| Down by the Old Mainstream | |
| Type: | Album |
| Artist: | Golden Smog |
| Cover: | Down by the Old Mainstream.jpg |
| Released: | 1995 |
| Recorded: | Pachyderm Studio The Terrarium and Triclops Recording |
| Genre: | Alternative country |
| Length: | 50:17 |
| Label: | Rykodisc |
| Producer: | Golden Smog, Sir James Bunchberry |
| Prev Title: | On Golden Smog |
| Prev Year: | 1992 |
| Next Title: | Weird Tales |
| Next Year: | 1998 |
Down by the Old Mainstream is the debut album by American alternative country band Golden Smog, released in 1995. Its title is from a line in both the Wilco song "Someday Soon" from the album, Being There, and from "Radio King", the last track on this album.
Golden Smog was a loosely connected group of musicians comprising, at various times, members of Soul Asylum, the Replacements, Wilco, the Jayhawks, Run Westy Run, the Honeydogs and Big Star. Golden Smog's lineup has often changed, but relative constants who appear on all the recordings are guitarists Kraig Johnson (Run Westy Run), Dan Murphy (Soul Asylum) and Gary Louris (the Jayhawks), along with bassist Marc Perlman (the Jayhawks).
Writing for AllMusic, music critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine called the album "a loose, relaxed affair that sounds like it was a lot of fun to record...it has an offhand, relaxed charm that is sometimes lacking from Jayhawks and Soul Asylum albums. Not all of the songs are first rate—'Pecan Pie' and 'Red Headed Stepchild' are a bit too cute to be effective—but the performances are full of grit and fire, which is what makes Down By the Mainstream such an engaging listen." Jeff Gordinier of Entertainment Weekly wrote, "Golden Smog’s comfort food cries out for a little spice, but it warms you up, nonetheless."
The band members of Golden Smog used pseudonyms in the credits.