In the canon of American underground hardcore music few bands have cast a shadow as long and as quietly commanding as Hüsker Dü. These dudes basically wrote the playbook for hardcore punk becoming commercially viable, transitioning into a more alternative-focused band in the 80’s based off the sheer strength of the songwriting from guitarist/vocalist Bob Mould and bassist Greg Norton. And then when you added in drummer Grant Hart’s vocals (whose higher pitched vocals had a perfect yin/yang thing going with Mould’s iconic baritone) you found some real magic. They had speed and melody, abrasion and heartache, oftentimes crammed into the very same song. Zen Arcade was the band’s third album and serves as a pretty damn good synopsis of their career arc– the hardcore punk of their earlier years as well as the more commercially viable alternative rock of their latter efforts are all present on this album. This was really the album where they were transitioning between those two eras and came into their own. It’s the best of both worlds.
As I mentioned before, the influence Hüsker Dü has had on rock bands is immeasurable. One peek at some of these quotes from some of rock’s most beloved luminaries says it all:
““Bob Mould should be placed in the highest ranks of America’s greatest songwriters and lyricists. Husker Dü had this sense of classic melody countered with anger and distortion that was really unusual at the time.” – Dave Grohl (Nirvana/Foo Fighters)
“There are no words that describe the huge impact Grant Hart and Bob Mould’s music had on Green Day… We became a three‑piece because of Hüsker. We went through adolescence listening to this band. To put it simply, there would be no Green Day if it wasn’t for Hüsker Dü.” – Billy Joe Armstrong (Green Day)
“They are the most underrated band ever.” – John Rzeznik (Goo Goo Dolls)
“You have Greg the bass player kind of holding it down, and then you have Bob Mould, and then there’s Grant on drums and vocals. So you had this thing that was trying to keep itself together while it tore itself apart, like both sides of the brain– the intellectual and the emotional were all happening at once. One guy’s trying to keep it together, one guy’s trying to rip it apart, and it was almost like a celebratory, shamanistic kind of way, and it was just an interesting kind of tension.” – Henry Rollins (Black Flag)
Well said boys. Well goddamn said.
Standout Songs: “Something I Learned Today”, “Never Talking To You Again”, “Beyond The Threshold”, “Pink Turns to Blue”
