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Hüsker Dü

 
Artist: Hüsker Dü
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Hüsker Dü

Group Members:

Greg Norton, Bob Mould, Grant Hart

Similar Artists:

R.E.M., The Replacements, Pixies, Minutemen, Dead Kennedys, Black Flag, Gnome, Naked Raygun, Last Burning Embers, Fluf, 7 Seconds, Honor Role, X, Volcano Suns, Soul Asylum, Sonic Youth, Meat Puppets, Fugazi, fIREHOSE, Dinosaur Jr., Descendents, Band of Susans, Wipers, Mission of Burma

Influenced By:

The Sex Pistols, The Ramones, The Damned, The Clash, The Byrds, Buzzcocks, The Beatles

Followers:

The Cunninghams, dT's, The Lemonheads, Mark Eitzel, Candy Machine, Arcwelder, Alcohol Funnycar, Frank Black, Magnapop, Eugenius, Flop, Therapy?, Urge Overkill, Superchunk, Rocket from the Crypt, Drive Like Jehu, Vic Chesnutt, Throwing Muses, Soul Asylum, The Replacements, Pixies, Babes in Toyland, The Afghan Whigs, Challenger, Brooklawn, The Frenetics, Fromunda, Armchair Martian, The Stereo, Outnumbered, Pezz, Roadstar, Insanity Wave, Blithe, Swingset Police, Charley, Sicko, Phoids, Scarce, Foo Fighters, Heavy into Jeff, Articles of Faith, Truck Stop Love, The Verve Pipe, Peter Searcy, J Mascis, Bullet Lavolta, Chopper, Phantom Tollbooth, Moving Targets, Full Fathom Five, Field Trip, False Prophets, Squirrel Bait, Nirvana, The Buck Pets, The Flares, Lemuria, The Modern Machines, Pela, At the Spine, The Narrator, Let It Burn, Che Arthur, Allergic to Whores, Wolf Colonel, Sidecar, Dropkick Murphys, Lifetime, Tiny, China Drum, Robby Grant, Silkworm, Fluf, Johnboy, Swervedriver, Springhouse, Skunk, Run Westy Run, Els Pets, No Age, Parts & Labor, Apocalypse Hoboken, Jawbox, Fugazi, Band of Susans, The Holy Fire, The Shivering, Porchsleeper, Knockout Drops, The Marked Men, The Roy Owens Jr., Cheerleadr, Grand Champeen, Econoline, Best-McLusky, Blueline Medic, The Lovelies, Last Burning Embers, Ultimate Fakebook, Such Sweet Thunder, Sawdust Devil, The Return, Sorry About Dresden, Aviso'Hara, Ultraboy, Swingin' Utters, The Dismemberment Plan, Superdrag, Singing Spoons, Amy Ray, The Figgs, The Tigerlillies, Grant Lee Buffalo, Change of Heart, Philip E Karnats, Tuscadero, Slipshod

Performed Songs By:

Greg Norton

Formal Connection With:

Sugar, Nova Mob, Bob Mould, Grant Hart, Mercyland, Blowoff
See Hüsker Dü Lyrics
  • Formed: 1979, Minneapolis, MN
  • Disbanded: December 17, 1987
  • Genres: Rock
  • Representative Albums: "New Day Rising," "Zen Arcade," "Warehouse: Songs and Stories"
  • Representative Songs: "Don't Want to Know if You Are," "Hardly Getting over It," "Makes No Sense at All"

Biography

Hüsker Dü and R.E.M. were the two American post-punk bands of the '80s that changed the direction of rock & roll. R.E.M. became a superstar band; Hüsker Dü never was more than a cult favorite. Nevertheless, their albums between 1981 and 1987 have proven remarkably influential; they provided the sonic blueprint for the roaring punk-pop hybrid that crossed over into the mainstream in the early '90s. Not only did they shape the sound of the music, they shaped the way independent bands made the transition to the major labels; they showed other bands that it was possible to record uncompromising music on a major label without losing any integrity or creative control. From the Replacements to Nirvana, the Pixies to Superchunk, nearly every major and minor band that appeared in the alternative underground in the late '80s and '90s owed a major debt to Hüsker Dü, whether they were aware of it or not.

