This is one of the better produced albums I've heard in years. (WATCH WHEN THE RETAIL VERSION LEAKS AND IT SOUNDS LIKE A POLISHED BRITNEY SPEARS RECORD, OR PINK FLOYD OR SOMETHING, I mean, "Crumble is basically Pink Floyd if Roger Waters found a guitar and was all like "hey, smoke my cock David Gilmour! And then David Gilmour dropped on all fours and began licking his taint while happily wagging his tail. Then Roger Waters could feel his cum erupting from hi

The guitar solos in this album are some of the noisiest, vile, abominations you can find in modern pop music, but not one of them seems to be out of place. Each of them layered upon each other beautifully like those birthday cakes that you see in bakery shop windows and you marvel "wow, look at the craftmanship on that cake." Same thing, really. Delicious, colorful, bright layers of guitars that make me feel like I'm on top of this planet.

A long time ago, my brother started to get me into some "indie" music. The first band he recommended to me was Dinosaur Jr. What can I say? The band changed my life. Before them I didn't know music could be so accessible, yet so earth-shatteringly noisy and rebellious. I got into all those 80s guitar bands like Steve Albini's stuff, The Replacements, hell, I wouldn't have ever listened to The Pixies probably either if it wasn't for Mascis and company.

Dinosaur Jr. never realized their potential, after Bug they became a normal guitar pop band. I still love Green Mind and Where You Been, but they don't even sounds like the same band! D'oh! Because they weren't. It's almost as if the three of these guys just ran into Doc Brown and road his DeLorean back to '89 and said "okay, let's just rock some shit" Mascis, Barlow, and Murph have all seemingly aged quite a bit, (especially mascis, what the hell, he looks like a perverted shop teacher!) but Dinosaur Jr, as a brand, entity, well, it's always been there. The sounds back, they're back. I really couldn't be happier.



Rating: 10/10

Song: Dinosaur Jr - This Is All I Came To Do


EDIT: and on a personal note, this week has been absolute SHIT. But you know what? I've been listening to this album nonstop, and I feel like a million bucks. Funny what legends can do to you.

Thanks J.