New Day Rising - Husker Du (1985)

I didn’t listen to punk when I was a kid, but I was dimly aware of Husker Du when they were together, mostly from people’s T-shirts and their logo scratched in the desks of Edison Junior High. Beyond that, it wasn’t until a few years later that I got exposed to them through some friends, and my high school debate coach, and the college radio station i worked at in Minnesota when I first went to school.

Like a lot of 80s bands, Husker Du started as a hardcore band. Hardcore is an amazing music, but it’s limited in its range of expression. So Bob Mould (O_o), Grant Hart, and Greg Norton started branching out and experimenting, and they struck on a much more accessible sound that let them show off their increasing instrumental and songwriting skills.

I talked before about Mould’s “swarm of bees” guitar sound, and it’s prevalent on this album in particular. Hart, at first listen, seems like he can barely keep a beat, but when you spend much time listening to it, you hear how he just has an idiosyncratic delivery, often behind the beat but always rock steady overall. The harmonies aren’t exactly mathematical, but they use them to great effect. The two best (imo) Husker records, this one and Flip Your Wig, both came out in 1985. It was an amazing year for them.

Tracks I Liked

I Apologize - pure pop mayhem.

Celebrated Summer - A weirdly great anthem of youth and nostalgia

Books About UFOs - I’d be remiss if I didn’t put one of Grant’s songs on here. He had a very different aesthetic from Bob, but his songs are just as good when he landed them on records.