I once played Zen Arcade for coworkers (we were allowed to listen to music at work, and took turns with cassettes). They were all familiar with Bob's solo stuff, but had never heard of, much less heard, Husker Du. They refused to believe that the singer of "Something I Learned Today" and "Broken Home, Broken Heart" was Bob Mould. It wasn't until "Chartered Trips" that they grudgingly accepted that it might be him.
― 5-Hour Enmity (Tarfumes The Escape Goat), Friday, 16 November 2012 16:27 (thirteen years ago)
wow, whenever mould does his "actually fans don't ask about husker they only want to know about sugar" thing i usually figure he's doing his PR stonewalling thing, but i guess it's not that much harder to believe than Cracker fans who have no idea about camper van beethoven
― da croupier, Friday, 16 November 2012 16:32 (thirteen years ago)
this is why we value the friends who got/get itor i do at least. i definitely made a couple of friends by foisting bob mould on them. ah youth.
i haven't even started to make my list yet. i have to be in just the right mood and right now is not it. this is due next wednesday? i think i can handle that but man this is the kind of time warp i'm not sure i'm prepared for! i don't feel unemotional about any HD songs. like, none.
― passion it person (La Lechera), Friday, 16 November 2012 16:34 (thirteen years ago)
i never made a friend by making them listen to bob mould (one guy i made tape of sugar/husker stuff for said they loved the music but hated his voice - double-tracked on Copper Blue it is sort of like alt-Phil Collins) but I can think of two where the first thing that came up was Husker Du. I walked into my first day of a high school filmmaking class wearing a husker du warehouse shirt and a kid who i'd seen around the local comic and cd stores was there and called it out. Later, when I got my first apartment after college, my downstairs neighbor had a Husker Du bumper sticker and I finally introduced myself when I heard him and his wife playing "new day rising" one night. Turned out he had more albums than I did. Still friends with both guys today - one was a groomsman at my wedding. FRIENDSHIP.
― da croupier, Friday, 16 November 2012 16:40 (thirteen years ago)
has there ever been a Zen Arcade poll? Would be interesting
― Master of Treacle, Friday, 16 November 2012 16:41 (thirteen years ago)
Ha, I'd count Paranoid Time and the Black Flags among the greatest rock and roll ever, but that's me.
Oh, I was just being silly really. Buying that tape for Eight Miles High and then hearing Paranoid Time and In A Car for the first time too, fuck yes.
Squinting to try and read the tracklist on La Lechera's tape... Trotsky Icepick covering Magazine eh, is that as terrible as it sounds? Minutemen version of Ain't Talking 'Bout Love is absolutely A++ though.
― Albert Crampus (NickB), Friday, 16 November 2012 16:50 (thirteen years ago)
Ballot sent. Damn, that wasn't easy.
― 5-Hour Enmity (Tarfumes The Escape Goat), Friday, 16 November 2012 16:53 (thirteen years ago)
it's pretty good! i still have it.
this is awesome and pretty much just like the originalhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2qed8vLVT7Q
― passion it person (La Lechera), Friday, 16 November 2012 16:58 (thirteen years ago)
I have no idea who Revolution 409 are, but they sound a bit like SWA with a different singer.
― Albert Crampus (NickB), Friday, 16 November 2012 17:03 (thirteen years ago)
I'd be interested to know what people think of "Don't know yet". Do you think it's a waste of space like "The wit and the wisdom"? Or is it a beautiful piece of psychedelia? The second view is my opinion. I'm sure I've said this years ago on here, but when I heard "Don't know yet" it was like finding something I'd be looking for - I'd always thought the idea of psychedelia was better than 90% of the actual music, and was looking for backwards guitars, weird dissonances, that sort of thing, and I found it in the last track of "Flip your wig", of all places.
― Rob M Revisited, Friday, 16 November 2012 17:04 (thirteen years ago)
Not perfect, but has its moments. Ode to Bob Mould. Better than TMBG's Replacements song...
Love this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nhbrMgSfR0w
― clemenza, Friday, 16 November 2012 17:10 (thirteen years ago)
I love love Don't Know Yet. Random huskermentals all almost all great to me. I sort of include the weird toytown interlude on Candy Apple Gray in that.
