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Unknown (White Noise?), 1982
|
...alot of the gravers at U2 came by Merlyns while the action was happening
and locked in, their mouths hung down to the ground !
|
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Op "K", May-Jun 1982
|
I'm torn between commending their politics and cursing their conformity.
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End Of The World, 1982
|
...extraordinarily FAST and CHAOTIC...
|
|
Mac Weekly, 05 Mar 1982
|
Bands like The Clash, which shed their punk image for a larger audience
while still espousing a political message, are hypocrites, Mould says.
|
|
Coolest Retard #19, Mar-Apr 1982
|
"After we were together for a year we toyed with the idea of
adding a fourth member..." —Greg
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Express, Apr 1982
|
...nerve-abrading...
|
|
Coolest Retard #20, May-Jun 1982
|
Their
lyrics deal with the same issues as most other hardcore bands,
mostly governmental with some being about romance and girls.
|
|
New York Rocker, Jun 1982
|
Song runs into song runs into song.
|
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Flipside #34, Aug 1982
|
"Everybody thinks we went hardcore last week or something. That's not true at
all. We've got tapes of our second gig in July of 1979 and we still do lots
of those songs." —Unattributed (but sounds like Bob)
|
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Forced Exposure #1, 1982
|
...if bands like this exist in Minnesota they must be everywhere.
|
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Maximum Rocknroll #2, 1982
|
"Oh my God, your shirt is from Sears. I don't like you any more!" —Grant
|
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Boston Rock, 1982
|
...I would have to say that the Hüskers have a real athletic bent.
|
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Odd Cravings #3, Oct 1982
|
...every number a heavy-metal indictment of society and culture, often
hilarious and horrible at the same time.
|
|
F.L.A. Decay, Oct 1982
|
"...there is some stuff on the new LP that is extremely fast. Faster than
anything on LSR." —Greg
|
|
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|
White Noise, 1983
|
"See, here's a bunch of kids waving flags with 48 stars and they're shipped
home in coffins covered with 50 stars. The coffins (on the cover) are the
first eight servicemen killed in action in Viet Nam. " —Grant
|
Ripper #8, Jan 1983
|
...three friendly guys whose nonconformity to the fashionable hardcore
look has led some first-timers at their gigs who see them walking around
before their set to ask them what they were doing at a Hüsker Dü
show.
|
|
Flipside #37, Feb 1983
|
"We're just trying to make people think and have a good time. It's all
right to rag on things, but you still gotta be able to rock." —Bob
|
|
Alternative America #1, Feb 1983
|
"People who heard 'Land Speed Record'
might not like 'Statues', or 'In A Free Land'. They're all pretty different.
It's nice: people like us as a band, and not as a thrash band." —Bob
|
|
Misery #6, Mar 1983
|
"I don't like playing outdoors like Eastern
Front. It sucks, it's like grass and trees and dust
and stuff." —Bob
|
|
Cretin Bull, 1983
|
Y'all aren't necessarily into the straightedge philosophy?... "No comment.
The less said 'bout it the better." —Bob
|
|
New Musical Express, 23 Apr 1983
|
...one of these power-drill trios who sound like ten guitars.
|
|
Brand New Age #2, 1983
|
"We got a contract from Jesus the other day, and the stuff on his rider...
six nails..." —Grant
|
|
Blow It Off #2, 1983
|
"Gibson Victory bass Standard model. MXR distortion box and bass
flanger. GBX powered bass bottoms with 4x10"90 watts and a ½ watt
pre-amp. It's Canadian."
—Greg
|
|
Counter Attack #2, 1983
|
"Everybody wants to hear us do a studio version of Data Control. We've been
toying with that idea." —Bob
|
|
Boston Rock #41, 05 Jul 1983
|
"We had a standardized set, and we'd just try to break our old records.
