Just imagine, a world without attentive, caring, communal school kids, because this is the world which Dinosaur Jr keep from happening. A stop-gap obviously, and festivals are not communes, just as college bands are not ‘school of rock’ age kids playing Nirvana’s ‘school’, as Dinosaur Jr might, or just Third Eye Blind more fittingly than the “no recess”, “School” lyric, for the community thing is “Semi Charm Kind of Life”. Now, Farm (15th Anniversary Edition) is more anthemic, and is really about pain and relationships more than the pretty imagery described, see previously unreleased singles, “Show”, “Creepies”, and “Whenever You’re Ready”.
The first two are of the many instrumentals here, such as “Missing Link Feat. Del The Funky Homosapien” bonus track on Where You Been 2019 Expanded and Remastered Edition, but more similar to the vibes in lyricized, “The Lung”, “Tarpit”, “Gargoyle” or “In a Jar” instrumentally; while they’re imperfect, they’re definitely playing to their strengths, which makes an anniversary edition in the land of constant re-issues more understandable and undoubtedly cool for the guitar-solos they’re homely bringing.
Then formerly released “Houses”, is more like opener “Pieces”, presented just as much through to the final tracks of the original release as a social drama. See, “See You”, “There’s No Here”, “Plans”, which is about having no plans or feeling left for oneself to the surprisingly good and relevant, “Friends”, hey everybody needs some socially, a lot like Mascis feel they have none.
To the lesser, “Said the People”, “Ocean in The Way”, “I Don’t Wanna Go There”, the serviceable “Your Weather”, or “Over It”, then they’re back to the stellar “Imagination Blind” bringing us back around to the thoughts, about social persona, and demeanor of the line, “I can feel it like a breath on skin / Every season get a ritual in / Without a reason to fight / I fall, half of love is more than nothing at all / I can’t love I don’t know where to begin / The ones we leave behind the ones we need / Imagination blind,” now all that’s with some heavy bass thumping and “swooning” vocal with the rhythm. Which brings us back to the original, community themes, it’s less so about needing as it is about the touching homely painting on Farm (15th Anniversary Edition)’s cover, they’re again ageless and homely. As mentioned of the album, this picture, it is straining, it is pained it is fittingly titled a “farm”, but it is about those school-kids even more because it is a farm and less about painful memories as singles “Houses” a fitting metaphor, and “Whenever You’re Ready” and even “Show” really are the best, but so really they are such, because they’re the communal farms.
Now, images are nice, but not perfectly descriptive of community, imagine belonging enough for the farm living if riotous school-kids and their farm-like if strength-sapped community bards to meet permanently. That is the demeanor even at its most middling that Farm 15th Anniversary Edition brings.
