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The end finally came in 1997. 14 years after they'd first emerged from the backwoods of Amherst, Mass., blasting out a new blueprint for underground rock, Dinosaur Jr were shut down by their own laconic frontman J Mascis. Hand It Over, Dinosaur Jr's last LP (and seventh in-studio recording), might have been a blistering re-affirmation of just why they'd had such a shattering impact on the preceding decade. However, in the words of Mascis himself, the band had "just kinda run its course."
By then, of course, Dinosaur Jr had already turned Mascis into an iconic figure. His uncompromising manifesto of brute volume and snaking guitar histrionics had already revolutionized the musical landscape of the early 90's. It was Mascis who introduced the U.S. hardcore scene to guitar solos, and it was Mascis who, alongside The Pixies, laid the foundations from which grunge was later to blossom.
Along the way, Mascis became an unlikely figure of hero worship. Sonic Youth legendarily immortalized him on their 1988 hit single "Teen Age Riot," while four years later, he was co-opted by British noisemakers when he was invited on the Rollercoaster Tour (1992) with The Jesus & Mary Chain, Blur and My Bloody Valentine. Even now, his influence is still discernible in the wired fuzz of countless imitators.
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