You're Living All Over Me

If I had a time machine, my priority would be making my 16-year-old self listen to this absolutely masterful recording. After that I'd go back and kill Hitler etc.

Sounds terrible

Is it perfect? No. Does it try to be? No. Does it hit you like a wall of crushing bricks, with great melodies buried behind the Marshall stacks? YES. Perfect imperfection.

Do people like this band unironically?

Amazing album. You can hear the influence on so many diverse genres from shoegaze to grunge. All bangers too and Poledo is such a wild closer.

Creationists deny the existence of Dinosaur Jr.

I was in a band on e with some guys who were really into D.Jr. and that band suffered from the same issues as D.Jr. does which is that, while the musicality and technical skill are quite impressive, the overall effect is less than enjoyable. In fact, after a few tracks, I found myself just exhausted from following along. There's too much going on, too many time changes and mismatched parts. Again, it's really impressive from a musical standpoint once you stop and pay attention but that same action will leave you just worn out. It's just not an very enjoyable experience.

This is exactly why i love this site. Didnt even know this Album existed. Never heard of the Band before. But holy hell this albums rocks from the moment you press play. Vocals are a little weak , yes, but the instrumental part of this album is absolutely amazing. 5 / 5

For me, this album is easily in the top 10 electric guitar album of all time. The mix of super harsh guitar noise with super melodic passages really showcases the full range of the electric guitar. The solos are awesome and badass and most songs sound fierce and very cool. The guitar also feel so effortlessly played. J Mascis is so freakin' nice man. The only downside is the last song, Poledo, which I find boring and useless in the track list. AWESOME 9,5/10

Not quite sure where to go with this one. I was looming forward to it, and ended up quite disappointed. Very little variety in structure, tone, chord progression, etc. The singer apparently hasn't found a note he can't sing flat. The lead guitarist doesn't seem interested in keeping his instrument in tune. But, you can still see why some will think highly of them. It's only Poledo, the second to last song on the album that brings something new to the table, but it's too little too late. And then just Like Heaven really highlights the defincies in their songwriting.

Loud, noisy, crazy, but absolutely excellent. It's raw and unclean and perfectly unashamed about this fact. To me the first half of the album is the strongest, but it was still excellent all the way through. I really liked this a lot and will come back to it. Favourite: Sludgefeast

In the late 80s, when I was a teenager, Tim and I were pretty inseparable. We used to hang out a lot in our suburban bedrooms listening to music and occasionally going out to see all-ages punk and hardcore shows. Tim was a skateboarder, but I was never sufficiently coordinated or brave enough to learn. Tim once told me that he suspected he was listening to too much metal and hardcore when he heard Dinosaur Jr's cover of 'Just Like Heaven' on the radio and thought it was the Cure's original (at least until the huge roar comes in at the end of the song). He did buy a copy of this album as a result (probably in 1988) and we played it a lot, even though it turned out that 'Just Like Heaven' wasn't on the original album release. After we left school, I started at uni (unsuccessfully) and working at a record store. Tim, after an initial stint working IT helpdesk at the futures exchange, ended up as the studio manager of 2SER student radio at Macquarie University. We formed a band together and started seeing a lot of live shows. Neither of us was doing well on the girlfriend front so we had a lot of time for music. I know we saw Dinosaur Jr on their 1989 Australian tour. My memory was that was in the student bar at Macquarie Uni, but I can't see a record of them ever playing there. More likely it was at the Lansdowne Hotel (a regular haunt of ours) or the Paddington RSL. I do remember that they were loud as fuck and J Mascis didn't seem overwhelmed to be there. Being young at the time, I don't think I realized how revolutionary this album was. It was one of the first proto-grunge records and was clearly highly influential on shoegaze, especially the way J. leaned on that wah pedal, using it as a broad filter rather than an expression effect like Jimi Hendrix. I copied that particularly trick myself in the terrible band Tim and I formed in during the 90s. And I was seeing a lot of really noisy alternative Australian bands (including a foray into the Evil Star Hotel scene of Black Eye Records and associated bands; Lubricated Goat, Munroe's Fur, Kiss My Poodle's Donkey, Box the Jesuit, Thug, etc), so the heavy noise factor didn't seem that unusual to me. It was a pretty good record that we played a fair bit, and Tim and I thought it was kinda normal. You're Living All Over Me wasn't one of my all-time favourite records, mostly because J. Mascis' laconic deadpan drawl is kind of annoying. But there are a few really great songs on here (Little Fury Things, Sludgefest, In a Jar), and even better if you get the re-issue that has Just Like Heaven on it. Totally worth a listen.

Has vibes of Neil Young and Crazy Horse mixed with Sabbath heavy riffs, it's loud and trashy and loose, I enjoyed it a lot, unexpected 5 for me

This album sounds like sewer sludge. In a good way, of course. I don't know why my brain enjoys when the audio quality sounds like total shit. Helen Keller on the mixing serving up straight fire 🔥 5/5 and I will not elaborate further.

Noisy, thoughtful, and full of energy, this album hits a perfect sweet spot for me. The guitars in particular were so damn good. Looks like I have a new band to dive into.

I wrote this in 2019 or 2020, on my first attempted trip through the list, and I stick by it: 5 stars. "Is it perfect? No. Does it try to be? No. Does it hit you like a wall of crushing bricks, with great melodies buried behind the Marshall stacks? YES. Perfect imperfection."

