“Start Choppin'” by Dinosaur Jr.

"Start Choppin'" is J Mascis in a nutshell, pulled from Dinosaur Jr.'s fifth album, Where You Been, in 1993: a lazy drawl, a guitar that sounds like it's melting the amp, and a tune far sweeter than it has any right to be. The name came out of the studio, where the band were razoring bits of tape together to keep the best take of each part, and Mascis said something about chopping. The lurching stops and starts, though, were in the song from the beginning.

Mascis wrote it, sang it, produced it and piled on guitar, piano, organ and even chimes, with Mike Johnson on bass and harmonies and Murph behind the kit. Blanco Y Negro put it out as a single in Europe, backed with "Turnip Farm", and critics have since picked it as the album's high point.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.