Without A Sound

Alternative rock turned many oddballs into overnight celebrities. But even after signing to a major label, hooking up with first-rank video directors and steadily streamlining their sound, Dinosaur Jr. couldn't seem to catch a break. J. Mascis's anti-charisma made him a star among a certain kind of introvert, but it was never going to land him a red carpet interview at the Video Music Awards. 1996's Without a Sound, released at the height of alt-rock's rewrite of pop culture, had a minor hit with "Feel the Pain." The promo clip, with Mascis's as the goofiest golf pro this side of Tim Conway's Dorf, was an instant classic. But the song itself was too, well, Dinosaur Jr. for those looking for mall-punk bubblegum. Mascis's mumble-moans "I feel the pain of everyone, and then I feel nothing" before unleashing one of his best riffs since Green Mind. In the era of Green Day and No Doubt, and if you weren't already down with the band's anthemic sad-sack-isms, the combination was probably just confusing. Still, Without a Sound is one of those mid '90s quasi-mainstream rock albums due for its eventual critical reassessment. "Yeah, Right" finds Mascis' finally realizing that, without Barlow there… read more »