Just an observation

[weezerfreak942]

I find it kind of weird that the debut album Dinosaur was so rough (musically, not lyrically….except cats in a bowl lol) and when they were getting better w/ Lou in Bug, then he split and his Sebadoh III Cd was pretty rough too, but then you get bands like Weezer who have a debut CD that sounds fine.

Was it that Dino had $500 put into their CD, or they werent as advanced in talent, or what?

It would be cool to see what Dinosaur would be like if it had a real budget.

( this may have been a dumb observation, dont flame me please )

[mjw666]

indie bands in the 80’s did’nt have much access to good studio equipment and engineers. The first dino album was recorded in someone’s lounge. Thats why it sounds like shit (the production not the songs). Weezer started off on a major label so they had easy access to advanced studio equipment and engineers. It does’nt mean they were more talented than Dino. They just wrote more accessible songs. Good power pop songs too.

[SG]

Shitty sounding indie records sound better to my ears Not that all rock albums should sound badly recorded,I think it suited Dino or similar bands.Weezer is a different band than Dino(as Bob Mould called Weezer:The Monkees with distortion )so the high budget might worked for their sound better.Guided By Voices sounded better I think in their shitty lo fi phase than than the big slick sounding days of Isolation Drills.

[AGAP]

Quote:

Bob Mould called Weezer:The Monkees with distortion

funniest thing I’ve heard all day…LOL

[livingbug]

I really appreciate that Dinosaur sounds the way it does.As with YLAOM and Bug,they give you an added sense of the time they were recorded.How their sound and production developed.
With later albums,they have more of a produced sound to them,thicker,more layered,more compressed.As great as these albums are,they create a different sense or feeling.Green Mind sits in between(not just chronologically).
Personally,I prefer the earlier stuff…well at the moment anyway.That is the thing with Dinosaur Jr, the albums all create a different feel.You can go through phases and still go back to another album and rediscover it all over.

I agree SG.Most of my favourite albums are pretty economically produced and not polished within an inch of it’s life.

[alicemudgarden_jr]

Yeh I much prefer the earlier records and Dinosaur and III and 2 of my favorite records. I still like the later stuff but I just think it was over produced abit and it sounds nothing like the early stuff to my ears.

I really like the roughness of The Freed Weed and now I’ve got an 8 track I’m gonna try and make stuff like that. I guess I usually tend to like band’s first few albums the most, to me they seem more original and inspiring. Some bands seem to care more about the money rather than the music once they’re on a major label (not dinosaur jr)

[FU]

Great thread. Weezer had a major label budget, big-time producer(Ric Ocasek/singer of the cars) and if I’m not mistaken a year to demo and record that first album. Does it sound huge. Hell yes. Is the mix boring. IMO yes.
Three references were made to(obviously) Dinosaur’s first 3 albums, Bob Mould and the Freed weed.
Each is artist/album is instantly recognizable, totally different and are devoid of Pro tools trickery. The Sebadoh stuff is just enveloping. The warbly production is beautiful and to my ears adds a layer missing from alot of music. it adds something in the same way that reverb ‘makes’ surf music or how echo adds depth to the beach boys or Jefferson airplane. Same with GBV who I saw mentioned. I like the hiss!
Bob Mould’s guitar sound is insatntly recognizable as is his snarling voice. And Husker albums were recorded quickly with few ‘dubs. I love that trebly skronk.
I think some of the later Dino stuff has a boring mix although some great tunes. Out There, start Choppin’, great songs but the same mix. Later stuff, like I’m Insane, kinda returns to that chaos that we know and love.
I’m eager to hear the new album.

[simmons]

listening to music in a good headset is nice. I think there are both pros and cons about all the dinosaur album mixes.
it must be a hell sometimes to decide for what sounds to have.

[ammaringnyc]

out there on the reissues sounds much better

[lookitssam]

Weezer does sound like the Monkees on distortion, and that is why I fucking love them.

Production definitely makes a big difference on the overall sound of the record, and I’m definately on the more lo-fi side of the fence.

I pretty much hate just Pro Tools though, when it all comes down to it. Every local band around these parts has a three song demo made by some asshole in his bedroom with Pro Tools and a couple SM 57s for like 500 bucks. They all sound exactly the fucking same and they always try to fix the thin ass digital recording by just adding a bunch of low end to the guitar. And they all have they clicky bass drum mixed to the front…it pisses me off.

[sonicdeathmonkey]

Weezer = a third-rate Cheap Trick.

Not that I dislike either bands (Weezer really sucks nowadays though, they used to be good ten years ago, and "Hash Pipe" was their only good song as of late, and that was a few years ago).

[Author]

Posts