J Mascis, guitarist and frontman of Dinosaur Jr, has revealed that hearing Black Sabbath prompted him to grow his hair and drop out of society.

The confession comes in a new "honest playlist" interview published by the Guardian on 13 September, in which the musician walks through the songs that shaped his life.

Asked about the first song he fell in love with, Mascis named "Monster Mash" by Bobby "Boris" Pickett. "Monsters appealed to me as a kid," he said. "I found it funny, not spooky. Since I had a kid, Halloween has become the biggest holiday of the year."

The first single he bought was "Darlin'" by the Beach Boys — purchased with stolen money. "I bought Darlin' by the Beach Boys with the money I would steal from my mom," Mascis admitted.

His Beach Boys devotion once cost him with audiences. "I remember they were quite unhip for a while: I played them at a gig around 1989 before we came on and people hated it," he recalled. "Now they've become more hip again."

The interview's headline also promises details on the punk song that made Mascis cry and his squeaking along to Tom Petty — the full playlist appears in the Guardian's continuing feature.

The piece offers a compact portrait of a guitarist whose influences run from novelty horror pop to the band that, by his own account, pushed him out of the mainstream altogether.