RIP Grant Hart

Husker Du changed my life.

I bet there are a lot of people out there who can say that. Husker Du were not just a great band, they were an important band. They had a musical vision that was unique, one that straddled the sound and fury of a great punk band, and the knowing ennui of suburban youth.

Husker Du, the trio made up of guitarist/vocalist Bob Mould, drummer/vocalist Grant Hart and bassist Greg Norton, were one of those bands that seemed to be more than they were. A band where fans heaped their hopes and dreams on their backs and wished them the best, to carry their dreams along with the band.

When I heard the band for the first time, I think it was about 1988, just after I had my punk phase in about 1987. I had heard bands like the Sex Pistols, UK Subs, The Exploited, all the old-school bands and fell in love with the sound. I had never heard music so loud and angry before. Sure, there were a lot of metalheads in high school, but that music didn't speak to me. Punk did.

Then when I heard Husker Du, there was something different about their approach to punk. Less nihilism, less noise, more melody. It was more mature. It wasn't exactly punk. While I didn't know it at the time, it was probably my first exposure to post-punk.

My exposure to their music came at the end of their career, with their two albums for Warner Brothers, 1986's Candy Apple Grey and 1987's Warehouse: Songs and Stories. By then, the band was a melodic noise-rock band, propelled by Mould's stellar guitar playing and both Hart and Mould's songwriting. "Could You Be the One" was a tour de force, an all-encapsulating song about what the band was and what it represented.

Grant Hart and Bob Mould shaped the Husker Du sound together. I immediately became a Bob Mould fan, but Grant Hart's music eluded me. It was subtler, denser, more difficult. And he was less prolific than Mould, so his work was harder to find. Remember, these were the pre-internet days, when you wanted an album, you had to go find it.

Hart's first band post-Husker Du was Nova Mob, who recorded for almost a decade before breaking up. Hart struck out on a solo career after that, recording sporadically up until his death this past week in 2017. His last album, 2013's The Argument, was introspective, and reminded me a lot of David Bowie.

Hart died at the age of 56 from liver cancer on September 13th, 2017

Reissues - Sugar's "Copper Blue" and "File Under: Easy Listening"

Bob Mould is probably one of my favourite musicians ever. It's funny though, I seem like more of a casual fan of his work. I'm happy to sample his work here and there and don't collect it obsessively like I do with the Elvis Costello back catalogue. Mould has a sense of what makes a great pop song, but also knows what it takes to truly destroy a song with fuzzed out, over-distorted guitar. He's truly a multi-dimensional musician.

Back in the 80s, Mould was the lead singer for the seminal post-punk/hardcore band Husker Du. After that band broke up in the mid 80s, Mould tried his hand at a solo career, releasing two solo albums for Virgin (most notably, the mostly acoustic Workbook in 1988, still an amazing album). But, the lure of being in a band was strong for Mould, and he formed the band Sugar with David Barbe and Malcolm Travis. The band only put out two full lengths, Copper Blue in 1992 and File Under: Easy Listening in 1994, with an EP called Beaster filling the gap in 1993, then a posthumous double disk b-sides collection called, appropriately, Besides. All the albums came out on the Rykodisc label.

Sugar was largely Mould's reaction to grunge. While Sugar was chunky and growling like grunge, it had Mould's penchant for pop melodies that grunge lacked. Copper Blue is a near perfect slab of pop-tinged rock, tinged with punk's fury. "Helpless" was the lead off single, a smooth but snarling power pop gem. Mould crafted soaring pop tunes like "Hoover Dam", and the plaintive "If I Can't Change You're Mind", along with more menacing tunes like "The Slim". Copper Blue is easily in my top 10 albums released in the 90s, and I consider it one of the most important album released in the 90s.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oUf1sObmhr8



The follow up EP Beaster was a very different animal, if you excuse the pun there, from Copper Blue. just 6 songs long, the EP weaved a vague narrative of a world dominated by the religious right, with grinding Husker Du style guitars behind it. The single "Tilted" was pretty representative of the sound here:

 http://youtu.be/0H0bNt9_Znw



File Under: Easy Listening was a stab at a more polished sound, with more shimmering pop tunes with less of a punk edge. The album is less enjoyable than Copper Blue and seems to lack a bit of the fire that's usually in Mould's belly. Several songs are worth the time to listen to though, including the whimsical "Gee Angel" and the more acoustic "Believe What You're Saying".

http://youtu.be/RPT251GNbBI



Sugar broke up soon after FU: EL and Mould was back at his solo career, which continues on to this day. He's released many great albums under his own name, espeically 2008's District Line. Sugar finished up with Besides, a two disc compilation of rarities and live takes.

Merge Records have lately been a home to many of the great of the 90s indy rock explosion. They've remastered and re-released both Sugar full lengths, tacking Beaster onto Copper Blue, and including many of the better songs from Besides with the discs as well. Check them out for a great look at a band that deserves a bit more time in the limelight. Mould's latest solo effort, Silver Age, is out in October on Merge.

http://youtu.be/dDnNr6lNxvc

The March 30 Day Song Challenge Part 6 Final

Day 26 – A song that you can play on an instrument: Devo - "Satisfaction"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jadvt7CbH1o



I can't really play any instruments, but I took a crack at drums in high school. The drum rhythm is simple enough, I think I could do it.

Day 27 – A song that you wish you could play: Husker Du - "Could You Be the One"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QjEsw9lxtRw



If I could play guitar, I'd play it exactly like Bob Mould.

Day 28 – A song that makes you feel guilty: The Cars = "Heartbeat City"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gKIJVKzgoSc



I couldn't think of a good one for this question, but this song reminds me of someone I know (and still am friends with) that I wish I could have treated better when we were very close. Hint, she's mentioned in the song.

Day 29 – A song from your childhood: Charlie Pride - "Kiss an Angel Good Morning"


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ib0DI8jjm8E



I listened to this song so many times as a kid. One of my mom's favourite songs.

Day 30 – Your favorite song at this time last year: Magnetic Fields - "California Girls"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2EQxrGU7Yc



I was on a big noise/shoegazer thing around early spring last year. Ironically, I'm back into it again, listening to Jesus and Mary Chain lately.