Proto-indie rock band whose leader J. Mascis (b. Joseph Mascis, 1965) helped create the stereotype of the indie-rock loser-star with his high-decibel mood swings and near-catatonic public persona.

Dinosaur Jr. debuted in 1985 with (the then-eponymous) Dinosaur; bass player Lou Barlow departed acrimoniously in 1989 to pursue his prolific lo-fi project Sebadoh, and Mascis effectively went solo with Dinosaur Jr.’s major label debut Green Mind (1991).

That album formalized the band’s signature of melodic pop songs sullied with noisy eruptions. Rightly accredited as a seminal alt-rock influence, Mascis graced MTV’s playlist in Spike Jonze’s golfing-in-Manhattan video for 1994′s “Feel the… Continue reading →