Dinosaur Jr. at The Opera House - Concert Photos

I've been a pretty huge Dinosaur Jr. fan since my teenage years. I love the guitar tones and guitar playing, the hook-filled power pop tunes and relentless high energy of the rhythm section. And did I mention the guitar? The tone that J. Mascis coaxes from his Fender guitars and his personal surround-sound enclave of distortion and volume is magical to witness. I'm just glad I wear earplugs.

I got a chance to see Dinosaur Jr. again when they played Toronto's Opera House. This time I got to bring my camera along to capture the experience. We got a special treat in the form of a live recording of Damian Abraham's Turned Out A Punk podcast with all three members of Dinosaur Jr. Then Matthew "Doc" Dunn's opening set. Followed by the main event.

And what a main event it was! I got so many personal favourite tunes like "Goin' Down", "Watch the Corners", "Feel the Pain", "The Wagon", "Start Choppin'", and their cover of The Cure's "Just Like Heaven". We also got some special guests in the form of Broken Social Scene's Kevin Drew on "The Wagon" and Fucked Up's Damian Abraham on two covers that finished off the encore; The Stooges "I Wanna Be Your Dog" and Last Rights' "Chunks". What a show!

In other news, J. Mascis has just released a new solo album called Elastic Days. Check out "Elastic Days". "See You at The Movies" and "Web So Dense". J's back in Toronto on December 1 at The Great Hall.

Here are some of my favourite Dino Jr. tunes from their setlist.

"Goin' Down"

"Watch the Corners"

"Feel the Pain"

"The Wagon"

"Start Choppin'"

"Just Like Heaven"

Best of: Top 30 of 2016: My favourite albums of 2016

Here are my 30 favourite albums of 2016. And, yeah, they're kind of in order this year. Best at the top!

The Zolas Swooner

July Talk Touch

Yuck Stranger Things

Wintersleep The Great Detachment

Sate RedBlack&Blue

Warpaint Heads Up

Bob Mould Patch The Sky

The Kills Ash And Ice

Public Animal Palace Arms

Dinosaur Jr. Give A Glimpse Of What Yer Not

The Temperance Movement White Bear

Sunflower Bean Human Ceremony

White Lung Paradise

White Denim Stiff

Weaves Weaves

Split Single Metal Frames

Ron Hawkins Spit Sputter and Sparkle

Pup The Dream Is Over

Catfish & The Bottlemen The Ride

Sleigh Bells Jessica Rabbit

Frightened Rabbit Painting of a Panic Attack

The Balconies Rhonda

Marlon Chaplin Wanderer By Trade

Eagulls Ullages

TacocaT Lost Time

John Moreland In The Throes

The Joy Formidable Hitch

The Strumbellas Hope

Drowners On Desire

Viola Beach Viola Beach

Best of: Top 50 of 2016: My favourite songs of 2016

I loved 2016.

Lots of other people didn't. And that's okay. There was lots to get down about. Lots of aging (and not so aging) rockers that dove into the inevitability and lots of pretty shitty human behaviour, just to name a couple of things.

But there was lots to be very, very happy about. Life was pretty damn good to me, personally. I spent much of the year bathed in art. Lots of real "me time". I attended more shows and saw more bands in 2016 than I have in any other year. I spent a lot of time with a lot of very cool people. It's a concert-going record I don't think I'm going to break any time soon. Or any time at all.

And there was great music. So much great music. This year, I probably listened to less recorded music than I have in many, many years, but I made up for it with live shows. This is reflected in the fact that my favourite songs of the year came mostly from acts I saw live. Many of them I saw multiple times, giving their tunes more time to wedge themselves into my consciousness.

The bonus that comes with this post is that you're also getting a preview of my favourite albums list if you notice the number of repeat songs by certain artists that appear amongst my favourites. It'll be coming soon. And so will a post of my favourite concert photos of 2016. Which comes with a special announcement.