Fabulous. Melodic noisy rock, actually tuneful and tasteful. Love it

Another I'm familiar with, every track's been on my playlist at one point or another. Kinda burnt myself out on this album but i still appreciate the songwriting and shit

In 1987, it's clear to see how this record was ahead of its time; eschewing the clean polished guitar tones of hair and glam metal bands, dinosaur jr pushed the limits of noise with distortion, grime and sludge. The resulting record is not just ahead of its time; it's the father of many musical genres, the prognosis of grunge, screamo, noise, hardcore, shoegaze. It's hard to understand how clearly these sounds shine through in tracks like Lose which could fit on a Nirvana album, or the opener little fury things which sounds picked off of a MBV record. Dinosaur Jr manages to clear every hurdle and land as a statue to underground, noise, and the influence of indie to this day

Jennifer says that all Dinosaur Jr. sounds the same, yeah it’s all fucking awesome!

It's like the Rosetta Stone for MBV and Nirvana in some ways. Wow.

I know of these guys but I've never actually listened to them. Indie darlings AFAIK. Baseline 3/5. Ok, I was NOT expecting this to rule. haha. It starts out sounding like my bloody valentine-type shoegaze-y pus, then from "sludgefeast" (best track by far) onwards it fucken smokes. Big fuzzy guitars, thick tones, drummer not afraid to venture beyond the snare, songwriting a fun mix of indie and doomy rock. It's also satisfying in a cynical way to hear an OG indie band so obviously influenced by old school heavy metal when so many latter-day indie/alternative bands (who ripped these guys off) wouldn't be seen dead listening to metal, lol. Buuuuut, two things hold this album back: the track ordering is dumb (the first 2 songs are a *fucking* slow start), and old mate *really* can't sing. Thankfully he doesn't try to much either, but still. Wouldn't have hurt to get someone on the level of whoever sang for the Lemonheads, or soul asylum etc. Fuck, Mark Lanegan could've made this amazing. That being said, it's good enough otherwise anyway to get a 4/5.

Absolute banger. I had a roommate that brought home Where You Been? in '93 and I thought it was great. I saw them at Lollapalooza the same year. I've been listening to them ever since. J Mascis is a fuzz master.

I have to rush this, but Dinosaur Jr were one of the best bands to ride the crest of grunge and this is their strongest album, chunks of odd noise and ecstasy embedded throughout. Returning to it, my memory of it being “Sludgefeast” plus a bunch of other stuff proved wrong: the set is richer than the albums that followed (though I think “Where You Been” is ripe for reappraisal), and more relaxed in flipping between jangly fey sections and howling amplifiers.

I don't think I've ever heard this, but it proliferated its way to the top through the day, probably even better that "Bug", my D.Jr. reference (give or take a "Freak Scene"). My teenager has a T-shirt of the album cover, evidently iconized in Hot Topic alongside the Nirvana smiley, but with a stronger case to make - 1987! Incredible.. For me, Dinosaur Jr. were always in the background, having seen them numerous times and perhaps even met J. Mascis (they were in London a lot in the early '90s), while paying them little attention (sorry, Mark!). Time to catch up now - the songwriting and guitar sounds on e.g. "SludgeFeast", "The Lung" and "Tarpit" are fabulous, and the ending of the bonus "Just Like Heaven" is perfect. More please!

Just good ol' righteous chooglin punk rock

(3/5) Nothing on this actually grabbed me or inspired me. I liked it fine, and I'm thoroughly impressed it was at least 5 years ahead of this style (grunge/indie/lo fi stuff.. you'd know when you hear it). So, I definitely concur this is essential listening, as they were clearly an influential band for that era (early 90s) of rock. Will I revisit it? Probably not, but it was interesting from that context. Tip of the hat to them and thanks for influencing better bands later.

mediocre

I have to be honest—I didn’t enjoy this album much at all. The guitar tone was, for the most part, pretty disappointing. I get that the distortion was meant to convey emotion, but it lacked any real texture; it just felt flat. The mix was also pretty bad. I know it was the ‘80s, and home studios weren’t what they are today, but I’ve heard plenty of ‘80s projects that sound way better. Even the composition didn’t do it for me. Maybe Surfer Rosa spoiled me with its whole distorted garage music vibe. Also, a lot of the endings had weak fade-outs or just awful guitar outros, showing they didn’t know how to end a song properly. This band is all junior and no dinosaur. Rating: 2/5

Nirvana sr.

This is actually very good. I saw them live a few months ago (being one of the openers for Weezer) and it was my least favorite of the three bands that were there, but it was still pretty good, and the stacked amps were unique (they only played the first song from this album, by the way). That being said, I much prefer their studio stuff. This has the same energy without being too loud to get more melodies, and I overall prefer the vibes this album gives me. And yeah, I have Bug as a 3, but I had a bad headache that day so I was probably misjudging it.

Only heard a handful of the tracks off this one before. It has the energy of going to see a local band you've heard about or know somebody in, and you're maybe a little apprehensive, but then the show rules, just absolutely rules. Later Dinosaur Jr. is catchier, this has more wild spirit. Rating is relative to this list and for being from 1987. Would probably not be a 5 on the list of underground albums to hear before you die, but it is here. music: appreciated. (⌐■_■)

Fuck yeah. I could listen to this entire album with just the instrumentals and be very happy still. They play hopscotch with punk and alternative, and that will always make me happy. Favorite track: In a Jar

Really powerful noise with rock solid guitar work. I think I like this general sound all the way.

