"The Wagon" | ||||
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Single by Dinosaur Jr. | ||||
from the album Green Mind | ||||
B-side |
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Released | January 21, 1991 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 4:54 | |||
Label |
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Songwriter(s) | J Mascis | |||
Dinosaur Jr. singles chronology | ||||
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"The Wagon" is a song by alternative rock band Dinosaur Jr., released on their 1991 album Green Mind . Featuring lyrics inspired by the band's use of station wagons for transportation in its early days, the song was written by J Mascis and was one of the three songs on Green Mind to include drummer Murph.
The song was released as a single, reaching number 49 in the UK and number 22 on the US Modern Rock charts. It has since seen critical acclaim for its composition, production, and instrumental performance.
J Mascis stated in an interview that "The Wagon" was partly inspired by the station wagons that he and Lou Barlow used to get around in the early days of the band. He explained:
I don't know, we always had a [station] wagon. Me and Lou, our parents both had a wagon, and that's how we’d get around, in our parents' cars. On our first tour, we did it in a station wagon. I guess that was all we knew of cars. It was a good car 'cause it held a lot of stuff. It was kind of a part of the band when we started. I wish cars still had the wood paneling. [3]
"The Wagon" was the group's first recording without original bassist Lou Barlow. [4] The song was also one of the three on Green Mind which features drummer Murph, [4] with Mascis and Jay Spiegel drumming on the other songs on the album. Don Fleming of Gumball appears on guitar. [4]
"The Wagon" was released as the sole single from Green Mind in 1991. The B-side, "Better Than Gone," was written and sung by Don Fleming. The song was a moderate chart success, reaching number 49 in the UK and number 22 on the US Modern Rock charts. [5] [6]
Melody Maker named "The Wagon" one of its two singles of the week, with writer Everett True describing the song as "Sheer exhilaration!" [7] Tom Maginnis of AllMusic praised the song's wall-of-sound production and Murph's drum work, concluding that the song "sets the bar so high as an album opener that it's hard for what follows to match such intensity." [4] Pitchfork said the song "snarls with nearly as much pop hookcraft and gnarly guitar spizz as Bug's opener 'Freak Scene '" [8] Greg Kot of Chicago Tribune described the song as "pulverizing," [9] while Michael Nelson of Stereogum called the track an "ebullient and wonderful rocker." [10]
Vinyl, 7", (Sub Pop) SP68A
Vinyl, 7", (Blanco Y Negro)
Vinyl, 12" (Blanco Y Negro, WEA)
Dinosaur Jr. is an American rock band formed in Amherst, Massachusetts, in 1984. Originally called Dinosaur, the band was forced to change their name because of legal issues.
Sebadoh is an American indie rock band formed in 1986 in Northampton, Massachusetts, by Eric Gaffney and Lou Barlow, with multi-instrumentalist Jason Loewenstein completing the line-up in 1989. Barlow co-created Sebadoh as an outlet for his songwriting when J. Mascis gradually took over creative control of Dinosaur Jr., in which Barlow plays bass guitar.
Louis Knox Barlow is an American alternative rock musician and songwriter. A founding member of the groups Dinosaur Jr., Sebadoh and The Folk Implosion, Barlow is credited with helping to pioneer the lo-fi style of rock music in the late 1980s and early 1990s. His first band, which was formed in Amherst, Massachusetts, was Deep Wound.
Joseph Donald Mascis Jr., better known as J Mascis, is an American musician who is the singer, guitarist and main songwriter for the alternative rock band Dinosaur Jr. He has also released several albums as a solo artist and played drums and guitar on other projects. He was ranked number 74 in a Rolling Stone list of the "100 Greatest Guitarists", and number 5 in a similar list for Spin magazine in 2012.
Where You Been is the fifth official studio album by Dinosaur Jr., released on February 9, 1993.
You're Living All Over Me is the second studio album by American alternative rock band Dinosaur Jr. It was released on December 14, 1987, through SST Records.
