Never saw that London footage!
!!!!!!!
― Pete Scholtes, Saturday, 17 November 2012 15:55 (eleven years ago) link
Sometimes I don't think it's until "Warehouse" that Mould finally catches up to Hart in the pop department. "Flip Your Wig" certainly comes close, but Mould takes a step back on "Candy." But "Warehouse" is the first one where I have real trouble deciding who has the better set of songs, though none of Mould's are as good as "She Floated Away" or "You Can Live at Home."
― Josh in Chicago, Saturday, 17 November 2012 18:10 (eleven years ago) link
Here's something weird:
Song credits were usually (Hart) or (Mould). Sometimes (Hart/Mould).
And then there were times like on New Day Rising when songs were credited to (Mould/Husker Du), which makes it seem like Mould somehow wrote a song with himself.
Usually, those (Person/Band) credits imply that one guy thought of the words and the band made the music. So for "New Day Rising", Mould came up with the lyrics "New day rising!" and the music came from all band members.
Except, you go to the BMI Database and credits for "New Day Rising" or "How To Skin a Cat" are given to Mould and Norton only.
In other words, if Hart and Mould collaborated on a song like "If I Told You", it's credited (Hart/Mould), but if Mould and Norton wrote a song together, it was attributed to (Mould/Husker Du).
The hell?
― pplains, Saturday, 17 November 2012 18:23 (eleven years ago) link
I was trying to search through the archives for a past youtube of a Husker show that Frank Kogan posted (or said he liked). Can't find it now..
― xyzzzz__, Saturday, 17 November 2012 18:42 (eleven years ago) link
XP Sorry, I'm going to be sidetracked looking at that BMI database for a while. Is there a PRS equivalent?
― Rob M Revisited, Saturday, 17 November 2012 18:43 (eleven years ago) link
Maybe that was a deal that Grant and Bob struck with Greg, to give him credit for those two songs. Otherwise, he wouldn't have gotten songwriting royalties on anything other than "Everytime" (which likely doesn't amount to much).
There's a bunch of Talking Heads songs credited to "David Byrne/Talking Heads," which just seems like Byrne being a dick.
― 5-Hour Enmity (Tarfumes The Escape Goat), Saturday, 17 November 2012 18:47 (eleven years ago) link
Kogan? I'm surprised. I associate Frank with the time he congratulated Nirvana for their "synthesis of Husker Du type music with Bob Mould type vocals." (xxpost)
― clemenza, Saturday, 17 November 2012 18:48 (eleven years ago) link
Mould. Buck. Young. Trick.http://youtu.be/3RMJwwl0h0U
― 5-Hour Enmity (Tarfumes The Escape Goat), Saturday, 17 November 2012 20:51 (eleven years ago) link
That's great--into the Neil Young Covers file it goes.
― clemenza, Saturday, 17 November 2012 21:27 (eleven years ago) link
I VOTED! :D
― Johnny Fever, Monday, 19 November 2012 00:07 (eleven years ago) link
Shit, I better do my ballot tonight, I'll be too busy later in the week.
― WilliamC, Monday, 19 November 2012 03:04 (eleven years ago) link
Sent.
― WilliamC, Monday, 19 November 2012 04:34 (eleven years ago) link
^^ 10 ballots have now been received.
― pplains, Monday, 19 November 2012 05:50 (eleven years ago) link
voted!
super easy to compile list of songs, but not so easy to put them in an ordermy first three all begin the same way
DRUMS DRUMS DRUMS
― passion it person (La Lechera), Monday, 19 November 2012 14:45 (eleven years ago) link
Serious question: (since this is apparently the day I have dedicated to thinking about Hüsker Dü all day, even on my way to the dentist)
Can someone change my mind about Candy Apple Grey being mostly weak? That album just kinda makes me bored aside from a few notable exceptions -- Sorry Somehow (<3 this song so much), Don't Want to Know If You Are Lonely (I used to like it compared to the rest of them), and Hardly Getting Over It (which is like the classic mopey Bob song for me -- his singing is so weird on it and it kinda reminds me of a Chris Bell song for some reason.)
But other than that, kinda sterile, and not my thing. (Note: I initially had it on cassette and used to know exactly how long it took to ffw through Eiffel Tower High.)
― passion it person (La Lechera), Monday, 19 November 2012 19:57 (eleven years ago) link
Even the song titles have the same boring rhythm
All This I've Done for YOUNo Promise Have I Made
Also Dead Set on Destruction is good. Grant's singing sounds energetic.
― passion it person (La Lechera), Monday, 19 November 2012 19:59 (eleven years ago) link
oops that you was not supposed to be caps
ha
"Candy Apple Grey" is my least favorite Husker's album.
― Josh in Chicago, Monday, 19 November 2012 20:06 (eleven years ago) link
It has a handful of great songs on it, but the rest is just color by numbers, it seems. It's when Bob started singing every song exactly the same way or something and Grant kept singing more melodically. The Grant songs are way better than the Bob songs on that album, to me at least.
