Skip to main content

Hüsker Dü - Sorry Somehow

Winter comes and I think of bands, hunkered down in basements, turning up their amps to survive the bleak weather. As I stroll through the idyllic neighborhoods of my town, I sometimes wonder if the next wave of punk rebellion might be brewing beneath the restless facade of raised ranches and capes. Perhaps this is just the anachronistic dream of a music lover on the verge of a mid-life crisis. Hopefully not.

 During the early 80s, Minneapolis (a somewhat sleepy town) was home to a thriving underground rock scene that gave birth to acts like The Replacements, The Suburbs, Soul Asylum and a band that named themselves after a board game, Hüsker Dü. Hüsker Dü has always been the least accessible to me. Their sound was edgier and songs tended to be faster and forelorn. Lately, I've really fallen in love with the group's uncompromisingly original approach to music. Their songs endure in a way that some other bands from this era haven't.

 Tonight's sonic selection is the first single from Candy Apple Grey, Hüsker Dü's major label debut. This song seems to capture the sense of cabin fever that can seize a snowbound rock & roller. The tune was written and sung by drummer, Grant Hart (who passed away earlier this year). Is it me, or does Hart sound a little like a punk version of Paul Stanley on this number? 

Comments

Post a Comment

Trending Tracks

Sweetbottom - Shrapnel In My Ankle

Sweetbottom -  Angels of the Deep . I can provide a totally valid explanation for the existence of this record in my collection. You see, I'd been eyeing this peculiar 12" at my favorite little hole-in-the-wall record shop for about a month. It was in the $5 box. After a few weeks it finally landed in the $1 bin. For the album artwork alone, I thought, this is worth a buck. Four late-70s dudes clad in white, cotton shirts and pants, hairy chests and... white shag carpet. Sweetbottom indeed. Adding to the allure, the notes revealed that the album had been recorded at the Shade Tree Resort Studio in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin between 1977-78. Could this be like the Great Lakes version of Yacht Rock? Could I be holding some long-forgotten, Midwest soft rock obscurity? I was tempted to cheat and pull out my cellphone to Google them, but then I paused. This is $1 we're talking about. Let's take the risk and live dangerously. As I approached the register, I noted that the ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Belem & The Mekanics - Norvégien

Tonight, I offer you a sampling of progressive circus music for steam punks. Belem & The Mekanics is Didier Laloy (diatonic accordion), Kathy Adam (cello) and the composer Walter Hus. Laloy and Adam play along with Hus' 15-piece orchestra, composed of mechanized instruments (organs, accordions and percussion) that are controlled by a computer. The whole affair builds on the idea of the orchestrion, a machine that autonomously plays music to simulate an orchestra -- think player piano, but on a grand scale. Apparently, these were quite popular in Belgium and France throughout the early 1900s. I chose this song, Norvégien , for its dynamics and spotlight of the mechanical tick-tocking rhythm, which eventually builds into a drumbeat (played on the instruments by a computer). If you're interested in seeing behind the scenes and understanding the mechanics of their music, check this out: Here's a little extra homework assignment. Who else has performed...
Post a Comment
Read more