Day After Day #138: Start Choppin'

Day After Day is an ambitious attempt to write about a song every day in 2024 (starting on Jan. 4).

Start Choppin' (1993)

When I first started getting into the rock music in the late '70s, guitar hero was a lofty title only granted to luminaries like Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Page, Eddie Van Halen and the like. Then in the '80s, it became a free-for-all with Yngwie Malmsteen and George Lynch and many of their poodle-haired compatriots competing for who could shred the fastest. 

I was into it for a while until I heard the Vinnie Vincent Invasion, which was possibly the dumbest music I'd ever listened to; Vincent briefly played with KISS in the early '80s but when he started his own glam metal band, he felt the need to prove he was the fastest guitarist around. He packed so many notes into every solo, while out-Spinal Tapping Spinal Tap with songs like "Boyz Are Gonna Rock." I was embarrassed to have even heard it and started turning my back on the flash metal guitar boyz. (Meanwhile, Vincent's own backing band got sick of him and ditched him after two albums to start the band Slaughter, which was somewhat less dumb.)

I was already listening to a lot of so-called alternative rock, artists like U2, R.E.M. and Peter Gabriel, so it wasn't much of an effort to leave metal behind. Then in the early '90s after Nirvana hit it big, the metal bands all kinda faded from view. I watched a lot of MTV's 120 Minutes and one night in early '93, I saw a video for Dinosaur Jr.'s "Start Choppin'." I knew of the band but wasn't familiar with any of their previously released music, but I really dug the guitar sound that J Mascis got on the new song. Plus his vocals sort of reminded me of Neil Young, who was a favorite of mine. 

The band was formed as Dinosaur in Amherst, Mass., in 1984 by Mascis (guitar, vocals), Lou Barlow (bass, vocals) and Murph (drums). Mascis and Barlow had played in the hardcore punk band Deep Wound in high school. They caught the attention of Homestead Records and released their first album in 1985 and then You're Living All Over Me in 1987 on SST. The band's sound combined Mascis' nasally but melodic vocals and heavily distorted guitars.

The band changed its name to Dinosaur Jr. after a group called Dinosaurs (featuring former members of the Grateful Dead, Country Joe and the Fish, Quicksilver Messenger Service and Jefferson Airplane) sued over the name, paving the way for plenty of terrific Dinosaurs albums (well, one album in 1988 before breaking up the next year).

Meanwhile, Dino Jr. was developing a following among college students and underground rock fans. Their third album, Bug, came out in 1988 and was a hit in the U.K., with the lead single "Freak Scene" going to #4 on the U.K. independent chart and the album reaching #1 on the independent albums chart. A cover of the Cure's "Just Like Heaven" also hit the U.K. Singles chart. But the band was falling apart, as Mascis and Barlow clashed over Mascis' control over the Dino Jr. sound. After the Bug tour ended in 1989, Barlow was kicked out of the band; he turned his attention to his project Sebadoh.

Dino Jr. signed with Sire Records in 1990 and released their major label debut Green Mind in 1991. Mascis played most of the instruments on the album, with Murph only drumming on a few songs. The album is a strong one, featuring "The Wagon" and "Puke + Cry" and getting the band some notice on MTV. Bassist Mike Johnson joined the band for the tour and the next album, 1993's Where You Been.

By this time, alternative rock was peaking thanks to Nirvana's breakthrough. Guitar-driven albums by longhaired dudes was in vogue and Mascis delivered a masterpiece. Where You Been had plenty of guitar heroics, but also featured Mascis writing more personal lyrics and catchy riffs. There are a number of standout tracks, but "Start Choppin'" leads the way.

"There's no going back to that/I'm so numb, can't even react/Didn't say it's not okay/But we aren't dealing the same way/I ain't tellin' you a secret/I ain't tellin' you goodbye."

Mascis said he came up with the title as he was cutting tape to put different versions together and said "Start chopping," which fits well with the song's starts and stops. 

"When you call it's just not fair/It's the last thing you should share/I can't deal, I'll let you know/Still I wish you'd let it go/I ain't tellin' you a secret/I ain't tellin' you goodbye/I'm telling you for one last time/It's not just you, the problem's mine to hide/I waited as long as I could/If you need it, sure I would, that's fine."

The solo is epic and really whets your appetite for the rest of the album, which features similarly awesome lead work and riffage.

"Start Choppin'" hit #3 on Billboard's Modern Rock Tracks chart and #20 on the U.K. Singles chart, while the album made it to #50 on the Billboard 200.

Murph left the band after the Where You Been tour. Mascis and Johnson recorded 1994's Without a Sound, which had another rock radio and MTV hit with "Feel the Pain." There was one last Dino Jr. album in 1997, Hand It Over, before Mascis retired the band name; the band's last live appearance was on the Jenny Jones Show.

Mascis released a few solo albums under the name J Mascis and the Fog in the early 2000s. Mascis and Barlow eventually reconciled and in 2005, the original three Dino Jr. albums were reissued on Merge. Mascis, Barlow and Murph played on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson in April 2005 and then toured Europe that summer. The reunited Dino Jr. released Beyond in 2007 and put out four more studio albums since then, with extensive touring in between other projects (Mascis has released a few solo albums and Barlow has released Sebadoh and Folk Implosion albums). I saw Dino on the Where You Been tour and have seen the reunited original lineup several times over the last 15 years. They still rip. Meanwhile, Vinnie Vincent is nowhere to be found and I'm OK with that.