I've been familiar with Dinosaur Jr. (I owned both Where You Been and Without a Sound on CD, but have lost them to time), but I had never delved into their catalogue enough to realize they'd put an album out in 1987. Having heard this one now and placing it on a timeline amongst it's "peers," I feel like they were a much more influential band than I had previously given credit, rather than the "sound like several other bands" impression that I'd previously held. While I found it less polished than those later albums, therein lies a bit of its charm and impressiveness, deploying wall of sound and distortion effects without thoroughly drowning the track beneath (looking at you, Sonic Youth). It's a very solid listen, and one that I gladly replayed immediately to pick out the best parts of. Earns a solid 4/5 for encouraging me to revisit these old friends and catch up on where they are now.

207. You're Living All Over Me - Dinosaur Jr. (1987) 9.17.26 Variety: 3 Adequacy: 5 Listenability: 5 Uniqueness: 5 Emotionality: 4 = 4.4 rounded down to a 4 "Not a show, feel so down/ And I struggle right inside out/ Reach the wall, and spiral down" I know that I first became familiar with Dinosaur Jr. via the music video for "Feel the Pain". I thought these guys seemed a lot goofier, more laid back, and unembarrassedly melodic than a lot of the grunge bands I'd been hearing, and as much as I liked them, I filed them away as, at the time, there were not really any outlets for experiencing a band's catalogue aside from spending a bunch of money on CDs. And I didn't know anyone who owned any of their stuff, so borrowing that album was out of the question. Later on when the 90s were mostly in the rearview, I began to read more music writing and kept seeing references to the band and how influential they were. Then maybe in the early 2000s I was finally able to more easily find their stuff. I won't mention the methods, but I'm sure people are familiar. Pretty sure I started with Without a Sound and worked my way backwards (I would have also heard "Freak Scene" from Bug around this time from the Left of the Dial compilation that I just mentioned in the last review). While Without a Sound was good stuff, it did not move the needle for me in being impressed. It sounded perfectly of its era. Well played, crunchy, fuzzy distorted guitars over a shambolic and lazily delivered, but melodic pop skeleton. Standard stuff for 90s indie rock. When I finally got back to You're Living All Over Me I was finally a bit astounded at how out of time it sounded. When I was in middle school the grunge and modern indie sound seemingly came out of NOWHERE. All the bands that had influenced the sound were completely unavailable to me ( I had not yet discovered 120 minutes on MTV and did not have any cool, older siblings) and it seemed formed out of nothing, delivered from on high to blow our little minds. I think this is partly why something like Smells like Teen Spirit so totally upset the culture. I think if you were older, and existed on the coasts or within those scenes you were already swimming around in the bubbling stew from which this stuff came out of and it probably felt more like a natural evolution of sound for you. R.E.M. was already HUGE by the time I heard them and I had to go back way later to hear where they started from. Husker Du and the Meat Puppets ( both of which gave me similarly crazy out of time vibes - especially Meat Puppets II) were not even words I was familiar with until the late 90s. But having absorbed so much of this stuff by now, that musical evolution makes a lot more sense to me and doesn't feel as weird. It's still a little weird though. 1987 for me is the Bangles' "Walk Like an Egyptian", Whitney Houston's "I Wanna Dance with Somebody, Whitesnale's "Here I Go Again", Bon Jobi's "Livin' on a Prayer", and Bruce Hornsby's "The Way It Is". It was the year the G.I. Joe and Three Men and Baby movies came out, and big hair and Camaros were still very cool. That there were these dudes who looked and sounded like they stepped through the time tunnel from 1994 to wow us with their fuzz pedals and slacker look is not a concept I could have conceived. Anyways, I'm sure to give this a mid to high 4. I know I like Bug better, but this one is still pretty great. Having just referenced them in the review of Sonic Youth's Dirty from a couple of entries ago, I'm pretty primed to here more of that sort of thing. I'm glad that we at least are getting to the two albums from the band in chronological order, which makes writing about them a tad easier. THE TRACKS "Little Fury Things" - Distorted, noisey production all around, super melodic choruses, and some awesomely crunchy fizzed out guitar work. All trademarks of the band, and stuff we'll be seeing throughout. This one has a bit of a melancholic sound to it, and remains catchy as hell. The staticky, hissing ending is the dirty, rusty bit of barbed wire that disguises the sugary sweet pop at the center. I mentioned how as much as this band's textures and vibe influenced the grunge sound, I think, sound-wise, they were maybe even more influential on the indie rock bands who weaved in and out of and all around the big grunge acts, and who survived onward when grunge imploded. There's going to be just as much power and jangle pop influence on here as there is any hard rock or metal. And I'd argue that even though you can hear it still, most of the metallic sheen the band has exists mainly in the high end, as the doomier bass bits have been filtered out. Unheavy Metal maybe? "Kracked" - Case in point - listening to this I can definitely hear the Deep Purple influence, especially in the guitar part that comes in around :44. The speed and the guitar heroics on display clearly show a love of that 70s harder sound, but exists all in the upper registers. Even Barlow's bass is far more loose and punky than it is massive. Mascis's instincts his guitar guitar solos trend towards the facemelting varety, but they are never overly showy and are in complete service of to the song. This is awesome. "SludgeFeast" - The title of this one is pretty on the nose, being maybe the most Sabbath-influenced thing on the album, with more than a little Husker Du thrown in as well. The first truly headbanging track. When Mascis comes in with his drawling Neal Youngish delivery the vibe comes down a bit. We get a bit of the loud/quiet/loud formula the Pixies and Nirvana would turn into templates that too many slavishly followed, and some more noisey textures before Mascis goes full-Iommi near the end. "The Lung" - This one follows the more straight arrow, R.E.M.