If I Can't Change Your Mind Then No One Will: Bob Mould and Sugar

As I was writing my Hüsker Dü entry, I could tell that it was going to be an excruciatingly long post if I wrote about them as well as Bob Mould's later work in the same entry. As a result, I decided to split it in two: this time around, I will be writing about Bob Mould's '90s band, Sugar, as well as his solo career. While I would write about Grant Hart's work as a companion piece, not only does he not have as prolific a career as Mould, but I only own a copy of his first solo album, Intolerance.

When I was first introduced to Hüsker Dü, I was not particularly impressed. Granted, the only albums I had access to at the time were their latter day albums, Candy Apple Grey and Warehouse: Songs and Stories, which are not considered their prime. Instead, I slowly got into their work through Sugar. I remember the first song I really liked by them was "Helpless" off of Copper Blue. I then grew to like "If I Can't Change Your Mind" as well as "Gee Angel" from their second album, File Under: Easy Listening. Then, on my 16th birthday, I got a copy of Copper Blue on CD and loved it. That following April was when I bought Hüsker Dü's Flip Your Wig and New Day Rising. While Husker Du was always the group people acclaimed, I always held Sugar in a special regard, probably because it was what got me into Bob Mould's material in the first place. Unfortunately, the group didn't last long, but even then, their weaker works are still pretty enjoyable.

For the longest time, I had an aversion to solo albums. I don't know why. I guess I expected that when a member of a band I liked made a solo album, it was going to intentionally break away and forge a different sound. However, when I got into Bob Mould's solo material, I was delighted to find the music is more or less built off of the same sound he crafted when in Hüsker Dü, only with more experience and refinement. This consistency translates also in quality as well. As I listen to Bob Mould's various solo albums, even some of his more experimental albums, there is a consistency to his work. While Mould would play with certain elements such as acoustics or electronic sounds, his songs are still Bob Mould songs. This is especially evident as I was listening to his new album, Patch the Sky, which fits right in with his previous two albums, Silver Age and Beauty and Ruin, as well as others such as Body of Song or The Last Dog and Pony Show.

Bob Mould would begin his post-Hüsker Dü career with his first two solo albums. Upon work for his third solo album, he began to gel better with two new instrumentalists, David Barbe and Malcolm Travis and the project went from a solo act with backing instrumentalists to a full fledged band. After a couple years, the group disbanded and Mould made his third solo album by himself. After this, he made one more album in the mid-late 90s which would serve as a swan song for his guitar heavy rock. During this hiatus, Mould took this time to embrace electronic music. By the early 2000s, this interest heavily influenced his 2002 album, Modulate, which polarizes fans to this day. After Modulate, Mould eased up on the electronic influences on his two following albums and brought back the predominant guitar sounds he was known for. By the 2010s, Mould's music had reverted back to the guitar heavy pop rock in the vein of Sugar and Hüsker Dü.

Going over his entire discography, I can say Bob Mould is probably one of the key reasons I got through high school. Throughout his career, he was able to craft beautiful, soaring melodies that I loved and came to associate them with several high points from my teenage years. It's a shame a lot of people don't recognize him or his music, even when he has been recognized by several big name people and publications for years.

 Breakdown of My Discography

Sugar

1. Copper Blue (1992, CD, Cassette) - This was my first CD by any of Bob Mould's projects and I still think of it as one of his best. When people look at Bob Mould's overall work, this album frequently comes up as one of his greatest achievements, up there with Workbook, New Day Rising, Flip Your Wig and Zen Arcade. In fact, to me, this album has Mould perfecting the sound he was developing when Husker Du was at their peak, mixing in the right amount of guitar heavy rock with infectious pop melodies, with a strong backing band to fill out the songs. I have fond memories of listening to it while my friends and I played Halo: Reach online back in high school. While that may be an odd association, it goes to show those were two of the most notable elements I can remember about my sophomore and junior years of high school. I don't listen to this album a whole lot anymore, just because Bob Mould has such a prolific career, but whenever I come back to this one, I always remember why I love it.
Highlights: "Changes", "Helpless", "If I Can't Change Your Mind", "Fortune Teller"

