Walking Around With Your Head In The Clouds: Hüsker Dü

Last month, one of my favorite singer songwriters, Bob Mould put out his twelfth studio album, Patch the Sky. Normally, I would have preordered that sucker as soon as it was even hinted at, but alas, I never got around to this time. From what I've heard, I like it, as I like most stuff Mould puts out, but that is a post for another day. But for some reason, I started getting back into the seminal band he was a member of in the 1980s, Hüsker Dü.

The group was comprised of Mould on vocals and guitar, Greg Norton on bass, and Grant Hart on drums and vocals, with Mould and Hart splitting the songwriting duties. In the band's nine year duration, the trio evolved from a furious, intense hardcore punk band into a group that expanded the sound of punk through their incorporation of pop and melody, which would influence bands for years to come. In the midst of this evolution, the group put out several critically acclaimed albums on infamous punk label SST Records before jumping to a major label in 1986. However after two albums that failed to make a commercial impact or match the acclaim of their independent albums, internal tensions between Mould and Hart, as well as changing lifestyles for the members caused the group to dissolve. Norton would go on to be a restauranteur, while Mould and Hart would both establish solo careers in the late 1980s and bands in the 1990s.

I was first introduced to the group after reading about them in their chapter of Our Band Could Be Your Life, which dedicated each chapter to an influential indie band of the 1980s. However, when I first checked the group out, I was not super impressed. At the time I was looking them up, only their major label albums, Candy Apple Grey, and Warehouse: Songs and Stories were available on iTunes, which are not typically seen as the band's best. Instead, a couple months later, I took an interest in Mould's band from the '90s, Sugar. After I got a copy of Sugar's album Copper Blue, I realized how much I loved Mould's songwriting and was willing to give Hüsker Dü another shot. After looking up material from their SST catalogue, I was pleased with a couple songs, such as "The Girl Who Lives On Heaven Hill" and "Green Eyes". With that in mind, I decided to order copies of my first two Hüsker Dü albums, New Day Rising and Flip Your Wig. I loved both, Flip Your Wig in particular, and it became a staple of the music I listened to in the second half of high school. By September, I ordered a copy of what many call their magnum opus, Zen Arcade, and slowly began to accumulate most of their discography.

One of the key elements to Hüsker Dü was the songwriting skills of both Mould and Hart. Personally, I tend to prefer Mould's songs in the grand scheme of things, however, I feel Hart wrote some of the band's greatest songs. Once the band started to incorporate and become more melodic, Mould's songs developed a consistent pop rock sound rooted in punk that have carried throughout the rest of his career. Meanwhile Hart's material was much more diverse and varied, with more pronounced pop influences which again, and would be reflected in the eclecticism of his solo work.

On a technical note, one thing I should note about the discography is that their albums, in particular the SST albums, sound phenomenally better on vinyl. I'm not an audiophile and I can't usually tell the difference in sound quality but in this case, the sound on digital formats sounds much thinner and inferior. This is because SST probably just used the vinyl masters and put them on CD instead of mastering the music that would best fit the capabilities of digital equipment. Granted, this doesn't help much as the group's discography was marred with poor production. While the group's early material has the raw, somewhat muddy production that plagued most hardcore bands from the time, the later albums suffer from production choices that keep them stuck in the 1980s, and only the members' future projects would receive production values that don't sound so dated.

The group's influence is widespread, touching on famous groups that would rise to stardom in the years following the band's demise, such as Green Day and Foo Fighters. The group, along with the Descendents, Dag Nasty and others reintroduced melody into punk after the abrasiveness of hardcore.

A Breakdown of My Collection

1. Everything Falls Apart and More (1993, CD) - This album compiles the group's first studio album, Everything Falls Apart, the first two singles, Statues and In a Free Land, as well as a couple early tracks originally released between 1981 and 1983. The music here was made when the band was purely hardcore and has almost none of the melodic material they would be known for, minus a couple songs. The music is fast, angry, short, and at times, completely incoherent. This album is largely for collectors, if they can get their hands on a copy, and is the album by them I listen to the least.

Highlights: "Everything Falls Apart", "In A Free Land", "Gravity"

2. Metal Circus (1983, Digital) - Another release from the group's early hardcore days, however, this time the group is beginning to experiment with slower and more melodic material. It has some enjoyable songs, but in my opinion, the best had yet to come.

