Musical Style and Influences
Dinosaur Jr. is considered to be an alternative rock band; however the band's musical style, compared to its underground contemporaries in the 1980s, differed in several ways. This included the influence of classic rock on the band's music, their use of feedback, extreme volume and the loud-quiet dynamic, and frontman Mascis' droning vocals. Gerald Cosloy, head of Homestead Records, summarised the band's music: "It was its own bizarre hybrid...It wasn't exactly pop, it wasn't exactly punk rock — it was completely its own thing".
Mascis listened to classic rock artists such as the Rolling Stones and The Beach Boys, elements of which were incorporated into Dinosaur Jr.'s sound. In addition, Mascis was also a fan of many punk and hardcore bands such as The Birthday Party, and has frequently noted Nick Cave as an influence. Dinosaur Jr.'s members also combined elements of hardcore punk and noise rock in their songs, which often featured a large amount of feedback, distortion and extreme volume. When the master tape of You're Living All Over Me arrived at SST, the label's production manager noticed the level on the tape was so high it was distorting; however, Mascis confirmed it was the way he wanted the album to sound. To accentuate their use of volume, the band employed and popularised the quiet-loud change of dynamic in many of its songs, a technique that would be later popularised by Pixies, Nirvana and alternative rock in general during the 1990s.
Similar to Mascis's guitar work, Barlow's bass lines, with its alternating heavily distorted, fast chords and pulverizing lows, draw heavily from both his hardcore past and is influenced by musicians such as Lemmy from Motörhead and Johnny Ramone. "Johnny Ramone is my hero. I wanted to make that rhythmic chugging sound like he got playing guitar with the Ramones. And, I found that I got a bigger sound by strumming farther up the neck."
Mascis's vocals are another distinctive feature of Dinosaur Jr.'s music. He attributed his "whiny low-key drawl", the opposite of the hardcore punk "bark", to artists such as John Fogerty and Mick Jagger. His style also resembled Neil Young's, but Mascis disputed this, and later commented: "That got annoying, being compared all the time". His drawl epitomised the band's slacker ethos and relaxed attitude; author Michael Azerrad said "even Mascis seemed removed from the feelings he was conveying in the music".
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