-ish bouncy college rock template, and is slightly more generic for it. It feels much more like a jam until around 1:22 when the sound fills out completely and everything comes into a sharper focus. The Husker Du comparison still stands here, but there's some of the melodic punky vibes of the Buzzcocks on here as well. "Raisans" - Just as driving, but much more low key and in the pocket for me. There's a sort of ragged power pop sound to this one that's crunchy and melodic and which reminds me a bit of the Replacements. And the warbly, vowel stretching Neil Young delivery is in full force. I think with the benefit of hindsight Mascis is wearing his influences on his sleeve here, but the synthesis of all this is a pretty unique sound. "Tarpit" - An even softer open, this time with some more Buzzcocky scratchy guitar welded onto a bigger bass sound. The vocals get more reverb, and the delivery is almost comedically stretched out, drawling, and emotionally resonant. Like he wants to savor every syllable that escapes his mouth. Which makes it pretty hilarious when hear the dude in an interview and realize that he sounds more like Milton from Office Space, and speaks in a shy, deadpan, mumble. The noise elements at the end here make it sound like the track was recorded in an industrial wind tunnel that was accidentally switched on. Or maybe the band were all burned up in the wake of a jet engine. "In a Jar" - This one is much closer to the sound I would have been familiar with on Without a Sound. It's bouncier, and poppier, it messier and with a nice groove. There's some overlap here with some Miracle Legion stuff in the casual, almost tossed off delivery, but where that band goes soft and gentle, Dinosaur Jr. decide to go prickly and punchy. I could have heard this in 1995 or so and not batted an eye. "Lose" - Mascis dips back into his Iommi mode a bit here, but there's just as much Husker Du and more than a little of the band's hardcore origin peaking through the curtains as well. The Meat Puppet influence I think can be felt here as well with the cracked vocals, which I think Lou Barlow provided. "Poledo" - Awesome. We close with a downbeat ukulele number. You don't see that too often. Barlow provides the vocals here as well, and it's got what is easily the most lo-fi sound on the album, feeling very much like a demo that got expanded upon with some experimental, feedback heavy, White Album-inspired studio trickery. No idea if Trent Reznor was a fan of Dinosaur Jr. or not, but the last third of this track in particular is very Downward Spiral-coded with it's eerie, distorted analog ambience, and the HIGHLIGHTS - "Little Fury Things" - "Kracked" - "SludgeFeast" - "The Lung" - "Raisans" - "Tarpit" - "In a Jar" - "Lose" - "Poledo" MIDLIGHTS - LOWLIGHTS - FINAL THOUGHTS This was a lot of fun. As much as I really dug it, and found very little to complain about ( rare all highlights!) I know that I still like Bug a lot more than this, and feel like I have to grade on a curve a bit here. It's of a very high, sustained quality throughout, but I would argue that it never swings hard over into that rare territory where I've got multiple songs ( or EVERY. SINGLE. SONG. - Looking at you Nevermind) stuck in my head on a loop. Yeah, I know it's a high bar, and maybe an unfair comparison, but the band did go on to make songs like that, and the next one has at least one all-timer on it, which we'll get to when we get to it. And as solid as every track on here is, the massive influence on this one had on the next 5-10 years of music history far outweigh the music itself. This album ( and to a certain extent the band itself) is the equivalent of Steve Nash, the NBA hall of famer known for his low-key, quietly elite and unshowy playing and who is considered by some to be the epitome of a team player. The band is enormously talented, and is one of the major artistic examples of how rising tides lift all boats. Just try and imagine the sound of the 90s without these guys. Their (mostly) invisible hand can be felt in soooooo many places, but they never got the massive payoffs that some of the bands who followed them did. I'm sure both J. Mascis and Lou Barlow are both doing fine though. They've both continued to make tons more albums, and have remained mainstays of the indie scene for going on 40 years or so, and still put out well reviewed material. I've listened to some recent Dinosaur Jr. stuff and while it does not sound like they've evolved much, they have not yet gone extinct, and the quality levels have been maintained where so many other bands from the era have disappeared off the face of the earth, become sad parodies of themselves, or just wasted away into touring legacy band obscurity. Just know that if you reach into the hat and pull out any random album, you're bound to have a good time. Possible turn-Offs might include: - drawling, lazy disaffected sounding vocals - lots and lots of fuzzed out distorted guitars - lots and lots of noodling from said guitars - melodic lines that just sort of pop up out of nowhere and disappear just as fast, leaving you with the feeling that the band is occasionally hitting paydirt by accident before wandering off into the discordant cul de sac from which they emerged You Might enjoy this if you: - love crunchy, fuzzy, melodic guitar licks - are a fan of early to mid 90s indie and grunge - have high tolerance for noise - ever wondered where a lot of your favorite 90s bands got the textures that dominated their sound ( as well as their fashion sense) - don't mind loose structures - ever wondered what a combination of influences from Black Sabbath, the Buzzcocks, and Neil Young might sound like PLAYLIST ALTERATIONS - Nope. FURTHER LISTENING Precursors: - Machine Head by Deep Purple - The Stooges by The Stooges - Sabotage by Black Sabbath - Zuma Neil Young and Crazy Horse - Over The Edge by Wipers - Singles Going Steady by Buzzcocks - Murmur by R.E.M. - Zen Arcade by Husker Du - Meat Puppets II by Meat Puppets Contemporaries: - Psychocandy by The Jesus and Mary Chain - Daydream Nation by Sonic Youth - Surfer Rosa by Pixies - The Lemonheads by The Lemonheads - Bakesale by Sebadoh - Tim by the Replacements Descendants: - Buzz Factory by Screaming Trees - Loveless by My Bloody Valentine - Bleach by Nirvana - High/Low by Nadasurf - Ultimate Alternative Wavers by Built to Spill - Buffalo Tom by Buffalo Tom - No Pocky for Kitty by Superchunk - Icky Mettle by Archers of Loaf - Smoke Ring for My Halo by Kurt Vile - Castle Talk by Screaming Females

