Stereogum » J Mascis

J. Mascis Gets A Bobblehead

corban — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 18:45:09 +0000

Nerd culture collides again for Aggronautix’s new bobblehead, facsimile of J. Mascis. There is some precedent for this. But they’re thinking big this time.

J is accurately sculpted right down to the big ole glasses, rockin’ riff grip, and signature silver mane that features REAL DOLL HAIR — a first for Aggronautix!

Barriers are being broken here, people. I would still rather have any of these, honestly (#16 is the best).

J Mascis – “I’ve Been Thinking”

tom — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 19:51:44 +0000

Earlier this year, Dinosaur Jr. main man J Mascis released Several Shades Of Why, a solo album full of gorgeously weary acoustic shreddage. “I’ve Been Thinking,” the song we’ve got up for download below, would fit perfectly on that album, but it’s not there. Instead, it’s the b-side of a new 7″ single version of Mascis’s cover of Edie Brickell’s track “Circle.”

CMJ 2011: Class Superlatives & Our Finest Photos

amrit — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 22:19:59 +0000

We’re on the other side of CMJ now, which you could probably tell by the uptick in the music news cycle, or by some bloggers’ (could be any bloggers, no way to know who I am talking about) bleary eyes and corresponding level of risibility. Stereogum threw a couple of parties early on, then shifted into showcase-hopping mode. Herein you’ll find a hand-selected collection of the finest and most representative photos of CMJ 2011 from our crew of exceptional photographers — Erez Avissar, Ryan Muir, and Jessica Amaya — which captures the week’s most important artists in exquisite settings and exposures. I know our gallery display mechanism is clumsy — we’re working on a more elegant viewer as I type — so please bear with it and give these shots a shot: Each of these bands are presented as an endorsement, and each of those shots is worthy of pupils. It’s essentially one shot per band, except for Trash Talk, who are represented in proportion to the amount they came up in conversation this week. (A lot.)

Moreso every year, CMJ is a festival of due diligence over true discovery. But a week-long barrage of free shows and “branded experiences” does provide a loose framework within which to note trends, or spread love, if there are trends or love worth spreading. To that end, here are The Most Notable Bands & Incidents Of CMJ 2011:

Download Stereogum’s Cruel Summer 2011 Mix

amrit — Fri, 01 Jul 2011 19:23:10 +0000

Here’s the sequel to last year’s popular heartbreak of a mixtape, Cruel Summer. That one was worn, forlorn, and sexual, it was the soundtrack arc to your winter romance burning up and melting in the hot, hormonal sun. This year it’s just a party, really, soundtracked once again by some of the very best and most summery (free and legal) songs of the year. This 25 track tape is sequenced for feel and flow, grouped by sound and mood. There’s hardcore via Fucked Up and Iceage, hip hop via Drake, Heems, and Giggs. The dance floor gets worked via YACHT, Class Actress, and Elite Gymnastics, the beats get pitched for a future-rave via Pictureplane, and Pale Sketcher. There’s outright love for ladies via Hima (“WOMYN”) and Frank Ocean (“Songs For Women”). It’s declarative and assertive (“The Great Pan Is Dead”) and fully inspirational (“Believer”). It’s explicitly for the ladies (“WOMYN aka HITCH”; “Songs For Women”). The Wrens and Beige make it contemplative. And It all ends bittersweetly — because all endings are bittersweet — but in the hands of the Weeknd and J Mascis it’s optimistic also, for the way they close it, and for the way that you didn’t realize what strange but perfect bedfellows the Weeknd and J Mascis could be.

This mix is meant to be enjoyed in one continuous, uninterrupted stretch, but we have it broken into Volumes (i.e. zip files of individual MP3s) to make downloading more manageable. It’s Cruel Summer 2011:

Watch Ted Leo Interview Michael Stipe, J Mascis, Liz Phair & Other SXSW Luminaries

brandon — Tue, 29 Mar 2011 21:47:59 +0000

SXSW 2011 came and went — we have the portraits to prove it — but it doesn’t mean those days in Austin aren’t still spitting out worthwhile mementos… Like Fred Armisen before him, Ted Leo interviewed a bunch of folks while he was down in Austin. Unlike Armisen, he takes it fairly seriously, a seriousness pays off with some good insights about lazy journalism, etc. See how he does with Liz Phair, Michael Stipe, and J Mascis. It was for IFC.

