Bob Mould: Classic or Dud?

It would be nice if Bob and Grant buried the hatchet, it would be great to hear the older albums remastered, particularly as they have never really been done justice on CD. But that seems unlikely, even as recently as Modulate the Grant-bashing persists (I thought the line "Some deadbeat Dad who lives at home" in The Receipt was particularly hurtful, Grant also claims that Bob cryptically reveals Grant's address in the lyrics to that song.)

I only saw Sugar once, in 1994 shortly after FU:EL came out - it was one of the biggest disapointments of my life. You just couldn't hear the guitar or vocals at ALL. Several audience members were trying to alert the band to this fact but to no avail.

Perhaps because Sugar were my favourite band when I was fifteen I still feel a very powerful emotional connection with Bob's songs, particularly those on Copper Blue and Warehouse. But I also believe he does the vulnerable lyrics/loud guitars thing better than anybody else. To this day, I tend to put a Bob record on to listen to loud, through headphones, late at night when I'm drunk!

All time favourites would be Zen Arcade, New Day Rising, Warehouse:Songs and Stories, Beaster.

Weaker moments: Candy Apple Grey (in term's of Bob's songs), Modulate.

Pretty much everything else, classic!

Haven't heard Sugar. Bought 'Modulate' the other day. It's okay, not outstanding, but something I'll listen to again, even though he sounds disturbingly like Dave Grohl, which a friend pointed out to me. Haven't heard anything else of his solo stuff, but apparently it's better. So, I'll have to get it.

Can I just say though, Grant Hart's 'Intolerence' is definitely worth getting.

Husker Du - Classic

Bob Mould solo - Dud

Sugar - Classic

-- alex in nyc (vassife...), July 4th, 2001.

Looking back, that seems a bit harsh. While I still prefer Husker Du and Sugar, there have been moments in Bob's solo work that have been quite good.

Sasha otm re: Intolerance - we need a Grant Hart thread..

don't blame bob for that; he came first. although i always thought grohl was a bit closer to grant hart.

love love love husker du, although they started sliping on the last couple albums. i find sugar a tad bit less interesting than, say, jimmy eat world. not a huge waste of talent, just the usual steady decline.

He just seems so unimaginative, so lacking in spark. Sure, he had a good guitar sound. That doesn't give him license to make bog-standard indie fuzz songs for 20 years.

Sugar: Q. good.

Solo: Hard work.

Mould solo: meh. Some of the Richard Thompson-esque tunes on Workbook like "Brasilia Crossed With Trenton" are top-notch.

http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/Museum/7147/bobby.html

(via Bob's blog)

No mention of the last album? My take:

http://www.citypages.com/databank/26/1295/article13721.asp

Mould is performing for free in Minneapolis June 22, at the Bryant-Lake Bowl, and is on the Henry Rollins show this Friday...

I came upon Husker Du pretty late, but for a band that was so universally praised from so many different corners, I wasn't all that impressed. I recently stumbled upon a blog maintained by Ben Weasel (of Screeching Weasel fame) and a post where he talks about breaking out the old Husker Du canon and being mostly unimpressed compared to how amazing it sounded back in the day. I'll submit him as my expert witness.

I hear theres a regularly thrown party in the DC area, specifically catered to over 30's gay men that he DJs at (shirtless) and I think this is very good.

the first six friends on his myspace page all look very Bob-like, its eerie... i'm a huge fan, and interviewed him a couple of years ago, and he was much fun. i listen to his solo stuff and sugar so rarely nowadays, and mostly if i'm feeling especially blue, and i'm not as convinced that he was a better songwriter than grant as i was when i was younger (not that it matters), but i always enjoy it.

if i were to listen to 'can't fight it' right now, i would be a mess.

the bobby hill=bob mould page is very funny.

hahahahaha:

"I have noted down the people who are saying they like it and will be paying less attention to their opinions in future: sorry and all, you're lovely people but it's that mediocre."

Quite possibly my favorite Bob.

His "Blowoff" dj setlists look pretty predictable to me

Bob's got another rock cd coming out with Brendan Canty on drums, on the Anti label in February

http://www.spinner.com/2007/12/04/bob-mould-returns-with-district-line-exclusive-mp3/

Anti has been capturing a lot of veterans on their second wind. That'd be cool if it happened again.

Yes it would. I didn't like Mould's electronic stuff, but the last rock album he did had at least one great song (New No. 1), so I'm hopeful.

New one hailed as a "return to form"

which form?

rooock n' roll!

Saw DISTRICT LINE in HMV and felt sorry -but also proud- for it,
Had a place of its own on the 'new release' shelf. Despite it being late in the day it was clear to me that the staff had either been restacking to keep it neat after the rush, or no fker had bought it. I feared the latter and purchased to make a dent.

It's not bad. But not great, although I sense a grower.

Please kids - listen to 'Who Needs dreams' and enjoy . Had it on a loop. Grandad.

I cannot stop listening to "Believe What You're Saying"

http://modulate.blogspot.com/2008/09/press-release-from-little-brown.html

BOB MOULD TO PUBLISH AUTOBIOGRAPHY

Michael Pietsch, Publisher of Little, Brown and Company, announced this week that Bob Mould will be writing his autobiography in collaboration with Michael Azerrad, author of the bestselling Our Band Could Be Your Life and Come As You Are: The Story of Nirvana.

The memoir will, for the first time ever, delve deeply into Mould's life as a musician and his experiences with Hüsker Dü, as a solo artist, and in his most commercially viable and successful work as leader of the 90s indie rock kingpins Sugar. He will also tell the story of his other lives, including his internal struggle with his sexuality, the coming-out process, and his subsequent embrace of, and service to, the LGBT community; his work as a creative consultant / director in the world of pro wrestling; his work as a record producer, including seminal projects by Soul Asylum and Magnapop; and his foray into electronic / dance music, including the popular BLOWOFF club events held nationwide.