― multiple decades of jazz (Jon Lewis), Friday, 16 November 2012 17:32 (thirteen years ago)
Yeah, I love the two endsongs on FYW, and "Reoccurring Dreams" placed high in my ballot. It's a shame they never did anything like that again.
― 5-Hour Enmity (Tarfumes The Escape Goat), Friday, 16 November 2012 17:40 (thirteen years ago)
http://www.thirdav.com/hd_images/im1980xxxx_longhorn.jpg
― Albert Crampus (NickB), Friday, 16 November 2012 17:46 (thirteen years ago)
http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lq7k8ge1rz1qffv5do1_500.png
^ have never seen this photo before!
― Albert Crampus (NickB), Friday, 16 November 2012 17:51 (thirteen years ago)
guy in the middle is john giorno iinm, who i guess introduced the two parties
― Albert Crampus (NickB), Friday, 16 November 2012 17:53 (thirteen years ago)
Playing it again for this poll reminded me that I think it's impact and construction (a hardcore double concept album) was more important than the song content.
Not sure how this works - they pull the concept off bcz most of the songs are written and executed to work within it.
Feel the blog post feigns a mystery...but sure there is a kind of junkyard aura to it. The craft may have been sharper but they sounded much more over the place over other records that lessen the impact of the songs. These days I would only play a side or two off Zen Arcade and Games.
― xyzzzz__, Friday, 16 November 2012 17:56 (thirteen years ago)
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-dNhk7UbV7RA/T2n3qGshoPI/AAAAAAAAAXE/d8Jg7s9bcjI/s1600/HuskerDu-lr.jpg
^ how's this for junkyard aura?
― Albert Crampus (NickB), Friday, 16 November 2012 18:01 (thirteen years ago)
Perfect.
― xyzzzz__, Friday, 16 November 2012 18:02 (thirteen years ago)
looks like they're just about to hop on a railway car into the zone
― Albert Crampus (NickB), Friday, 16 November 2012 18:02 (thirteen years ago)
Looks like home.
― passion it person (La Lechera), Friday, 16 November 2012 18:38 (thirteen years ago)
Pulled this up from eight years ago fully expecting to be mortified, but it's not bad (though I now suspect what I long thought was 1983 was just early 1984):
http://blogs.citypages.com/pscholtes/2004/05/i_hate_1984_bob_you.php
― Pete Scholtes, Friday, 16 November 2012 19:15 (thirteen years ago)
Any of you Septics seen Hüsker Düdes? Any good?
― Jessie Fer Ark (Mobbed Up Ping Pong Psychos), Friday, 16 November 2012 19:29 (thirteen years ago)
Two videos, both of "New Day Rising," on their Facebook page. Surprisingly close vocals!
― Pete Scholtes, Friday, 16 November 2012 19:39 (thirteen years ago)
Great piece, Pete, and otm re: the Pixies.
― 5-Hour Enmity (Tarfumes The Escape Goat), Friday, 16 November 2012 19:40 (thirteen years ago)
I've meant to see them a zillion times but don't want to see HD cover band by myself. WOULD GO though!
― passion it person (La Lechera), Friday, 16 November 2012 20:55 (thirteen years ago)
Speaking of which: http://youtu.be/FvnEcz6PJKQ?t=3m48s
― pplains, Friday, 16 November 2012 21:02 (thirteen years ago)
!!!
― WilliamC, Friday, 16 November 2012 21:10 (thirteen years ago)
OK, that is by far the least-expected live cover I have ever heard (or heard of).
― 5-Hour Enmity (Tarfumes The Escape Goat), Friday, 16 November 2012 21:16 (thirteen years ago)
New Day Rising is one of my top 3 for purely personal reasons but what a great bunch of noise it is!!
― passion it person (La Lechera), Friday, 16 November 2012 21:22 (thirteen years ago)
OMG PP!
― Albert Crampus (NickB), Friday, 16 November 2012 21:30 (thirteen years ago)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aEwecfmxjLs
^ everyone heard the Anthrax cover of Celebrated Summer already?
― Albert Crampus (NickB), Friday, 16 November 2012 21:32 (thirteen years ago)
Never forget: classified ad from the nascent Pixies looking for a bassist "into Hüsker Dü and Peter, Paul and Mary."
― Josh in Chicago, Friday, 16 November 2012 22:01 (thirteen years ago)
Will anyone say a good word for anything from Land Speed Record? I can't remember exactly at what point I bought it, but probably before New Day Rising came out. I played it through once, and I'm pretty sure that was it.
