#;;We are the moths who chase the flame. [Previous Era]

[jinruinokyuseishu]

CONTINUED FROM HERE / @decimatcd​

“...That bad?”

Then again, even he can tell that the wounds aren’t closing up on their own as they normally would. These Honkai beasts were developing at an alarming rate, growing stronger with each Herrscher’s awakening--It was a countdown that MEI had predicted, and yet even knowing all of this did so very little to stem the tide. At the very least, he isn’t going to move for the time being lest he receive some harsh words for it.

“If it means an end to this war, I’ll be as reckless as I need to be.”

[oneweekoneband]

Why Did It Take Me So Long To Notice That The Word Is “Fury” Not “Furry”?

Hello again. While I must admit to mild surprise at Dinosaur Jr.’s absence from the constantly growing roster of artists covered on OWOB, I should also state my attempted approach to writing about a band with no lack of wordage already available on its behalf. Though potentially futile, I will be trying to write something that benefits a cross-section of readers, from the unfamiliar but curious to the currently dismissive therefore purposely detached to the self-appointed superfan. All of this being stated, please understand that “attempted” carries one hell of an implied emphasis.

As covered in the previous post, I’m an active writer with many years in the trenches, though at least a half-decade in between my first toe-dips into this endeavor and the formative teenage moment when exposure to two Dinosaur Jr. albums (1987’s You’re Living All Over Me and 1991’s Green Mind, their second and fourth, respectively) combined to transform a fervent interest in underground music into a terminal, all-consuming obsession that almost seems to have dictated, in some way, shape or form, each lifting of a finger since. 

I’ve had a fair amount of writing published on the subject of this band, but most of it appeared during the first half of my now 18 years in this racket, barring the entries about several Dinosaur Jr. albums did make it into my second (and most recent) book, which carried the subtitle of 500 Essential American Underground Rock Albums 1981 - 1996 and a title that I absolutely hate so it shall not be revisited. On that note, attacks of full-body cringe have become as reliable as Christmas upon revisiting older writings, therefore I did not in order to guarantee no points or angles reiterated. But for what it’s worth, at some point in the early-00s, I did a long and embarrassing tribute to You’re Living All Over Me for the Perfect Sound Forever website as my first piece of writing on the band. Then once the spotlight was aimed backwards and topically in 2004-2006 for that period’s two-tiered reissue and reunion activity, I wrote a bunch of features about the Homestead and SST years (plus the early run of reunion shows) for several outlets. I interviewed both Mascis and Barlow, twice each if I remember correctly, and essentially felt like I said everything there was to possibly say about this band whose music more or less put me on a personal and professional course that continues to this day. I don’t feel like that anymore.

Two things to take into account before we move on: First, none of the subsequent entries will be this long, or at least that’s the plan. Secondly, this week will feature very little writing on the four albums of new material Dinosaur Jr. has released since the original lineup of J. Mascis, Lou Barlow, and Emmett Jefferson Murphy III (almost exclusively known as “Murph” but I find his full given name to be amusing) reunited in 2005…will be of the unflattering comparative variety. However popular it might be to jump to black-and-white, definitive conclusions, do not take this to mean I consider these albums to be bad or boring or anything of the sort. But do know that they are, despite what the rest of the world seemingly believes, inferior when placed against what I will be trying to push into your ears and lives going forward. And understand that Dinosaur Jr.’s major-label era (1991 - 1997) will be explored in a nooks-and-crannies fashion (meaning, we’re going to get into Mike Johnson’s discography), as I feel there’s a nice chunk of amazing music hidden in there that has been largely overlooked or misunderstood.

I am about as obsessed with music as I am the non-fiction ghetto in which I operate.  Therefore it might or might not behoove me to do something no one outside of this little world should waste their time with, and that would be lot of overthinking about a couple of crucial elements of artistic criticism and appreciation that appear to be under constant attack these days: context and nuance. There is no such thing as good-to-great creative nonfiction or journalism that lacks or misuses either, and the most difficult to translate of the two is, of course, context. 

These days it seems every talking head (or every record-store loiterer or live show barnacle) of similar vintage to myself should be wearing a t-shirt or rocking a bumper-sticker that says, “Ask Me What It Was Like Before The Internet!”. This is something for which I harbor a visceral and distinct distaste if not great embarrassment. Any historically-precise party line of assumed profundity is going to fail at transmitting the intended impact for two reasons. First is the obvious neutering of any meaning or relevance when beating a cultural audience over the head with something, year after year, generation after generation. The second is more problematic, as I’m not certain that being present during its heyday or for a following period of linear influence is necessitated so as to provide fundamental context needed to understand how or why a band was groundbreaking or brain-rearranging or whatnot. 

For example, Dinosaur Jr. was four albums and seven years active once its music entered my life in earnest. Still, when it comes to blanket mantras of the reality-removed like, “This Was Before The Internet!” or “We Didn’t Have Cell Phones” battle stories, usually issued as some delusional badge of struggle or evidence of authenticity, we’re talking something that means far less than is assumed to a recipient without the same experiential history. I usually cringe when I witness someone else trying to get this across to a younger generation, though I have yet to figure out myself how to do it effectively. 

