A (very brief) conversation with J. Mascis from 2001
The Dinosaur Jr. guitar god shares his succinct thoughts on working with Kevin Shields, touring with Mike Watt, remixing Puff Daddy, and playing with GG Allin
Welcome to stübermania, where I dig into my box of dust-covered interview cassettes from the 1990s, 2000s, and 2010s to present bygone conversations with your favourite alterna/indie semi-stars (and the occasional classic-rock icon). This is a newsletter in three parts: The Openers (links to recent writings, playlist updates, and/or other musical musings), The Headliner (your featured interview of the week), and Encores (random yet related links).
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THE OPENERS
It’s been a minute—okay, six years—since I last contributed to Bandcamp Daily, so I was extra-stoked to break my silence this week with an Album of the Day feature on one of my go-to summer-2025 soundtracks, Fortunato Durutti Marinetti’s Bitter Sweet, Sweet Bitter, which will slot nicely between Destroyer and Steely Dan in the decadent/sardonic soft-rock-for-declining-empires section of your record collection.
Congratulations to Vish Khanna—a.k.a. the Maple Maron—on the 1,000th episode of his podcast, Kreative Kontrol, which, for the past 12 years, has filled the alt-weekly void by creating a space where rising artists are put on the same pedestal as your indie-rock heroes. If you’re not familiar with Vish’s podcast and all the amazing people he’s interviewed, read this excellent retrospective by Stereogum’s Chris DeVille.
Toronto lost a local legend this week with the passing of writer and bon vivant Donna Lypchuk. My tenure at Eye Weekly began in 1998 around the time Donna’s was winding down, and I don’t think we ever actually crossed paths in-person, but proofreading her Necrofile column before it hit the streets was always one of my favourite office perks. Donna’s dispatches (which were eventually compiled into two books) served as portals into an old-school Queen West punk playground that was on the verge of being displaced by the Urban Outfitters of the world, and her writing style—wild, funny, and insightful in equal measure—was a big part of what made me want to write for Eye in the first place. Rest in peace, Donna. Thank you for setting the gold standard for alt-weekly punditry for so many years—and for the many, many laughs. For more on Donna, read this tribute by her old party pal Jaymz Bee for Next Magazine.
This week on Commotion, I produced this conversation between Elamin Abdelmahmoud and Slate’s Carl Wilson about MAGA-loving Christian-rock preacher Sean Feucht getting his event permits revoked across Canada this past week—and why those of us who find his views repugnant shouldn’t be so quick to celebrate as much as we’d like to. (The segment begins at the 17:40 mark below; for more on this topic, read Carl’s recent Substack post, “I hate to say it, but let the bigot sing.”)
Notes on this week’s additions to the stübermania 2025 jukebox:
P.E. feat. Eleanor Freidberger, “Color Coordinator”: In which the Fiery Furnaces frontwoman emerges from semi-seclusion to hook up with the polyrhythmic New York collective and surrender to the very sort of circa-2004 !!! punk-funk style that the Furnaces aggressively chafed against.
Jane Inc., “elastic”: Since the release of the last Jane Inc. album in 2022, Carlyn Bezic has weathered both a near-fatal roadside crash on tour and a cancer scare. But as you can hear on this ecstatic teaser track from the upcoming A RUPTURE A CANYON A BIRTH (out Oct. 17 on Telephone Explosion), she’s rebounded from those setbacks with house-diva aspirations and I-will-survive bravado.
Shabason, Krgovich, Tenniscoats, “Lose My Breath”: The latest permutation of saxophonist Joseph Shabason and vocalist Nicholas Krgovich’s recurring collaboration is a communion with Japanese psych duo Tenniscoats, and they close out their album together, Wao (out Aug. 29), with a My Bloody Valentine cover that shakes off the shoegaze haze and reimagines the Isn’t Anything classic as an ancient folk hymn.
Ryan Davis & The Roadhouse Band, “Mutilation Springs”: The new record from this Louisville alt-country eccentric, New Threats to the Soul, is a lot to take in—with the average tune clocking in past the eight-minute mark, dude doesn’t so much write songs as novellas. But even as this track’s running time ventures into the double digits, its shapeshifting swirl of flutes, strings, saxophones, and bongos keeps the action rolling along him on a steady clip, transporting us from a black-and-white cowboy movie into a Technicolor circus.
Caged Animals, “Alligators”: And if, after 12 minutes of Ryan Davis, you’ve still got an appetite for earthy indie-rock songs rich in texture, groove, and narrative detail, then this much more compact single from the long-running Brooklyn band (and recent You’ve Changed Records signees) makes for an ideal digestif.
