Hüsker Dü 'Zen Arcade'

Husker Du
Zen Arcade
It's hard to know what to write sometimes in the space I allocate for various reasons. For example here I think to myself what can I write about Hüsker Dü that hasn't already been written or what people do not already know. However, then I need to remind myself that I'm posting this for those who may not know much about this album or even this band.

It was 1984 when Hüsker Dü released this dbl album. It was their third release. Led by Bob Mould (guitar) & Grant Hart (drums) with Greg Norton (bass) this Minneapolis trio were genuine leaders in the hardcore/punk scene, although in later releases they would abandon their earlier pedigree & move into a more 'alt' rock driven sound especially heard on Flip Your Wig.

Believe it or not this is considered punks first ever 'concept' album; primarily relating to the anguish of growing up, it's punks first double album as it was previously thought to be totally absurd. And standing firm with punk tradition this dbl album was recorded in ~80 mins. Hüsker Dü whether credit is given to them or not clearly paved the way for bands such as The Pixies, Nirvana & even Sonic Youth to make their presence known in the late 80's & beyond.

The final 13 minute track on this album (all the others are short, more in the atypical punk style) has all the hallmarks of what Sonic Youth are about; noise, fuzz etc. And let's not forget lengthy instrumental tracks were not at all consistent with that punk ethos! And really it seems despite the fact that much about this album is punk or considered so at the time, much of it appears to be about subverting genres by way of constructing something disguised as punk, yet going well beyond the standard punk limitations.

Just out of interest it was Bob Mould who penned the majority of the punk/hardcore style tracks & Grant Hart the more poppier tunes & were at times likened to a punk version of Lennon & McCartney. By todays standards this dbl album may seem somewhat tame, but there is little doubt that 22yrs ago this release was groundbreaking & is to this day considered one of the most influential albums in the punk rock scene, but also regularly listed in the music press as one of the best rock albums of all time.
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