Bug (Dinosaur Jr. album)

{{Infobox album

| name = Bug

| type = studio

| artist = Dinosaur Jr.

| cover = DinosaurJrBug.jpg

| alt =

| released = October 31, 1988

| recorded = 1988

| venue =

| studio = Fort Apache Studios in Cambridge, Massachusetts

| genre = *Alternative rock

| length = 35:24

| label = SST (216), Blast First, Au Go Go

| producer = J Mascis

| prev_title = You're Living All Over Me

| prev_year = 1987

| next_title = Green Mind

| next_year = 1991

| misc = {{Singles

| name = Bug

| type = Studio album

| single1 = Freak Scene

| single1date = 1988

}}

Bug is the third studio album by American alternative rock band Dinosaur Jr., released in October 1988 through SST Records. Blast First and Au Go Go Records released the album in the United Kingdom and Australia, respectively. It was the last Dinosaur Jr. album with original bassist Lou Barlow until Beyond in 2007.

Despite it being a favorite of many Dinosaur Jr. fans, J Mascis has said it is his least favorite Dinosaur Jr. album. The version of 'Keep The Glove' included on the 2005 reissue is not the same as the version on the b-side of the 'Freakscene' single or the 'Fossils' compilation.

Critical reception

{{Music ratings

| rev1 = AllMusic

| rev1score = {{Rating|4.5|5}}{{cite web |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/bug-mw0000652987 |title=Bug – Dinosaur Jr. |publisher=AllMusic |access-date=May 1, 2020 |last=Erlewine |first=Stephen Thomas |author-link=Stephen Thomas Erlewine}}

| rev2 = Entertainment Weekly

| rev2score = A−{{cite magazine |url=https://ew.com/article/2005/04/11/ew-reviews-latest-album-reissues/ |title=EW reviews the latest album reissues |magazine=Entertainment Weekly |date=April 11, 2005 |access-date=June 17, 2016 |last=Sinclair |first=Tom}}

| rev3 = Mojo

| rev3score = {{Rating|4|5}}{{cite magazine |title=The band that time forgot |magazine=Mojo |issue=137 |date=April 2005 |last=Cameron |first=Keith |page=108}}

| rev4 = NME

| rev4score = 8.999999/10{{cite magazine |title=Tyrannosaurus Rex |magazine=NME |date=October 8, 1988 |last=Barron |first=Jack |page=45}}

| rev5 = Paste

| rev5score = {{Rating|4.5|5}}{{cite web |url=https://www.pastemagazine.com/music/dinosaur-jr-/dinoaur-jr/ |title=Dinosaur Jr. |website=Paste |date=April 1, 2005 |access-date=December 12, 2015 |last=Sheridan |first=Tim}}

| rev6 = Pitchfork

| rev6score = 7.3/10{{cite web |url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/11719-dinosaur-youre-living-all-over-me-bug/ |title=Dinosaur Jr.: Dinosaur / You're Living All Over Me / Bug |website=Pitchfork |date=April 7, 2005 |access-date=August 31, 2011 |last=Harvell |first=Jess |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211204051354/https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/11719-dinosaur-youre-living-all-over-me-bug/ |archive-date=December 4, 2021 |url-status=live}}

| rev7 = PopMatters

| rev7score = 8/10{{cite web |url=https://www.popmatters.com/dinosaurjr-bug2005-2495874668.html |title=Dinosaur Jr.: Bug |website=PopMatters |date=April 7, 2005 |access-date=December 13, 2015 |last=Teegarden |first=Lance}}

| rev8 = The Rolling Stone Album Guide

| rev8score = {{Rating|2|5}}{{cite book |chapter=Dinosaur Jr |last=Evans |first=Paul |title=The New Rolling Stone Album Guide |title-link=The Rolling Stone Album Guide |editor1-last=Brackett |editor1-first=Nathan |editor1-link=Nathan Brackett |editor2-last=Hoard |editor2-first=Christian |editor2-link=Christian Hoard |publisher=Simon & Schuster |edition=4th |year=2004 |isbn=0-7432-0169-8 |page=[https://archive.org/details/newrollingstonea00brac/page/238 238]}}

| rev9 = Spin Alternative Record Guide

| rev9score = 8/10{{cite book |chapter=Dinosaur Jr. |last=Sheffield |first=Rob |author-link=Rob Sheffield |title=Spin Alternative Record Guide |title-link=Spin Alternative Record Guide |editor1-last=Weisbard |editor1-first=Eric |editor1-link=Eric Weisbard |editor2-last=Marks |editor2-first=Craig |publisher=Vintage Books |year=1995 |isbn=0-679-75574-8 |page=113}}

| rev10 = Stylus Magazine

| rev10score = A{{cite web |url=http://www.stylusmagazine.com/reviews/dinosaur-jr/dinosaur-youre-living-all-over-me-bug.htm |title=Dinosaur Jr. – Dinosaur / You're Living All Over Me / Bug – Review |website=Stylus Magazine |date=August 2, 2005 |access-date=December 12, 2015 |last=Dale |first=Jon |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304205526/http://www.stylusmagazine.com/reviews/dinosaur-jr/dinosaur-youre-living-all-over-me-bug.htm |archive-date=March 4, 2016 |url-status=dead}}

}}

File:Freak_scene.ogg"]]

NME critic Jack Barron deemed Bug "the most comprehensive rock statement of the year so far" in a 1988 review for the magazine, noting Dinosaur Jr.'s predominantly "torpid" approach and commenting that the music "trepidates everyday reality away", while rating the album "8.999999" on a ten-point scale.

In a retrospective review of Bug for AllMusic, Stephen Thomas Erlewine described "Freak Scene" as the album's "masterpiece" and opined, "Although the majority of the album is firmly situated in the sprawling, noisy metallic fusion of hard rock and avant noise, Bug also demonstrates that J Mascis has a talent for winding folk-rock". While finding its songs "quite uneven", Erlewine concluded that the album nonetheless constitutes "a major step forward for Mascis".

Writing for Drowned in Sound in 2005, Mike Diver said of Bug, "The songwriting has increased tenfold since You're Living All Over Me ... really, if you like music – be it grunge, indie, punk, whatever – you will love this. Period. Go spend some money already."{{cite web |url=https://drownedinsound.com/releases/3965/reviews/11631- |title=Album Review: Dinosaur Jr. – Dinosaur / You're Living All Over Me / Bug |website=Drowned in Sound |date=March 18, 2005 |access-date=September 12, 2015 |last=Diver |first=Mike |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211126045834/https://drownedinsound.com/releases/3965/reviews/11631- |archive-date=November 26, 2021 |url-status=live}} Keith Cameron of Mojo wrote, "Bug marks the emergence of Mascis writing by rote. When applied to such an outlandishly great song as 'Freak Scene' his skills still blazed, however, and as formulaic exercises in discordant alienation go, Bug is better than most."

Bug is included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.{{cite book|author1=Robert Dimery|author2=Michael Lydon|title=1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die: Revised and Updated Edition|date=7 February 2006|publisher=Universe|isbn=0-7893-1371-5}} Beats Per Minute ranked it the 41st best album of the 1980s.Top 100 albums of the 1980s https://beatsperminute.com/the-top-100-albums-of-the-1980s/