The band's two songwriters, guitarist Bob Mould and drummer Grant Hart, both had a knack for writing songs that essentially followed conventional pop structures, complete with memorable melodies, but were still punk songs. Hüsker Dü took the Buzzcocks' pioneering punk-pop and made it harder, both musically and lyrically. Throughout their career, Hüsker Dü never lost their edge, never turned down their amplifiers, never compromised their music. While Hart and bassist Greg Norton were an unfailingly strong rhythm section, Mould would prove to be one of the most influential guitarists of the decade. With his slashing rhythms, distorted strumming, and blazing leads, he set the stage for the alternative guitar heroes of the late '80s and the '90s.

Hüsker Dü formed in Minneapolis, MN, in 1979. Guitarist/vocalist Bob Mould was studying at Macalester College in St. Paul, MN, and working at a record store, which is where he met drummer/vocalist Grant Hart and bassist Greg Norton. The three musicians had diverse tastes, but all shared a love for hardcore punk rock. Naming themselves Hüsker Dü after a '50s Danish board game (the name means "do you remember"), the trio began rehearsing in Norton's basement.

In the early '80s, Hüsker Dü developed a strong local following; nearly every local band, from the Replacements to Soul Asylum, sounded like the Hüskers. Both Mould and Hart wrote songs and sang lead. In 1981, they released their first single, "Statues," on the local label Reflex, which was quickly followed by their debut album, Land Speed Record, which was released on New Alliance Records. Recorded live, Land Speed Record boasted 17 songs that lasted a full 26 minutes. Later that year, they released an equally fast and hard EP, In a Free Land.

In 1982, they moved backed to Reflex, where they released Everything Falls Apart, their first album recorded in a studio. By this time, Hüsker Dü had begun touring the United States relentlessly, traveling across the country in a van and playing small clubs. Along with the Minutemen, R.E.M., Black Flag, the Meat Puppets, and the Replacements, Hüsker Dü formed the core of a group of independent rock & roll bands that carved out a reputation for touring ceaselessly and getting their records played through college radio stations; they formed the core of the American rock underground in the mid-'80s. Hüsker Dü concerts were a nonstop barrage; the band rarely spoke to the audience and each song segued directly into the next, without interruption. In addition to touring constantly, Hüsker Dü was recording quickly, turning out the Metal Circus EP in 1983.

After Metal Circus, Hüsker Dü developed musically at a rapid pace, with Mould and Hart coming into their own as songwriters on 1984's Zen Arcade, their first album for SST Records and their critical breakthrough. Zen Arcade was a double album -- something that was completely unheard of in the underground -- that showed the band stretching out musically, writing sharper pop songs as well as lengthy abrasive instrumentals. Critics embraced the record, as did independent rock fans. At the end of 1984, they released "Eight Miles High," a cover of the Byrds song; it was only available as a single.

Hüsker Dü continued to record and tour at a blindingly fast speed throughout 1984 and 1985. Mould and Hart were beginning to develop an unspoken rivalry as well as a dependency on alcohol and speed. Nevertheless, the group was at its peak in 1985, turning out two albums. The first, New Day Rising, was released in the spring and showed the band moving closer to concise pop songwriting while accentuating their fierce sonic barrage. Flip Your Wig, released late in 1985, featured their cleanest, most accessible production, without making any concessions to mainstream rock. Both albums received excellent reviews, both in fanzines and some mainstream rock publications.

Following the release of Flip Your Wig, Hüsker Dü became the first of the mid-'80s independent post-punk bands to sign a contract with a major label, as they closed a deal with Warner Bros. Candy Apple Grey, the band's first major-label album, appeared in 1986. During that year, tensions between Mould and Hart escalated. Mould began to clean up and Hart continued to sink further into drug and alcohol addiction. Nevertheless, they managed to write and record another double album, Warehouse: Songs and Stories. Although Warner didn't want the band to release another double record, Warehouse was released in the spring of 1987, to uniformly positive reviews.

