Hüsker Du "Warehouse songs and stories"

I'm hoping it's just the calm before a storm, and that we'll be getting a tease of something more developed before too long...

 

By now, you'd wish they simply have put together something like a crowdfunding campaign to buy back those rights. I am sure that there are many of us who would be happy to chip in, and make the business case more compelling for Bob, Greg and Grant's estate.

 

There is absolutely no way both Mould & Hart, both control freaks, would do something like this regarding their own business. People would start claiming they owned a piece of it because they "donated".

 

Good album, good collection of songs, like pretty much every Husker Du album, horrible sounding -- that boom and sizzle all kick drum and upper harmonics sound (like the upper harmonics of whatever distortion pedal Mould was using and the snare, not the snare drum, the actually snare, and cymbals, and a suckout of everything in between) which was largely the Husker Du sound at that point even live (I saw 'em a couple of times, including on a tour promoting this final album, and that's what they sounded like live then too). Actually, as much as I love a lot of the Husker Du material, I find I rarely go back and listen to any of it. It just sounds so bad (and maybe the album that's the best collection of songs, New Day Rising, is the worse sounding). As for this Hart-Mould thing, I don't why it has to be a contest between fans (I get why it was a contest between band frenemies). I think Mould has a more better songs in the Husker Du canon. Hart's output could be great, or not so great. But most of all, Mould put over a song as a lead performer better than Hart ever did, which probably has a big impact on the impression of each as songwriter.

 

The Huskers are a top 5 band for me, and this record shows them maturing as songwriters. Great record!

 

Best 80s album in my opinion. I simply love it.

 

I wouldn't quite call it a masterpiece, but it's probably my favorite. Strong songwriting from both Mould and Hart.

 

I love it. Sell out and Husker Du don’t belong in the same sentence! It’s their most listened to album for me. I do find the sound quality totally unique, but entirely bothersome all at once.

 

good news for the modern man is also very good

 

I worked with a guy who knew Grant's parents and went to their church. He told Grant's mom that I was a fan. She was cleaning out Grant's closet and gave us sealed cassette copies of this album. My co-worker wasn't much of a Husker Du, or similar music fan, so he gave them both to me.

 

First one I ever heard and one of the best. What a way to go out!

 

Well, you say you don't see why it has to be a contest, yet you follow that up with several statements in which you negatively compare Grant's abilities to Bob's, thus perpetuating the "contest" mentality. It's inevitable that if one person expresses a preference in one direction, people who feel differently are going to voice their opinions back at you. I disagree with all your above statements, fwiw.

 

Like this one. Your mention of the album got me to take it out and I'm playing it right now. One of my favorites by him, forgot how much I loved it when it came out. I'm convinced this album is hugely underrated and deserves a rethink as far as its place in his canon.

 

And that's where the story ends?

 

It's inevitable, the competition between the songwriters and then their-us fans, critics, audience taking sides so to speak.

I think Mould's vocals are 'great' or 'really good' on this album. His voice and singing sounds really strong throughout to me. Grant Hart of course also has a unique voice and tone and phrasing (reminds me a HINT of Prince actually) and the way their songs kind of piggyback in sequence makes the whole experience of the album more interesting and enjoyable for me. I supppose it could have been accomplished via each having a side of each LP with the last side maybe teaming up, splitting the songs as the whole 2 LP set basically does.

The approach to presenting these songs seems acutely tuned to them going through these songs with a 'fine-toothed' pitchfork or comb! They are somewhat minimalist in focusing on only the song itself yet still many of the arrrangements suit the songs perfectly and whether it be guitar solos or backing vocals, there's just enough 'music' to strike the right balance in the presentation of these songs. It can be a demanding listen too imo. They don't leave much time or space for 'wandering' or 'dreaming' but the songs themselves and the corresponding music and very focused arrangements in them are meant to supply that. It's ambitious and challenging in that respect imo.

In re-listening to Warehouse, I still have Side 4 to get through. Imo, the Sound of Hart's appealing and maybe gentler sensibility and the Sound of Mould's more hardened and maybe more turbulent intensity is in some ways represented, in my eye, visually through the richly dense and colorful album cover. The Warehouse songs and the 2 writer's unique voices and styles create this kind of kaleidoscopic effect.