And so, here they are, at long last, my latest ever best of list, except for the ones for my favourite albums and favourite concert photos, which are still in progress... These are my favourite fifty tunes of 2016:

50. "Break My Heart Sweetly" John Moreland

49. "In Stars" Marlon Chaplin

48. "Radio of Lips" The Joy Formidable

47. "Blank Ribbons" Split Single

46. "We Had Everything" Broods

45. "Personal Weekend" Partner

44. "City Club" The Growlers

43. "Molotov Girls" The Zolas

42. "Voices In My Head" Bob Mould

41. "Kiss Me When I Bleed" White Lung

40. "Coo Coo" Weaves

39. "Cannonball" Yuck

38. "Fossils" Marlon Chaplin

37. "Money Money" The Balconies

36. "Easier Said" Sunflower Bean

35. "Swooner" The Zolas

34. "Beautiful Girl" Ron Hawkins

33. "Santa Fe" Wintersleep

32. "Goin' Down" Dinosaur Jr.

31. "Doing It To Death" The Kills

30. "Lemontrees" Eagulls

29. "White Bear" The Temperance Movement

28. "Miracle" The Darcys

27. "Silence" Sate

26. "Beck + Call" July Talk

25. "Swings and Waterslides" Viola Beach

24. "CV Dazzle" The Zolas

23. "Cruel Ways" Drowners

22. "DVP" Pup

21. "Pen to Paper" Modern Space

20. "Wall Watcher" Sunflower Bean

19. "Soundcheck" Catfish and The Bottlemen

18. "Ha Ha Ha Ha (Yeah)" White Denim

17. "Human" Weaves

16. "Blood In The Cut" K.Flay

15. "Give It Up" The Beaches

14. "Get Out" Frightened Rabbit

13. "It Don't Seem Right" Public Animal

12. "It's Just Us Now" Sleigh Bells

11. "Hold Me Closer" Yuck

10. "Tiny" Dinosaur Jr.

9. "The End of Things" Bob Mould

8. "Heart of a Dog" The Kills

7. "Warrior" Sate

6. "Amerika" Wintersleep

5. "Invisible" The Zolas

4. "Hearts In Motion" Yuck

3. "New Song" Warpaint

2. "Spirits" The Strumbellas

1. "Push + Pull" July Talk

New music from Dinosaur Jr.: Goin' Down from Give a Glimpse of What Yer Not

I just posted a new tune called "Tiny" from Dinosaur Jr.'s new album Give a Glimpse of What Yer Not. That post included a performance from Later... with Jools Holland. Well, he played another tune on the show as well. This one's called "Goin' Down" and it's an alternative rocker of the highest order.

Listen:

Pic from Facebook.

New music from Dinosaur Jr.: Tiny from Give a Glimpse of What Yer Not

I love unexpected album announcements. I just heard that Dinosaur Jr. is coming out with a new album called Give a Glimpse of What Yer Not on August 5. They've just appeared on Later... with Jools Holland to deliver a sample in the form of "Tiny".

The song is a slice of Dinosaur Jr. power pop / alternative rock perfection with a bouncy bass line, energetic beat, and J. Mascis' patented chord structure and catchy melody. Love it!

Check out their performance on Jools, plus the studio version of the track below.

Pic from Facebook.

Twenty-five years ago: Dinosaur Jr. Green Mind

J. Mascis and Dinosaur Jr. have created some of my favourite 90s era sonic and songwriting touchpoints. I discovered Dinosaur Jr.'s Green Mind, which came out 25 years ago today, when I was wasting countless hours at the university radio station when I probably should have been studying.

This album marked the band's fourth, their first without Lou Barlow and their first on a major label. It's got some of my favourite Dino Jr. tunes, as highlighted below. The sound of this band, especially J's guitars, are aspirational for me.

"The Wagon"

"Puke & Cry"

"Green Mind"

Pic from Amazon.

New J. Mascis

The legend that is J. Mascis keeps making amazing music. He's got a new solo album coming out on August 26. It's called Tied to a Star and the first single is "Every Morning". No, not the Sugar Ray song.

Check out the laid back, melodic and lo-fi tune.

Pic from Facebook.