Hüsker Dü was preparing to launch a series of concerts to support Warehouse when their manager, David Savoy, committed suicide the night before the start of the tour. Hüsker played the tour anyway -- they ran through the new album in order every night, without interruption -- but Savoy's suicide helped the inner-band turmoil reach a peak. Hart showed no signs of sobering -- he was developing a heroin addiction -- while Mould was clean. Following the Warehouse tour, the band played no more concerts for the rest of the year, which caused speculation that the group was breaking up. Those rumors were confirmed during the winter of 1987-1988, when Hart was fired and the band broke up.

Hart released a solo EP, 2541, on SST later that year, followed by a full-length album called Intolerance a year later. After its release, Hart shook loose his addictions and formed a new band, Nova Mob. Nova Mob released their debut album, The Last Days of Pompeii, in 1991; a self-titled second album appeared in 1994. Norton became a chef in Red Wing. Immediately after the breakup of Hüsker Dü, Mould embarked on a solo career. After releasing two solo albums -- Workbook (1989) and Black Sheets of Rain (1990) -- he formed a trio called Sugar in 1992. Between 1992 and 1994, Sugar released two albums: Copper Blue (1992) and File Under: Easy Listening (1994). Mould broke up the band in 1995 and returned to a solo career the following year. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
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For other uses, see Husker Du.
Hüsker Dü

Hüsker Dü in 1985. Left to right: Greg Norton, Grant Hart, Bob Mould
Background information
Origin Saint Paul, Minnesota, USA
Genres Alternative rock, hardcore punk
Years active 1979–1988
Labels New Alliance, SST, Warner Bros.
Associated acts Nova Mob, Sugar
Former members
Grant Hart
Bob Mould
Greg Norton

Hüsker Dü was an American rock band formed in Saint Paul, Minnesota in 1979. The band's continual members were guitarist Bob Mould, bassist Greg Norton, and drummer Grant Hart. Hüsker Dü never achieved mainstream success, but attained an influence far larger than their modest sales figures would indicate. Following a series of successful albums, including Zen Arcade (1984) and New Day Rising (1985), the band signed to Warner Bros. Records in 1986, becoming one of the first American underground rock bands to sign with a major record label.

Hüsker Dü first gained notice as a hardcore punk band with thrashing tempos and screamed vocals. The band developed a more melodic musical style as they drifted away from their early sound, helping to develop the early alternative rock sound in the process. Mould and Hart split the songwriting and singing duties; Mould's lyrics were known for being more soul-searching and intense than the often whimsical and cryptic ones of Hart.

Hüsker Dü broke up in 1987 without having achieved a popular breakthrough. Mould formed another band, Sugar, in the early 1990s and has embarked on a sporadic solo career; Hart and Norton have been less active since Hüsker Dü's demise. Although never experiencing commercial success, Hüsker Dü influenced a number of later pop punk and alternative rock bands, such as The Pixies, Dinosaur Jr., Superchunk, Green Day, Nirvana, and Foo Fighters. Justin Broadrick of Godflesh cites them as "one of the most important bands of all time."[cite this quote]

Contents

History

Formation and early years

The group that became Hüsker Dü formed when Bob Mould, Grant Hart, Greg Norton and keyboardist Charlie Pine began playing together in 1979.[1] At the time, Mould was a freshman at Macalester College, and frequented Cheapo Discs, a St Paul record store where Hart was a sales clerk. Hart and Norton had originally met while applying for the same job, which Norton eventually got. Hart and Mould bonded over a shared love of the Ramones, and soon after enlisted Norton and Pine to form a band. They were soon gigging, playing mostly cover songs, some classic rock, and frequent Ramones tunes. Unbeknownst to Pine, the remaining bandmembers disliked the sound of the band with Pine's keyboards and began practicing without him, writing a few originals.

