Dinosaur Jr.

年輕時的J Mascis長相俊美，曾以這副模樣登上雜志封面，不知擄獲了多少Indie Girls的芳心。九零初期樂評甚至以:"Is J Mascis God?"來形容他的影響力，可見他的確曾叱吒一時。但為何才過了十年光景，J Mascis的長相已與過去難以聯(lián)想，我們不得而知，也許酗酒或縱欲是原因之一。但可以確定的是，他與高中好友Lou Barlow組成的Dinosaur Jr.，其影響力與故事性同樣令人瞠目結舌。
Dinosaur Jr.在八零結束前發(fā)行的三張專輯Dinosaur、You're Living All Over Me與Bug，皆深遠影響了九零以降的Grunge運動與Indie Rock風潮，堪稱后進樂隊的寫歌藍本。Village Voice樂評人Ken Switzer替他們的音樂下了絕佳的注腳:"Dinosaur Jr.'s songs lured listeners with gorgeous melodies and then assaulted them with noise."。簡單來說，Dinosaur Jr.綜合了Pixies的甜美吉他曲調與Sonic Youth的殘暴噪音聲線，將它們玩弄得更為精準流暢，卻又不失年輕的硬蕊精神。
論譜曲能力，Dinosaur Jr.寫出悅耳調子的功力與Pixies并駕齊驅，尤其第二張專輯You're Living All Over Me更是公認的吉他音樂經(jīng)典作，幾乎每首歌都能讓人跟著合唱。如果想聽令人頭皮發(fā)麻的噪音音墻，J Mascis摧殘吉他的手法與Thurston Moore相比簡直不遑多讓，在力量上甚至更為兇猛。以團員自己的說法，Black Flag、Black Sabbath、M?torhead與Birthday Party都是影響Dinosaur Jr.音樂養(yǎng)成的重要因子，甚至早期R.E.M.的Jingly Guitar在他們寫歌的結構里也帶來了豐富的靈感。
然而第三張專輯發(fā)行后，J Mascis與Lou Barlow的關系已走入水火不容的地步。曾是高中好友的他們，憎恨彼此的程度只能以匪夷所思來形容。他們拒絕與對方交談，表演時不看對方一眼，J Mascis甚至于某次現(xiàn)場演出時在舞臺上用吉他敲了Lou Barlow的頭，雙方差點大打一架。1989年某天Lou Barlow接到J Mascis電話，通知他樂隊準備解散；但隔天Lou Barlow卻在MTV News上得知J Mascis與鼓手Murph另外找了新的貝斯手加入樂隊。
Dinosaur Jr.根本沒有解散，只是Lou Barlow被難堪地踢出去了。
於是新陣容的Dinosaur Jr.持續(xù)發(fā)行專輯，而Lou Barlow也自組樂隊Sebadoh。此時Dinosaur Jr.已成了J Mascis一人掌權的獨裁體系，新作乏味無趣，不論人氣或影響力皆劇烈下滑。反觀Sebadoh卻擁有相當好的口碑，Lou Barlow的個人發(fā)展顯然比老隊友好上太多。
故事寫到這似乎該結束了。但與Mission of Burma、Iggy Pop & the Stooges、Gang of Four、Pixies、Slint與New York Dolls等樂隊一般，Dinosaur Jr.于去年宣布復合，從年頭巡迴至年尾。
復合的動機值得玩味。今年初獨立名廠Merge重發(fā)了Dinosaur Jr.最早的三張經(jīng)典專輯，均收錄了Bonus Track甚至是Music Video，因此這次復合巡迴可說是舊作重發(fā)的Promotion Tour。但團員接受訪問時又意有所指的表示:"It's so hip to be in a band now, it's like a fad or something, and it bums me out. It seems like mediocrity is OK now. I just wish people would be better, or if they weren't better, that they wouldn't play."翻譯成白話中文就是:“你們這些玩團的年輕臭小子，老大要回來教你們幾招了。”
臺上的Dinosaur Jr.談話很少，只是一首接一首幾乎不間斷地表演著。J Mascis瘋狂拉著吉他搖桿、用力踩著腳下的效果器，配上他滿頭甩動的銀白長發(fā)，很像武俠小說里描寫的絕代高手?？此粕畈夭宦叮嬉l(fā)起功來，那雷擊般的吉他音波可是連遠在東側的第五大道都聽得到。Lou Barlow與Murph也各自埋首于自己的樂器里，稱職扮演著支撐的角色。
短期內Dinosaur Jr.不準備譜寫新曲，這是正確的決定。畢竟一開始創(chuàng)作，只怕團員間理念的不合又要浮上臺面。還是先以巡迴賺飽荷包要緊，未來的事就留給未來解決吧。
Dinosaur Jr. were largely responsible for returning lead guitar to indie rock and, along with their peers the Pixies, they injected late-80s alternative rock with monumental levels of pure guitar noise. As the groups career progressed, it turned into a vehicle for J Mascis songwriting and playing, which had the ultimate result of turning Dinosaurs albums into largely similar affairs. Over time, Mascis shed his hardcore punk roots and revealed himself to be a disciple of Neil Young, crafting simple songs that were delivered at a crushing volume and spiked with shards of feedback. Consequently, Dinosaur Jr.s 90s albums — when the group was essentially a front for Mascis — dont sound particularly revolutionary, even with their subtle sonic innovations, yet their original 80s records for SST were a different matter. On their early records, Dinosaur lurched forward, taking weird detours into free-form noise and melodic soloing before the songs are brought back into relief by Mascis laconic whine. Dinosaurs SST records laid the foundation for alternative rocks commercial breakthrough in the early 90s, and while the bands profile was raised substantially in the wake of Nirvanas success, they never really became much bigger than highly respected cult figures.
