Our Lazy Saturday Could Be Your Life

We don’t have to talk to you about the importance of the importance of Michael Azerrad’s Our Band Could Be Your Life. If you know, you know.  If you don’t, no amount of expounding on our part would help you to get it.  For me, that book distilled all of the things I want to be as a rock critic: informed, eloquent, concise and cool as hell.  I wasn’t hip enough (or old enough) to hear Big Black or Mission of Burma the first time around.  Azerrad pointed the way for me, and, I imagine, countless others, to the untold treasures of the underground; when I first picked up OBCBYL in college, I was able to learn more about bands I already loved (Sonic Youth, Black Flag) and get turned on to all of the bands I missed.  In short, dude proved that the stuff I was missing was way cooler than the shit I wasn’t.  In a perfect world, Citizen Dick would do the same, walking the line between getting you in the loop and keeping you there; we’re not on Mike’s plane yet, but we’d love it if you stuck around to see if we make it there.

I bring up Our Band Could Be Your Life because we had a seminal moment here at Citizen Dick World Headquarters on Friday night.  We got an electronic mail from one of our people with a link to the new Dinosaur Jr. single.  Given our very recent status as outsiders (remember, we’ve only been a blog since January), we were pretty stoked to be on the inside.  Getting stuff early is the best.  Getting stuff early from bands that, essentially, defined a sound is even better.  In celebration of our status as people who get shit early, we’re dropping a big old load of live tracks from bands featured in Our Band Could Be Your Life on you, as well as the new Dinosaur Jr. track.

We probably don’t have to say a lot about the live tracks today.  Black Flag scorching through “Black Coffee” in 1982.  Husker Du laying into “Everything Falls Apart” in 1983.  Butthole Surfers bringing the aural thunder with “Lou Reed” in 1988.  If you need any more exposition than that, I don’t even know who you are anymore.

The new Dinosaur Jr., on the other hand, is sailing into your ears unfettered by any previous listens.  Before you hit play, you need to know that it is good.  It is loud and snarling and packed with evidence of the stoned, slacker brilliance that escalated J Mascis to the pantheon back in the day.  Often when bands come back from the wilderness, the new stuff sucks.  They’re back with bandmates they hated fifteen years ago, pumping out bland copies of their glory days with no joy, only dollar signs in their eyes.  There is no danger of that here.  The new track from Dinosaur Jr ,sounds vital and relevant.  Let the guitars wash over you.  Enjoy your Saturday.

“I Want You to Know” – Dinosaur Jr.

“Black Coffee” – Black Flag, Live

“Everything Falls Apart” – Husker Du, Live

“Lou Reed” – Butthole Surfers, Live