Husker Du : Classic or Dud, Search and Destroy.

"In a Free Land" is the greatest

the gut!
from the gut!

it hurts!
hurts so much!!!

I don't think there are 15 songs better than "Crystal"

"In a Free Land" is the greatest

I don't think there are 15 songs better than "Crystal"

― dorsalstop,

Perhaps, but there at least 150,000 better openers.

“Crystal” has the last best screams of Mould’s career. There could be no more perfect opener to their major-label debut to silence hipsters and reassure nervous fans.

The build to the last chorus on ' Whatever' is great. Love 'Newest Industry' too, that one just races along.

Interview with Bob in the Guardian today. I teared up a bit reading this part:

Mould eventually returned to guitar music with 2005’s Body of Song, and in 2011 wrote his memoir, See a Little Light. But while he’d made some peace with his sexuality and his traumatic childhood, there had been no reconciliation with Hart, his collaborator and competitor in Hüsker Dü. They’d maintained a frosty distance over the decades, until finally agreeing to collaborate on what became Savage Young Dü, a 2017 box-set of archival pre-fame recordings. However, Hart wouldn’t live to see its release.

“I was told Grant’s health had taken a turn, so I flew to Minneapolis from Berlin, where I was living,” he says. “We spent a weekend together, and it was wonderful. We cleared everything up, and laughed about the past, and cried about it, too. We shared a lot of funny stories, a lot of personal moments. I’ve never spoken about it before now. But ultimately, our relationship ended as well as it could have. I was really grateful to have that chance, that time with him.”

Interview is here, hope the link works:

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2020/sep/30/bob-mould-alt-rocks-gay-icon-takes-on-american-evil-my-heads-on-fire?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other

"...having just compiled an exhaustive 24-CD box set of his post-Hüsker Dü output"

Damn. I guess this sort of thing is more common nowadays with the rise of the comprehensive niche market box set, but it's stunning to see Mould's solo career get the kind of treatment once reserved for, say, Duke Ellington's complete RCA recordings or Mozart's symphonies.

Yup, was just going to link to that interview and passage. Really happy there was some reconciliation between those guys.

I mean, I hope there was, though Mould is of course in the advantageous rhetorical position of being alive.

Really happy there was some reconciliation between those guys.

― xyzzzz__, Wednesday, September 30, 2020 1:34 PM (two days ago) bookmarkflaglink

Ditto

As the years went on and they seemed at loggerheads, it was always sad to me. It is sad that it took Grant dying to cut that ice, but I'm glad they did get to have some closure.

Hopefully the original Husker Du multitracks are out there some place ok, at this point never know. It is happening out there some, but it is really time for some one to start archiving up all the old punk rock etc. anyway. I know University of Louisville has been building up a small library of the punk & after rock scene there.

Bob said there was a warming of relations while they worked on the box set, but it was definitely Grant's turn for the worst that precipitated that final weekend.

there's a load of live stuff turning up on Dime at the moment

period specific or all over the place?

all over

Hopefully the original Husker Du multitracks are out there some place ok, at this point never know. It is happening out there some, but it is really time for some one to start archiving up all the old punk rock etc. anyway. I know University of Louisville has been building up a small library of the punk & after rock scene there.

― earlnash, Saturday, October 3, 2020 8:34 AM (two days ago) bookmarkflaglink

they probably are in the possession of noted fuckhead greg ginn :/

yup

well, not Everything Falls Apart, but all the SST stuff

Is there anything keeping the Warner era stuff from getting the reissue treatment?

I mean, I see there were some new vinyl pressings in 2014 but is there a reason why nothing else is happening?

I think it was just the internal workings or lack of agreement within the band itself. WB always paid them royalties in a timely manner, still do, so the band never had any business or professional issues with the label. The only thing they released after they split was that live album (an excellent one even if the mix used too much echo on certain tracks), and it was done while Mould had his hands full with Sugar. Even though Mould signed off on it, he didn't bother to listen to it and claims he still hasn't.

I'm not sure this band left behind a ton of unused stuff, especially toward the end.

I have a 13-track file of Candy Apple Grey demos and a disc of New Day Rising rehearsals, fwiw

Oh, they exist. Just not a lot of unused songs, iirc.

oh sorry, yes I agree that actual unused outtake songs are probably thin to nonexistent

Thanks, was just curious. Even with the slim pickings, I wouldn't mind reissues of those last two albums while we continue to wait for Ginn to get his shit together reissues on the SST stuff.