Highlights: "Real World", "Diane", "First of the Last Calls", "It's Not Funny Anymore"

3. Zen Arcade (1984, CD, Vinyl) - This album is considered both a punk masterpiece as well as the one of group's best albums. The album was far more ambitious than anything the group or their contemporaries had done before, with it being a two disc concept album that spans several different styles and influences not previously heard in punk. I have a personal history with this album. I ordered a copy of this album when I was a junior in high school in 2011 along with There is Nothing Left to Lose and the self titled album by Foo Fighters and Californication by Red Hot Chili Peppers. The day before the album came in the mail, I was approached by a friend who had a band and needed a bass player for a gig. However, the catch was that the gig was the next day and we only had a brief rehearsal right before the show. While I was frightened, I was also excited and I can remember listening to this album the day of the show. To this day, when I hear the song "Turn On The News", I remember driving over to the drummer's house for rehearsal. Of all their albums, this is their best hardcore album and pushes the boundaries so they could go on to do even more on their following albums.

Highlights: "Something I Learned Today", "Broken Home Broken Heart", "Pink Turns to Blue", "Turn On The News", "Chartered Trips"

4. New Day Rising (1985, CD, Vinyl) - I first bought this album in spring of 2011 with Flip Your Wig and helped introduce me to the band's sound. While it retains some of the hardcore the band had done before, the album is really a transition, mixing both the group's established hardcore with full blown pop songs in greater quantity. Out of their albums, this album suffered the most from the shoddy punk production that plagued SST albums, yet thankfully, the songwriting shines through. All in all, this is a strong album to introduce a newcomer because it has both the punk energy and the quality pop songwriting that the group was famous for.
Highlights: "New Day Rising", "The Girl Who Lives On Heaven Hill", "Celebrated Summer", "I Apologize", "Books About UFOs"

5. Flip Your Wig (1985, CD, Vinyl) - While I bought this along with New Day Rising, I always enjoyed this one much more. Much like the Ramones album Rocket to Russia, the opening riff to "Flip Your Wig" gave me the impression that this was going to be a good album, and boy, was I right. Bob Mould himself has said that this is Hüsker Dü's best album. Within a year and a half, the group had solidified its pop songwriting skills and they shine best on this album. That's right. It only took about a year and a half for the band to go from making furious, fast paced yet ambitious hardcore to catchy punk style that drew heavily from 60s pop. At the time, the group was being approached by major labels, with the band settling with Warner Bros. Records. However, in an act of loyalty to SST, the group chose to put this album out with them, which in hindsight, may have been a mistake, because who knows how the group would have been received if this was their major label debut? Could they have become alternative rock mainstays like REM or U2? Unfortunately we will never know and I doubt the group would have lasted long anyways even if they did achieve commercial success. Nonetheless, this album was the last group put out while at their peak and is my personal favorite of their output.
Highlights: "Flip Your Wig", "Makes No Sense At All", "Green Eyes", "Games", "Flexible Flyer"

6. Candy Apple Grey (1986, CD, Vinyl, Cassette) - For me, this album never really stood out or had many songs I putting on repeat. While some songs are enjoyable, the album has three ballads, which seems a bit much for an album known for high energy music. Also, while both Bob Mould and Grant Hart tended to have strong songs on each album, only Hart's songs tend to stick out to me on this album.
Highlights: "Don't Want to Know If You Are Lonely", "I Don't Know For Sure", "Sorry Somehow", "Dead Set On Destruction"

7. Warehouse: Songs and Stories (1987, CD Vinyl, Cassette) - While the group's last album may not get as much acclaim as the group's SST albums, I always enjoyed it. By this point, Mould and Hart were competing to one-up the other in terms of songwriting, and the prolific output of both resulted in this album being their second double album. The album can be bloated with filler at times, and would have likely benefited if they cut out some of the less essential songs, however the highlights of the album are strong. In terms of songwriting, whereas Hart shined on Candy Apple Grey, I feel Mould was able to outshine him on this album. Overall, the album is still a decent, enjoyable collection of songs that, while it was made past the band's peak, is still a fine swan song for the group.
Highlights: "These Important Years", "Ice Cold Ice", "Could You Be the One?", "She Floated Away", "It's Not Peculiar"

After Warehouse, the sounds Hart and Mould developed over their time in Hüsker Dü would carry over into their future output. Hart would go back to SST and put out his first solo album, Intolerance. I actually have a copy of this album but have never listened to it in full. After Intolerance, Hart started a new band in the 1990s with him on lead vocals and guitar, called Nova Mob. After Nova Mob, Hart would continue a solo career with sporadic studio releases over then next several years.

Meanwhile, Mould would put out his first couple solo albums before forming a group of his own in the 1990s, named Sugar. After a couple albums with Sugar, Mould would return to his solo career with increased experimentation. But I'll into detail in this entry.