The Battle of Minneapolis: Husker Du / The Replacements / Soul Asylum [OPO]

Husker Du > Replacements > Soul Asylum

Based on my length and strength of fixation for each.

I saw Du half a dozen times and religiously bought everything they released, following my first hearing of them on John Peel. This was around the time of Zen Arcade and Peelie played 'Beyond The Threshold'. I'd seen a picture of them in NME (two rotund farmers and a member of the Village People - how ironic), read the little blurb about them being a hardcore band and thought "What the fuck...". I had to hear them. And did so many, many times.

Soul Asylum entered my world thanks to Bob Mould. The reason I bought their 'Made to Be Broken Album' was down to him credited as producer. I liked this album a lot at the time, although have not revisited it in years. Saw them live in about '88 at Hull Adelphi and they blew me away. I heard that big hit and hated it and never went back to them, possibly because of my indie snobbery ,although I'd be amazed if I missed out on anything worthwhile. please enlighten me.

The 'Mats were a contender but the odd one out for me. My love for these developed after their demise. I only saw them live once and this must've been around the time of one of their questionable later releases. Without Bob, so that doesn't count.
Let It Be is one of my desert island discs. I did toy with the idea of voting for these but that would have been wrong. It had to be Husker du.

I remembered another band (like Soul Asylum) that was carrying the torch for sounding very Mould-esque:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e5HRDF0NDTY

..and another band from the era that had a serious Husker jones:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s3VcPVMk6so

(there are a few Husker-influence bands that I liked but I can't think of too many using the 'mats as a touchstone that I actually liked all that much, as much as I loved the 'mats themselves.)

That first Overwhelming Colorfast disc was in high rotation back when it came out. Saw them live at the time too, I think supporting The Ramones in New York - Roseland I think... Ring any bells, old New York ilxors?

Wound up voting for Husker Du.

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

Wound up voting for Husker Du.

― Loud guitars shit all over "Bette Davis Eyes" (NYCNative), Friday, March 18, 2011 5:23 PM (3 days ago) Bookmark

divide and conquer

woah!

hurrah

Copper Blue won out over Singles OST

it was almost Indecision Time

Picking up on one thread theme, hilarious to me that the pretty MOR Buffalo Tom were once ragged and noisy enough to be nicknamed Dinosaur Jr. and that the Goo Goo Dolls were once considered the upstate New York answer to the Minnesota sound. And lest one forget, Paul Westerberg wrote the GGD's semi-breakthrough hit "We Are the Normal." The Goo Goo Dolls put in enough years and miles humping it out that when they went huge, for all the wrong reasons, I more or less figured they deserved it.

I love polls where the results are predicted within the first couple of posts

the first couple goo goo dolls records on metal blade are pretty good and mat-sy

SA channeling the Mats here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lx26NGh-7B0

Goo Goo Dolls channeling MN:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mZKTXc0tk6E

the goo goo dolls adult contempo hits aren't exactly a world away from wussier later 'mats imo

"This one's for Paul:"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B6nnJlOf7N8

the junk monkeys were even more mats

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4XzwggcczZ0

Who voted Soul Asylum?

I like how Soul Asylum was the Ralph Nader in this vote. Kinda fitting...

recount!

It seems reasonably to me that the 3 Soul Asylum votes would have gone to the Replacements.

but they were known as husker du lite!

We should call this poll "Frustrated Incorporated"

side note:

it's really weird how big the gear daddies are in MN and how unknown they are outside of MN...

GGD opened for Mats on the final tour, no? At least they did in Cleveland.

this is a really nice soul asylum song - "P-9" about the hormel/p9 labor union strike of the mid 80s...like it even more in light of recent events in wisconsin

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZlDACRwRVz0

To be fair in a recount, I would switch my Replacements vote here for Hüsker Dü, even though I still feel the Mats are more MPLS.

runaway train is better than every husker du and replacements song combined

"runaway train" isn't even better than tom petty's "runaway trains"

i had a gf once who was like... she was a freakin runaway train man... i always get real sad and tragic feelin when i hear that song, because of her... good video too...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NRtvqT_wMeY

so sad @ all those freakin kids

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJcoIEWB1C0

Wish I could find the version of the Runaway Train video where instead of kids, they show bicycles.

PP, let me know when you find a new optemetrist.

yikes, pardon the spelling. think i need to find a new one of my own.

hi dads

Ha, sorry Shasta. I didn't click Play.

Hard to believe now, I realize, but had this poll been conducted in, say, 1990, this would have been a three way tie.

I spent yesterday listening to Soul Asylum -- from Made to Be Broken through Let Your Dim Light Shine. Gawd, those early albums are incredible -- up to Hangtime and the Clam Dip EP. YouTube has a ton of evidence of how mind blowing they were live around that time. I feel fortunate to have seen them a couple times then.

It's sad to hear how neutered they became, but even then, the singles really suffer mainly due to overexposure. The rest of the those albums aren't particularly good and the lack of energy -- especially compared to just a few years earlier -- is such a shame.

No youtube video will ever convince anyone of anything, but, man they were good:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QaxE7IX1KaQ

Lots of Goo Goo Dolls comments upthread, too. I caught them on the Jed tour in 1989 and it was the same sort of thing -- impossible to beleive now, but they were great. Like 20 people in the audience who'd never heard them before, completely rocking out by the end. Couldn't believe how bland they became.

I spent yesterday listening to Soul Asylum -- from Made to Be Broken through Let Your Dim Light Shine. Gawd, those early albums are incredible -- up to Hangtime and the Clam Dip EP.

dunno about no goo goo dolls, but otm re: the early soul asylum. lost interest w hang time, but dug say what you will..., while you were out and especially made to be broken. damn good midwestern beer punk w/ a sadrock chaser. debt to husker du and the replacements was massive, but they had the songs to back it up.

runaway train is better than every husker du and replacements song combined

― ℳℴℯ　❤＼(◕‿◕✿ (Princess TamTam), Tuesday, March 22, 2011 1:10 AM (1 year ago) Bookmark

clicked on the thread to say exactly this

that song is a long drink of hot barf

lol

I spent yesterday listening to Soul Asylum -- from Made to Be Broken through Let Your Dim Light Shine. Gawd, those early albums are incredible -- up to Hangtime and the Clam Dip EP. YouTube has a ton of evidence of how mind blowing they were live around that time. I feel fortunate to have seen them a couple times then.

Totally otm. I mentioned my soft spot upthread but I may have understated it a bit. At one point SA were one of my top fave bands. As a young teenager I was, er, in their fan club and i distinctly remember taping the Christmas card they sent out inside my binder. I had such crush on Dan Murphy. I still love those early albums and even GDU a lot.

Runaway Train = if Jon Bon Jovi sang Unsatisfied

Though maybe that's a good thing

Whatever, SA and GGD, whatever their merits, allowed themselves to become bland anonymous guitar rock, free of annoying things like identity and character. So fuck em.

Even before Sandusky, I thought this dude looked like Joe Paterno.

http://i.imgur.com/FKZMh.png