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{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2014}}
{{Infobox song
| name = Start Choppin
| cover = StartChoppin.jpeg
| alt =
| type = single
| artist = [[Dinosaur Jr.]]
| album = [[Where You Been]]
| released = 1993
| recorded = 1992
| studio =
| venue =
| genre = *[[Alternative rock]]<ref>{{cite web|last=Erlewine|first=Stephen Thomas|author-link=Stephen Thomas Erlewine|title=Ear-Bleeding Country: The Best of Dinosaur Jr. - Dinosaur Jr. {{!}} Songs, Reviews, Credits|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/ear-bleeding-country-the-best-of-dinosaur-jr-mw0000015016|access-date=5 December 2021|publisher=[[AllMusic]]}}</ref><ref name="AllMusic Erlewine">{{AllMusic |class=album|id=mw0000306373|title= Various Artists - ''Whatever: The '90s Pop and Culture Box'' (2005) Review|last= Erlewine|first= Stephen Thomas}}</ref>
*[[Bubblegum music|bubblegum pop]]<ref>{{cite web|last=Soulsby|first=Nick|date=25 September 2019|title=Dinosaur Jr.'s Reissued 'Where You Been' Is a Rough-Cut Diamond|url=https://www.popmatters.com/dinosaur-jr-where-you-been-2640575218.html|website=[[PopMatters]]}}</ref>
| length = 5:39
| writer = J Mascis<ref name="linear-notes-back">{{cite AV media notes |title=Start Choppin |others=Dinosaur Jr.|date=1992 |chapter=Back cover |type=12" Vinyl |publisher=Spam as the Bread Music |location=United Kingdom}}</ref>
| producer =
| prev_title = Get Me
| prev_year = 1992
| next_title = [[Out There (Dinosaur Jr. song)|Out There]]
| next_year = 1993
}}

"'''Start Choppin'''" is a song by [[Dinosaur Jr.]] written by [[J Mascis]] and taken from their fifth album ''[[Where You Been]]''. Created after Mascis came up with the title phrase, the song was accompanied by a music video that aired on alternative rock music programs.

"Start Choppin" was released as a single through [[Blanco y Negro Records|Blanco Y Negro]] in Europe and as a promo by Warner Brothers in the US.<ref>{{cite web|title=Dinosaur Jr* - Start Choppin (UK)|url=https://www.discogs.com/release/763605-Dinosaur-Jr-Start-Choppin|access-date=25 September 2015|publisher=[[Discogs]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Dinosaur Jr* - Start Choppin (US release)|url=https://www.discogs.com/release/4270883-Dinosaur-Jr-Start-Choppin|access-date=25 September 2015|publisher=[[Discogs]]}}</ref> It was backed by the song "Turnip Farm", co-written by Kurt Fedora. It has since been praised by critics as a highlight of ''Where You Been''.

==Background==
Written by Dinosaur Jr. frontman J Mascis, "Start Choppin" was recorded for the band's 1993 album ''Where You Been''. Mascis recalled the song's creation in an interview, saying:

{{quote|I remember the title came about because we cut the tape to put some different versions together. I think I just said, "Start chopping," or something. All the stops and starts is just how the song was written. I think the edits were just, like, maybe the verse sounded better on one take, so we could end the whole thing. It wasn't very big edits on tape; it was little things. It was just like one verse or another.<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Grow|first=Kory|date=3 October 2019|title=J Mascis on the Nineties, Nirvana, and Dinosaur Jr.'s Forgotten Masterpiece|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/j-mascis-interview-dinosaur-jr-reissues-886036/|access-date=10 October 2019|magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]}}</ref>}}

A music video for the song was recorded, gaining popularity on [[MTV]] [[alternative rock]] programs such as ''[[120 Minutes]]'' and ''[[Alternative Nation]]''.<ref>{{cite web|last=Wawzenek|first=Bryan|date=9 February 2018|title=25 Years Ago: Dinosaur Jr. Rise to the Brink of Stardom on 'Where You Been'|url=https://ultimateclassicrock.com/dinosaur-jr-where-you-been/|access-date=8 May 2019|website=Ultimate Classic Rock}}</ref>

