Repulsion dinosaur jr
Executive summary
"Repulsion" is a mid‑1980s Dinosaur Jr. song first issued during the band's early period and known primarily from its lyrics and noisy indie‑rock sound; it appears as a single (with "Bulbs of Passion" as its B‑side) and on the band's 1985-era releases, and has been performed live and reissued multiple times [1] [2] [3]. Interpretations of the song emphasize themes of social unease and romantic frustration drawn from the lyric lines commonly transcribed online, while exact dating and placement vary across sources and reissues [4] [5] [1].
1. Origin and release: an early Dinosaur single with mixed dates
"Repulsion" emerged as part of Dinosaur Jr.’s earliest output in 1985: discographies and collector sites list "Repulsion / Bulbs of Passion" as a 7" single released on Homestead in 1985 (catalog HMS032) and note the pairing with the non‑album B‑side "Bulbs of Passion" [1] [3]. The song also sits within the band's debut era around the self‑titled Dinosaur album (released 1985), which later reissues shuffled tracks such as "Bulbs of Passion" between formats at J Mascis’ request [2]. Streaming platforms provide metadata that sometimes lists different dates — Spotify shows "Repulsion" with a December 25, 1985 timestamp — reflecting how archival releases and digital uploads can produce multiple publicly visible dates for the same early single [6].
2. Lyrics and themes: alienation, boredom and romantic repulsion
Published lyric transcriptions consistently reproduce lines like "I feel your eyes upon me" and the chorus "The world drips down like gravy / The thoughts of love so hazy / Everyone's ideal of fun / Repulsion," which anchor readings emphasizing social unease, boredom and conflicted feelings about love or social rituals [4] [7]. Fan interpretation platforms emphasize a reading of the song as J Mascis’ voice of detachment or disgust with conventional "fun" and the pain of pursuing love despite doubt, and they invite multiple subjective takes rather than a single authoritative meaning [5]. The reporting available is lyrical transcription and community interpretation rather than direct band commentary on the song's intended narrative.
3. Recording, live life and reissues: a song that traveled
"Repulsion" appears not only on original 1985 releases but in live recordings and later archival reissues: live versions were released — for example, a CBGBs acoustic version from December 1993 surfaced on later releases, and other live recordings dating across the 1990s have been made available on streaming services and band archives [8] [9]. The band’s own digital outlets and third‑party platforms host the track as well, including Bandcamp and SoundCloud, underscoring that the song has been kept in circulation through official and semi‑official channels [10] [11].
4. Context within Dinosaur Jr.’s early identity and reception
Dinosaur Jr. formed in the early 1980s in Amherst, Massachusetts, with J Mascis as the principal songwriter, and their debut era combined folkier elements with punk and noise tendencies — "Repulsion" sits within that noisy indie rock/noise rock identity that reviewers and fan catalogs attribute to the band’s beginnings [12] [2] [1]. RateYourMusic and Discogs entries treat "Repulsion" as a notable early single that showcased the band’s raw guitar sound and helped define their aesthetic, while lyric sites and streaming entries keep the song accessible to listeners and researchers [1] [3] [6].
5. What the sources do—and don’t—answer
Available sources reliably provide lyrics, release formats and multiple release dates, plus live‑recording traces and fan interpretation, but none here contains a primary quote from J Mascis explicitly explaining the song’s meaning or a definitive single release date agreed by all archival records; discrepancies across metadata (e.g., July vs. December 1985 listings) reflect different cataloging practices rather than a proven change to the song itself [1] [6] [2]. For authoritative archival dating or a songwriter’s intent, original label pressings, liner notes or direct interviews with Mascis would be required; those are not present in the provided reporting.