10: little fury things-- dinosaur jr

this song fits the type of dynamics that i became obsessed with in high school and still sends shockwaves down my spine today. it was something about stuff that sounded like a mess, like destruction, like a trainwreck, that fascinated me. this was what i knew. what i did not know is how much i dug destructive music that had direction, that had a balance and a contrast. but i figured all that out when i heard this song.

already a fan of dinosaur jr through the album 'green mind', i decided to pick up the only other disk i could find by them at the time- a compilation called 'ear-bleeding country', which contained this song. 'little fury things' possesses nearly every element i could want in a single song: noise, screaming, loudness, shoddy production values, but also words you can sing along to, something that changes shapes, goes from quiet to loud, and has lazy sounded singing. at the time, it all seemed new, but it made perfect sense. though in some ways, it fit the conception i had of what late 80s indie rock should sound like, it also broke the mold and exceeded my expectations.

this song made me understand what i liked about contrasts. and what i liked about slackerish, massive music (and it is massive). i found that laconic vocals perhaps are best. the song has a certain mystique about it, it is different and badass and effortless. it has a sound and an image that defined my understanding of this amazing band. while i had heard dinosaur jr before, this song struck me differently than what i had heard on 'green mind.' without having experienced this song, i don't believe i ever would have had a dinosaur jr party in college (or had someone make me a dinosaur jr cake). the band was and is ridiculously good. they could one second sound folksy and detached and the next sound like the heaviest and holiest hand of death. and i think it's unbelievable. i have not heard a band do it better (and i doubt one ever will).

total destruction: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sXfR-64YtQ0