Conversely, there are examples of past underground rock prescience (well beyond the legendary trio of albums released by Dinosaur Jr. between 1985 and 1988) such as Mission of Burma, Black Flag, NEU!, Brian Eno’s “Third Uncle”, The Feelies, The Embarrassment, Can, This Heat, The Fall, mid-period Sonic Youth, Husker Du’s SST years, Black Sabbath, Slayer, mid-80s Swans, and Miles Davis’ 1970 - 1975 output, to name but a few, that occurred long before I developed anything close to refined taste or the ability to let music have an impact on a deep emotional and intellectual level. Or, for that matter, the ability to breath air outside of the womb in some of those cases. 

Still, once properly blown away, I could easily wrap my head around how each example was way ahead of the curve, or scared the shit out of most listeners who came in contact with it in real time. Of course, it helps if the music in question resides in the exclusive canon reserved for that which is genuinely timeless. If it falls short of timeless it sure as hell better be a high quality, well-aged specimen of music that’s nonetheless easily identifiable as being from a certain era of yore. Much of material released by Dinosaur Jr.’s during the band’s first two phases of activity, which together span 1985 until 1997, fits into one of those two categories.

My first meaningful introduction to Dinosaur Jr. essentially played out in similar a similar fashion to formative life-altering moments spun by many writers, musicians, and fans of my generation or older. I suppose a warning should now be issued that you’re about to read yet another account of someone taping episodes of MTV’s 120 Minutes. I had a habit of setting the recording time to the shittiest quality of six hours and fitting three episodes of said show onto my parents’ VHS copies of HBO and Cinemax films like The Cotton Club and Bill Cosby’s Himself. Some time after its parent album (You’re Living All Over Me) was released, on a Christmas night when I was in my early teens, the video for “Little Fury Things” ran between a Michelle Shocked number and The Cure’s infuriatingly awful “Let’s Go To Bed” (that goes for the video and the song). At first I focused on other future life-alterers like the clip for The Fall’s “New Big Prinz” and Sonic Youth’s iconic “Teenage Riot” video, as Dinosaur Jr.’s idea of a video and that song were just too fucking dark and ominous for my young teenage mind. 

But because I had to fast forward or rewind through multiple Christmas-special live-in-the-studio tomfoolery from hosts They Might Be Giants along with crap that was somehow already “not for me” like Fishbone, Camouflage, Translator, and the not-that-bad-but-long-as-hell video for Love And Rockets’ “Dog End Of A Day Gone By”, I eventually came around to the three minutes and change that was the “Little Fury Things” video….like a moth to flame. I still have the very VHS tape I used to play and rewind repeatedly while my parents were at work during the day, blasting it through the shitty speakers of our 27” Sony Trinitron and running all over the floorplans of the three houses (well, one house and two apartments, if we’re to split hairs) I lived in during my high school years. The beginning of the video goes blank for a few seconds because I accidentally hit “record” on the remote amidst some furious bouncing all over the couches and chairs.

I seriously doubt there’s a song I’ve listened to, on my own accord, more times than this one and it still delivers a palpable, albeit much different due to time passed, charge as it plays at this very moment. The sonic dichotomy that makes this track exciting- powerful noise/distortion married to a huge, highly emotive pop hook-happens to be another dragon I chase to this day and in general has been one of the crucial elements of forward movement undertaken by post-hardcore, proto and first-gen indie-rock, punk rock, shoegaze and underground metal over the last 30 years. Because I still run into music obsessives, mostly younger, who are unaware of Dinosaur Jr.’s legacy and historical place as a paramount force of innovation, influence and well-aged listening excitement, I’ll close this entry with the aforementioned video despite it visually communicating far less than it does musically. 

Much has been written (years ago by myself and more recently in Nick Atfield’s 33 ⅓ book on the album it opens) about attempting to decipher or assign one’s own meaning and words to what is probably a bunch of lyrical nonsense. I think that’s organically symptomatic of anything that hits with this kind of power and non-cheesy melancholic punch. A personal fave, however, would have to go to the one-off “Hallelujah, the sunlight brings the red out in your eyes” line that opens the gate for an instrumental mid-section of riffs (where a guitar solo might normally be).

“Little Fury Things” official video from 1987��s You’re Living All Over Me

And here’s a couple of clips that hopefully illustrate how insanely loud and air-moving Dinosaur Jr. Mach I must have been as a live band, especially considering the average age of the members was 20 to 22.

1986 at UMass…

Germany, 1988, full set. Pretty good sound given the age/era.

[jinruinokyuseishu]

@decimatcd​ liked for a starter

“--I’ve cleared the area on my side.”

Speaking into the earpiece provided by the MOTHs, he’s swinging Shamash once to disperse its flames.

“How are things on your end, Kalpas?”

[jinruinokyuseishu]

(Dr. Mei) She wishes she could hug him, to comfort him....but she can't. "Kevin..."