― passion it person (La Lechera), Monday, 19 November 2012 20:11 (eleven years ago) link
I was enamored of pretty much everything Husker Du did at the time, so I liked Candy Apple Grey a lot. I don't really want to listen to it to check, but thinking about the two ballads, my guess is they wouldn't hold up at all. I did vote for "Dead Set on Destruction," which I gave a quick listen to and it still sounded great.
― clemenza, Monday, 19 November 2012 20:52 (eleven years ago) link
Kind of agree about "Candy apple grey". It was my first Husker Du album and liked it enough until I dug deeper and got more albums. But some of it is weak - "I don't know for sure" is such an obvious rewrite of "Makes no sense at all". There's good on there, but better elsewhere. I think there's 3 songs on my ballot from it, but I've not edited it down from 30 to 20 songs yet.
― Rob M Revisited, Monday, 19 November 2012 21:01 (eleven years ago) link
I still have a soft spot for Candy Apple Grey, but no, I can't defend it either.
Along the lines of every song title is somewhat the same, seems like 8/10 songs start with the same drum roll.
And I do like Eiffel Tower High. went. into. the movies. SHE'S BEEN THERE EVER SINCE. BOX OF JUNIOR MINTS.
― pplains, Monday, 19 November 2012 21:03 (eleven years ago) link
BTW Hardly Getting Over It reminds me of Speed of Sound but I can't really say why aside from the similar parts at the end.
― passion it person (La Lechera), Monday, 19 November 2012 21:05 (eleven years ago) link
I wrote a song with lots of wordsbut I don't know for sureIt could be good and it could be badbut I don't know for sureIt could be something blablablablablaSomething somethingSo WhatI DON'T KNOOOOOOW
i'm paraphrasing obvs but this album has some all time lazy songwriting from BobGrant's songs, however are great!!
Sorry Somehow is SO GOOD.
― passion it person (La Lechera), Monday, 19 November 2012 21:09 (eleven years ago) link
I always thought "Could You Be the One" was the rewrite of "Makes No Sense", but now you got me thinking.
― pplains, Monday, 19 November 2012 21:14 (eleven years ago) link
they're all the same!
― passion it person (La Lechera), Monday, 19 November 2012 21:21 (eleven years ago) link
XP - "Eiffel tower high" has made me want to find a box of Junior Mints since 1990, and I finally found one this year in a speciality sweet shop in Cardiff.
― Rob M Revisited, Monday, 19 November 2012 21:23 (eleven years ago) link
any old gas station in the USA has junior mintsjust don't leave them in a hot place or you will get the monomint
― passion it person (La Lechera), Monday, 19 November 2012 21:24 (eleven years ago) link
Love Candy Apple Grey, and for a while it was my favorite record of theirs. I still like the mopey Bob songs, and at the time I took them as a sign of growth/expansion (ditto the organ on "Sorry Somehow"). The only dud on it (relatively speaking) for me is "I Don't Know For Sure," which sounds like a half-assed "Makes No Sense At All." But "Dead Set" is all time.
― 5-Hour Enmity (Tarfumes The Escape Goat), Monday, 19 November 2012 21:29 (eleven years ago) link
"Sorry Somehow" features maybe the most empathetic Grant vox other than on "Green Eyes." Or maybe "Flexible Flyer." Though of course shred-vox on "Girl Who Lives On Heaven Hill" >>>>>>>>.
― Josh in Chicago, Monday, 19 November 2012 21:48 (eleven years ago) link
xp - Yeah, I can see that. I guess you're seeing the high points and I'm still annoyed that I had to ffw my tape. My edit of Candy Apple Grey would be an EP with 6 songs on it. It's 2012, maybe that's how it should be.
I like Grant's vocals throughout this album, honestly.
Here's another question: what's the general opinion on "Green Eyes"? I used to be so embarrassed to like this song because it's so earnest and cheesy, but oh did I like it.
― passion it person (La Lechera), Monday, 19 November 2012 21:51 (eleven years ago) link
I can't think of any Grant vocal that I even mildly dislike, now that I think about it. Bob, on the other hand, became progressively less interesting to me as a vocalist when he became less screamy. I'm not saying he shoulda been all-screamy, but the earnestness of his non-screamy voice is about 90% of why I could never get into any of his post-HD stuff.
― 5-Hour Enmity (Tarfumes The Escape Goat), Monday, 19 November 2012 21:55 (eleven years ago) link
And "Green Eyes" rules.
"Green Eyes" is beautiful. Another Pixies story is that Black Francis apparently used to start the day listening to "Green Eyes" over and over again. Certainly you can hear it echoed in "Wave of Mutilation."