Lots of great stuff from J. Mascis / Dinosaur Jr.

I think it's really cool that J. Mascis/Dinosaur Jr. gets tons of respect. I think he's a great singer, song writer and guitarist and I've been enjoying his heavy music with a pop sensibility, as well as his face melting guitar playing, since the late 80s.

Here's the latest tune from Dinosaur Jr. It's an acoustic cover of the classic Mazzy Star tune "Fade into Me". Beautiful. It comes with Keep's official Dinosaur Jr. shoe, if you're into that sort of thing.

J. Mascis has also teamed up with Skullcandy headphones and you can get a couple of great tunes through the link over on Stereogum. Here's "The Only Other Way".

This clip that shows how Dinosaur Jr can take you away. Kinda like Calgon. Only different. And louder. It's for the song "Pierce The Morning Rain" from 2012's I Bet On Sky.

There are a bunch of cool fan videos over at Stereogum of J. Mascis with legendary folks like Johnny Marr, Kim Gordon, Lee Ranaldo, Frank Black, Kevin Drew, Tommy Stinson, and Fred Armisen. Tunes include "The Boy with the Thorn in His Side" with Johnny Marr (of course) and "The Wagon" with Kevin Drew, who you know is a big J. Mascis fan since the tune "Backed Out On The..." from his 2007 solo album Spirit If... featured J. and since the BSS tune "Cause=Time" sounds like it could be a Dinosaur Jr. track.

Cool cover of new Phoenix tune Entertainment by Dinosaur Jr.

This tune keeps getting called a remix. To me, it's a cover. Really different things. Maybe it's just me. Whatever.

It's Dinosaur Jr. doing the new song "Entertainment" from Phoenix's forthcoming album Bankrupt!

Check it out and download it below.



Surf on over to this post to hear the Phoenix version. Bankrupt! is out April 22-23.

My favourite albums: Awesome and cool albums of 2012: My best of list: 20 Albums of 2012

2012 was no different from previous years for me in that I'm still more of a songs guy than an albums guy. It just takes longer for a whole album to show its charms to me and I struggled with what to put on this list, how to rank it, and even whether to do an albums list at all.

So here are the 20 albums from 2012 that made the biggest impression on me. So far. Alphabetically.


2:54 2:54

Band of Skulls Sweet Sour

Blood Red Shoes In Time To Voices

Bob Mould Silver Age

Diiv Oshin

Dinosaur Jr. I Bet On Sky

Dirty Ghosts Metal Moon

Divine Fits A Thing Called Divine Fits

Fun. Some Nights

IAMDYNAMITE SUPERMEGAFANTASTIC

Jack White Blunderbuss

Japandroids Celebration Rock

Ladyhawke Anxiety

Nude Beach II

Stars The North

Sucioperro Fused

The Twilight Sad No One Can Ever Know

The Whigs Enjoy the Company

The xx Coexist

Yukon Blonde Tiger Talk


Check out the rest of my best of posts.

Songs of the iPod: Great set of songs

On my usual random playlist, which serves up a mix from across my musical collection, I received the treat of a great little set of tunes. So great, that I had to share it. Awesome randomness!

Broken Social Scene with "7/4 Shoreline"


Rainbow Butt Monkeys with "Circles"


Husker Du with "Divide and Conquer"


and Dinosaur Jr. with "The Wagon"


Oldies but goodies.

New Dinosaur Jr. song Watch The Sky

Dinosaur Jr are releasing a new album called I Bet On Sky on September 18. Here's a song called "Watch the Corners". Groovy! Great guitar playing!

Dinosaur, Jr.

The tune "Almost Ready" from Dinosaur Jr.'s most recent album, Farm, came up on the iPod the other day. What a great song. I just love the loud guitars, the raspy, sometimes strained vocals, with the great melodies and hooks. This guy has been making great music for decades and he just keeps on getting better! I love seeing great artists evolve over the years.



The guy behing Dino Jr. - J. Mascis - has recently released an acoustic album called Several Shades of Why. Here are a couple of videos.





And here are some classic Dino Jr. vids.