Now is a good time to talk about
Hüsker Dü. Well, I think any time is a good time but they seem especially
relevant these days, maybe even more than when they were actually making
music. Bob Mould has just released a
new solo album that's the best work he's produced in nearly two decades. This follows up his autobiography of last
year. The influence of the band on rock
music in the years since their demise seems to grow all the time. So why not take a look at what is arguably
their masterpiece, 1984's epic, double album, the semi-conceptual Zen Arcade.
The idea of a hardcore punk band
doing a double album, much less a concept album, was somewhat revolutionary
back in those days, yet it was also inevitable. Punk and hardcore in their purest forms are both fairly
simplistic musical styles. In order to
stay relevant, artists must push the limits of the genre. The Clash realized this five years previous when
they shook up the world with London Calling. Now it was time for the next wave of punks to make the leap. It made sense that it would come from one of
the bands on SST Records, the label founded by Greg Ginn of Black Flag. The artists on SST, such as Meat Puppets,
The Minutemen, even Black Flag themselves, never tied themselves to punk rock
orthodoxy and were always open to experimentation. Hüsker Dü took the lead, for a time anyway, with Zen Arcade. It claims to be a "rock opera" in
the mold of Quadrophenia or The Wall, telling an angst-filled
personal story. The "plot" is
not easily deciphered, something about a computer hacker whose girlfriend OD's,
but the amazing collection of songs takes listeners on a journey through their
sheer power and creativity.
The main strength of Hüsker Dü is
that they had two outstanding songwriters in Bob Mould and Grant Hart. In fact, I believe it's the rivalry between
the two that pushed them to such great songwriting heights. Each was always trying to outdo the other
and both produced outstanding work as a result. The album kicks off with two Mould classics, "Something I
Learned Today" and "Broken Home, Broken Heart" followed by the
first real change-up, Hart's acoustic "Never Talking to You
Again." This awesome 1-2-3 punch
establishes the tone right off the bat.
The harder rocking numbers stand with the best hardcore of the era, but
there's a lot more going on. Hart's
psychedelic "Hare Krishna" closes what was side 1 back in the vinyl
days and establishes the band's penchant for being both trippy and noisy at the
same time. Side 2 opens with a blast of
four Mould short/fast/loud numbers, then Hart's sing-a-long anthem "What's
Going On." Album 1 concludes with
the haunting "Standing By The Sea," a song anchored by the repetitive
bass line of Greg Norton. Norton is
often the forgotten member of the band but his musical contributions are just
as essential as Mould and Hart's.
Album 2 is a mix of interesting
instrumental interludes and classic anthems from both Mould and Hart. Hart delivers "Pink Turns to Blue"
and "Turn on the News" while Mould counters with "Newest
Industry" and "Whatever."
For a band to come up with just one of these amazing tunes is
achievement enough. But all four, on
top of all the great songs that came before, is truly a remarkable
accomplishment. The whole thing
concludes with the 14 magical minutes of "Reoccurring Dreams," an
instrumental number built on a fairly simple riff, jammed out with intense
power. It’s the perfect conclusion to
an epic album. Zen Arcade was a
very important album to me in my youth and still resonates with me today. More important than the lyrics or concept,
it’s the variety and creativity of the music that inspires. It seems various music scenes, already
fragmented back in 1984, become moreso every year. Zen Arcade is a reminder to always look beyond labels and
genres. When you do, whole new worlds
of sound and experience await you.
- Adam Reshotko
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