The band was originally called "Dinosaur", but changed its name following the release of its debut album Dinosaur in 1985, after a band called Dinosaurs, featuring ex-members of Country Joe and the Fish and Jefferson Airplane, threatened them with legal action. (They still used the name Dinosaur on their albums until 1987 at the latest, and some copies of You're Living All Over Me still lack the "Jr").
In 1987, Dinosaur Jr. signed to SST Records on the recommendation of Sonic Youth, and with them released what is often considered their best album, You're Living All Over Me. Bug followed the next year, an album which, in the UK, was released by Paul Smith's Blast First Records (home to Sonic Youth, Big Black and Butthole Surfers). During this period Dinosaur Jr. became known for their very loud concerts.
Despite not gaining much commercial success, the band has enjoyed something of a cult following. The success of singles Freak Scene and Just Like Heaven, and recommendations from the likes of Sonic Youth saw them signed by Warner Brothers. The signature Dinosaur Jr. sound is the melodic tunes saturated in layers of guitar noise and punctuated by J Mascis' elaborate, yet laconic guitar solos. They were a major influence on the up-and-coming band Nirvana.
Tensions ran high between Mascis and Barlow, and in 1989 Barlow was kicked out of the band. As a result, Barlow continued to work with his own band, Sebadoh. The two famously fell out on stage with Mascis attacking Barlow. Dinosaur Jr. subsequently became little more than a pseudonym for Mascis. He switched labels to Blanco y Negro in the UK, Warner/Sire in the US, with Green Mind (1991) being his first release in that deal.
After Barlow left the band, Van Conner, from the Screaming Trees, played bass for at least one live show in 1990, and Donna Dresch, from Team Dresch played bass at least once live with the band in 1990.
In 1991, Mike Johnson joined Dinosaur Jr as full-time bass player. He was in the band for 1991's Whatever's Cool With Me, 1993's Where You Been, 1994's Without A Sound, and 1997's Hand It Over.
Murph left the band in late 1993, after the Lollapalooza tour.
George Berz took over on drums, and drummed from 1994-1997. He was on Without A Sound, and Hand It Over. He later drummed for J Mascis + the Fog in 2000, 2001, and 2003.
Through the 90s, Mascis sometimes explored quieter and more tranquil shores than Dinosaur Jr. had in the 80s. The band formed part of the 1992 "Rollercoaster" tour. A package tour based on the successful "Lollapalooza". The tour featured The Jesus & Mary Chain, My Bloody Valentine & Blur. On the 1993 release, Where You Been, the opening track ("Out There") had an accompanying video and was aired on MTV for a short time. After 1994's Without a Sound and 1997's Hand It Over, Mascis began to release albums with the band J Mascis and the Fog.
In 2004, J Mascis regained the master rights to the first three Dinosaur Jr. albums from SST, and arranged for their reissue on the Merge label in early 2005. The reissues coincided with an announcement that the original lineup of J Mascis, Lou Barlow and Murph (Emmett Patrick Murphy) were reuniting for a summer tour. The success of this tour resulted in a new album entitled Beyond (2007) and single Been There All The Time. They are Lou Barlow's first recording with the band since 1989. The original line-up of Dinosaur Jr. has been touring extensively since 2005. They are currently on a world tour.
On February 20, 2009, Pitchfork Media announced that the band had signed with indie label Jagjaguwar, and their first release on the label entitled Farm was released June 23, 2009, to largely positive reviews.
Yeah We Know
Dinosaur Jr. Lyrics
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Gotta find a way to mend
The less we see, the more it grows
Festering out of control
Piled high, you get that face
I wonder why we ever got it together
What's to say, there's just no clue
It's the norm, float again
It's the stuff you said you send
Take it in, wait to see
If it's enough just 'cause it's free
Push too far, you feel the skin
Begin to scar, can't really put it together
Now it's a drag with no hope of coming back
How can you ever get it together?
Bottled up, stored away
Always ready to give way
Push it farther, yeah, we know
Clinging, hoping, it won't show
Piled high, you get that face
I wonder why we ever got it together
And push too far and feel the skin begin to scar
Can't really pull it together
About to crack with no hope of coming back
How can you ever get it together?
What's to say, there's just no clue
We just know to do, hope it comes together
Dinosaur Jr.'s song "Yeah We Know" is a song about frustration, confusion, and hopelessness in relationships. The lyrics speak about a couple or a group of friends who had always been together, but now, there seem to be some problems between them. They are trying hard to fix the relationship, but everything seems to be falling apart. The lines "Piled high, you get that face, I wonder why we ever got it together" speak to the frustration of trying to find a solution to problems that seem insurmountable. The song suggests that they might not know what caused the problem or how to fix it, but they know that they want to be together and are hoping that things will eventually get better.
The line "Push too far, you feel the skin, begin to scar, can't really put it together" is an analogy to physical injury. Just like when you push too hard on a wound, it can cause pain and result in scarring. Similarly, pushing too hard in a relationship can cause scars that are not always visible but are painful. The couple or friends in the song feel like they are about to break and cannot put things back together. They are bottling things up and hoping that it won't show, but they know that they can't keep doing this forever.
Overall, the song is an honest and brutal portrayal of a relationship in crisis. The lyrics are open-ended, inviting the listener to interpret them for themselves.
Line by Line Meaning
Driving hard through your friend
We work aggressively to repair our relationship with our friend
Gotta find a way to mend
We need to fix our friendship
The less we see, the more it grows
Our problems increase as we ignore them
Festering out of control
Our issues are getting worse and worse
Piled high, you get that face
We are dealing with a lot of stress and frustration
I wonder why we ever got it together
We question if our friendship was ever a good idea
What's to say, there's just no clue
We have no idea what to do
We just know to do, hope it comes together
We just do what we can and hope for the best
It's the norm, float again
We are used to feeling lost and uncertain
It's the stuff you said you send
We expected things to get better, but they haven't
Take it in, wait to see
We try to be patient and wait for a solution
If it's enough just 'cause it's free
We hope that a cheap or easy solution will work
Push too far, you feel the skin
When we push too hard, it hurts
Begin to scar, can't really put it together
We are getting hurt and don't know how to make things better
Now it's a drag with no hope of coming back
Our friendship is now a burden and we don't think it can be fixed
How can you ever get it together?
We don't know how to solve the problem
Bottled up, stored away
We try to hide our emotions and problems
Always ready to give way
We feel like we could break down at any moment
Push it farther, yeah, we know
We keep trying even though we know it's not working
Clinging, hoping, it won't show
We desperately hope that our problems won't become obvious
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: JOSEPH DONALD MASCIS JR
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind