Zen Arcade

A quick re-post as it is two years now since Grant Hart passed away. This is difficult for me to understand or imagine as I’m only a year away from the age Grant was when he passed and there is still so much to do…

Grant Hart, drummer and singer of the seminal alternative rock band Hüsker Dü, has died at 56 after being diagnosed with cancer. The news was confirmed by his bandmate Bob Mould in a lengthy Facebook post. 

"The tragic news of Grant's passing was not unexpected to me," Mould wrote. "My deepest condolences and thoughts go to Grant's family, friends, and fans around the world. Grant Hart was a gifted visual artist, a wonderful story teller, and a frighteningly talented musician. Everyone touched by his spirit will always remember." 

"We made amazing music together," Mould continued in his tribute to Hart. "We (almost) always agreed on how to present our collective work to the world. When we fought about the details, it was because we both cared. The band was our life. It was an amazing decade ... Godspeed, Grant. I miss you. Be with the angels."

In many ways, it's impossible to overestimate the impact of Hüsker Dü's Zen Arcade on the American rock underground in the '80s. It's the record that exploded the limits of hardcore and what it could achieve. Hüsker Dü broke all of the rules with Zen Arcade. First and foremost, it's a sprawling concept album, even if the concept isn't immediately clear or comprehensible. More important are the individual songs. Both Bob Mould and Grant Hart abandoned the strict "fast, hard, loud" rules of hardcore punk with their songs for Zen Arcade. Without turning down the volume, Hüsker Dü try everything -- pop songs, tape experiments, acoustic songs, pianos, noisy psychedelia. Hüsker Dü willed themselves to make such a sprawling record -- as the liner notes state, the album was recorded and mixed within 85 hours and consists almost entirely of first takes. That reckless, ridiculously single-minded approach does result in some weak moments -- the sound is thin and the instrumentals drag on a bit too long -- but it's also the key to the success of Zen Arcade. Hüsker Dü sound phenomenally strong and possessed, as if they could do anything. The sonic experimentation is bolstered by Mould and Hart's increased sense of song craft. Neither writer is afraid to let his pop influences show on Zen Arcade, which gives the songs -- from the unrestrained rage of "Something I Learned Today" and the bitter, acoustic "Never Talking to You Again" to the eerie "Pink Turns to Blue" and anthemic "Turn On the News" -- their weight. It's music that is informed by hardcore punk and indie rock ideals without being limited by them.

Ripped and posted in both FLAC and MP3 @ 320kbps, as a revived tribute for Grant Hart.

Hüsker Dü; Zen Arcade

1.      Something I Learned Today

2.      Broken Home, Broken Heart

3.      Never Talking To You Again

4.      Chartered Trips

5.      Dreams Reoccurring

6.      Indecision Time

7.      Hare Krsna

8.      Beyond The Threshold

9.      Pride

10.   I’ll Never Forget You

11.   The Biggest Lie

12.   What’s Going On?

13.   Masochism World

14.   Standing By The Sea

15.   Somewhere

16.   One Step At A Time

17.   Pink Turns To Blue

18.   Newest Industry

19.   Monday Will Never Be The Same

20.   Whatever

21.   The Tooth Fairy And The Princess

22.   Turn On The News

23.   Reoccurring Dreams