Hüsker Dü

Hüsker Dü, “Divide and Conquer”

A thing that is easy to forget about Hüsker Dü is how ridiculously productive they were in their salad days. Zen Arcade, New Day Rising, and Flip Your Wig all came out within a 14 month period, a rate of output that’s even more impressive when you remember that Zen Arcade was a double album. Adding to the awe here is that all three records are bangers, with New Day Rising being my favorite hardcore record (which I’ve definitely never said about any other album!). Flip Your Wig somehow is the weakest of the three, and it’s great! It’s a little lighter, a little poppier, but it’s still full of energy and is probably a bit easier to get into than the other two.

Palmistry, “In The Mountains…”

A mystery here. This is from a release just labeled Demo, and it doesn’t appear to be from Bandcamp. It’s from 2017 according to the metadata (and Metal Archives), but I don’t know where else I would have gotten it other than Bandcamp. Well, whatever. Let’s listen! Pretty basic doom here, not unpleasant, but not lighting me on fire either.

Hüsker Dü, “Something I Learned Today”

This opens one of the most impressive and important albums in all of hardcore, Zen Arcade. Hüsker Dü proved that hardcore could still be recognizable and even thrive in an environment of trying unorthodox things. That they pulled this off with a double album that was recorded in as much of a rush as the music itself makes it doubly impressive. Pound for pound, it’s probably not their best record, but for the ambition and impact, you can’t argue with it as a holistic piece of work.

Mission of Burma, “Red”

Signals, Calls, and Marches, the 1981 debut EP from Mission of Burma, is one of the foundational texts of what was known as college rock and eventually became indie rock. It’s a touchstone that many, many following bands would evoke and echo. It’s not really punk, not really post-punk, certainly not hardcore, but has parts of all those sounds. Mission of Burma would release this and an album in their original incarnation, and then unexpectedly pop up 22 years later with a new run of three (excellent) albums.

False, “Saturnalia”

The opening to the 2015 album from False (called Untitled, the same as their first EP, because fuck you!), featuring their blend of black metal with other elements like thrash. The stretch around 1:30-2, for example, is pretty thrash-y. The middle section of the song is pretty doom-y. These kinds of passages are a nice change of pace from just the crush of black metal.

Hüsker Dü, “Chartered Trips”

Hüsker Dü’s 1984 double-album Zen Arcade was a monumental landmark in the rock underground. It’s hard to really call it a hardcore album at this point, it’s really moved far beyond it, but so many bands after this would try and sound this good. Everything is still super loud, but the songwriting has stretched much farther than the first couple records indicated they were capable of.

Third month in a row without missing a day! 94 day streak going here. NOT BAD AT ALL.

Smut Peddlers, “That Smut”

Well, here’s a ridiculous album from 2001. While obsession with sex has a long and storied history in music, it’s seldom quite so forward as with this record, and the focus on porn in particular is relatively unusual. But it’s not unheard of in hip-hop either, not with Too $hort around, so this isn’t even really breaking new ground. At any rate, outside of the outlandish lyrics, the record itself is a bit of a time capsule of that time in rap.

Great set today!

Hüsker Dü, “Somewhere”

One of the greatest bands of the 80s rock underground, Hüsker Dü took a big leap forward with this album, the sprawling double album Zen Arcade. They went from a (great) hardcore band to a band that explored the limits of what hardcore was capable of. Along with their contemporaries and label mates the Minutemen, Hüsker Dü seemed capable of just about anything. By refusing to be constrained in any one style, Hüsker Dü inspired countless future bands to keep exploring and keep moving rock forward. Zen Arcade is one of the key albums in understanding the evolution of the American rock underground.