Loud and Fast Rules

A bad day on the health front today (today as in as I write this, not necessarily when I actually post it). Had to leave work early as my stomach was feeling unsettled. The last time I felt under the weather a thunderstorm came seemingly out of nowhere and sent a lightning bolt through one of oaks in the back yard. That tree is slated to be cut down in just over a week from now and none too soon; the number of dead and dying leaves has increased at a rapid pace over the past few weeks and I’ll feel much better once the tree is gone.

With some time on my hands, I figured I’d take the opportunity to transfer some movies off my DVR and onto a DVD. It was an easy decision to the afternoon a Preston Sturges-fest. The Palm Beach Story ended a little while ago and now Sullivan’s Travels is on. I recorded Sullivan on a whim as I wanted to see Joel McCrea in other films in addition to The Palm Beach Story; I don’t know if I’ll get around to also transferring Ride the High Country, one of McCrea’s much later films, onto a DVD today. But I certainly can recommend Sullivan’s Travels. In the film, McCrea plays a director who poses as a hobo while doing from field research for a movie he wants to make about people living in poverty. Also stars the always talented and attractive Veronica Lake.

In between movies I took the opportunity to catch up on some news and give the program guide a quick peek to see if there was anything remotely interesting on this afternoon. On VH1 Classic they were playing We Are the 80s, a program that features nothing but videos from the Decade of Reagan. I’ve been watching that program a lot whenever I see that it’s on. It’s a nice musical journey back in time, but a great many of the videos are really, really cheesy. Some of the music is really cheesy as well. The big hair, sleeveless kamikaze shirts, narrow ties, excessive makeup, synthesizer and electronic drum driven music and videos haven’t translated well almost twenty years later. My personal choice for worst combination of song and video is Taco’s Puttin’ on the Ritz, an absolute feast for the eyes and ears if you enjoy musical masochism. Taco reminds me of Buster Poindexter, but at twenty days post-mortem.

Watching these videos from twenty years ago reminded me of how much music has changed in just a short amount of time, and to an extent, how much it hasn’t changed. I was watching the Andrews Sisters belting out “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy” in Abbott & Costello’s 1941 film Buck Privates when the thought occurred to me that were they just starting out today, some half-wit A&R rep from some scumbag record company would try to lure Patty away from the act and go solo. She was, after all, the focal point of the trio: always in the center of the three, she always sang the solos, and in the few films the sisters were in, Patty always got most (if not all) of the dialogue. Certainly recent musical history is replete with examples of music companies luring female leads away from their groups in hopes that their solo careers would generate more revenue. As examples, look at Edie Brickell, who was lured away from the New Bohemians and now enjoys a successful career as a multi-platinum artist on Billboard’s “Where are they now” chart; Aimee Mann was convinced that leaving her band Til Tuesday was a good idea; Gwen Stefani is now on her own, leaving her bandmates in No Doubt far behind her; George Michael even dumped the ever talented Andrew Ridgeley and their group Wham for greener pastures in public park men’s restrooms.

I don’t listen to much of the music I was into during the 1980s, though there are some bands that I still like listening to. Once upon a time the city of Minneapolis (of all places) was a focal point of the music industry, producing such acts as Prince and The Replacements. One band that came from there was a group called Hüsker Dü. It occurs to me that I’m a fan of triads when it comes to bands: The Police, Rush, Cream, The Jam. The Huskers were a three-piece band as well with Bob Mould on guitar, Grant Hart on drums, and Greg Norton on the bass. To describe them as punk would be too simplistic, though their early stuff, especially everything on their Land Speed Record EP, could easily be called punk. I read one description of their music as “molten metal pouring from your speakers,” and it’s a very accurate description. Mould’s screaming Gibson Flying V guitar hits your ears like a railroad spike being driven through your head, but in a good way.

I first heard of the group back in 1985 when one of my co-workers at the time brought in their “New Day Rising” album for another co-worker to listen to. He didn’t care much for it, but I immediately fell in love with their music. The first two tracks on the album, New Day Rising and Girl on Heaven Hill hit you like a one-two combination from Mike Tyson (in his good days). Soon thereafter I went out and bought their double album “Zen Arcade,” which had been released in 1984, and I was hooked. For me the Husker’s music captured all the energy that I was looking for in a band. Punk music captured my teenage angst well, but a great deal of it was not very accessible. Prior to hearing the Huskers I had already become of fan of Black Flag’s excellent “Damaged” album, and SoCal’s DIY surf-punk band Agent Orange; their “Living in Darkness” album is still one of my all-time favs.

As the 80s progressed more Husker albums followed: Candy Apple Grey, Flip Your Wig, and 1987s Warehouse: Songs and Stories. Between Candy Apple Grey and Flip Your Wig, the Husker’s left SST Records and signed with Warner Brothers, at which point their music became more melodic but still with an edge. Songs like Don’t Wanna Know if You’re Lonely, Makes No Sense at All, and Could You Be The One got some airplay on MTV, of all places.

Warehouse would turnout to be their swansong, and the liner notes on the album sleeve almost read like a farewell note from the band. The tour for the album ended in 1988 and so did the band. Only one more new release from the band would come, 1994s “The Living End,” a collection of live tunes that Warner Brothers passed on releasing for a number of years. “The Living End” captures a lot of the energy of a typical Husker Du show.

The band’s been gone for almost eighteen years now, but I enjoy listening to their music as much now as when I first heard it. Bob Mould has gone on to a solo career, and also fronted the band Sugar in the early 90s; Grant Hart started his own band, Nova Mob, but is now pursuing a solo career; Greg Norton has his own restaurant which he runs with his wife in Wisconsin.

On album #1 on my copy of Zen Arcade, someone scribbled a brief message in the space between the label and where the album grooves end. It reads, “Loud and Fast Rules.” It certainly does. Hüsker Dü: one of the best bands you've never heard of. Do yourself a favor and go find the Husker’s Zen Arcade or New Day Rising albums—you’ll be glad you did.