Whenever I think of indie rock’s cassette heyday and its inexorable connection to certain Dinosaur-themed entertainment vehicles, the first thing I think of is, of course, that show Denver The Last Dinosaur. But the second thing I think of… is that other show, Dinosaurs. But, for sure, the THIRD thing I think of is Dinosaur Jr. And luckily, they are the only ones of the three that have just announced plans to reissue their first three albums on cassette via Joyful Noise Recordings! I think!
While the original releases of Dinosaur Jr.’s first three records — 1985’s Dinosaur, 1987’s You’re Living All Over Me, and 1988’s Bug — on the Homestead and SST labels came in both cassette and vinyl, apparently only the vinyl versions were reissued last month on Jagjaguwar, possibly because Jagjaguwar hates the idea of you and your hipster friends showing up at parties with Apple earbuds plugged into General Electric-brand cassette recorders. Fortunately, though, Joyful Noise Recordings doesn’t hate that idea, because they like to make money. So, yeah, they’re going ahead and releasing those albums in a very limited (just 500 copies) “custom-built, screen printed wooden box, featuring the classic Dinosaur Jr. “monster” artwork.” With the exception of a Bug cassette reissue that sold out in like two seconds earlier this year, this is the first time these records are available on cassette since their original 80s releases. You know, because of what an inferior format this is.
The cassettes won’t be sold separately, and each was manufactured on high-quality, Ronald Reagan-grade chrome tape with purple, black, and white shells, respectively. But each will still come individually wrapped with eight-panel original artwork, which will make for some easy eBay-selling after you buy the box just for Bug and sell the other two. Speaking of buying things, the whole box costs $39 and is available for pre-order right over here. Orders will ship on December 9, so you’re all good for whatever religious, present-giving holiday you celebrate at the end of that month. But act fast, kids, because only 350 copies of the box will actually be sold online. The remaining 150 are only going to be available at the band’s upcoming West Coast dates. “What West Coast dates?” you ask? These West Coast dates.
Sha-booz-baazzzzzzz:
12.12.11 - Costa Mesa, CA - Segerstrom Center for the Arts
12.13.11 - Solana Beach, CA - Belly Up Tavern
12.14.11 - Los Angeles, CA - The Music Box
12.15.11 - San Francisco, CA - The Fillmore
12.16.11 - Portland, OR - Crystal Ballroom
12.17.11 - Seattle, WA - Showbox at the Market
12.18.11 - Vancouver, BC - Commodore Ballroom
• Dinosaur Jr: http://www.dinosaurjr.com
• Joyful Noise Recordings: http://www.joyfulnoiserecordings.com