2. Beaster EP (1993, CD) - This EP was recorded at the same time as Copper Blue, but released separately because the material on it had much darker feel. This can be heard in several places, such as the tense punk intro to "Tilted", the organ based "Walking Away", as well as the darker, Biblical lyricism. However, Mould's characteristic melodies still shine through and make this a neat companion to Copper Blue.
Highlights: "Tilted", "Feeling Better"

3. File Under: Easy Listening (1994, CD) - The second and final full-length studio album by Sugar, the album has some good cuts, but most people think it falls short when compared to its predecessors. As I look back at this album, I find there are several songs that I had forgotten about, but loved once I heard them again. However, I would go for Copper Blue first.
Highlights: "Gift", "Gee Angel", "Your Favorite Thing", Believe What You're Saying"

4. Besides (1995, CD) - As the name implies, this is a compilation of various b-sides, outtakes and live tracks the band did in its short existence. To me, the highlights are obviously the ones that were cuts recorded during the Copper Blue and FU:EL sessions, but it is also interesting to hear some of the contributions bassist David Barbe made that didn't make the albums.
Highlights: "Needle Hits E", "Mind is an Island", "Going Home", "And You Tell Me"

Overall, Sugar was a fruitful, albeit short endeavor Mould took in the nineties, that while it contributed songs that are still in his setlist today, was really something of a detour in his solo career, which makes up the most of his post-Hüsker Dü output.

Solo Albums

1. Workbook (1989, CD, Vinyl) - Bob Mould's first album after Hüsker Dü's implosion was one of reinvention and is still one of, if not the best, of his solo albums. He hid away in a farmhouse up in New York where he began writing material with a much more somber, stripped down approach. The album relies much more on acoustic instruments, with very little of the loud guitar that defined his work in Hüsker Dü. For whatever reason, I avoided this album. I didn't want to hear folk influenced music. I wanted to hear songs like "Makes No Sense At All", but when I started to sit down and listen to it, I realized this has some of his strongest material, no matter what musical lens it is played through. Since then I have come to love this album. I highly recommend it.

Highlights: "Wishing Well", "See A Little Light", "Compositions for the Young and Old", "Poison Years", "Lonely Afternoon"

2. Black Sheets of Rain (1990, CD) - After the more mellow, folk inspired work of Workbook, Mould returns to the loud guitar work of his earlier material. I don't listen to this album much, but it's not bad by any means. It's certainly angrier and more cathartic than Workbook, but it doesn't have as many songs that stand out to me.

Highlights: "Stop Your Crying", "It's Too Late", "Sacrifice/Let There Be Peace"

3. Bob Mould (1996, CD) - Once Sugar dissolved, Bob Mould took a step back from the concept of working with a band for his music and instead made this album by himself with a four track tape recorder and a drum machine, giving it a distinct sound among his albums. I'm conflicted on this one. It has several very good songs that I could consider some of his highlights, but there are others that are among my least favorite out of his entire discography. When I bought this album, I actually ordered a used copy and the version I got included a maxi-single for the song "Egoverride" as well, which was neat.

Highlight: "Anymore Time Between", "Fort Knox, King Solomon", "The Next Time That You Leave", "I Hate Alternative Rock", "Egoverride", "Art Crisis", "Deep Karma Canyon", "Roll Over and Die"

4. Egoverride Single (1996, CD) - This came with the self-titled album and has some interesting songs that were left off of the album. It's not essential, but it is a neat listen.

Highlights: "Egoverride", "Wanted Was"

5. The Last Dog and Pony Show (1998, CD) - When this album was coming out, Bob Mould was on the verge of a hiatus. As the title implied, this was going to be the last album and tour he did before retiring from rock music. Musically, it is not the most distinct album he has done, when you can listen to New Day Rising or Copper Blue, but it is one of my favorites for some reason. I think it's just because of some of the songs that stand out to me that make me love it so much. This album also foreshadows some of his later interests in the experimental track, "Megamaniac", which is less of a song and more of a collage of samples. My copy of this included a second disc that had an interview with Mould, which, while it is not as interesting as a single, is still a nice surprise.

