Husker Du - Zen Arcade
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Music CD Cover
Artist: Husker DuBrand: HUSKER DU
Edition: Music CD
CD Release Date: 1990-10-25
Music Label: Sst Records
Soundtracks:
- Something I Learned Today
- Broken Home, Broken Heart
- Never Talking To You Again
- Chartered Trips
- Dreams Reoccurring
- Indecision Time
- Hare Krsna
- Beyond The Threshold
- Pride
- I'll Never Forget You
- The Biggest Lie
- What's Going On
- Masochism World
- Standing By The Sea
- Somewhere
- One Step At A Time
- Pink Turns To Blue
- Newest Industry
- Monday Will Never Be The Same
- Whatever
- The Tooth Fairy And The Princess
- Turn On The News
- Reoccurring Dreams
Free Music Notes for Zen Arcade
Free Music Review: Greatest Concept Album Ever Made
Hit: 5 Stars
Punk music has become difficult to fully define. It's often labeled "fast" (think Dead Kennedy's "Buzz bomb"), loud (think Black Flag's "My War") and angry (again, "My War"), but these labels overlook the variety and depth of feeling many punk bands were capable of. Husker Du is no exception. Zen Arcade's "Pride" is the typical punk song but more like the first Monet; it is so purely punk that it is beautiful. They're actually throwing folding chairs in the recording room at the end of the song just to add to the chaos! Where "Pride" and "I'll Never Forget You" are your typical punk scorchers, the band takes punk in directions that deepen the expression.
First, Zen Arcade is a concept album. In sum, the story is about an unhappy teen who leaves home with a "Broken Home, Broken Heart", enjoys drugs on his "Chartered Trips" brushes against the "Hare Krishna" street religion, discovers himself sexually conflicted in a "Masochism World" then realizes that his dream of freedom and success may be in vain as he has to return home amidst the "Biggest Lie". The concept ends with the kid waking up at the end of the album by the "Tooth Fairy and Princess" realizing the entire experience was one of many "Reoccurring Dreams". Unlike the Beatle's Sergeant Pepper's, this concept album is strongly cohesive from start to finish yet still manages to avoid loosing it's musicality along the way as Pink Floyd's the Wall did.
I first heard the album in the late 80's and then, as now, was blown away by a few numbers on the albums. As far as generic punk goes, I think Pride and I Will Never Forget You are the genre's Shakespeare. They are bold, fast and scorching but most importantly, they're honest. They do not pose to be chaotic- they are chaotic, but somehow remaining fun and raw. I still can't get over the idea of chair throwing as a musical instrument. It seems more sincere and heartfelt than say Pete Townsend and his hordes of followers who've dashed a guitar in mock anger, or whatever it is they're dashing guitars for. Aside from these, other stand out songs include:
Hare Krishna. A little repetitive after a minute or so yet effective in blending an inane chant with western, punk-a-billy rock and guitar work that is what any guitar player can only hope to spit out- fast, berserk, original, simple and powerful.
Chartered Trips: Beautiful lyrics (as usual). Mould's voice seems like a child struggling to express the most important thing in his life as it nearly cracks. The guitar paints an even, up-beat canvas along steady, simple drums.
Where "Pride" scorches "Beyond the Threshold" tackles the frustration of small town isolationism and grinding routine perfectly.
There were only a handful of labels that supported punk acts, SST records being one of the biggest. Due to that, Husker Du were able to borrow one of the lead singers from Black Flag (Dez) to write one of the best party songs since "Six Pack". "What's Going On" captures the same football anthem, party feel but at the same time it is more philosophical. The singer recognizes, in his own confusion, that the problem isn't so much the outside world as his own perspective; a great "WTF am I doing?" song, like when you look for a leak in the roof and accidentally fall through the ceiling.
Masochism World- Mould's simple, repetitive guitar rhythms along with heavy echo vocal effects create a wall of sound that is beautifully punctuated with angelic female vocals in the center contrasting with his screaming. A true 'battel of the sexes' in punk duet form. Frank Black of the Pixies is often quoted for his ad he attracted Kim Deal by. I really think this song was what he had in mind when he wrote that ad. It just kicks.
The Tooth Fairy and the Princess- pure childlike psychedelic meets punk. Repetitive along the lines of Hare Krishna, but still beautiful and daring.
Dreams Reoccuring/Reoccuring Dreams: Two songs, the first which helps open this concept album and the later which closes with 14 minutes of instrumental work. The first (Dreams Reoccurring) splices a forward track with back masking of the same, providing a dream-like sense of misdirection, as if to suggest the main character is in a dream. The second is straight-forward power rock, with solos by everyone along a consistent, fast beat. Reoccurring Dreams is really the gutsiest piece on the album, or perhaps, of any album made in the last 20 years- but some might find it self-indulgent egotism. Here, Mould plays everything he feels and everyone backs him up as though they were a seasoned jazz trio. At one point he hits a note and allows the feedback to run for over a minute like an air raid siren. One minute of SOLID FEEDBACK! For guitarists, this is a dream. Metal heads will always have Van Halen's "Eruption", but true punks will always have Reoccurring Dreams.
What makes this album a treasure, along with all great albums, is that we get so much from the artist. While Husker Du may label it a concept album, it is very difficult to disassociate the main character with the band itself- thus within a single album they capture the full spectrum of teenage triumph, aspiration, dreams, remorse, regret, pain and beauty. True, they take two albums (23 songs) to do it, but again, it's one very cohesive work. If many bands owe a debt to Nirvana and Nirvana owes a debt to the Pixies, then even more owe a long unrecognized debt to Husker Du who put out a gutsy, beautiful statement that stands the test of time better than the punk labels they were tagged with.
Zen Arcade Poster
No Description Available.Genre: Popular Music
Media Format: Compact Disk
Rating:
Release Date: 15-JAN-1990
Even when this Minneapolis trio dabbled in familiar sounds, such as the strummed folk of "Never Talking to You Again" or the Bo Diddley-style R&B of "Hare Krsna," what came out on this swirling 1984 double album was clenched, emotional, and intense. Over 23 short songs that helped define the still-thriving punk subgenre known as hardcore, leaders Grant Hart and Bob Mould screamed their alienation in the fastest language they could possibly produce. Though Mould is the more personal songwriter, lashing out at liars and (presumably) lovers, both Hüsker heads come up with psycho-depression choruses like "What's going on inside my head?" --Steve Knopper
They didn't yet have terms like "alternative rock" when Minneapolis's Husker Du made their mark as one of the 1980's most influential bands. With two skilled songwriters--guitarist Bob Mould and drummer Grant Hart--the genre-bending trio (bassist Greg Norton completed the lineup) juxtaposed hardcore punk speed and aggression with pop-leaning melodies. Add their uniformly thoughtful, introspective lyrics, and you've got this stunning 1984 double-length release, a semi-concept album about youthful rites of passage. It includes such memorable tracks as Mould's "Broken Home, Broken Heart" Hart's "Never Talking to You Again," and the evocative 14-minute instrumental closer, "Reocurring Dreams." --Billy Altman
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