From The Verge · Terrence O'Brien · · 2m
J Mascis finally explains the AI video
Dinosaur Jr.'s frontman addresses the controversy around his solo track 'Old Friends' and reflects on the band's four decades of creative indifference.
In brief
Dinosaur Jr.'s frontman addresses the controversy around his solo track 'Old Friends' and reflects on the band's four decades of creative indifference. J Mascis of Dinosaur Jr. publicly addressed his use of generative AI for a music video two years after release, saying he thought it looked cool but acknowledging it…
The slacker guitar god speaks
J Mascis of Dinosaur Jr. is known for standing stoically onstage while playing deft guitar solos, and he brings the same quiet reserve to interviews, offering nonanswers.
How a choker became a rock god
Mascis told the interviewer he was an enthusiastic mini golfer as a child. At age eleven, he choked on a three-foot putt for the win and decided sports were not for him.
“I had a 3-foot putt for the win”
Forty years with nothing better to do
The original Dinosaur Jr. lineup of Mascis, bassist Lou Barlow, and drummer Patrick Murphy continues releasing new albums after over forty years. Mascis says the band has no grand secret to longevity.
“I guess we have nothing better to do.”
Making records without overthinking
For the new record There Near, Dinosaur Jr. did not push it. Mascis brought fully prepared demos and the band recorded immediately, even as Barlow and Murphy were still learning their parts.
“just didn't push it”
Gear philosophy: keep it simple
Mascis mixes and masters to tape but also tracks in Pro Tools. With Fender signature instruments, he prioritizes a good neck with jumbo frets and keeps designs cheap so people can modify them.
“I think it's better to keep it kind of cheap”
The AI video controversy explained
Two years ago, Mascis released a video for his solo track Old Friends made using generative AI. He finally publicly addressed it, saying a kid made it and he thought it looked cool.
“Yeah, just some kid did it. I thought it looked cool”
The slippery slope of AI
Mascis acknowledged that using AI for the video was a slippery slope. He does not believe there is a place for AI in music making, but recognizes it exists and society must learn to deal…
“I guess that's a slippery slope.”
Live music needs reality, not computers
Mascis values the visceral power of live performance. Dinosaur Jr. use three full amp stacks with no in-ear monitors or click tracks. He believes audiences are responding to the reality of it.
“I noticed the audience too seems more desperate for something kind of reality-based”
Soundmen now create instead of capture
Mascis bemoaned the lack of amps onstage at modern shows and the reliance on high-tech front-of-house setups. He said soundmen now create the sound instead of capturing it.
“Now, soundmen create the sound instead of capture the sound”
The headline
J Mascis of Dinosaur Jr. publicly addressed his use of generative AI for a music video two years after release, saying he thought it looked cool but acknowledging it was a slippery slope.