Raw and unrefined art with a meandering sense that invites the listener to experience its hidden delights

The other half of the grunge movement feels like it starts around this album, with Dinosaur Jr.'s introspective and morose sounds thematically feeding the movement. You can place indie bands like Dinosaur Jr. and Sonic Youth as pioneers of a type of music that fed the grunge and slacker aesthetic that loomed large in the early 90s. Truthfully, the indie and art rock movement of the late 80s would never find its mainstream fulfillment until the bubblegum pop of the late 90s gave way to the dolorous sounds of the Shins and Modest Mouse in the early oughts. However, Dinosaur Jr.'s sound, though not polished enough to make a top 100, would clearly see imitators aping the sound make a bigger splash in places like MTV: bands like Blind Melon, The Flaming Lips, Candlebox, and even Stone Temple Pilots. When it's all said and done, Dinosaur Jr. may not be for everyone, but there is a good chance it's one of your favorite band's favorite bands.

Big nostalgia blast for me, though they weren't in the first rank for me at the time.

If an album could sound like its held together by duck tape and a mortar soaked in tobacco spit I think it might be this album. This thing felt like a bunch of parts leaning on each other and not falling down because of gumption. I enjoyed it, after a fashion, but man it was not easy to love. I can see the influence on the alternative rock that would be coming out in just a handful of years following this though and maybe I'm appreciating it through the lens of the stuff I did love and grew up with. Dinosaur Jr. is another act I've heard of but never really actively listened to. We just had Sonic Youth a few days ago and they were more to my liking. You can see how they fell into the standard alt rock. I wonder if Dinosaur Jr. ever did. The riffs and hooks were worth following, but it was too reliant on the feedback for effect. Again, at least for my tastes. Its a 3/5 that I appreciate for what followed in its wake.

I loved the cover of Just Like Heaven and the odd Poledo track before it but other than that, it was kind of alright.

Pretty simple 90s rock. There are some good instrumentals at times and the songs flow well, but there isn't really anything too notable or mind-blowing.

Nr. 37/1001 Little Fury Things 5/5 Kracked 4/5 Sludgefest 3/5 The Lung 4/5 Raisans 3/5 Tarpit 3/5 In a Jar 3/5 Lose 3/5 Poledo 1/5 Just Like Heaven 3/5 Average: 3,2 Started out great, but fell off towards the end for me. Wtf is Poledo

Not for me. I don't know... I listened to it a few days ago and nothing clicks, so could not be the good for me

not my cup of tea. OK music, but the vocals are screaming and everything sounds repetitive

I really shouldn't be surprised there's more than one of these on here. What a dreadful list.

So I never owned any Dinosaur Jr music – nor have I ever listened to them, at least knowingly… As a rock guy, I really appreciated their sound – kinda like an excellent garage band… Not a big fan of the “lo-fi” movement, so if that’s what they were going for, or this was really just a sub-par recording effort, the audio quality was sorely lacking… Nothing was sharp, and a good portion of the album was pretty muddled IMO… That said, I did enjoy a couple of tracks, as the album started out pretty strong, but about 5 tracks in, it definitely started to lose some steam… Best tracks IMO were “Little Fury Things” & “Sludgefeast” – though there were moments of musical goodness throughout the first 6 tracks… Vocally, I thought the dude sounded like a much weaker version of Adam Duritz of “Counting Crows” – but his voice definitely suits the music for sure… Not much diversity in the sound until the slower pace of the 6th track “Tarpit” – so a little variety in tempo would have helped no doubt… After that, it’s like they ran out of material… “In A Jar” was pretty weak, and I have NO idea what they were doing with “Lose” & “Polido” – as they were so disappointing compared to the earlier parts of the album… Also didn’t think I needed to hear a pretty pedestrian version of The Cure’s “Just Like Heaven” to close the album… All in all, I’m glad I listened – as this is in my wheelhouse, however the audio quality, combined with the fact that it got weaker the longer it went on – and finished in such dreadful fashion, I can’t give it more than a 2…

Ovo mi je bilo bordeline neslušljivo, stvarno nezz šta reći, ništa dobro nemam za reći. 1/5, 1/10

Little Fury Things - 2.5 The screaming makes me really hate it. Almost turned it off. Hated the beginning with the screaming BUT then the rest of the song was a totally fine rock song. It circled back to the noise at the end which I do not enjoy. Kracked - 3 (maybe 4) Hate the just noise guitar part. I would prefer a more detailed instrumental imo. It’s not a terrible song though, oddly enough I like the lead singers vocals the best out of anything. It reminds of a Daughtry tone. The instrumentals just are not my fav. Sludgefest - 3.5 Crazy transitions into this one, very seamless. And the instrumentals are the best in this song so far. Lyrics are a little on the simple side but I think this one is the best in overall composition so far. HATING the music at the end. Seriously takes the number rating down a little for me. The Lung - 3 Best intro instrumental where its not just noise. Very simple in terms of lyrics and the instrumentals are fine. Overall kind of mid to me, reading very filler. Raisans - 4 Wtf is this word. Idk what this moan-singing bridge is. This one is giving a man who won’t let it go (derogatory) like its seeming he likes a girl and she really isn’t giving him the time of day and he’s just kind of staying around hoping proximity or whatever is going to change his mind. Sounds pretty good though. Stylistically, this is one of the best in my opinion. Tarpit - 2.5 Bass is good in that intro. I liked hearing a deeper tone versus the homogenized noise. This one sounds different from the rest of the songs so far in a good way. I kind of like this one in a “I want to add it way”, I like how it has that rock vibe but isn’t overwhelming and conveys seemingly genuine emotions. The instrumental part 3 minutes in is losing me though - I see no reason for shit like that. Will not be adding now. I HATE THIS guitar? Noise? idk but it seriously is tanking the song for me. In A Jar - 3 Immediate vibe shift from the last song versus all of the transitions we’ve had so far. THis one was meh, kinda forgettable. Lose - 2 this one is giving male complainerrrrr. Don’t love it. Poledo - 2 Very different prodution than the others. Almost scary? I don’t like it. Just Like Heaven - 3 This one is a cover? Interesting. This one sounds the most like mainstream rock but of course we cannot do without the screaming in the bridge. I like the writing in the verses (but it’s a The Cure song so idk if I can really give this band credit for that). Very ubrupt ending. Ok I will say this was better than I was expecting. I thought it was going to be the men screaming at me for the entire songs. But it had a little bit more depth to it than that and I actually found myself liking the lead singers vocals more than I thought. I liked the transitions in between songs and some of the pure guitar instrumentals were solid. I even enjoyed some of the writing when I could tell effort was put towards it. They lost me on the noise music of it all and it got screamy in some parts which I just musically do not get at all. Still prob is going to be a 1 star rating for me as I don’t see myself coming back to any of these, BUT I didn’t even think I’d finish this one, let alone find positive things to say. So all is not lost.

Nope.

Ni una canción entera. Too much

What a frickin' masterpiece this is! And it's only Dinosaur's second-best album. (To my shock, their best album, Where You Been, is NOT on the list. That slightly invalidates this whole exercise, if you ask me. But I will persist.)

De klanken van het 1e nummer maken me weer 18 jaar oud 😄. Een geweldige plaat

One of the bands that influenced the bands I listened to growning up, and I regret not listening to them at the time. This album is so good.

Ok maybe I finally get Dinosaur Jr this was great!

Better than Coldplay

J Mascis is the most underrated guitarist of all time

really great guitar rock. Adored this album

I've listened to a a DinosaurJr before but they never really grabbed me. This reedited is generally really great and I liked it a lot with a couple of reservations. The quality really dips for a couple of tracks and at some points it gets get samey. Still, it was a really enjoyable listen

Thoughts before listening: I bet this gets bad reviews on here, but I'm a big fan. J Mascis is one of my favorite guitarists of all time, and I love his slacker drawl as well. I'm glad to see this today. Review: For such a loud, fuzzed out guitar album, there is a ton of melody in these songs. This is definitely indie/alt rock that will have limited appeal, but I'm in that subset of music listeners that love it. J Mascis is the best, and seeing him standing in front of his massive amp stack drawling catchy song after catchy song and ripping solos is a treat. This is one of their best albums, and for me personally, its 5-stars.

está cabrón que todas las bandas indie queramos ser dinosaur jr. pero la neta sí todas queremos, hasta sin darnos cuenta xd recién tuvimos ensayo del sancris y estamos trabajando yet again una rola con un chingo de partes y dijo pable que el chiste está en que no suene a prog, y al día siguiente regreso a este disco y me voy patrás de oir todas las partes que tienen las rolas sin que se note, no es prog, es pop, es rock, es ruido. lo mismo que queremos nosotrxs

Something about this sound and style is warm and comfortable, like a blanket.

yu

Really cool album start to finish. Bit of a grungy sound to it, great instrumentals with awesome guitar solos and cool noise rock influences. Indie rock in the 80s riffed way fucking harder than modern indie.

I was into Se-bad-oh before I had heard D Jr, once I found these guys fell in love with them too. This album is just fuzz and reverb, noise rock with some metal guitar licks and REM like songwriting. Love J Mascis' singing style, love how melodic it is and at the same time very doom and gloom. I was going to rate this a 4, but because of how influential this album is on a lot of the bands I listened too and even some of the recent bands in multiple genres, I am giving it 5.

perfect

Completely new stuff for me and I found it AWESOME!

Just after my first week of college, my lung collapsed while cooling down from my first collegiate cross country race. I had a major surgery and was in the hospital for ten days. Through sheer coincidence, three people from my high school came to the same college. They all visited me and brought me supplies, which was extremely nice. What was more amazing was that after only being there a week, another dozen people I had just met also came. One of the DJs brought me some tapes, which included Dinosaur Jr. It seemed apt that my favorite song was “The Lung,” with one verse sounding something like, “nowhere to collapse from…” Dinosaur Jr. were the more traditional side of Sonic Youth’s multitoned distortion, harking back to both 80s hardcore punk and 70s cock rock. Dinosaur inspired me to go back and appreciate some seriously heavy music I had missed.

sounds fresh to this day

This fucking rips. It’s sloppy in the best possible way. Incredible guitar tone and great vocals. Love the Cure cover tacked on as a bonus as well.

Un nouvel album pour Dinosaur Jr. en août. J'ai une Fender Jazzmaster en grande partie en raison de J Mascis (et Thurston Moore et Lee Ranaldo).

Amenez moi en plus du noise rock! Je suis encore néophyte, mais j'aime bien découvrir. J'ai bien aimé Sebadoh aussi, on reste proche.

Dinosaur Jr. c'est oui!