Highlights: "New #1", "Moving Trucks", "Who Was Around", "Vaporub", "Skintrade", "Sweet Serene"

6. Modulate (2002, CD) - After several years, Bob Mould came back to music with Modulate, which, to this day, is by far the most polarizing album in his output. While some of the songs are still distinctly Bob Mould songs, they are played through an electronic lens, with synthesizers and samples strewn throughout the album. While many people revile this album, I actually really like it. Once you get past the strange production, the songs themselves are very strong and are frequent ones I listen to. One thing that I want to note also, is that the song, "Trade", actually has roots as a Hüsker Dü song, and I know there is a recording of them playing it live back in 1988, which I would recommend checking out if you like the album version.

Highlights: "Slay/Sway", "The Receipt", "Soundonsound", "Trade"

7. Body of Song (2005, CD) - After the overtly electronic sound of Modulate, Bob Mould begins to move back towards guitar based music on this album. However, his interest in electronic music and soundscapes are not gone and it sometimes seeps into the music. The album is not a bad album by any means, but it is one I don't spend a whole lot of time listening to.

Highlights: "Circles", "Paralyzed", "Beating Heart the Prize", "Days of Rain"

8. District Line (2008, CD) - This album basically continues the sound Bob Mould plays on Body of Song, mixing his typical sound with electronic work. I don't dislike this album, but I rarely listen to it. However, the song "Stupid Now" was the first solo song I heard by him and was what got me interested in his solo work altogether.

Highlights: "Stupid Now", "The Silence Between Us", "Miniature Parade"

9. Life and Times (2009, Digital Download) - With this album, Mould begins moving away from the electronic influences and goes back towards the sound heard on The Last Dog and Pony Show. While I tend to forget about this album, anytime I go back to it, I remember it has several good songs on it.

Highlights: "Life and Times", "Spiraling Down", "MM17", "I'm Sorry Baby, But You Can't Stand in My Light Anymore"

10. Silver Age (2012, CD, Vinyl) - Around the time this album came out, Mould's autobiography was also coming out and it was the 20th anniversary of Copper Blue. With that in mind, Bob Mould decided to go back to that sound, focusing almost entirely on thick guitar-heavy pop rock songs that one could find in Sugar's output. With bassist Jason Narducy and drummer Jon Wurster in tow, it almost feels like a spiritual successor to Sugar. This album almost seems to be the beginning of a renaissance for Mould, as his following albums continue in this vein are and are just as consistently good.

Highlights: "Star Machine", "Silver Age", "The Descent", "Angels Rearrange", "Round the City Square"

11. Beauty and Ruin (2014, CD, Vinyl) - This album basically continues the sound Mould picked back up on Silver Age. For some reason, I never really listened to this album much or at least paid much attention to it until the follow up, Patch the Sky came out. But once I did, I loved it.

Highlights: "I Don't Know You Anymore", "Nemeses are Laughing", "Forgiveness", "Hey, Mr. Grey", "Fix It"

12. Patch the Sky (2016, Vinyl) - For whatever reason, I didn't preorder this album when I heard about it, even though I did with the two previous albums. However, one night when I was at Barnes and Noble, I noticed a copy of this album, which included an autographed poster inside, and I bought it without question. I now love this album and it makes for a great trilogy with its two predecessors. Actually, I was inspired to continue writing this entry because of this album. If you find a copy, check it out.

Highlights: "The End of Things", "Hold On", "Daddy's Favorite", "Black Confetti"

My yellow vinyl copy of Beauty and Ruin

Since I first fell in love with earliest Sugar songs, Bob Mould has become my all time favorite singer songwriter. His songs have a character that is distinct to him. They can be either extremely loud and cathartic or soft and restrained and they still sound like him. That's just how much range he has. If you want straightforward, catchy rock music, you can't really go wrong with Bob Mould's material, whether it is Husker Du, Sugar or his solo stuff. That character transcends projects and shines through all of them.

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.