Dinosaur Jr. is a band that proved to be hugely influential to the alternative rock explosion that occurred in the 90s. Still, despite releasing plenty of critically acclaimed material over the years and being well respected in the scene they helped create, they never exactly hit the “big time” so to speak. Indeed, there always seemed to be a proverbial “ceiling” when it came to Dinosaur Jr’s level of success, but whatever the case, it’s not like J. Mascis ever really cared about any of that BS anyway. He was “Oh well, whatever, never mind” before that was even a thing.
That said, Dinosaur Jr. did have some occasional flirtations with the mainstream back in the thick of the early 90s alternative-rock boom, a prime example being this gnarly performance of “Start Choppin” on The Word back in 1992. Granted, “Start Choppin” was probably their most accessible/infectious single, but whatever the case, this swirlingly psychedelic-tinged performance is a trip, and positively rips live. It’s so 90s it hurts (in a good way, of course):