I always forget how melodic this album is when I haven’t listened to it in a while. Even the Barlow tracks on the end are great even though I’ve never really gotten into Sebadoh. Such a great album and exemplary of the noise rock that wound so greatly influenced the whole Indie scene.

You're Living All Over Me basically has everything I want out of an indie rock record. Great riffs, sticky melodies, unorthodox songwriting, a unique vocalist, and heavy layers of distortion and feedback. This isn't just indie in aesthetic, but in attitude. The lo-fi recording style gives the album an organic and ramshackle feeling, making up for a lack of polish with an exciting DIY atmosphere. J Mascis' vocals are snotty and yelpy, feeling very predictive of how grunge vocalists would sound in the 90s. All these elements could make this an excessively abrasive listen, which it is to a degree, but the band's strong melodic senses help you stay invested. Take away the noise and the lo-fi production and it's almost a pop album. That juxtaposition is the secret sauce that makes this album truly special. This has long been a personal favorite for me, and every listen makes it even better.

A: Bästa albumet hittills. Överväger o lägga albumet i sin helhet med i nån av mina shoegaze listor. De e int ba shoegaze utan en perfekt bladning av shoegaze och en nyans av rock/metal som jag letat efter i ca 15 år på basis av den musik som Pauli spelade i vardagsrummet i Pargas när vi var små (dadrock men inte stereotypisk dadrock). 5/5 älskade!!!!!!!!!! D: Säkert den enda tillåtna tillämpningen av den gitarrmisshandel som Oasis&Co företräder. Personlig och egendomlig och överlag en bra balans av alla möjliga vågskålar. 4/5

Just absolutely rips from start to finish

Let's get it out of the way: I love Dinosaur Jr. and this is my favorite from them; this is getting a 5. Shit, I own and play a J Mascis signature Squire Jazzmaster, I have some personal investment in this thing. Although, if you don't get what makes You're Living All Over Me great, I don't know if I can help. Dinosaur Jr. were absolutely crucial in the development of grunge and other '90s alternative. I think I've heard someone say they're kind of the missing link between REM and Husker Du, and I sort of agree. Dinosaur Jr. had some of the mystery of REM's '80s aesthetic, but had something that's kind of punk-y in like a noise/sludge way that would later help define grunge. And the result is You're Living All Over Me, which honestly also rocks *unbelievably* hard for an indie record. Like this thing has some very fragile alternative, pop-by-way-of-rock-underground melodies, but then you turn the album on and the first fucking guitar tone you hear is a goddamn life-ruiner. The wah/noise solo at the beginning of Little Fury Things is *crazy*, it's like a whirlwind of ceramic, and it let's you know that these guys really mean business. It's rare to find indie willing to get this fucked up. And then, on Kracked, you get more mournful melodies and a guitar solo that brings up another point about this band; that J Mascis is kind of the most deeply secret *generational* guitar God *ever*. He has real chops, but is also really willing to slam so much fuzz on his tone that he's basically sculpting the riffs and solos out of a wall of pure scuzz. But honestly, as easy as it is to gush over Mascis, the whole band contributions are also deeply important, and Lou Barlow and Murph *need* their flowers. And as this thing goes on a real magic emerges between the punk sloppiness, paradoxical nimble-ness, and understated tenderness of this thing, which come together in a context that almost feels like folk or lo-fi sometimes. It's one of those records where the band stumbled onto a certain magic in their songwriting, and just stayed in the pocket for the entire time. There isn't a bad song here. I even really like Poledo; sure, it's *really* out there, but it brings some of the more quietly weird things about this album out and boldly relishes in things like ambient, lo-fi, and musique concrete. And I think of it kind of like a Revolution 9 situation. Putting Poledo here wasn't the decision that makes the most sense to the listener, but it's here because Dinosaur Jr. took a lot from the sounds on songs like that, and I think it was kind of their way to give back to genres like lo-fi and ambient. Regardless, I think of You're Living All Over Me as a landmark achievement in rock, and I think the fact that this band is perpetually a *little* underrated has made me more steadfast in this. It's really a fantastic album, mutating hard edged rock into a sound that honestly *does* bring to mind the sympathetic monster on the cover.

Very good album that I am shocked this band was never on my radar in the late 80s. Definitely a must listen.

Good, personally not my fav. But is a nice album for happy days.

YES

Another favorite from my youth that's always fun to revisit years later. Compared to how I remembered it, it's a whole lot more consistently good. No skips, until maybe 'Tarpit.' And it's easier to hear connections and influences now. The hardcore punk with the expressive metal-ish solos, but also the almost twee pop meekness. 'In a Jar' starts out as a jangly, bass-forward pop tune that R.E.M. might've played at about the same time. In this tune, J.'s vocal style is revealed to have a lot in common with Michael Stipe, too, just a little better, slower enunciation and a thicker drawl. Of course the fuzzed-out guitars take over at about 2 minutes, then some sheets of noise, and it's pure Dinosaur Jr. The recording isn't as good as their debut album or Bug, it's a noisy rough band and the recording makes it somewhat flat and muddy. But the songs still come through. The first album has standout tracks like 'Repulsion' and You're Living All Over Me meets that standard in about every song. Too bad the edition that includes 'Just Like Heaven' doesn't also include 'Chunks' from the b-side of that single. It's a hardcore punk cover that shows off Dinosaur Jr.'s influences and happens to be one of my favorite early tracks. 4.5/5 and I'd include this on lists, sure.

to me, it's the best noise rock album ever, something that will always speak to me. one of my favorites.

