substitute: (slowwave)
substitute ([personal profile] substitute) wrote2008-04-19 02:53 pm
Entry tags:

Husker Du

When I heard them it was love, immediately.

On the printed page without music, their lyrics aren't that great most of the time.

The records sounded awful. Volume all over the place, buried vocals, and a thick dumb thudding drum sound that one engineer described as "golf clubs hitting a frozen mattress."

Live, you couldn't hear anything but Bob's guitar and it sounded like a power tool.

But they had HEART. I still can't hear most of their songs without singing along. The middle of the 1980s didn't have much heart. Slick pop, fun dance music, loud punk and industrial, and self-conscious jangle pop were all good in their own ways.

Husker Du just sang about how they felt, their horror and joy, their beliefs and fears, without any pretense or immature cynicism. And we sang along because we felt it too.

Thanks, guys.

[identity profile] auntiesiannan.livejournal.com 2008-04-19 10:08 pm (UTC)(link)
Is that Harvey Pekar in your icon?

[identity profile] substitute.livejournal.com 2008-04-19 10:31 pm (UTC)(link)
Nope, it's me. One of my dreams was used in Jesse Reklaw's "Slow Wave" strip:

[identity profile] auntiesiannan.livejournal.com 2008-04-20 10:03 am (UTC)(link)
Wow, dream-you looks like Harvey Pekar and that is rad. :D

Sorry, just finished The Quitter and I have HP on my mind.