Hüsker Dü Songs Ranked
Hüsker Dü was an American punk rock band formed in Saint Paul, Minnesota, in 1979. The band’s continual members were guitarist/vocalist Bob Mould, bassist/vocalist Greg Norton, and drummer/vocalist Grant Hart. They first gained notability as a hardcore punk band, and later crossed over into alternative rock. Mould and Hart were the band’s principal songwriters, with Hart’s higher-pitched vocals and Mould’s baritone taking the lead in alternating songs. After their respective bands broke up in the mid-1990s, Mould and Hart continued doing solo work, the latter until his death in 2017. Norton was initially less active musically after Hüsker Dü and focused on being a restaurateur instead. He returned to the recording industry in 2006. Here are all of Hüsker Dü songs ranked.
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10. Celebrated Summer (New Day Rising, 1985)
” think it’s a little more complex than a song about weather. Mould is using the seasons as a metaphor for the progress of a person’s life, specifically the transition from childhood to adolescence (spring to summer right at the beginning of the song), summer being the exciting, tumultuous adolescence – everyone rushing from one carefree and fun activity to the next – finally the song culminating with the end of summer – the end of carefree youth represented by the first snowfall and the transition to the seriousness and somber attitude of adulthood represented by winter (of course winter is emblematic of death which is implied to be the only stage left after the transition to adulthood)”
9. Pink Turns to Blue (Zen Arcade, 1984)
“Yes, the lyrics are truncated. And yes, it is most definitely about a set of lovers who are in the throes of heroin addiction. She would only whore herself out to help score dope for the both of them, but one day she did too much and died right there in the bed. That’s the color of her skin as she dies…pink turns to blue, and he don’t know what to do.”
8. Eight Miles High (Eight Miles High, 1984)
“Bob Mould’s guitar tone sounds like a weaponized Brillo pad, and his vocals, which give up on lyrics a third of the way through the song and revert to choked howls, are always precisely calibrated to pin you back in your seat.”
See more: Hüsker Dü Albums Ranked
7. In a Free Land (Everything Falls Apart, 1983)
“In A Free Land was the first song I ever heard by Husker Du. It was 1992 and I was 13. Totally bummed that I was years too late to see this band. Luckily Sugar was around. This single changed everything for me. It set the benchmark pretty high for future band choices.”
6. Ice Cold Ice (Warehouse: Songs and Stories, 1987)
“Ice Cold Ice” is, in my opinion at least, the band’s crowning achievement; a truly perfect song that sums up everything the Hüskers were about by the release of “Warehouse” – gorgeous harmony vocals, Bob’s chorus-drenched guitarwork, Grant’s precise military drumming (something oddly lacking on other tracks from the album), a semi-spooky and utterly emotional vibe that brings tears to the eyes.”
5. Hardly Getting Over It (Candy Apple Grey, 1986)
“This is a song about aging and death and the inevitability of having to deal with it as time goes on. The scenarios get progressively worse as the song goes. Bob’s wondering how he’s going to deal with burying his older loved ones because he’ll have to one day.”
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4. Sorry Somehow (Candy Apple Grey, 1986)
“This song rocks. I love to sing along when the vocalist keeps singing “You make me sorry somehow”. SORRY SORRY SORRRYYYY!!! Gosh, the power in this song is unreal. Husker Du is one of my favorite bands in the world for a good reason, shame they disbanded.”
3. Makes No Sense At All (Flip Your Wig, 1985)
“Has an immediately enjoyable pop edge, but the running start, no holds barred, along with the heavy reliance on the chorus and the swift tempo let you see Hüsker Dü’s hardcore punk inspirations clearly and easily. The end result – with some on-target lyrics to give the song character – works out very well.”
2. Don’t Want to Know If You Are Lonely (Candy Apple Grey, 1986)
“All the should-be alt-rock ethos are here – exciting and theatrical, twisted and poppy, without ever relying on pomp rock cliches. It’s hard to imagine a world with Gin Blossoms and Nirvana without Husker Du. Maybe we can do without the Gin Blossoms, but you get my gist.”
1. Could You Be the One? (Warehouse: Songs and Stories, 1987)
“There playing it on the epically awesome XMU old school every sunday night, any way yeah this is the catchiest Husker Du ever got, this screams radio hit from the tops of every mountain but this was 1987 not 1993 when shit like this actually got some radio airplay. Instantly catchy alt rock”