Dinosaur Jr. Album: “Whatever's Cool With Me”

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.

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.

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).

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.