Extinction has never stopped a recording artist from releasing records. Jimi Hendrix, for one, has been keeping his estate in cashmere and caviar for years with a litany of new releases, destroying the myth that death curtails productivity. Now, Dinosaur Jr., only five months after calling it quits, is preparing for two new releases.

The defunct trio is currently negotiating with its former label, Reprise Records, to purchase the rights to its last five albums, according to manager Jonathan Cohen. Once that's out of the way, the band will give Mascis's new, yet-undetermined label the opportunity to release a fifteen-track greatest hits package called 14 Years, which will feature songs like "Start Choppin," "Out There," "Feel the Pain" and "Freak Scene."

The Pinnacle Entertainment-owned Strange Fruit label will also grace the world with a Dinosaur Jr. retrospective, featuring live selections from the group's '88, '89, '92 and '93 radio sessions on the BBC. Songs like "The Leper," "In a Jar," "Get Me" and "No Bones" will appear on the import-only release, which will hit stores this summer.

The disintegration of Dinosaur Jr. means J Mascis will likely become a solo performer, something he dabbled with on the 1996 live acoustic album Martin and Me. For the first time, Mascis will loosen the creative reins and allow a producer to shape the album. According to Cohen, the enigmatic singer has reached out to blue-chip producers like Brendan O'Brien (Pearl Jam), Flood (U2), Daniel Lanois (Peter Gabriel) and Brian Eno (David Bowie). Mascis will likely enter a studio some time this summer with a tentative street date in early '99, following the release of 14 Years.

BLAIR R. FISCHER