They owed their new name to a rather sloppy rehearsal of the Talking Heads' "Psycho Killer". Unable to recall the French portions sung in the original ("qu'est-ce que c'est"), they began shouting any foreign-language terms they could remember, when someone said "Hūsker Dū?", a board game that had been popular in the 1970s. The term, without the umlauts, means "Do you remember?" in Danish and Norwegian. The group added Heavy metal umlauts to complete the name. Mould reports that they liked "Hüsker Dü"'s somewhat mysterious qualities, which set them apart from other hardcore punk groups with names like "Social Red Youth Dynasty Brigade Distortion".[1] Mould also reported that while Hüsker Dü enjoyed much hardcore punk in general, they never thought of themselves as exclusively a hardcore group, and that their name was an attempt to avoid being pigeonholed. Hart, Mould, and Norton fired Pine during their first official performance, on March 30, 1979, and continued as a trio.

By 1980 the band was performing regularly in Minneapolis, and their music evolved into a fast, ferocious, primal sound, making them one of the original hardcore punk bands. Through heavy touring they soon caught the attention of punk trailblazers like Black Flag and the Dead Kennedys' Jello Biafra, which helped introduce Hüsker Dü to new fans. Black Flag guitarist/songwriter Greg Ginn later signed the band to his label, SST Records.

Early releases

The band started releasing singles on Terry Katzman's Reflex Records in 1981. Their first two albums, Land Speed Record (a live recording) and Everything Falls Apart, brought much critical praise. Determined touring brought them to the attention of The Minutemen, who released their debut and the "In A Free Land" single on their label, New Alliance Records. This, in turn, led to the band signing with SST.

The intense, but varied Metal Circus EP/mini-album was released in 1983. Hüsker Dü's more melodic take on hardcore struck a chord with college students, and various tracks from Metal Circus, particularly Hart's "Diane," were put into rotation by dozens of campus radio stations across the US.[2] In addition, on Metal Circus the band showed more invention, skill, and melody than it did over the course of their previous full album Everything Falls Apart.[3]

Zen Arcade, New Day Rising and Flip Your Wig

The members of Hüsker Dü desired to escape the restrictions of the hardcore genre. In an interview with Steve Albini for his Matter column in 1983, singer and guitarist Bob Mould told Albini: "We're going to try to do something bigger than anything like rock & roll and the whole puny touring band idea. I don't know what it's going to be, we have to work that out, but it's going to go beyond the whole idea of 'punk rock' or whatever."[4] The following year, Hüsker Dü recorded the double album Zen Arcade in 45 hours for the cost of $3,200.[5] Zen Arcade is a concept album following a boy who leaves home to face a harsh and unforgiving world. Its artistic and conceptual ambitions were a great stretch, given the purist sentiment then prevalent in U.S. punk rock. Zen Arcade received critical praise and significant mainstream music press attention, ending up on several year end best-of lists; it also helped expand the band's audience beyond the punk community.[6] In his review for Rolling Stone, David Fricke described Zen Arcade as "the closest hardcore will ever get to an opera ... a kind of thrash Quadrophenia."[7] SST erred on the side of caution and initially pressed between 3,500 and 5,000 copies of the album, but the record sold out a few weeks into the band's tour to support the record. The album remained out of stock for months afterward, which affected sales and frustrated the band.[8]
"Celebrated Summer"
Sample of "Celebrated Summer" from New Day Rising
Problems listening to this file? See media help.

Hüsker Dü started recording its follow-up album New Day Rising just as Zen Arcade was released. New Day Rising was released six months later in early 1985.[9] Another album, Flip Your Wig, followed later that year. Flip Your Wig became the first album released on an independent record label to top the CMJ album chart, and at year's end, both New Day Rising and Flip Your Wig ranked in the top ten of the Village Voice annual Pazz & Jop critics' poll.[10]

Major label era

During the recordings sessions for Flip Your Wig major label Warner Bros. Records approached Hüsker Dü and offered the group a recording contract. The band felt it had hit a sales ceiling that it could break through only with the help of a major label. The promise of retaining complete creative control over its music convinced the band to sign with the label.[11] Mould also cites the distribution problems with SST as a reason for the move, mentioning that there would sometimes be no records to sign when the band would show up for promotional events.[12] Hüsker Dü was not expected to sell a large amount of records. Rather, Warner Bros. valued the group for its grassroots fanbase and its "hip" status, and by keeping the overhead low the label anticipated the band would turn a profit.[13]

Hüsker Dü released its debut on Warner Bros., Candy Apple Grey, in 1986. A double album, Warehouse: Songs and Stories, followed in 1987.

