Hüsker Dü: Savage Young Dü (2017)

This was an early birthday present to myself. Amazon was selling it for about half price, and I had to get it. The set cover the band's first three years, and contains Land Speed Record, Everything Falls Apart, and two records containing a bunch of unreleased tracks. The whole thing amounts to a sonic onslaught. Perhaps the best thing about the box set is the hardcover book. It's awesome. It was actually cheaper to buy this box set than to track dow a copy of Everything Falls Apart on vinyl. I couldn't lose.

There were a few limited edition sets that had coloured vinyl and a bonus 7" single, but this works very well for me. I wonder if there will be a part two for the later years.

Hüsker Dü: Eight Miles High / Makes No Sense At All (1990)

She said Husker Du got huge, but they started in St. Paul
Do you remember "Makes No Sense At All?"

We Can Get Together, The Hold Steady

Makes No Sense At All was the only single released from Flip Your Wig. In 1990, it was joined with a pre-Zen Arcade single, Eight Mikes High (the cover of the Byrds track) and two other tracks: Masochism World and Love is All Around, the band's improbable cover of the theme to the Mary Tyler Moore show. How bizarre is that? I get the Minneapolis connection, but that is just weird, though I think it works. (In other words, this record combines SST 025 and SST 051).

Anyway, this four track compilation or EP was released on CD, cassette, and 10" vinyl. In 1991, it was repressed only on 10" black, green marbled, or purple marbled vinyl. I have a copy of the purple marbled version.

Hüsker Dü: Warehouse: Songs And Stories (1987)

I will argue that Warehouse is Hüsker Dü's best record. I think the band comes near to the sound of Sugar, which makes sense. Sadly, they broke up right after this, but Bob Mould went on to have a very successful solo career, and then there was his time with Sugar, a band I thought was truly awesome. I saw Bob in a solo acoustic set at Lee Palace in Toronto many years ago. It was a brief show, but he seemed to put everything he had into the performance.

Hüsker Dü: Sorry Somehow (1986)

The Sorry Somehow EP, pressed in the UK only, contains:

Side One
"Sorry Somehow" (Hart)
"All This I've Done For You" (Mould)

Side Two
"Flexible Flyer" (Hart)
"Celebrated Summer" (Mould)
"Fattie" (Mould/Hart)

The two tracks on side one are from Candy Apple Grey, two tracks in side B are acoustic efforts of earlier tracks recorded live at The Roxy Theatre in Hollywood. Fattie is a noisy and intriguing instrumental.

Hüsker Dü: Flip Your Wig (1985)

"Flip Your Wig would be a remarkable record on its own terms, but the fact that it followed New Day Rising by a matter of months and Zen Arcade by just over a year is simply astonishing." [source]

Is this Hüsker Dü's best record? Maybe it is. Maybe it's Warehouse or New Day Rising or Zen Arcade.

Hüsker Dü: Candy Apple Grey (1986)

Candy Apple Grey is Hüsker Dü's major label debut, after moving from SST to Warner. The band managed to retain its style, for the most part, and so I would call this record a logical continuation of the sound they had achieved. One thing that changed is the inclusion of two acoustic tracks that would have not seemed possible in the past. Beyond that, the sound seems generally more well-rounded. It's great, of course.

Hüsker Dü: New Day Rising (1985)

There's a "Girl On Heaven Hill"
I come up to her cabin still
She said Hüsker Dü got huge, but they started in St. Paul

- We Can Get Together, The Hold Steady

Amazing. Really, this is fantastic. Just read what the reviewer at Popmatters says:

"I say this with utter, unwavering conviction: Hüsker Dü is the most criminally underappreciated alt-rock band of the pre-Nirvana era. While contemporaries like R.E.M. and Sonic Youth have joined the rock canon, Hüsker Dü (which consisted of vocalist/guitarist Bob Mould, vocalist/drummer Grant Hart, and bassist Greg Norton) remains relatively unknown, and is often forgotten in the modern narrative of the development of the American underground scene in the 1980s. This is especially troubling since Hüsker Dü was the group responsible for pioneering the sonic hallmarks traditionally associated with alternative rock: the potent mix of distortion and pop melodies, the angst-filled lyrics, and even the rhythm of the guitars" [source]

Although this came out in 1985, I have the SST 1990 repressing on black vinyl.

Hüsker Dü: Zen Arcade (1984)

Just when it seemed like Hüsker Dü couldn't record a release longer than 30 minutes, out comes Zen Arcade, clocking in a 69 minutes. So many good things have been said about this record, it's difficult to add anything meaningful. Wikipedia says this:

"Zen Arcade and subsequent Hüsker Dü albums were instrumental in the creation of the alternative rock genre; the band would later abandon the hardcore aesthetic entirely in favor of a post-hardcore style of melodic, guitar-driven alternative rock. While not commercially successful, the influence of Zen Arcade has stretched beyond the underground music sphere. It is frequently included on lists of the all-time best rock and roll albums and it continues to have a cult following." [source]

Allmusic says this:

"In many ways, it's impossible to overestimate the impact of Hüsker Dü's Zen Arcade on the American rock underground in the '80s. It's the record that exploded the limits of hardcore and what it could achieve." [source]

I'll leave it at that.

Hüsker Dü: Metal Circus (1983)

Metal Circus is a 10" EP with 7 brief tracks. (There is also a 12" version of this record). This is simply an amazing record.  The sound, the atmosphere, the raging guitars, and the lyrics are exceptional. There is far more melody here than in the band's debut LP. It's hard to reconcile the LP vs EP labels, because this EP is about the same length as Land Speed Record, which I think is generally regarded to be an LP

This is music that is probably more suited to a younger man, yet I am sure none of my kids would ever want to hear it...yet. Here's a track with Grant Hart on lead vocals.

Hüsker Dü: Land Speed Record (1982)

Here we have one of Craig Finn's favourite bands. Hüsker Dü (or Husker Du) is a classic example of a virtually unknown (at least at the time) yet legendary punk trio. I suppose we should refer to them as having a cult following, rather than being completely unknown. They never got the attention that they deserved, until later, it seems to me. But, if you were in college or university back in the day, it's likely you might have heard of them, especially if your campus had a good radio station.

In some ways, the band reminds me of the Velvet Underground, another band that was ignored, but in time, proved to be remarkably influential. I think it can be argued, as Allmusic has done, that Hüsker Dü laid the foundation for the grungy scene that came later with the Pixies, The Replacements, and Nirvana (and I would add The Hold Steady).

Land Speed record contains a whopping seventeen songs recorded live, yet the entire record clocks in at only 26 minutes. That should tell you that the whole record is fast and furious and sadly, verging on the unlistenable. The band went on to do much better things, but this record makes an impressive opening salvo. As Allmusic says:

"A brief live EP, Land Speed Record races through its songs without regard for melody or riffs. As a sonic blitzkrieg, it's quite impressive, yet little of the record makes a lasting impression." [source]

The best thing is to see some live clips, recorded at the 7th Street Entry, which leads to a Hold Steady lyric:

"Summer '88 was all heat and intensity, saw The Youth Of Today at 7th Street Entry."

- Barely Breathing, The Hold Steady

Of course, Bob Mould went on to record some brilliant solo records and some great music with Sugar.