― clemenza, Friday, 16 November 2012 22:07 (thirteen years ago)
Really liked Christgau likening it to ambient music.
― Josh in Chicago, Friday, 16 November 2012 22:14 (thirteen years ago)
Hüsker Dü: Land Speed Record [New Alliance, 1981]Like a good Eno ambient, this raving nonstop live one provides just enough surface detail--recombinant noise guitar, voices tailing off like skyrockets, slogans such as "data control," "do the bee," and "ultracore"--to function as mood rather than trance music, though admittedly not for the same kind of mood. Guaranteed to assuage the nervous tension of co-op conversion, labor strife, bad orgasm, World War III, and other modern urban annoyances. In other words: aarrghhh! B+
LSR is good for what it is, but I still kinda think of it as the Chuck Cunningham of Husker Du's discography.
― pplains, Friday, 16 November 2012 22:16 (thirteen years ago)
The Chuck Mosley of the Husker Du discography.
― Josh in Chicago, Friday, 16 November 2012 22:18 (thirteen years ago)
Christgau's review was part of why I bought it. Even now, I had to look up "remcombinant."
― clemenza, Friday, 16 November 2012 22:20 (thirteen years ago)
To me it's the sound of familiar Mould chord patterns and sonics chopped and psyched up, which is why it's so good
― Master of Treacle, Friday, 16 November 2012 22:44 (thirteen years ago)
one guy i made tape of sugar/husker stuff for said they loved the music but hated his voice - double-tracked on Copper Blue it is sort of like alt-Phil Collins
LOL wouldn't be the first or last time I've heard his voice compared to Phil
But I still think BM sounds incredibly similar to Gabriel.
― Master of Treacle, Friday, 16 November 2012 22:47 (thirteen years ago)
Can't wait to get really started on this, but used to love " Don't Know Yet". It was my introduction to ambient/ cafe del mar/ coffee table schmooze .I'm almost serious.Used to drop that one as a mix tape closer all over the shop.
"alt Phil Collins" Heh heh. There's one solo song of Mould's first (Dreaming I am) which I adore, BUT, on them opening lines to the first verse, it is Collins ffs.
― Jessie Fer Ark (Mobbed Up Ping Pong Psychos), Friday, 16 November 2012 23:01 (thirteen years ago)
No Promise Have I Made is the closest the du ever came to Phil Collins, but I love the song.
― Josh in Chicago, Friday, 16 November 2012 23:03 (thirteen years ago)
First time I ever listened to Husker Du in high school, I thought Bob sounded like Axl's verses in "It's So Easy" and Grant kinda sounded like the high parts.
I… I don't know if I would support this little theory today.
― pplains, Friday, 16 November 2012 23:09 (thirteen years ago)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oRwUJ5dmsv8
^ Just to rep for some early stuff, probably not going to vote for it but here's Call On Me, which is a Land Speed Record era tune but sounds a lot more like Mission of Burma than anything else
― Albert Crampus (NickB), Friday, 16 November 2012 23:12 (thirteen years ago)
Husker Du is probably one of my 7 or 8 all-time favorite bands...and yet, I've never heard Land Speed Record.
― 5-Hour Enmity (Tarfumes The Escape Goat), Saturday, 17 November 2012 00:05 (thirteen years ago)
The dude in high school that introduced me to Husker Du was wearing a LSR t-shirt when I met him.
Thought it was bad-ass in that Desert Storm era.
― pplains, Saturday, 17 November 2012 00:15 (thirteen years ago)
some of that 7th entry footage is so insane
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wqnvmlGeCKk
and3w 2 years agoArcade Fire say a prayer to their pussy god every fucking night, wishing that they could sound as good as this.
― da croupier, Saturday, 17 November 2012 00:23 (thirteen years ago)
"QUIT YER BITCHIN, IT'S ALL IN FUN! SHUT UP!" i assume is re the new wave fashion
― da croupier, Saturday, 17 November 2012 00:26 (thirteen years ago)
I assume folks are familiar with this?http://youtu.be/1qwrl_dru5ABecause holy shit.
― 5-Hour Enmity (Tarfumes The Escape Goat), Saturday, 17 November 2012 01:35 (thirteen years ago)