In Hear This, A.V. Club writers sing the praises of songs they know well—some inspired by a weekly theme and some not, but always songs worth hearing.
It’s relatively unusual for one of a band’s best songs to be relegated to a B-side, but what might be Dinosaur Jr.’s finest two and a half minutes ended up padding out a 1991 EP called Whatever’s Cool With Me. The song provides a nice bridge between the noisier crunch of 1988’s Bug and the band’s more refined major-label debut, 1991’s Green Mind. Singer-guitarist J. Mascis has it both ways in the song, which initially offers an indie-rock sing-along, then devolves into a squall of guitar feedback, then returns with the most engaged, upfront vocal of Mascis’ career. And the lyrics are funny as hell, including this unbeatable line: “I got no advice about anything / just fuck it up yourself.” Though it isn’t terribly recognizable or popular, The A.V. Club has considered putting “Not You Again” on the list of songs to be covered for A.V. Undercover every year since the feature started, and in 2013, it finally made the cut. Look for it later this year.