Bob Mould said, "For many years, people have asked if and when I would write my autobiography. I have always looked forward to this point in time, where I could tell my stories, to answer the many questions about the music and the lifestyle, and how they inform the creative process. I have not been alone on this ride: friends and foes, mentors and associates, peers, lovers, all traveling by my side. The ride so far has been incredible, and I hope to do my memory right in documenting the journey."

It is expected to be published in autumn 2010.

I've ordered this already!

Autumn 2010? FFS

30th anniversary world tour with original members, all reading excepts to promote Bob's book- in between the hits. Surely?

Do you think Grant will get a chapter?

I hope they all write a fucking book, even if Greg's is a list of recipes

Excerpts.

Sorry journoes/English teachers etc

I'll be buying it for sure

wrestling and gay stuff could be intriguing...

I just heard "See A Little Light" in a TV ad for...something. Fuck. Can't remember what it was, but it sure was inconfuckinggruous.

I love HD and like Sugar very much. Good thing we’ve got both!

I’m glad to have both too!

2541111111111111111111

You can sing “for which I will not stand” to the tune of “what promise have I made” lol

I love Husker Du but Copper Blue is like the best songwriting from them with production that's like a million times better.

I concede that I was not weaned on Du; they were never a watershed band for me and I got into them late. In fact, my favorite album of theirs is the swansong live document because I think the songs simply sound better than the studio albums. I mean, "Ice Cold Ice" off The Living End is so much more urgent and powerful than the studio version.

More though, Grant Hart fans seem to find this blasphemy far more than those who gravitated towards Mould. Which makes sense.

Off Copper Blue
Best: The Act We Act
Runner up: Slick

Hard to choose from "Changes," "A Good Idea," and the keyboard break in "Hoover Dam."

"Here We Go Crazy" is very good.

I agree. I went back to the other five he's done with this trio - I wouldn't recommend listening to them all in one sitting, but on their own, each one really holds up. Even though he's much younger than Dylan (and his music isn't similar at all), it brings to mind Dylan's latter day work in that it's one album after another performed, arranged and produced in roughly the same mold. Like Dylan, he's not trying to redefine his sound anymore, instead he's focusing on what his songs are trying to address or say.

Interview in Rolling Stone is good. This part stood out:

At this point in your life, what does it take to physically rev up to that intensity?

Okay, so the dirty little secret in the business is: If you love a band and the singer or the drummer are over 60, take a look at their tour itinerary and see how many back to backs (shows) they’re doing. That tells you. I know I’m not as spry as I was in my 20s, and I know that I don’t have the raw power I did in my 30s, but I can still summon that every night, the closest I can get to it. I do not sit onstage. I run around and I am soaking wet after 10 minutes.

The hard part is the recovery. The voice is the hardest thing. It’s a lot of water, a lot of sleep, trying not to scream bloody murder every single night. Just little shortcuts. When I’m on tour, I do not talk. I go to soundcheck, and I do a half a song, and I shut up, and I do 90 minutes, and then I shut up. I might say “Starbucks” or “bathroom.” At the after-show, I’m not going to talk to everybody for an hour and a half. If I do that, the tour is over. I’m going to get a lanyard that says, “Can’t talk.”

it's one album after another performed, arranged and produced in roughly the same mold

Don't you mean mould?

lol

NY Times interview discusses what he likes to watch and do. Here's some of it

Morning Walks at Ocean Beach, San Francisco
I have really bad tinnitus from work — I mean, I will never have silence again. So one of my favorite things in life is to get up before the sun comes up, and just walk for two hours. It’s one of the few places where I can get my head right, because all I can hear is the sound of the ocean.

Games
This is so pandering, but no matter where I am, before I look at the news or start returning calls, I get on The New York Times Games app. Spelling Bee is addictive — if I don’t get Genius on it every day, I get really upset. And when I’m home with the husband, we play a lot of Catan, which is quite fun.

Coffee
Since I’m a dry alcoholic, much of my daily existence revolves around coffee — one of the few things I have left. When I get to a town, there’s always a couple of hours between soundcheck and show, so I’ll look on Yelp: “Oh, this one has some reclaimed wood — maybe that’s a third-wave coffee shop!”

New Japan Pro-Wrestling
This is a Japanese company that has their own app that contains the history of their company, which goes back more than 50 years. I enjoy their historical stuff, especially from the early ’90s, when Japanese wrestling was state of the art, and setting the stage for what in-ring American wrestling would look like.

Anne Lamott
I was raised Catholic, and I was able to connect with her on that level, because she’s very spiritual. She writes a lot about parenthood and children and addictions — the choices we make, and the places we end up.

‘Only Murders in the Building’
I love New York City so much, and “Only Murders” is probably my favorite TV show. My husband and I went to New York in April. We were going to go to this weird, like, bear-jockstrap party on Christopher Street, but Fred Armisen said, “You should come over to ‘S.N.L.’!” It was so packed on the floor, and my husband’s like, “Who’s this guy that keeps backing into me?” And it was Martin Short!

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/22/arts/music/bob-mould-favorites.html

a little surprised this is on a 'major label' but i suppose what that means now is very different from what it meant 40 years ago

Yeah, this is great. I like that it's a tight half hour too.

His current run is the best era of his music since Sugar, imo.

it was Martin Short

AKA lead singer of Hüsker Dü's punk progenitors the Queen Haters

in front of me & my kid at the grocery store checkout line this afternoon:

kings hawaiian rolls
hershey syrup