J Mascis – “Not Enough” Video (Stereogum Premiere)

brandon — Fri, 25 Mar 2011 13:56:21 +0000

Sub Pop labelmate Chad VanGaalen created this playful, psychedelic video for “Not Enough,” the ambling, sing-along lead single from J Mascis’ great (mostly) acoustic album Several Shades of Why. It features lots of eyeballs, a couple cracked skulls, and several shades of J.

SXSW Friday: Featuring James Blake, Odd Future, Esben & The Witch, Jamie Woon, Mount Kimbie

amrit — Sat, 19 Mar 2011 22:04:46 +0000

Click on for some thoughts and sights from a very busy Friday in Austin. Tonight’s the last night here, so if you need some guidance please refer to our list of must-see bands, or our favorite moments from Wednesday and Thursday. And if you’re looking for a way to close out your SXSW, come to our LAST NIGHT party: Das Racist, Owen Pallett, Puro Instinct, Cults, and Gold Panda. Doors are at 11PM and the drinks are free all night so please get there as early as possible. It is going to be a madhouse. We want you to get in.

Click on, this is a fun one:

Stereogum Monthly Mix: March 2011

amrit — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 20:09:57 +0000

The March edition of our Monthly Mix series runs the gamut from South London mixtape hip-hop, to lady-baiting R&B, pop, to lady-fronted arpeggiated-vocal ukulele/sax funk. Or at least it runs that gamut within its first three tracks. There are plenty of collaborations (the lead harmonizers from Fleet Foxes and Grizzly Bear, harmonizing; PS I Love You and Diamond Rings, also) and some interesting and honorifically named reappropriations (Rihanna’s “Hard” on Giggs’ “Hard Style,” Waka Flocka Flame’s raps on Elite Gymnastics’ ’90s club workout “WΛKΛ”); some blistering new wave (Cold Cave) and blistering punk/metal/whatever (Liturgy). There are new tracks from old heralded heroes (J Mascis) and an old track from an old Harald hero (i.e. Grosskopf). As always the purpose of these mixes is to roundup the best free and legal MP3s to surface on the web since our last installment; as always, I couldn’t help but sequence it to tease the dialogue from track to track. There are 16 of them all told, which you can download in one zip file and see listed individually below:

J Mascis – “Is It Done”

brandon — Wed, 09 Feb 2011 15:46:19 +0000

Not sure if it’s the weather or the easy familiarity of that voice, but I find myself listening to J Mascis’ pretty, easygoing, mostly acoustic Several Shades Of Why at least once a day. When we posted “Not Enough” I mentioned the album was “solo” in name but included assistance from Kurt Vile, A Silver Mount Zion’s Sophie Trudeau, Kevin Drew, Ben Bridwell, Black Heart Procession’s Pall Jenkins, Matt Valentine, etc. “Is It Done” features Bridwell on backing vocals. You’ll also see why I keep referring to the album as “mostly” acoustic.

J Mascis – “Not Enough”

brandon — Thu, 09 Dec 2010 15:20:20 +0000

“Not Enough” is the first single from J Mascis’s forthcoming mostly acoustic collection Several Shades Of Why. For all of his primary bands and side projects, it’s being billed as his first studio-recorded solo collection. “Solo,” but Kurt Vile, A Silver Mount Zion’s Sophie Trudeau, Kevin Drew, Ben Bridwell, Black Heart Procession’s Pall Jenkins, Matt Valentine, and others joined him at the studio in Amherst, Mass. It’s an understatement to say I have soft-spot for Mascis’s voice — that rangy, ragged, crackling, moving quaver never fails to take me back to listening to “Severed Lips” on repeat in high school, then forward to all the great shit he did afterward (from You’re Living All Over Me, Bug, and main back-in-the-day soundtrack Green Mind to the more recent full-band comeback). Several Shades Of Why maybe isn’t his most classic collection, but listening to the new songs, that warble in focus, has been a treat. Get acquainted via “Not Enough.”