“--Don’t make that face.”

Kevin’s voice is soft as he finally manages to glance back behind him. He’s still fully suited up, having only just returned from the field, and to be honest....His hands were still shaking. Training had been brutal in itself, but nothing prepared him for the horrors that were currently overtaking the world, hidden at times in the guise of a human being. 

“I’m fine, see?”

Flashing a light-hearted grin, one near identical to the smile he sported back in Senba Academy--The newly christened MOTH gave MEI a mock salute, tilting his head very slightly as the other hand continued to tote his gun that felt....painfully heavy in his hands. As painful as the weight on his shoulders, but he would bear it.

He would do this for her.

“I promised to protect you, didn’t I? This is nothing.”

@starlitdeus 

[jinruinokyuseishu]

(Dr. MEI) "Kevin, you need to take care of yourself! You're no superhero!" Worried MEI noises.

“I’m no hero, but this body can take more damage than just a few scratches.”

Her research had caused for him to become all but indestructible, after all. And for the sake of the mission that had been entrusted to him not only by his love but by the world--Kevin was grateful. Even if it meant he would be alone, that he would never hold MEI in his arms...As long as she was safe and alive, with her dreams fulfilled, he could bear that burden happily.

His hand lifts, reaching out, before coming to an abrupt halt and swiftly returning to his side. Fingers closing into fists, he inhaled a little before glancing off to the side.

“...MEI, you’re the one who needs to watch out for yourself better. There’s bags under your eyes again, and you’re pale as a sheet.”

@imperiumgoddess

[jinruinokyuseishu]

“I’m not gonna live this life forever.” (Dr. Mei)

Supernatural Sentence Starters- Part 1 || Accepting

“I know you won’t, MEI. Sooner or later, you’ll bring a stop to this once and for all.”

He wants to rest a hand on her shoulder so badly, or even brush those stray raven strands out of her face. But he resists the urge and that painful longing that refused to leave his chest, to relent on its grip around his heart. That was simply love, he supposed.

One he’s not permitted to have.

Kevin’s hands clench into fists for a moment, frustration circulating through his head before they finally grew lax. He cannot show his feelings through physical contact, so he instead uses his words.

“--And I’ll be right beside you the whole way, I swear it.”

@imperiumgoddess

[jinruinokyuseishu]

“Dr. Mei is gonna be pissed.” (Pioneer Su)

Supernatural Sentence Starters- Part 1 || Accepting

“I’m not trying to please her, Su--I’m trying to do the job she’s given to me.”

Kevin’s words are flat and to the point, as he returns Judgement of Shamash to its dual pistol form. There’s a sea of flames before him where multiple Honkai beasts stood, but on the other hand: Not a single member of his team has fallen or fallen to Honkai energy corruption. Though the damage to the area is fairly large, he’s certain MEI would absolutely understand.

After all, they knew each other better than anyone in the world. In the end, they were both trying to save humanity no matter how steep the cost, because at this point: They all had very little left to lose save each other.

@imperiumgoddess

[jinruinokyuseishu]

(Dr. MEI) “I want you to be happy even when I’m gone.”

“....”

The words froze Kevin in place far more effectively than his own ice ever could have, just as he was making his exit to join the others on their trek to the moon. Judgment of Shamash rested within the palm of his hand, dormant for now so he could preserve as much strength as possible before entering into combat with the Final Herrscher.

“...What are you talking about? I’ll see you when I come back.”

A lie.

He knows it’s a lie, but it’s one that he’s forcing himself to swallow down and believe at all costs.

@imperiumgoddess

[jinruinokyuseishu]

"Kevin!~" Elysia called out to the 1st and smiled at him. "Want to join me for some lunch? The weather's pretty nice today."

Unprompted Asks || Accepting

“...Hm?”

Brought out of his thoughts by Elysia’s voice, he turns his head enough that he can catch the pink-haired archer in his peripheral. His arms are folded across his chest, and his brow is furrowed into the slightest of frowns from whatever it was that had been occupying his thoughts. Upon hearing that offer, he already instinctively feels the need to say ‘no’, before recalling how MEI had already expressed quite a few concerns about how he has been making a strong habit of distancing himself from the others. Even the other Flamechasers.

With that in mind, he exhales through his nose with a sound akin to a somewhat defeated sigh.

“....Alright.”

That aside....It was best to simply accept from the get-go, lest he suffer from some ridiculously roundabout method to get him to participate. 

@ancientforged

[jinruinokyuseishu]

@tenthflamechaser​ liked for a lyric starter / Underworld by VAMPS

“What do you think is real? What do you think is true?”

[jinruinokyuseishu]

@digitalfcte​ liked for a starter

“--A mechanical soldier?”

Not quite the best use of their resources, but then again--If this machinery can somehow be programmed and formatted for channeling the powers that the MANTIS possess....It could potentially turn the situation around, even if only for a short while. Arms folded across his chest, he looks the large mass of metal up and down in appraisal.

“Walk me through the basic functions.”