Customer Reviews

Whatever's Cool With Me

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

J. Mascis is something else. This EP is mostly just him, but recorded back in the day that he was always considered to be in a band (these days I think of him as a solo artist).

This EP is really interesting because of it's eclecticness. In my opinion, obviously not in accordance with the other reviewers here, this is the best Dinosaur Jr. release.

I hope I didn't get anyone to upset by that statement.

My favorite thing about this EP is the wacky-but-beautiful cover of David Bowie's Quicksand. He starts off playing Andy Warhol (also from Hunky Dory) and then, in mid-shift he backstrokes into Quicksand. My copy does not credit Bowie at all, which I find strange. He garbles up the words so much that I think he possibly doesn't really know them. "If I don't explain what you want to know you can tell me all about it at the next B.A.L.L. show" instead of Bowie's Bardo. B.A.L.L. were a band, maybe they still are, but I don't think I ever heard them. He also mumbles "Should I leave the engine on to listen to that Mountain Song" which I think is a reference to Jane's Addiction's then-hit. Anyway, that's just one song.

The two live songs at the end are perfect, he really goes nuts with his Crazy Horse guitar. Particularly Thumb.

Anyway, if you've gotten this far, obviously you like Dinosaur Jr. and I'm certain you'll like this EP besides...look how cheap it is! Well worth it.

As it says on the label, this record features one new-at-the-time single, plus seven b-sides. I'm really glad that Dinosaur has always had lots of this kind of material to throw onto these EPs. This collection is exceptional. Every song is a winner. This is every bit as good as having a regular album, not just a collection of b-sides. I especially love the title track, the live version of "Thumb", "Sideways", "The Little Baby", and "Pebbles and Weeds". Grab it for sure.

This is NOT a real Dinosaur JR album but a new song and some B-sides. It's still fun to get though for this price. The title track and the live tracks are the best songs, but the other songs (mostly the acoustic Quicksand) are worth getting the CD for.

Very nice record. I really enjoyed the whole album except for the last two live tracks (which were reeeaaallly drawn out despite J's excellent guitar playing). I prefer the more acoustic songs to the more drawn-out electric ones. Sideways is very beautiful, and so is Quicksand. I loved the evil-sounding bass and punkness in The Little Baby, though.

I went for a long time not knowing that this 8 song compilation had the magnitude that it truely does. The live tracks are great and show full spirit from the band. "Quicksand" is a great homage to David Bowie (in Mascis's own way) and "Sideways" sounds as if taken straight from the previous album, "Green Mind". It has the sheer beauty and brilliance as "Thumb" and "Flying Cloud" from the album. This release definately has its points as being an unrealized jewel from Mascis.

Ben.
the 16 year old.

I'm one of those Dinosaur fans that owns everything from "Green Mind" on. I picked this one up in 1991 while visiting relatives in Oklahoma City on Christmas break. The live version of "Thumb" just completely blew me away. When I think of total emotional carthartic guitar solos, I think of the performance here. The drumming kicks booty, too. If I ever decide to play the drums, this song and the first Best Kissers in the World EP are the songs I'm learning to play first.

In fact, I didn't even know "Thumb" was on Green Mind until I heard this. The Bowie cover is great, "Sideways" is great. Both the title track and "Blowing It" rule. "The Little Baby" is pretty annoying, though.

I recommend this for "Thumb" alone. I dig what J says right before they play the song: "Hey, we got another tune for ya..."

This CD was pretty good for J mascis. The songs were great. Some were amazing like quicksand and pebbles weeds. Thumb was a neat little live show but keep the glove didnt interest me.

It pains me ever to give Dino Jr less than five stars, although in the case of this album, a compilation of B-sides, I think they'd understand. Released in late 1991, Whatever's Cool With Me offered a little something to tide fans over while J Mascis was touring and working on Where You Been.

With one new track, five B-sides and two live cuts, this record is an eclectic mix of everything J Mascis has to offer, from the typical rambling, upbeat Dino fare of Whatever's Cool With Me (a great song which tends to get lost in the Dino library), through the classical-and-grind of Sideways, which was part of the theme music for Gas, Food, Lodging, to the slacker melancholy of his adaptation of David Bowie's Quicksand, which I always found amusing as Glam Rock's greatest artist meets Grunge Rock's. The two live cuts are a little loose but fun, and it's always cool to hear how Mascis' trademark vocal grind disappears live (I don't think you can pull it off at concert volumes).

"Whatever's cool with me" is the last EP that Dinosaur Jr. put out in their original style. Before "Green Mind", life of D. Jr. was relegated to a sound that ended here. J's Neil Young experience is most noticeable in the song, "Pebbles and Weeds", one of D. Jr's best

If this EP of B-sides was an album it would only be beaten by "Bug" & "You're Living All Over Me" i can't find a simple song that i don't like/rate highly , and i love the last two Live songs "Thumb" and "Keep The Glove" - this is my absolute favourite EP i own of any band - period.