We had a 40-minute set down to 18 minutes, and then one night we totally
smashed that record—we cut it down to 12 minutes." —Grant
|
|
Smash! #5, Jul 1983
|
"I wish we hadn't done that, because now it seems that every
band has their own little symbol." —Bob
|
|
Matter, Sep 1983
|
"We're going to try to do something bigger than anything like rock and roll
and the whole puny band touring idea." —Bob
|
|
No Cause For Concern #8, Oct 1983
|
Not as fast as I'd expected....
|
|
Smash! #6, Oct 1983
|
"Music isn't city planning." —Grant
|
|
New Musical Express, 17 Dec 1983
|
...as Hüsker Dü exemplify... the best American punk is harder,
funnier, more adventurous and less parochial than the UK's '77 updates.
|
|
|
|
Suburban Punk #8, 1984
|
"... ['Deadly Skies'] also deals a lot with people who see protesters
walking around carrying signs that someone else painted for them to try
to get attention for a cause they know nothing about." —Bob
|
|
Ink Disease #5, Jan 1984
|
"I'd rather be hated than liked. I'd rather be loved than hated." —Grant
|
New Musical Express, 14 Jan 1984
|
...'Diane' is the year's only true love song, and 'Real World' reminds
me of a lot of Stiff Little Fingers, although Bob Mould and Greg Norton
of the three Dü's maintain the song is simply their equivalent of
'She Said, She Said'.
|
|
Pages of Rage #5, 1984
|
"[The Replacements] have a lot of things going for them-let's put it that
way-that we don't have. By the same token, we have a lot of things going
for us that they'll never have. " —Bob
|
|
Suburban Voice #11, 1984
|
[Bob] told me that there's a big psychedelic influence finding its way into
a lot of bands' material and he admitted that Husker Du's music is going
in that direction.
|
|
Conflict 34, 1984
|
"What isn't so easy is writing the words. If we had an easier time with
lyrics, we'd have 20 songs a month, no problem." —Bob
|
|
National Priorities #5, mid(?)-1984
|
They really realed off some great stuff. Inclucing notorious cuts
like Diane and Wheels.
|
|
Matter, Jul-Aug 1984
|
"In the words of Jello Biafra," Norton says, mimicking the holy one's tone,
"Ooooo, Hüsker Dü... the band that brought self-indulgence back to
rock 'n' roll." They all laugh.
|
|
Hard Times #1, Aug 1984
|
[Interviewer to Greg]: Do you want me to print any of this stuff that Grant
is saying? Is it OK?
|
|
Negative Print #16, Aug 1984
|
"The smell of old people...."
—Grant
|
|
New Musical Express, 01 Sep 1984
|
Having passed through ultracore, broken all landspeed records and burst the
eight miles high thrashold, Hüsker Dü either had to go nova or
reconsider their strategy.
|
|
New Musical Express, 15 Sep 1984
|
"We don't feel like we have to die tragic, early deaths to be
considered important. I'm a musician, not a fuckin' stock car racer."
—Grant
|
|
New York Times, 23 Sep 1984
|
Hüsker Dü has found a number of avenues to explore, a number
of ways out of the trap of more-faster-louder that many more
conventional hardcore bands fall into.
|
|
Los Angeles Times, 15 Dec 1984
|
Husker Du has even started attracting major-label interest, an unusual
situation for a group whose music Mould describes as "not
so much a wall of sound, but more like a bed of nails."
|
|
|
|
Truly Needy #9, Early 1985
|
"In Minneapolis the 'hardcore' kids don't really come to see us that
much any more. Our audience in Minneapolis is just a bunch of regular
types." —Greg
|
|
Suburban Voice #14, Early 1985
|
I sit here amazed- how do
they do it- create music that exudes such warmth, but
also goes for the throat? Husker Du are summoning the
dawn of a new day for pop music.
|
|
Rockerilla #54, Feb 1985
|
Gli Husker Du, pur rifacendosi in parte alla tradizione di quella
musica, si ricollegano altrettanto evidentemente alle matrice più pure del
suono elettrico: Jimi Hendrix, i MC5, gli Stooges.
|
|
New Musical Express, 09 Mar 1985
|
[Mould's] singing... sometimes has the wrenched defiance of the cornered,
sometimes the strange fragility of 16 tons of sensitivity.
|
|
No Place To Hide #4, Spring 1985
|
"A producer would be telling us how to write our songs, and that we don't need.