THE HEADLINER:
A conversation with J. Mascis
The date: January 19, 2001
Publication: Eye Weekly
Location: I was at the Eye Weekly office in Toronto; J was driving around Massachusetts
Album being promoted: J. Mascis + The Fog’s More Light
The context: J. Mascis pretty much invented indie-rock with Dinosaur Jr.: the nervous, agitated, confessional lyricism; the crude production values that sounded like they were coming through those old, blown-woofer stereo speakers in your parents’ basement; and an onstage presence defined by the unbreakable bond between eyes and sneakers. He was like the living embodiment of the word “whatever” (before it turned into what-ev-errrrr.)
After a seven-year tenure with Sire/Warner ended in ‘98, Dinosaur went the way of the dinosaur—but J.’s 2000 solo debut, More Light (credited to J. Mascis + the Fog), put the ice age on hold with his most inspired set of My Bloody Crazy Horse-play since 1993's Where You Been. Like its namesake, the Fog was an amorphous, intangible entity. On record, J. played almost all the instruments with a little help from his friends: Guided by Voices singer Bob Pollard added his Daltrey holler to three tracks, while My Bloody Valentine mastermind Kevin Shields made his production presence very known on the atomic closing title track. But on the road, the Fog solidified into a proper power trio, with Mascis joined by latter-day Dino drummer George Berz and Minutemen bass god (and former stübermania headliner) Mike Watt, with whom Mascis previously collaborated on a cover of the Funkadelic classic “Maggot Brain” for Watt’s 1995 album, Ball-Hog or Tugboat?
So, despite the rebrand, nothing about J. had really changed—and that included his long-standing policy of answering journalistic queries with the fewest number of syllables necessary. Over the course of our 10-minute chat, there were brief moments that hinted at the possibility of the formation of something that slightly resembled what you might call a conversation… but then he was just, like, whatever. That’s not to suggest J. projects a Lou Reed-level disdain for music journalists. He’ll gladly give you answers to all your questions—he just doesn’t feel the need to elaborate on them.
So, ultimately, an interview with J. becomes a desperate game to get him to talk about anything—which, in this case, meant bringing up that time he played on a GG Allin album in the ‘80s, his acting roles in his friend Allison Anders’ films, and an aborted collaboration with P. Diddy that, all things considered, he’s probably very happy never materialized.
Where are you at today?
I'm driving around in Massachusetts.
Where are you off to?
Just the store, to get some scones.
When do you go back on tour?
Next week.
Is it a drag to go out and promote an album that’s almost two years old for you now?
No, it’s fine.
It still feels fresh to you…
Yeah, because I haven't played the songs that much.
How’s Watt holding up? I was reading that he's feeling very nervous every night…
[chuckles] I don’t know, you’d have to ask him. He’s a survivor.
Is he just being too hard himself, and noticing mistakes that most people wouldn’t?
Yeah, he’s just uh… he screws up sometimes… he still gets nervous, I guess. That’s good.
So every time I’ve seen Watt play, he pulls out a bunch of covers. Is that the case with you guys?
Yeah, he sings on some Stooges covers.
Which ones are you doing?
Most of the first two albums. We change ‘em up a little bit.
Did you get the Fun House box set?
I haven't even listened to it. [chuckles]. I put on one [disc] and I didn't like the way it sounded.
It’s an evolutionary process—you have to listen to all 30 versions of “TV Eye” to see how it turned out.
I just wish the mix was better.
Are you and Watt doing “Maggot Brain” on this tour?
Yeah, sometimes Watt lobbies for that. Me and George don't like it that much, but if Watt wants to play it, you kind of have to play it or he makes us all very… you have to play what Watt wants to play.
[At this point our call got cut off; I reconnected with J a few minutes later]
Did you make it to the store?
Yeah.
Did you find your scones?
Yeah.
My friend saw you in London a few weeks ago and she said Kevin Shields was doing the sound—are you bringing him for this tour or was that a one-time-only deal?
It was for that night. I guess that was pretty loud.
She actually called me from the show and put her phone up in the air…
Oh yeah? Did it sound loud?
I wasn't sure what the hell was going on, but then I remembered where she was and put two and two together. Is there a noticeable difference when he does the sound?
I don't know, I'm on stage, I can't hear it.
How are your ears holding up these days?
Pretty good.
So is he going to be working on the new album you have planned?
I don’t know…
Does he take a long time working with your stuff? Because he's got a reputation for taking a while…
Yeah, it's a little longer than normal.
So how did you get that nuclear sound on the song “More Light” at the end of the record? What the hell is going on there?