Breakup

Creative and personal tensions between Mould and Hart had become unresolvable by the release of Warehouse, and they intensified when Mould began overseeing most of the band's managerial duties following the suicide of manager David Savoy on the eve of the tour in support of the album. In September 2006, Hart told Britain's Q magazine, "I take full responsibility for [David's] suicide. It was a direct result of the pressure of working for Bob and me, because he was being forced into a two-faced situation."[14] Mould also called the suicide "the beginning of the end".[12] The band dissolved after a show in Columbia, Missouri in support of the band's 1987 double album Warehouse: Songs and Stories. Hart was trying to quit heroin using a supply of methadone, but the bottle had leaked. Hart played the show, but Mould and Norton were concerned Hart would soon be suffering from withdrawal and thus would be unable to play the next few shows. While Hart insisted he could perform, Mould had already cancelled the dates. Hart quit the band four days later.[15] The Living End, a live collection taken from the band's final tour, was released after the band's demise.

Mould performing solo in July 2007.

Mould and Hart have continued making music separately. Both have produced solo albums and formed alternative rock bands, Sugar and Nova Mob, respectively. Mould has also joined Richard Morel in the band Blowoff. Mould has returned to touring regularly with his solo albums Body of Song and District Line and is playing Hüsker Dü (as well as Sugar) songs live again. His backup band features several notable musicians, including Brendan Canty. Norton formed the short-lived band Grey Area, played with Shotgun Rationale, and became a chef; he and his wife Sarah own a restaurant in Red Wing, Minnesota called The Nortons'. In addition to his restaurant duties, in 2006 Norton returned to music as bassist for the Minnesota based band The Gang Font, feat. Interloper. The group released an eponymous album in 2007.

Surprise reunion and future

Mould and Hart did a brief, unannounced reunion in 2004 at a benefit concert for ailing Soul Asylum bassist Karl Mueller (who had been receiving treatment for cancer, and has since died). At the end of what had been scheduled as a Bob Mould solo set, he brought Hart out and the duo played two specially-selected Hüsker Dü songs, "Hardly Getting Over It" and "Never Talking To You Again". Mould wrote on his blog that the performance was an impromptu, last-minute suggestion by Hart and shouldn't kindle any "false hope" for a reunion.[16]

In June 2005, Mould told Billboard magazine in an interview that SST had not given the band an accounting of their record and CD sales in several years, and that plans to regain the master tapes from SST and reissue them elsewhere were being held up by business disputes between the former band members.

Musical style

The band's logo symbolized the creative commonality between Hart, Mould, and Norton, despite their differing personalities. According to Mould: "The circle is the band, the three lines across are the members, and the intersection is the common train of thought."[17]

Hüsker Dü started as a hardcore punk band known for its speed and intensity. While the band included some slower material earlier in its career, Hüsker Dü developed a fast repertoire as a result of having little time to play as an opening act, and to antagonize its audience when it headlined shows. "[T]here was a point where we were like, 'Let's see how fast we can play,'" Norton recalled. "I guess we were just trying to blow people away." Hüsker Dü was particularly influenced by punk bands like D.O.A., Dead Kennedys, and The Fartz after having seen them play.[18] NME journalist Andy Gill contended that Hüsker Dü's characteristic sound crystalized on the Metal Circus EP, incorporating "thunderbuck, hiccup" drums, a melodic yet solid bass, and "carillions [sic] of distorted guitar, with shouted vocals rasping hoarsely from deep in the mix". He argued that what set them apart from other punk bands was "the way they mix those same structural devices in ways that shouldn't work, combining elements of several genres in one song."[19]