We could use a good engineer." —Bob
|
|
Rockpool Vol. 5 #6, 08 Apr 1985
|
"In general, we've been pursued by three majors, we all know they're evil....
They offer us this and that, but the bottom line is that
we're not at all disappointed with where we are right now. SST has been doing
quite well lately, too. Now they're aware of our selling
potential.... [New Day Rising] sold 30,000
since it's been out and we expect much more once we tour the East Coast." —Bob
|
|
Alternative Focus #3, 1985
|
"If anything ever does make it as a top 40 hit, that's fine with us, but
we're not purposely trying to achieve that goal." —Greg
|
|
Puncture #9, Spring 1985
|
No extraneous antics, not a word of chat, just solid action. Only when the
crowd's persistent dive-bombing off the stage reached ridiculous levels did
Bob Mould halt long enough to say "this is gonna stop right now."
|
|
Terminally Stupid #4, Spring 1985
|
HÜSKER played about 15 tunes, mostly stuff from "Zen Arcade". After 2
encores Mould and the boys ripped into an encore of "Twist & Shout...."
|
|
New Musical Express, 25 May 1985
|
'Celebrated Summer' is so crushingly beautiful on record that a foaming
live performance of the song must surely tear and ruin it - instead it's,
well, almost transcendent.
|
|
Sounds, 25 May 1985
|
The mightily responsive congregation fell like
lemmings from the first few thundering chords.
|
|
New Musical Express, 08 Jun 1985
|
The vocals on 'New Day Rising' were largely indecipherable... "Thank you,
Spot," Grant sneers sardonically.
|
|
Creem, Jul 1985
|
One or two dull moments ("If I Told You"), but overall this is quite
listenable muzik.
|
|
Rolling Stone #452/453, 18 Jul-01 Aug 1985
|
The Replacements' critically acclaimed album Let It
Be cost $6000. Hüsker Dü's two-record set [Zen Arcade]
cost $3200, while the Minutemen wrapped up their two-disc masterpiece,
Double Nickels On The Dime, for $1500.
|
|
OOR 17, 24 Aug 1985
|
Dan spat de magie uiteen in een explosie van glas en bloed: vanuit het publiek
suist een bierfles over het podium om tegen de gebalde vuist van de hijgende
Hart en scherven te slaan. Bloeden ontketent hij een barrage aan voeken en
verwensingen, tervijl hij dermate ziedend te keer gaat op z'n kit dat de
vweschillende onderdelen één voor één van het
drumpodium storten.
|
|
Burgerweeshuis newsletter, 08 Sep 1985
|
De groep bestaat al enige jaaren in maakte in de begindagen furore als 's
wereld snelst spelende groep; "Land Speed Record" getuigt daarvan.
|
|
New Musical Express, 14 Sep 1985
|
'Sense' is a splendidly tuneful 45, but live it sounded like, say, a record
of 'Kick out The Jams'-period MC5 tackling a 1964 Beatles song played on an
exceedingly fluffy stylus.
|
|
The Hit, 14 Sep 1985
|
...everyone from the long haired herberts to the spikey topped morons
were totally transfixed by this mangled music machine.
|
|
Non*Stop Banter, Sep-Oct 1985
|
"I think protest is still effective. But protesters, right or left,
right or wrong, are out there playin' for the TV cameras.... People aren't
taking it to the streets. If they really believed a lot of it, they would use
it for far better purposes than to get laid by the local vegetarian broad."