Green Mind is the fourth studio album by alternative rock band Dinosaur Jr., released in 1991. It was the band's first release after bassist Lou Barlow's departure, as well as the first released by a major label. The record is close to being a J Mascis solo album: he played most of the instruments, with founding drummer Murph only featuring on three tracks.
Without a Sound is the sixth studio album by alternative rock band Dinosaur Jr., released on August 23, 1994. It is the first Dinosaur Jr. album not to feature Murph on drums, who is replaced by vocalist and guitarist J Mascis. It is also their most commercially successful album, peaking at number 44 on the Billboard Top 200. "Feel the Pain" and "I Don't Think So" were released as singles, with "Feel the Pain" reaching number 4 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart, becoming one of their biggest hits. Mascis later admitted that his father's death affected his writing and performance on this album, and he took three years to deliver the next Dinosaur Jr. LP, 1997's Hand It Over.
Bug is the third studio album by American alternative rock band Dinosaur Jr., released in October 1988 through SST Records. Blast First and Au Go Go Records released the album in the United Kingdom and Australia, respectively. It was the last Dinosaur Jr. album with original bassist Lou Barlow until Beyond in 2007.
Buffalo Tom is an American alternative rock band from Boston, Massachusetts, formed in 1986. Its principal members are guitarist Bill Janovitz, bassist Chris Colbourn, and drummer Tom Maginnis. The band's name is derived from the band Buffalo Springfield and the first name of the drummer.
Dinosaur is the debut studio album by the American alternative rock band Dinosaur Jr. It was released in 1985 on Homestead Records. The album exhibits a folkier side of the band than on future releases, but some of the tracks on the album showed off a much heavier, more hardcore punk-based side to the band in songs such as "Does it Float", "Mountain Man" and "Bulbs of Passion".
Emmett Jefferson Murphy III, professionally credited as both Patrick Murphy and Murph, is best known for being the drummer for the alternative rock band Dinosaur Jr. He was a member of the group from its founding in 1984 through 1993, and since the original lineup reformed in 2005.
"Start Choppin" is a song by Dinosaur Jr. written by J Mascis and taken from their fifth album Where You Been. Created after Mascis came up with the title phrase, the song was accompanied by a music video that aired on alternative rock music programs.
Beyond is the eighth studio album by the alternative rock band Dinosaur Jr. It was their first LP in a decade after 1997's Hand It Over, and the first album by the original lineup since 1988's Bug.
"Feel the Pain" is a single by alternative rock band Dinosaur Jr. from their 1994 album Without a Sound. It was released as the debut single from the album the same year, reaching number four on the Modern Rock charts in the US and number 25 in the UK. A music video for the song was also released, helping boost the song's popularity.
Farm is the ninth studio album by American alternative rock band Dinosaur Jr. It is the band's first release on the record label Jagjaguwar.
Whatever's Cool with Me is an EP by the American band Dinosaur Jr. It was released on Sire Records in 1991. It contains the "Whatever's Cool With Me" single and the European single of "The Wagon". The band supported the EP by touring with My Bloody Valentine. "Quicksand" is a cover of the David Bowie song.
Give a Glimpse of What Yer Not is the eleventh studio album by alternative rock band Dinosaur Jr. It was announced on May 24 and was released on August 5, 2016. The music video for first single "Tiny" was released on June 20. The second single, "Goin Down", was released on July 27. The name of the album is taken from the line of the "Knocked Around" lyrics.
Fossils is a compilation album by indie rock band Dinosaur Jr., released in August 1991 on SST Records. It contains three 7" singles the band had previously released on SST, including a version of the song 'Keep The Glove' which is different from the version on the reissue of Bug, as well as three covers. A deluxe 5"x7" edition, along with an accompanying book box set, was released on Record Store Day 2014.
"Out There" is a song by Dinosaur Jr. written by J Mascis and taken from their 1993 album Where You Been. Notable for its guitar solo and use of chimes, "Out There" was a moderate alternative radio success in the US. Released as a single in Europe, "Out There" charted at number 44 in the UK. The song has since been praised by critics as a highlight of Where You Been.