一聽音樂網

This is not an album," the liner notes state — and that's true enough, but some albums are almost
as long. Whatever's Cool with Me compiles the complete "Whatever's Cool With Me" single and the European
single of "The Wagon," making it an amiable, eight-song stopgap to keep hardcore fans happy between
albums. "Whatever's Cool with Me" itself is a loud riffer, not as memorable as "Freak Scene" or "The
Wagon," but good enough. It's perhaps most memorable for being the studio debut of bassist Mike Johnson,
who provided the stability needed after Lou Barlow's departure to re-establish the trio for its most
commercially successful period. Johnson also turns up on the two live tracks: a fine version of Green
Mind's "Thumb" and a rough rip through "Keep the Glove." One new studio track, "Sideways," starts with
one of J Mascis' best acoustic lines, turning into a slow, relaxed full arrangement with everything
from drums to vibes played by Mascis himself. Like this song, the remaining "The Wagon" B-sides also
feature Mascis as one-man band. In context, the acoustic "Quicksand" is the most amusing number:
originally from David Bowie's Hunky Dory, Mascis changes nothing about the arrangement, but substitutes
"the wagon" for "the power" in the lyrics, and begins the song with the melody from another Hunky Dory
number, "Andy Warhol." The other songs have more of Dinosaur Jr.'s fuzzy appeal, like the friendly roar
and strum of "Not You Again" and the screaming yelps and feedback cropping up throughout "The Little
Baby