—Grant
|
|
Boston Rock, Oct 1985
|
"A lot of majors have been calling," says Mould, "and they're all really
interested in the band, but I don't really know if we're all that interested
in them." —Bob
|
|
Blatch #11, Oct 1985
|
...too loud...
|
|
New Musical Express, 26 Oct 1985
|
They seem to hear a high, swirling melody that plays above the one they're
playing.
|
|
Sam Nyt, Oct-Nov 1985
|
Det er svært at beskrive, hvad de tre musikere i Hüsker Dü
egentlig gør, som andre ikke gør - men de formår
på mirakuløs vis at forene deres umiddelbart grimme udgave
af rock'n'roll med en personlig intensitet, som i disse skabagtige tider
faktisk virker ægte.
|
|
|
|
Eye #5, Early 1986
|
Vad satsar ni mest tid på, att turnera eller att
repa? Grant & Bob: "TURNERA!"
|
Fifth Column #2, Early 1986
|
"It's like, you couldn't just say, I like playing fast, that
wasn't enough. You had to be a homosexual, vegetarian, skin head that was
a card carrying communist. All these criteria for being in a band that made
20 bucks a week."
—Bob
|
Bucketfull of Brains #13, Early 1986
|
"Well, y'know, a lot of people go back up in the
attic when they're forty years old and put on
their high school football sweater and it's
like, God, the Allies were the biggest team
ever assembled for a championship sport." —Grant
|
Jet Lag #62, Feb 1986
|
"St. Louis is fine. Why should we hate St. Louis?"
—Bob
|
New Musical Express, 01 Mar 1986
|
After the last encore, late into the night, with most of the crowd
already gone, they did something I'm told they've never done in public before.
|
|
Sounds, Mar 1986
|
...Hüsker Dü reached their 'Revolver' period in record time.
|
|
New Musical Express, 22 Mar 1986
|
So America's most strange/ordinary trio (Darryl Hall, Animal Muppet and The
Thing in one group!!) are at their most musically approachable, while
simultaneously weirding (far) out, and down.
|
|
Interview, Apr 1986
|
"People want to think they're outside the norm, but in reality
everyone is inside this pink balloon."
—Bob
|
|
Suburban Voice #19, Spring 1986
|
I suppose Husker belong to the masses now and some
compromise (whether they admit it or not) may be in evidence.
|
|
Blitz, May 1986
|
Given Britain's almost totalitarian style-consciousness, Hüsker Dü
have been taken to heart because they are a great relief: uncomplicated
without being stupid.
|
|
Boston Rock #75, 26 May 1986
|
Husker Du seems to be just hitting a new
stride; let's hope nobody crashes very soon.
|
|
Guilty Face #2, Spring 1986
|
Bob, do you smoke much hash?
|
|
Rolling Stone #476, 19 Jun 1986
|
"If you listen to the end of Land Speed Record, you hear a voice say,
'We'll be back for another set.' I've still got that set on tape somewhere."
—Bob
|
|
Rock It, Sep 1986
|
"A producer's job is to be critical of the performance and the arrangements,
and to have an idea of how the album should flow from start to finish. I
think I have a better grasp of that than Spot or anyone else."
—Bob
|
|
Flipside #50, 1986
|
"Warners was the label that was interested in us when Zen Arcade came out.
We kept turning them down, but they were very persistent." —Bob
|
|
Uncle Fester #11, 1986
|
"Three years ago, between Denver and Los Angeles, maybe our records
were available in Reno, Salt Lake, Vegas, and maybe Santa Fe." —Grant
|
|
|
|
|
Daily Tar Heel, 02 Mar 1987
|
It was almost as if the band just played the record and lip-synched
to it in "Putting on the Hits" fashion. Is the band preparing for an appearance on
"Solid Gold"?
|
|
Son of Quincy #2, Early 1987
|
"I had a skateboard in about 1966... I painted it white with a blue stripe
down the middle, and my sister took it while it was wet & went
whoowhowaichoowawoo all over the paint. Eventually my mother threw it away
when I was seven." —Grant
|
|
The Rocket, Mar 1987
|
...the best band in America may finally break the mould. Despite the lack of
an obvious single, Warehouse: Songs And Stories may actually sell
some copies.
|
Nineteen, Mar 1987
|
"Les gens de notre âge ont le désir de changer le monde pour
le reste de leur vie. Ainsi firent les hippies, les beatniks, le jazz au
début, le ragtime... seul le nom qu'on donne au mouvement varie
avec l'époque."