As the band's career progressed, Hüsker Dü emphasized melody in its songs. Unlike other hardcore bands, Hüsker Dü did not disavow classic rock. "You know the whole deal with tearing down the old to make room for the new?", Hart posited. "Well, music isn't city planning."[20] The band covered 1960s hits like Donovan's "Sunshine Superman" and The Byrds' "Eight Miles High" early in its career. As the band members progressed as musicians, they discovered they were able to play at slower tempos while still maintaining the rhythm, which allowed for extended melodies.[21]

Hart and Mould were the band's songwriters. Both wrote their songs separately and at a prodigious pace; in later years Hart accused Mould of making sure his songs comprised no more than 45 percent of the material on an album.[22] Despite the creative friction and their differing individual personalities, the members accommodated each other so that the band could continue to exist. They designed their logo to represent their common train of thought: a circle enclosing three parallel horizontal lines with a vertical line connecting them. The circle symbolized the band, the three lines the individual members, and the intersecting line the common thread of creativity which connected them.[17]

Legacy

Hüsker Dü is widely regarded as one of the key bands to emerge from the 1980s American indie scene. Music writer Michael Azerrad asserted in his book Our Band Could Be Your Life (2001) that Hüsker Dü was the key link between hardcore punk and the more melodic, diverse music of college rock that emerged. Azerrad wrote, "Hüsker Dü played a huge role in convincing the underground that melody and punk rock weren't antithetical." The band also set an example by being the first band from the American indie scene to sign to a major record label, which helped establish college rock as "a viable commercial enterprise."[23]

Hüsker Dü's sound has been influential on several bands on through the 1990s, including the Pixies, My Bloody Valentine, Nirvana, Superchunk, Soul Asylum, New Found Glory and Green Day. Green Day frontman Billie Joe Armstrong has said, "The Replacements and Hüsker Dü are probably the bands that influenced me the most", particularly in his approach to creating chord progressions.[24]

Wiki letter w.svg This section requires expansion.

Discography

Main article: Hüsker Dü discography

Studio albums

Notes

  1. ^ a b Azerrad 2001, p. 161
  2. ^ Azerrad 2001, p. 173
  3. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Metal Circus > Overview". allmusic.com. All Media Group. http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:fifoxq85ldse. Retrieved October 10, 2009. 
  4. ^ Azerrad 2001, p. 180
  5. ^ Azerrad 2001, p. 181
  6. ^ Azerrad 2001, p. 183
  7. ^ "Rolling Stone: Hüsker Dü: Zen Arcade". http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/huskerdu/albums/album/110848/review/5944241/zen_arcade. Retrieved 2007-01-16. 
  8. ^ Azerrad 2001, p. 182
  9. ^ Azerrad 2001, p. 184
  10. ^ Azerrad 2001, p. 189
  11. ^ Azerrad 2001, p. 190
  12. ^ a b Mould, Bob. Bob Mould in conversation with Michael Azerrad. City Arts and Lectures. 16 October 2007, San Francisco California.
  13. ^ Azerrad 2001, p. 191
  14. ^ Q, October 2006
  15. ^ Azerrad 2001, p. 194
  16. ^ Mould, Bob. "Weekend In Review". Boblog. Blogspot. http://modulate.blogspot.com/2004_11_01_modulate_archive.html#110053334529562308. Retrieved October 10, 2009. 
  17. ^ a b Azerrad 2001, p. 176
  18. ^ Azerrad 2001, p. 166
  19. ^ Gill, Andy (June 8, 1985). "Hüsker Dü: the Thrash Aesthetic". NME. 
  20. ^ Azerrad 2001, p. 169
  21. ^ Azerrad 2001, p. 185
  22. ^ Azerrad 2001, p. 192
  23. ^ Azerrad 2001, p. 159
  24. ^ di Perna, Alan (August 1996). "Young, Loud & Snotty". Guitar World. 

References

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