Minneapolis

What was in the water in Minneapolis in the 80s? Some of the all time best alternative rock came out of there. If you read this blog regularly, you'll know of my obsession with the Replacements, recently rekindled by Steve Goldstein.

But there was more. Husker Du led by Bob Mould who went on to record some great stuff under various other names. Soul Asylum. Gear Daddies. This was the place to be in the early 80s if you liked alternative rock.

Well most of the guys who made this scene gathered last night in Minneapolis to raise money for the Soul Asylum guitarist Karl Mueller. I'll have to see if the show was recorded and is available in Bit Torrent.

How do I know about the show? Because Jackson clued me in to Bob Mould's blog.

Now that's something I've got to subscribe to. Bob Mould. What a musical genius he is.

Comments

[Jason Chervokas]

Fred, I wouldn't call Bob Mould a genius. But I do think that Husker Du was one of the most influential bands in the last 20 years, but a fogotten influence.

When they abandoned harcore for their signature merging of thrash punk w/ folk rock, they essentially invented the sound of today's pop punk bands (I'm thinking off all kinds of groups from Blink 182 to Green Day). But the never made a dime from their invention.

One of the first dates I ever went on w/ my wife was a Husker Du gig at Irving Plaza around the time of Flip Your Wig (their best record I think) where the band blew out the PA during "Makes No Sense At All."

Your litany of MN 80s music giants neglects Prince who was also making the best and most important music of his career in the city at the time.

But the indie rock explosion of the 80s, which set the sounds for the commercial punk explosion of the 90s, wasn't just about NN. There was Blag Flag and the Minutemen in and around LA, Meat Puppets in Arizona, Dinosaur Jr. in MA.

I was always partial to Husker Du and the Meat Puppets among that crowd.

[hugh macleod]

I would say Husker Du was genius. Can you imagine Nirvana without "Candy Apple Grey"? I can't.

[jackson]

I have three words for Jason 'Black Sheets of Rain', okay four.

[Jason Chervokas]

guys I'm familiar with all that. I like husker du a lot. I never was much enamored w/ Bob Mould's stuff after Husker (tho' "If I Can't Change Your Mind" from one of the Sugar albums is just about the greatest power pop I've ever heard). But genius? No. Excellent? Yes. Influential? No doubt. But Stravinsky was a musical genius. Ornette Coleman is a genius. James Brown is a genius. I don't even think Husker Du even made one truly great 5-star gem album although the band made a bunch of excellent 4-star albums.