—Grant
|
|
Graffiti, Mar 1987
|
"I really don't have that much in common with some 14-year-old antisocial prick
with a mohawk, but when I was a 14-year-old antisocial prick with a mohawk I
developed some friendships and camaraderies and I see the young people who've
grown up, who've been my peers at other times ... we're all pretty nice
people."
—Grant
|
|
Metro, 09 Mar 1987
|
"My songs, albeit a little lighthearted, are songs as well, you know. You see,
if I'm gonna have a miserable time, the last thing I'm gonna do is write a
four-minute song about it and have to live that over every night we play. "
—Grant
|
|
Hartford Courant, 23 Mar 1987
|
It stopped the band for a second, and after the song, Hart ran to the
front of the stage to curse whoever did it.
Later, gleeful fans who let their excitement manifest itself in anything
resembling slam dancing were brutally ejected.
|
|
Creem, Jun 1987
|
"...if you want to take it outside a la Norman, Oklahoma, playing the same
note for 45 minutes — you can." —Bob
|
|
Guitar For The Practicing Musician, Jul 1987
|
"We were not a skinny tie band and we didn't sound like Prince, so we
didn't fit in. We were brats; we told everybody where to go. It paid off."
—Bob
|
|
RAM, 11 Jul 1987
|
"If you're worried about commercial success,
you worry about singles. If you're worried about expressing yourself, you
worry about albums. I worry about albums."
—Bob
|
|
Musician, Aug 1987
|
"...Grant came out, picked her up, power-slammed her into the blue
paint so she was covered, her whole backside, and people decided they were
going to pick her up by her elbows and bounce her off the walls, leaving these
blue buttprints all around the club. Needless to say, we didn't get paid...."
—Bob
|
|
Hot Sounds, Sep 1987
|
"'Bed Of Nails,' for instance, is a love song.
Sure, it's full of pain, but love isn't always chocolates and nights at
the theatre."
—Bob
|
|
|
|
|
Boston Globe (Hart), 11 Jan 1990
|
...Grant Hart has assembled a quirky package of irresistible material.
|
|
The Bob #38 (Mould), 1990
|
"The majors got really hip all of a sudden— everything got hip and
now nothing is hip." —Bob
|
|
Boston Globe (Mould), 1990
|
At times, as Hart has alleged, Mould is a little soft ("It's Too Late" and
"Out of Your Life"), but there is more than enough grit to keep
even the most hardcore satisfied....
|
|
GQ (Mould), Sep 1990
|
"I thrive on that hate. 'C'mon, hate me some more,' y'know? 'See if I
care anymore.'" —Bob
|
|
X Magazine #5 (Mould), 1990
|
"So [songwriting]'s nothing new to me (laughs). It's one of the only
things I've ever really enjoyed." —Bob
|
|
Lowell Sun (Mould), 22 Oct 1990
|
"Workbook set quite a distance between the past and present," said
Mould. "In the aftermath of the band, other members made some pretty
extreme statements that were hurtful. I'm content to let it go."
|
|
Boston Globe (Mould), 24 Oct 1990
|
Mould, 30, sold the farm, endured the breakup of a relationship and moved
to New York City. It all shows in "Black Sheets of Rain...."
|
|
Spiral Scratch, Nov 1990
|
Warner Bros were dismayed when the
Huskers explained that they had enough material for a double LP
but eventually they gave in with some compromise and agreed to the format.
For example, the band had originally wanted a gatefold sleeve, but their
label said no.
|