Mascis (born Joseph D. Mascis; guitar, vocal) formed Dinosaur Jr. in Amherst, MA, after his hardcore punk band Deep Wound broke up in 1983. Hooking up with fellow high-school student Lou Barlow (bass), Mascis initially played drums in Dinosaur, but shortly afterward, former All White Jury drummer Murph (born Emmett Patrick Murphy), joined the group and J moved to guitar. Over the next year the group developed a local following, and in 1985 the trio released its debut album, Dinosaur, on the Homestead label. The record and the groups crushingly loud concerts developed a cult following over the next year. By the end of 1986, a hippie rock group called Dinosaur — featuring former members of Jefferson Airplane and Country Joe & the Fish — sued the band, which changed its name to Dinosaur Jr.
In 1987, Dinosaur Jr. signed to Black Flags indie label SST and released Youre Living All Over Me, which became an underground sensation, with groups like Sonic Youth championing Mascis wild, feedback-drenched guitar. Early in 1988 they released the seminal single Freak Scene, a song that captured the feeling and tone of the emerging American post-punk underground. Freak Scene became a college radio hit, and it led the way for their acclaimed 1988 album Bug. Although the bands popularity continued to grow, tensions were developing between Mascis and Barlow, who rarely talked to each other. In 1989, Mascis told Barlow that the group was breaking up; the following day, he re-formed Dinosaur Jr., this time without Barlow, who went on to form Sebadoh.
Without Barlow, Dinosaur Jr. relied on a rotating array of guest bassists, including Don Fleming and the Screaming Trees Van Connor. In 1989, the group had an underground hit with their non-LP cover of the Cures Just Like Heaven. The following year, they signed with Sire Records. After Just Like Heaven, Mascis remained quiet for several years as he produced acts like Buffalo Tom and collaborated with friends like Sonic Youth and Flemings Velvet Monkeys. Green Mind, Dinosaurs 1991 major-label debut, was recorded almost entirely alone by Mascis, and its varied, eclectic sound was received poorly in many alternative rock circles. Before the Green Mind tour, former Snakepit member Mike Johnson became the groups full-time bassist. On the subsequent tour, Dinosaur Jr. were supported by Nirvana, whose success with Nevermind soon overshadowed Dinosaurs.
Instead of capitalizing on the commercial breakthrough of alternative rock, Dinosaur released an EP, Whatevers Cool With Me, in early 1992 and disappeared to record their next album. Released early in 1993, Where You Been benefited greatly from the commercial breakthrough of alternative rock, and many of the articles surrounding the albums release hailed Mascis as an alternative godfather. It became the first Dinosaur album to chart, peaking at number 50, and it generated the modern rock hit Start Choppin. That summer, the group played on the third Lollapalooza tour. Mascis recorded the bands next album without Murph, who unceremoniously left the band; he later joined the Lemonheads. Dinosaur Jr. released Without a Sound in 1994 to mixed reviews, but the album was a moderate hit, thanks to the MTV and modern rock hit Feel the Pain. In the fall of 1995, Mascis launched his first solo acoustic tour, which was captured on his first official solo album, Martin & Me, released in the spring of 1996.
After contributing several Brian Wilson-styled songs to Alison Anders 1996 film Grace of My Heart — he also made an appearance in the movie — Mascis completed Dinosaurs next album on his own, leaving Johnson to his solo career. Upon its spring 1997 release, Hand It Over was hailed as Mascis best album in years, although it failed to generate a significant hit. By the late 90s, Mascis decided to break up Dinosaur Jr. and launch a solo career, resulting in the release of More Light in 2000 (under the name of J Mascis + the Fog, a group that also featured former Minutemen bassist Mike Watt). The new groups ensuing tour was cut short in June of 2001, however, when their tour bus was involved in a serious accident in Sweden, resulting in Mascis cracking two vertebrae. In the wake of their breakup, a pair of postmortem Dinosaur Jr. collections saw the light of day in the early 21st century: 2000s live-in-the-studio BBC Sessions and 2001s Ear-Bleeding Country: The Best Of. In addition, the history of Dinosaur Jr.s original lineup was documented in Michael Azerrads excellent 2001 book of 80s alt-rock pioneers, Our Band Could Be Your Life.
In 2005 the first three albums were reissued on Merge and Mascis announced the original band would be reuniting for a short tour. A year later Green Mind and Where You Been were reissued by Sire with bonus tracks while Rhino released J Mascis Live at CBGBs, a recording of an acoustic gig from 1993. To coincide with the 2006 reissues, the reunited band began a worldwide tour and announced plans to work on material for a new album, which surfaced in 2007 in the form of Beyond.