"Start Choppin" is a song by

Dinosaur Jr. Dinosaur Jr. is an American rock band formed in Amherst, Massachusetts, in 1984, originally simply called Dinosaur until legal issues forced a change in name. The band was founded by J Mascis (guitar, vocals, primary songwriter), Lou Barlow ( ...

written by

J Mascis Joseph Donald Mascis Jr. ( ; born December 10, 1965), better known as J Mascis, is an American musician who is the singer, guitarist and main songwriter for the alternative rock band Dinosaur Jr. He has also released several albums as a solo arti ...

and taken from their fifth album ''

Where You Been ''Where You Been'' is the fifth official studio album by Dinosaur Jr., released on February 9, 1993. The song "Start Choppin'" was their biggest hit, reaching number 3 on the Modern Rock Tracks chart in the U.S., and the Top 20 of the UK Singles ...

''. Created after Mascis came up with the title phrase, the song was accompanied by a music video that aired on alternative rock music programs. "Start Choppin" was released as a single through

Blanco Y Negro Blanco y Negro Records (Spanish: "White and Black"), a subsidiary of WEA Records Ltd., was established in 1983 by Geoff Travis of Rough Trade Records and Mike Alway of él Records. Michel Duval of Les Disques du Crépuscule was also involved ...

in Europe and as a promo by Warner Brothers in the US. It was backed by the song "Turnip Farm", co-written by Kurt Fedora. It has since been praised by critics as a highlight of ''Where You Been''.

Background

Written by Dinosaur Jr. frontman J Mascis, "Start Choppin" was recorded for the band's 1993 album ''Where You Been''. Mascis recalled the song's creation in an interview, saying: A music video for the song was recorded, gaining popularity on

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...

programs such as ''

120 Minutes ''120 Minutes'' is a television program in the United States dedicated to the alternative music genre, that originally aired on MTV from 1986 to 2000, and then aired on MTV's associate channel MTV2 from 2001 to 2003. After its cancellation, MTV ...

'' and ''

Alternative Nation ''Alternative Nation'' was a television show in the U.S. dedicated to alternative music. It aired on MTV from 1992 to 1997, mostly on weeknights. It was hosted by Kennedy. History ''Alternative Nation'' began airing in 1992. It was a somewha ...

''.

Release and reception

Released as the debut single from ''Where You Been'', "Start Choppin" reached number 20 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

and number 3 on the US

Modern Rock Tracks Alternative Airplay (formerly known as Modern Rock Tracks (1988–2009) and Alternative Songs (2009–2020)) is a music chart in the United States that has appeared in ''Billboard'' magazine since September 10, 1988. It ranks the 40 most-played ...

. The song was described by ''

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

'' as having a "quick, catchy lead riff," and being "as close to a radio hit as the band ever had." ''

CMJ CMJ Holdings Corp. is a music events and online media company, originally founded in 1978, which ran a website, hosted an annual festival in New York City, and published two magazines, ''CMJ New Music Monthly'' and ''CMJ New Music Report''. Th ...

'' magazine referred

' as a "guitar god" through his work with this song. ''Spin'' described the song as having a "sparkly stutter-strum intro, grindy-swirly solo freak-out" and the lyrical content as "another J Mascis paean to self-denial as a source of pride." Nick Soulsby of ''

PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, fi ...

'' called the song "a catchy confection of

bubblegum pop Bubblegum (also called bubblegum pop) is pop music in a catchy and upbeat style that is considered disposable, contrived, or marketed for children and adolescents. The term also refers to a rock and pop subgenre, originating in the United States i ...

, all sky-scraping solos and upbeat strummed riffs" and praised the track as a "vocally ... a Mascis masterclass."

Accolades & legacy

The song was ranked the 45th best of the year by ''Select''. ''Pitchfork'' included the album in "

The Pitchfork 500 ''The Pitchfork 500: Our Guide to the Greatest Songs from Punk to the Present'' is a book compiling the greatest songs from 1977 to 2006, published in 2008 by Pitchfork Media. The book focuses on specific genres including indie rock, hip-hop, el ...

" in 2008. Two years later, they would go on to rank it 93rd on their list of "The Top 200 Tracks of the 1990s", writing that the song was where Mascis "finally, comfortably takes on the mantle" of "guitar gods" and describing the song itself as "assured, ..direct, ..breezy and effortless ..- a perfect balance of the scene the band had come from and who they really were."

WOXY.com WOXY.com was a modern rock internet radio station based in Oxford, Ohio, and later Austin, Texas. WOXY.com relied mainly on its own website to reach its listeners. WOXY.com programming at one time was also available at lala.com and WVXU HD Ra ...

ranked it 271st on their combined list of the 500 best modern rock songs of all time.

Track list

Below is the track list for both sides of the single. Side A # "Start Choppin" (

J. Mascis Joseph Donald Mascis Jr. ( ; born December 10, 1965), better known as J Mascis, is an American musician who is the singer, guitarist and main songwriter for the alternative rock band Dinosaur Jr. He has also released several albums as a solo arti ...

) – 5:39 Side B # "Turnip Farm" (Mascis, Kurt Fedora) – 5:49 # "Forget It" (Mascis) – 4:04

Charts

References

1992 singles Dinosaur Jr. songs Songs written by J Mascis 1992 songs Blanco y Negro Records singles Bubblegum pop songs {{1990s-US-single-stub