==Release and reception==
Released as the debut single from ''Where You Been'', "Start Choppin" reached number 20 on the [[UK Singles Chart]]<ref>{{cite web|url = http://www.officialcharts.com/search/singles/start%20choppin/|title = Start Choppin|publisher = [[The Official Charts Company]]|access-date = 17 June 2013}}</ref> and number 3 on the US [[Modern Rock Tracks]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.allmusic.com/artist/dinosaur-jr-mn0000219483/awards|title=Dinosaur Jr. - Awards|publisher=[[AllMusic]]|access-date=17 June 2013}}</ref> The song was described by ''[[AllMusic]]'' as having a "quick, catchy lead riff," and being "as close to a radio hit as the band ever had."<ref>{{cite web|last=Raggett|first=Ned|title=Where You Been - Dinosaur Jr. {{!}} Songs, Reviews, Credits|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/where-you-been-mw0000093455|access-date=28 February 2019|publisher=[[AllMusic]]}}</ref> ''[[CMJ]]'' magazine referred [[J Mascis]]' as a "guitar god" through his work with this song.<ref>{{cite magazine|date=5 January 2004|title=1993|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zVp_QgtYGGUC&pg=PT34|magazine=[[CMJ]]|volume=78|issue=847|page=33}}</ref> [[Spin (magazine)|''Spin'']] described the song as having a "sparkly stutter-strum intro, grindy-swirly solo freak-out" and the lyrical content as "another J Mascis paean to self-denial as a source of pride."<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Aaron|first=Charles|author-link=Charles Aaron|date=June 1993|title=Singles|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5wTUmx2uZYsC&pg=PA90|magazine=[[Spin (magazine)|Spin]]|publisher=SPIN Media LLC|volume=9|issue=3|page=90}}</ref> Nick Soulsby of ''[[PopMatters]]'' called the song "a catchy confection of [[bubblegum pop]], all sky-scraping solos and upbeat strummed riffs" and praised the track as a "vocally ... a Mascis masterclass."<ref name="pm">{{cite web|last=Soulsby|first=Nick|date=25 September 2019|title=Dinosaur Jr.'s Reissued 'Where You Been' Is a Rough-Cut Diamond|url=https://www.popmatters.com/dinosaur-jr-where-you-been-2640575218.html|access-date=10 October 2019|website=[[PopMatters]]}}</ref>

== Accolades and legacy ==
The song was ranked the 45th best of the year by [[Select (magazine)|''Select'']].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rocklistmusic.co.uk/select.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060216032033/http://www.rocklistmusic.co.uk/select.html|url-status=usurped|archive-date=16 February 2006|title=Rocklist.net...Select End Of Year Lists..|website=www.rocklistmusic.co.uk|access-date=28 February 2019}}</ref> [[Pitchfork (website)|''Pitchfork'']] included the album in "[[The Pitchfork 500]]" in 2008.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.rocklistmusic.co.uk/steveparker/Pitchfork.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090424055425/http://www.rocklistmusic.co.uk/steveparker/Pitchfork.htm|url-status=usurped|archive-date=24 April 2009|title=Rocklist.net...Steve Parker...Pitchfork 500...|website=www.rocklistmusic.co.uk|access-date=28 February 2019}}</ref> Two years later, they would go on to rank it 93rd on their list of "The Top 200 Tracks of the 1990s", writing that the song was where Mascis "finally, comfortably takes on the mantle" of "guitar gods" and describing the song itself as "assured, [...] direct, [...] breezy and effortless [...]-- a perfect balance of the scene the band had come from and who they really were."<ref>{{cite web|date=1 September 2010|title=The Top 200 Tracks of the 1990s: 100-51|url=https://pitchfork.com/features/lists-and-guides/7851-the-top-200-tracks-of-the-1990s-100-51/|access-date=28 February 2019|website=[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]]}}</ref> [[WOXY.com]] ranked it 271st on their combined list of the 500 best modern rock songs of all time.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/15XrT0gSBPes8i1mfd-q_o_Sb_hRGKGG2l56KIfFrtZA/edit?usp=embed_facebook|title=WOXY|website=Google Docs|access-date=28 February 2019}}</ref>

==Track list==
Below is the track list for both sides of the single.<ref>{{cite AV media notes| title = Start Choppin| others =Dinosaur Jr.| year =1992| chapter = Vinyl sticker| url =| type = 12" Vinyl| publisher = Spam as the Bread Music| id =| location = United Kingdom}}</ref>

'''Side A'''
# "Start Choppin" ([[J. Mascis]]) – 5:39
'''Side B'''
# "Turnip Farm" (Mascis, Kurt Fedora) – 5:49
# "Forget It" (Mascis) – 4:04

==Charts==
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"
!Chart (1993)
!Peak<br />position
|-
{{single chart|Ireland2|20|artist=Dinosaur Jr.|rowheader=true}}
|-
{{single chart|Sweden|40|artist=Dinosaur Jr.|song=Start Choppin'|rowheader=true}}
|-
{{singlechart|UKsinglesbyname|20|artist=Dinosaur Jr.|access-date=7 August 2017|rowheader=true}}
|-
{{singlechart|Billboardalternativesongs|3|artist=Dinosaur Jr.|access-date=7 August 2017|rowheader=true}}
|}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Dinosaur Jr.}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:1992 singles]]
[[Category:1992 songs]]
[[Category:Dinosaur Jr. songs]]
[[Category:Songs written by J Mascis]]
[[Category:Blanco y Negro Records singles]]
[[Category:Bubblegum pop songs]]

Start Choppin - Revision history

imported>Mightyonin: I hope this ends the edit wars