Dinosaur Junior Song From Nearly Thirty Years Ago Tops The Charts In Japan - Why?

Source: FaithHipster.com

According to a report from Pitchfork, Dinosaur Junior’s song from 1994, “Over Your Shoulder,” has been making waves in Japan on the Billboard charts this past week. And what makes this story so bizarre is the fact that nobody really knows the reason why?

The band right now is topping the Hot Overseas chart and is entering the Hot 100 at approximately #18. In fact, it’s higher on the list than other huge stars like Ariana Grande as well as Queen. The last song from their album, Without A Sound, has been garnering many plays from their channel on YouTube in Japan.

Just this past week, it brought in 8,000,000 views and Billboard reports that they’re not entirely sure why. The report claims that “Over Your Shoulder” was never released as a hit single and hasn’t been reissued or marketed in Japan specifically – at all.

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Pitchfork, as well, reported that the song from 1994 hasn’t appeared in any memes online or a soundtrack. However, the publications didn’t mention the use of forums. It’s a possibility that someone posted the song on Reddit or on another forum and for that reason, it subsequently went viral.

A source over at the outlet claimed it was possible that the videos in question, which would be in promotion of the track, have been region-locked in Japan and can’t be seen outside of the nation.

Dinosaur Junior, while never achieving super mainstream popularity in the same vein as other alternative rock bands, has long been a legend in the scene. Kurt Cobain, the frontman of Nirvana who died by suicide in April of 1994, was reported as being a huge fan of the band, and frequently referenced them in his posthumously published journals.

Getting their start in 1984, Dinosaur Junior is known for their feedback and distortion-ridden sound. The band has released 11 albums since their first, Dinosaur, in 1985.

In an interview with The Guardian in 2012, J Mascis sat down with reporters and dished on how he and the rest of the band have refused to emulate the same magic from prior albums. Either way, it’s great to see a respected band receive more recognition as they deserve.