J Mascis Addresses AI Video for 'Old Friends': 'A Slippery Slope'

Asked about the video, which was released about two years ago, Mascis said, “Yeah, just some kid did it.” He added, “I thought it looked cool, so… Yeah, that’s dipping my toes into the... I don’t do much with videos.” He trailed off several times before saying, “But yeah, I guess that’s a slippery slope.”

Mascis also said he does not believe there is a place for AI in music making, but he acknowledged that the technology is present regardless. “I guess we’re learning how to deal with it,” he said. “And hopefully it won’t kill us all.”

The comments come as Dinosaur Jr.’s original lineup—Mascis, bassist Lou Barlow and drummer Patrick Murphy—continues to release new music more than 40 years into its career. The band’s new record, There Near, was made without what Mascis described as a grand plan. He said the members “just didn’t push it,” avoiding eight-hour marathon studio sessions and remote fine-tuning of basslines or Logic sessions. Mascis would arrive with fully prepared demos, and the band would immediately start recording, even as Barlow and Murphy were still learning their parts, “on the off chance that it comes together quickly.” Mascis said there was no grand secret to the band’s longevity. “I guess we have nothing better to do,” he said.

The same approach applies to his equipment. Mascis said he is “kind of a tube purist guy,” but tubes are “also kind of inconvenient sometimes,” so he uses whatever works. He mixes and masters to tape but also tracks in Pro Tools. For his Fender signature instruments, he said he tries to do “the important things” without making the guitar too complicated or expensive. The neck is his biggest concern; he said he is “a sucker for jumbo frets” and that most other parts can be swapped out.

Mascis reserved his strongest feelings for Dinosaur Jr.’s famously loud live shows. He said he has noticed audiences seem “more desperate for something kind of reality-based.” The band does not use in-ear monitors or click tracks, relying instead on amps. “I think some people are responding to the reality of it,” he said. “Like they really need something that’s not, you know, computer-generated or something.” Mascis, who plays in front of three full stacks even in a 280-person-capacity club, also complained about the lack of amps onstage and about high-tech front-of-house setups. “It’s very weird. Now, soundmen create the sound instead of capture the sound,” he said.