Rhino Records will release Ear Bleeding Country, a Dinosaur Jr. best-of compilation, on October 2nd. Likely named for the band's deafening live shows, the nineteen-song anthology was assembled with the assistance of bandleader J. Mascis.
"They let me pick some songs and take out some songs and put in some other ones, like 'Repulsion' instead of 'Forget the Swan,'" he says. "Songs I still play I tended to want to put on, because they've lasted me for this long."
Composed mostly of Dinosaur Jr. album tracks from the last fifteen years, exceptions are a cover of the Cure's "Just Like Heaven"; "Take a Run at the Sun," Mascis' contribution to the Grace of My Heart soundtrack; and "Where'd You Go," from his first album with the Fog, his post-Dinosaur band.
"I like a lot of greatest hits albums," Mascis says. "I like the Buzzcocks' and Alice Cooper's greatest hits. Some bands have all the songs I like, but I like a lot more of my own songs than are on there. I was pretty happy with the songs on it. I think it might be a good introduction for people to my music."
Cover art for the compilation will be done by Neil Blender, a former professional skater, who previously designed the cover to Without a Sound.
At home recuperating from a June van accident that left him with two broken vertebra and cut short his European tour, Mascis said he's recovering but unlikely to tour in support of the anthology. "I'm doing alright but I'm not ready to tour," he says. "I'm up and around. I have a brace, but I might get it off next week. I finally feel like it's not too bad. I can probably take the brace off."
Last year, Mascis released his solo debut, More Light, and he's halfway through his follow-up. "I recorded maybe seven songs," he says, "and I already don't like one of them."
The track listing for Ear Bleeding Country:
1. Repulsion
2. Little Fury Things
3. In a Jar
4. Freak Scene
5. Budge
6. Just Like Heaven
7. The Wagon
8. Thumb
9. Whatever's Cool With Me
10. Not You Again
11. Out There
12. Start Choppin
13. Get Me
14. Feel the Pain
15. I Don't Think So
16. Take a Run at the Sun (J. Mascis)
17. Nothin's Goin' On
18. I'm Insane
19. Where'd You Go (J. Mascis + the Fog)
COLIN DEVENISH
(August , 2001)