A lot of stuff: flangers, fuzz, syntheziers….
So do you think we'll ever see another My Bloody Valentine record?
I hope so.
How far along is your next album?
Not too far.
How much do you plan on touring before you can get back to it?
Not sure, we’ll see how it goes.
So do you plan on keeping The Fog an open concept or are you happy to have a solid band touring with you now?
I guess it’s up to Watt, if he wants to do it.
So if you had it your way, he’d be in the band full-time?
Yeah.
Is it a bit nerve-wracking for you to be playing with one of your heroes?
No. [chuckles]
A lot of people have called More Light a quote-unquote “return to form.” Does it feel like a step up from the last couple of Dinosaur records to you?
Well, I like all the records pretty much. They’re all just reflecting the time when I made them, kind of like a diary or something.
Are things easier for you now that all the “godfather of grunge” hype from the early-’90s has died down?
I suppose.
Was it your intention to go back to an indie label again? Have you soured on major labels forever now?
Not really. It just doesn't seem realistic right now. Major labels don’t want to hear any music right now. They just want one-hit wonders.
Are you still in touch with [‘90s-era Dinosaur Jr. bassist] Mike Johnson?
Yeah.
What's he up to?
He’s playing with Mark Lanegan again and he was playing with this band Caustic Resin and they opened some shows.
Do you have any more acting plans in your future?
I’m a movie that just came out yesterday [Things Around the Sun]—or it just premiered at Sundance yesterday.
They didn’t fly you in for that?
Yeah, [Allison] called me, but I didn't want to go.
What's this movie about?
It's kind of depressing. I haven't seen it yet.
What do you play in it?
A drummer.
So a big stretch for you…
I looked to all the drummers I knew in the past to form my character.
So was it more fun than playing a Brill Building producer [in Grace of My Heart]?
No, it was alright.
Did you get to actually play drums, or were you just holding the sticks?
No, we played.
Did you see Mark Kozelek from Red House Painters in Almost Famous?
No, who was he?
He was the bass player in Stillwater.
I don't know the Red House Painters.
The British press liked to lump you guys together as sad guys.
Really? Oh.
So how did you wind up on Saturday Night Live recently?
I know Tim Meadows.
How was it playing with the band?
It was pretty funny.
So did you get to jam with [that week’s musical guest] Christina Aguilera?
Nope.
So what happened to that remix you were supposed to be doing for Puff Daddy?
Puff don’t like it.
Did you get any specific criticisms or feedback?
No… just that Puff don't like it.
Do you think he's guilty in that shooting?
I hope so.
So you’re not a big fan of the man…
Well, I heard Jennifer Lopez dumped him… I was kind of happy about that.
So no more hip-hop remixes for you…
I don't know, you never know.
Did you still keep in touch with Del tha Funkee Homosapien?
I'd like to.
Have you heard his most recent record with Deltron 3030? It’s really good.
No. I’ve seen some good press for it.
I’m hearing a lot of background chatter all of a sudden—where are you at now?
I’m at the supermarket—the health-food supermarket.
So you’re eating well these days.
Yeah.
Okay, one last question before I let you go: how did wind up on a GG Allin record?
Oh yeah, I played a show with him and his band that was pretty scary. It sounded like a good idea, until it was actually happening.
And then the shit started hitting the fans…
Exactly. And then the mic started going up his butt.
ENCORES
J. released another album as the Fog, 2002’s Free So Free, before reforming the original Dinosaur Jr. line-up for a second act that’s still ongoing. But for me, the most fascinating chapter of this era is 2005’s J + Friends Sing + Chant for Amma, where J. entered his George Harrison phase with a collection of mellow, mantric acoustic devotionals in honour of the Hindi spiritual leader also known as “The Hugging Saint.”
In 2006, Mascis headlined a fundraiser for Amma at Toronto’s Mod Club backed by Broken Social Scene (billed as “Broken Mascis Scene”). Below, you’ll find a video of them performing the Where You Been? standard “Get Me,” with Feist handling the Tiffany Anders harmony part. You can listen to a pretty decent recording of the whole set here.
A year after that show, J. returned to Toronto to play the Phoenix with Dinosaur Jr. After the gig, the band decamped to a (long gone) studio space in the west end across from the Gladstone Hotel to appear in the video shoot for Kevin Drew’s single “Backed Out on the…”, which remains the only video in music history to feature yours truly as a background go-go dancer (though John Caffery of local synth-punk crew Kids on TV is the undisputed star of the show):
This is a free newsletter, but if you really like what you see, please consider a donation via paid subscription, or visit my PWYC tip jar!