― Josh in Chicago, Monday, 19 November 2012 21:57 (eleven years ago) link
BTW, in the off chance anyone out there has not heard Grant's solo debut, it is nigh-perfect.
yknow what else? i'm gonna go out on a limb and say that grant sings great songs about girls
girl who lives on heaven hillpink turns to blueshe floated awaybooks about UFOs diane (omg do i have a weird story about this one)
and so on!
― passion it person (La Lechera), Monday, 19 November 2012 21:59 (eleven years ago) link
"She's a Woman and Now He is a Man"!
― Josh in Chicago, Monday, 19 November 2012 22:02 (eleven years ago) link
yeah i mean lots of em! those were the ones i thought of before i got tired of typing!
― passion it person (La Lechera), Monday, 19 November 2012 22:03 (eleven years ago) link
This is fun harvesting votes for this poll. I've been listening and re-listening to a whole bunch of stuff, and the best part is that I get to do it again next week with the rollout.
― pplains, Tuesday, 20 November 2012 05:25 (eleven years ago) link
Finally put my ballot in. It wasn't easy. Had to keep saying to myself, "Okay, so you really would prefer to never hear this one again compared to the one in front of it?"
― pplains, Tuesday, 20 November 2012 05:27 (eleven years ago) link
Can someone change my mind about Candy Apple Grey being mostly weak?
Ha, the first three songs I was going to cite as evidence of its greatness are the three you mentioned anyway... I love it, it's not quite my favourite but it was the first of their albums I heard and I fell in love with it immediately. I like all three of the mopey ballads, 'I Don't Know For Sure' sounds nicely pissed off and has some cool chord changes, 'All This I've Done for You' is a great anthemic closer ('Dead Set on Destruction' would have been too)... There's nothing on it I dislike really.
― Gavin, Leeds, Tuesday, 20 November 2012 09:23 (eleven years ago) link
At some basic level I pretty much rejected Candy Apple Grey and I still don't quite know why. I'm sure the jump to Warners played a part. But I remember listening to it and wanting it to be good. All the songs mentioned had been in my head since hearing them live the previous year, and some are among their best--"Don't Want to Know" has got to be. But even now the production kept it low on my ballot, if it stayed on.
Bob, on the other hand, became progressively less interesting to me as a vocalist when he became less screamy.
Yeah, he was just doing something very amazing and very jazz as a punk singer that he kind of returned to here and there as a pop singer, but not as much. You hear it in his solo live acoustic performances a lot, abstracting things out in a soulful way.
― Pete Scholtes, Tuesday, 20 November 2012 11:53 (eleven years ago) link
Breakdown of my ballot, by album. (Anything not listed is a zero, obv.)
Metal Circus: 2Zen Arcade: 2New Day Rising: 5Flip Your Wig: 4Candy Apple Grey: 2Warehouse: 4
Doesn't exactly reflect my order of album preference -- Zen Arcade is underrepresented because to me it's so much more an album than a set of tunes, and Warehouse is overrepresented for the inverse reason I guess. But it's hard to argue that New Day/Wig isn't their absolute peak.
― something of an astrological coup (tipsy mothra), Tuesday, 20 November 2012 13:43 (eleven years ago) link
Oh, and the reason that doesn't add up is there was one single-only vote.
― something of an astrological coup (tipsy mothra), Tuesday, 20 November 2012 13:47 (eleven years ago) link
Doesn't exactly reflect my order of album preference
Same with me except with New Day Rising.
Weird how that works. The same goes for another SST band: Meat Puppets II has the better songs, but Up On the Sun is the better album.
― pplains, Tuesday, 20 November 2012 14:29 (eleven years ago) link
Yeah, he was just doing something very amazing and very jazz as a punk singer
That's a good way of putting it. The problems I have with later Mould mirror those I have with post-Fables Stipe: enunciation doesn't suit their voices well, and what used to be intriguingly mysterious became earnest and hectoring.
At some basic level I pretty much rejected Candy Apple Grey and I still don't quite know why. I'm sure the jump to Warners played a part.
I remember very clearly when CAG came out. There was a record store ad on the back of a local music paper listing new releases, and I thought, "Weird, someone screwed up and put a Warners logo on the new Husker Du record. Or they did that as a joke." Even though the Replacements were on Sire, the idea of HD on Warners was just nuts.
― 5-Hour Enmity (Tarfumes The Escape Goat), Tuesday, 20 November 2012 14:39 (eleven years ago) link
Hey guys you should listen to Land Speed Record it is rad.
― in an English way (flamboyant goon tie included), Tuesday, 20 November 2012 14:42 (eleven years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0jWmX5wRea4&feature=related
― Josh in Chicago, Tuesday, 20 November 2012 14:44 (eleven years ago) link
Ironically, the live clip played was never recorded as Husker Du. It's from Grant's first album.
― Josh in Chicago, Tuesday, 20 November 2012 14:45 (eleven years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ss_D5gwChxg&feature=related
― Josh in Chicago, Tuesday, 20 November 2012 14:50 (eleven years ago) link