This is a monster guitar record and its great! Album is a masterpiece. 5.

I'm a little pissed at J. Mascis, Bob Mould and Buttholes Surfers. They are kind of responsible for shoegaze and grunge. With Dinosaur Jr. being responsible for emo too. So much bad stuff that happened after. Both musically and personally for me. I disliked grunge and may still not like it but I believe this list will get me listening to some of the stuff that is good. Listening to Dinosaur Jr reminds me of the first time I dated my now former spouse. I won't get into it but at one time I was dating two women, both long distance relationships. Neither worked out but on the drive, I often listened to alt rock stuff. Dinosaur Jr was on heavy rotation. They both loved my musical taste but only one like Dinosaur Jr. Remember listening while sitting on a driftwood log on a small beach in early summer with a small pit fire. Le sigh. This album feels a like a wave of distortion hitting you over and over with guitars and a loud soft voice saying precious things to you. This was so ahead of its time that it sounds like a late 90s album. Here you can still hear clear vocals before the voice becomes more under like on Where You Been. That was a cassette that was well played for me. I honestly love this album. There are no skips for me and the impact on music is phenomenal. The bands that came from this... Some great stuff and plenty of dross. Hard to deny its impact. Poledo's singing and melody reminds me of both Liz Phair and Rheostatics. Just Like Heaven is a great cover.

Dude hell yes 15/10 one of my favorite albums give it to me so good. This is an album I point to a lot (along with Dreamend's ...As if by ghosts) where the production is so DIY and experimental and doing what it can with what they had that the production itself is a super charming part of what makes this album so special. I LOVE that it sounds like unintelligible noise sometimes. I love the vocals, I love that you can't tell if the cymbals are being hit against the distortion from the guitar, it's just all so sick and so good. Masterful songwriting, all these guitar parts rules, the bass is fuzzed to hell, the drums are tight, 15/10 album.

If you told me this album was from 2026 I would believe you. This is really, really good. It’s raw, full of energy, and the songwriting is excellent. It’s obvious how influential Dinosaur Jr were on bands that came after. Can’t believe I’d never listened to this in full before and so glad I found it through this project.

Volviendo a este LP (con el que estuve obsesionado en mis '20s) pensé que me iba a aburrir por la gran cantidad de veces que lo escuché. Nada más alejado de la realidad, porque la experiencia sigue siendo la misma. Las gigantescas guitarras de J. Mascis, el poderoso bajo de Lou Barlow y las frenéticas baterías de Murph se juntan para crear una colección de canciones con perfecta sensibilidad pop y suficiente experimentación para caminar tranquilamente entre el lofi, el showgaze, el punk, el sludge y el post-punk. Incluso, uno de los rasgos que más me aburrieron de Dinosaur Jr. en mi primer paso por escuchar la banda (la somnolienta voz de Mascis) no me chocaron en esta ocasión. Para, un disco perfecto de los '90s cuya enorme influencia sigue vigente hasta el día de hoy; habiendo sientos de bandas indies que buscan llegar a este sonido tan particular sin éxito alguno. Quizá un rayo en una botella, quizá genialidad; pero definitivamente el mejor disco de Dinosaur Jr. Pistas recomendadas TODAS

To me this is the starting point of all of 90s alt rock. A truly great record.

I love it, the whole album consistently sounded grungy and emotional all the way through

Wow. I didn't realise this album was so early before everything else that sounds like it. I never really liked Dinosaur Jr and on relistening to this album, I can say I still don't. The music is fine but his 'singing' does my head in. Their style predates so many other bands - famous and not-so famous - both liked and not-so-much liked by this listener. So this a rare high score from me for a band I don't like but I can totally appreciate the album's influence on music that followed.

Just another solid, fuzzy, noisy album from the pioneers that really defined this genre. I enjoy You're Living All Over Me more than I do Bug and I am much more familiar with it. Honestly, I don't really have anything else to add.

The last show at the marquee of the “good old days” … it gave me short term tinnitus if I recall. Volume and tones. Volume and tones. You’re a weirdo j mascis and I’m here for all of it. A classic in the indie rock cannon. Lots of good memories at Robie street to this one.

Although I thought preferred "Bug", this is actually a far better album. Some astounding guitar work and a lovely full sound throughout. There's nothing that grates, not even the more experimental track stuck on the end, Poledo. It's probably a high four star album, but I'm bumping it up to five for the influence that this had on the direction of late 80s alt-rock bands.

Not my usual style of musical taste but I enjoyed this album and added Kracked to my Spotify playlist. I learned about “noise rock” from Wiki while looking more into this band and tried to notice how the songs fit into that subgenre while listening to the album. Enjoy and happy listening! 🙂

i listen to this often already Little Fury Things - 5/5 Kracked - 5/5 Sludgefeast - 5/5 The Lung - 5/5 Raisans - 5/5 Tarpit - 4/5 In a Jar - 5/5 Lose - 4/5 Poledo - 3/5 Average score: 4.6/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Absolutely loved this one. I knew very early on I would be giving it a high score. I gave their other album on the list, Bug, a 4 star so I definitely must check out the rest of their albums. Top Track - The Lung

Love this album. Love this band.

Very rough around the edges but with a real naked vulnerability that really engaged me. I think this is my favourite of their albums so far.

I love the mix of harsh noise and distortion and melodies and softer vocals. I admit I mostly know the 90s Dinosaur Jr with my introduction being Feel the Pain and that album. I was enjoying this the whole way through, the guitar work is sick. It feels very 90s, which is a total compliment, since it was ahead of its time, and somewhat predicted what was to come.