I don't think the SST stuff will ever happen. It really sucks, but I don't think Ginn has an interest/the wherewithal to commit to a remastering/reissue project, and I don't think Bob's focus is on that period of his career (though if he's kept off the road much longer maybe he'll change his mind). It's frustrating, given Meat Puppets and Dinosaur were able to rescue their SST work, but...

When I was researching my Black Flag book I remember telling Carducci that the absence of any reissued/remastered Husker Du catalogue releases from the SST was a disgrace, and he argued that those CDs sound as good as they'll ever sound, which I strongly disagree with.

I've honestly never had a problem with them. We're not talking, like, "Aja" here.

I mean, I guess I agree with you, but my brother's CD of Zen Arcade sounds pretty wussy compared to my ancient vinyl copy.

I have no doubt different printings have different qualities, but wasn't that album recorded and mixed in something like 48 hours? There's only so good it's going to sound.

I feel like we've gone into the CD vs LP thing here before, consensus is that the LPs are better

I agree that it's no Steely Dan, but stevie is right - my vinyl pressing of Zen Arcade sounds significantly better than my CD. And I say that as no sort of audiophile, but it's a vast improvement. I'm assuming the same might be said for the other SST albums, but I only have those on CD.

I suppose, but it's still shades of aggro blaaaarg. Like, I don't think the albums sound any worse than how all the, say, Minutemen or Sonic Youth or Dino Jr. or whatever albums on SST sound, they're all sort of limited by their, well, limitations. Compared, for the sake of then-contemporary frame of reference, to something like Mission of Burma, which was a lot more sophisticated in its studio conception and benefitted more from getting cleaned up.

I don't think Josh is wrong about this. I'm sure the transfers could be better, especially if they do it in DSD, and for my tastes, it needs some EQ to restore some muscle (bring down the treble and upper mids, nudge up the bass). But these are still lo-fi recordings, and there's only so much room for improvement. I guess some people may want it compressed into a congested mess, but that ain't for me.

Spot gonna Spot

There's a November 1987 rehearsal tape of them playing a bunch of post-Warehouse song ideas, some great stuff in there

I feel like we've gone into the CD vs LP thing here before, consensus is that the LPs are better

fify

I don't think the albums sound any worse than how all the, say, Minutemen or Sonic Youth or Dino Jr. or whatever albums on SST sound, they're all sort of limited by their, well, limitations.

I disagree there, tbh - Sister is a well-produced album recorded in a decent studio. And You're Living All Over Me on SST CD was flat and really shoddy - there was a two-second gap between Kracked and Sludgefeast! - wheras the Merge reissue sounded much, much better. Obviously there's only so much you could polish it, but there's still room for improvement. And I thought the Savage Young Du version of the Everything Falls Apart tracks sounded much better than that Warners reissue from the 90s.

There's a November 1987 rehearsal tape of them playing a bunch of post-Warehouse song ideas, some great stuff in there

oh yikes, where is that?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UV9RN5HEbxY

Though I'm not sure there's unreleased stuff there. All that comes to mind is "Now That You Know Me" (which Grant released) and ... "Gotta Lotta," which was a b-side? And something Greg sang, I think?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJr6GIyUi80

I'll be real here, part of me wants these reissues because I think we are in a time where glorified reissues really help to cement a band's legacy (for better or worse, this is a whole different discussion about how valuable this really might be) and I cannot think of many '80s bands that deserve it more than them. I'm pissed that it couldn't have happened while Grant was still around. Not that Husker Du is some forgotten act or whatever, but I look at something like Matador's great Pavement reissue campaign, something that I think really contributed to the strength of their legacy right now.

And it's not like Bob is completely unafraid to look back, given his recent HUEG solo box set.

I cannot think of many '80s bands that deserve it more than them

*cough* MINUTEMEN *cough*

but yes, point taken and I agree

Thanks Josh!

Oh for sure, Minutemen are a close second in my book, now that The 'Mats has been covered.

The Minutemen are even more tricky because their catalog can feel confusing and sprawling to a newcomer.

You think? I think it's pretty well organized and accessible!