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Quote:Dinosaur Jr.’s Beyond
By Ethan Stanislawski
Tuesday, May 8th, 2007
http://maroon.uchicago.edu/online_editi … rs-beyond/Back in 1987, lead guitar was a touchy subject in the American underground. Previously, most skilled punk guitarists played well in spite of their bands’ overall attitude. J Mascis of Dinosaur Jr. played well because of it. After hardcore had exhausted the loud/fast mantra, Mascis infused Neil Young–style hard rock into the D.I.Y. aesthetic. While punks should have hated this, it was hard for your jaw not to drop when Mascis picked up a guitar. Four years later, Pearl Jam and Nirvana would take over the airwaves with a similar combination of big guitars and punk aesthetics.
Mascis for the most part missed out on grunge’s fame due to his antisocial behavior, which irked no one more than Dinosaur bassist Lou Barlow. Barlow was always second fiddle to Mascis, and when he left the band in 1989, it seemed impossible the two would ever get back together. But as Barlow became a low-fi icon with Sebadoh, Mascis learned to deal with people better, and 18 years later, we get Beyond, a reunion album that sounds like the band never split.
Some have criticized Beyond for being a safe album, but that’s actually the album’s strength. With Beyond, a band that never fully exhausted its creative juices gets a chance to bring a much-needed burst of guitar rock back to prominence. Furthermore, the band sounds as cohesive as they ever sounded. It’s still the J Mascis show, but even on their best albums, Mascis seemed to need an excuse to solo against Barlow’s jerky post-punk bass and Murph’s unreliable drumming. Now, with Barlow’s reputation established, he seems consigned to standard rock bass and lets Mascis take over. For good measure, Barlow has a couple of his own songs here. While “Back to Your Heartâ€
Quote:Now, with Barlow’s reputation established, he seems consigned to standard rock bass and lets Mascis take over.Bullshit !
I’ve never heard anyone play bass like Lou. he’s like a cross between Lemmy and Peter Hook. Even if it’s a bit less prevalent on ‘Beyond’, it’s hardly "standard rock" bass.
I gotta agree, I’ve seen many reviews that have been dismissive of many aspects of Dino’s hx, members of the band, recordings post Bug, it’s almost like a follow the leader deal, everyone adds it to their reviews…confusing.
I think Lou & Murph deserve more respect definitely, along with the whole Dinosaur catalogue…
Yeah, I dont get this review. I think Lighting Bulb and Back to Your Heart are not weak links on the album
Well, you how music journalists are. From roughly Without A Sound through Free So Free, the standard journalistic line was that J had stagnated while Lou had revealed himself to be far more creative with Sebadoh and his other projects. Now it’s time to elevate J and denigrate Lou.
Music journos are generally a bunch of fuckin’ losers.
If I read one more lazy, half-assed dismissal of Hand It Over in a review I’m going to hunt down the twat responsible and throttle his pencil neck.
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