- CLASSIC ALBUM OF THE WEEK
- Hüsker Dü "Warehouse: Songs And Stories" 1987 (USA)
- Grant Hart has a birthday this week, so it's about time the legendary Hüsker Dü was inducted into the CAOTW hall of fame. Founded in the Twin Cities at the end of the 1970's by burnouts Hart (drums, vocals, album covers) and Greg Norton (bass) along with college dropout Bob Mould (guitar & vocals), Hüsker Dü blazed one of the brightest trails through the 1980's underground that paved the way for the rise of Nirvana and "grunge rock" in the following decade. But more specifically for the purposes of this show, they were always one of the most "psychedelic" of the indie punk rock bands, including covers of The Byrds and Donovan in their sets, and favoring backwards guitar solos, gobs of reverb and other old-timey tricks in the recording studio. One of my favorite of their records was their swansong, this double-album of "mature" songs which is positively crammed with hooks yet still pummels the senses with punk rock intensity.
- Here's the band showing their 1960's roots with their famous cover of The Byrds' "Eight Miles High" recorded at a rock festival in Holland. And here they are vainly attempting to break through to the mainstream, performing their non-hit single from this album "Could You Be The One" on The Joan Rivers Show. Here's a much weirder, home-spun clip of the band live on local TV in 1986 immediately after they signed their major label contract with Warner Brothers. And finally, here's Grant Hart singing one of the group's most popular tunes way back in 1981 -- the morbid classic "Diane".