It's a solid double album that is difficult not to give lots of praise, credit, and props to, imo.

 

Turn It Around is my least favorite Husker song and has always been. I never turn it off though. Somehow Mould's lyrics sounded preachy on this album but I don't know why. I think it feels like there is a lot of lyrics and they feel heavy to me. Like he changed how he wrote lyrics and was less direct and more descriptive like he was trying to write a novel. I felt that started on Candy Apple grey and I didn't think his songs on that album were as good as what came before. It seemed to culminate on Workbook where the music and lyrics felt like they fit together more. Those type of lyrics didn't fit with Husker Du for me. It's like he went through a Pete Townshend-Chinese Eyes phase. I didn't care for that album lyrically either.

 

Probably a recording of one of the live performances. I never listened to this record until I got a live show from the European tour (after they stopped playing the whole album, but they opened with the first 8 songs and added a few more later). I went back and listened to the album and realized it was the weird production that had pur me off it.

 

What a shame that we'll probably never hear a properly remastered version of "Zen Arcade", "New Day Rising" or "Flip Your Wig" The other aren't bad but "Zen Arcade" definitely needs a remaster or even a remix badly.

 

And I think it's one of Mould's best songs. Heartfelt, honest, raging and still hopeful, it's one his most honest songs about himself. The live version from the you tube concert obliterates the studio version. Just goes to show you how different songs work for different people.

 

It's the keyboards mostly...and the song itself.

 

Not Warehouse related, but fun nevertheless. Someone posted the complete Huskers show from Camden Palace in London in -85. I was there and it was bloody awesome!



The energy level from Bob is out of this world.

 

I met someone at a wedding a couple years ago seated at my table who worked for SST for a few years. Totally random it happened and that the topic came up came up. I was like 'sorry, wait!'. Had to be like 'talk to me about Greg and the catalog'.

I would not hold your breath regarding any reissue program. It's not like...he's hostile (too too much) to some of the previous bands it's more like it's just something he does not think about much (I know it's hard to imagine).

The person tried to be as gently inquisitive as they could about giving all the big guns they have rights to another pass but he just sort of avoids directly addressing it.

Really just is into pot and cats at this point. And doing new music. It's a huge shame for us. It blows my mind the same CD version of Zen Arcade I bought when I was a teenager is the same one a teenager today would buy.

Like, I'd even settle for new liners even!

 

I just picked up a clean copy of Warehouse on vinyl. Couldn't be happier. It sounds glorious.

As a 15 year old in 1987, I was late to the Husker Du buzz going around at the time. Nobody I knew in school listened to them. Not sure how I heard about them to be honest. Probably a music mag as I grabbed those obsessively back then, no internet and all.

Anyways, I had read about this album and how great it was and so I bought it on a whim. I remember thinking, with this many songs, I'm bound to like some of it. I was hooked instantly! The opening track "These Important Years" blew me away. "Standing in The Rain, Ice Cold Ice (the bass!), Back from Somewhere, Could You Be The One (always gets stuck in my head), Friend You Got To Fall, Tell You Why Tomorrow, Not Peculiar". So many great songs. This album WAS my sophomore year of high school.

I was learning to play the guitar at that time too and was always noodling on how to play these tunes. Of course I got their back catalog after this one and love it all.

New Day Rising is probably my favorite overall Husker Du album, but this one will always hold a special place in my heart. And now I have it on vinyl. Which is a good thing, because the CD is all scratched to hell!

 

Great album. These Important Years is one of the best songs they ever recorded. Their Eight Miles High cover being the other!

Production on Warehouse was better than Candy Apple Grey I thought. The drums anyway. In CAG they sound like they were recorded in a bathtub. However, on both Warner albums Bob's guitar tone pales in comparison to the SST albums.

 

I can't remember where or when I heard this - probably from a Grant Hart interview - but I heard that the major stumbling block was that Mould wanted to do this, but wanted to get the catalogue back as a "Bob Mould Product", with the other members paid out and cut out. He needed their consent and co-operation for any legal action, but they were understandably reluctant to do this if it meant regaining the rights to the recordings momentarily and then losing them again (to Mould) immediately afterwards.