Note – this is an overview of “See A Little Light: The Trail Of Rage And Melody” – an upcoming biography of former Sugar/Husker Du frontman Bob Mould.
Chapter 7
In which Bob Mould talks about
– Giving up on speed/amphetamines
– Coming up with ideas for Zen Arcade / recording the album / touring
Quote
Zen Arcade is regarded as this momentous work that requires deep explanation. The fact was, were rehearsing it and touring nonstop, not spending a lot of time thinking about it. We were doing it. We were living it. It was a visceral statement. It felt right.
It’s a very good record, but it’s the sum total of the experience, of that moment, that grabbed people. Now I hesitate to say this, but here goes: Zen Arcade means a whole lot more to others than it does to me. I began to outgrow and move beyond those feelings almost at the moment I documented them, but the fact that they resonate so deeply with my audience, the critics, and generations of fellow musicians – there is the reward.
Chapter 8
In which Bob Mould talks about
– Adding Lou Giordanio to the touring entourage
– Releasing Eight Miles High single on SST
– Problems with SST
– The recording/release of New Day Rising
– Grant quitting the band (for the second time since 1980) and returning again
– Recording/releasing Flip Your Fig
– Meeting David Savoy
– Meeting David Burroughs and hanging out at the Bunker
Quote
In my mind it was no longer “I wonder if we’re better than the Replacements?” We were playing shows with REM and I was thinking, “Next?” I started to wonder if we were better than U2. I wondered if we were the best band in the world. Sure, I was cocky then, but for years I knew we were good, and now everyone else could see it too.
Chapter 9
In which Bob Mould talks about
– Husker Du moving on to a major label (Warner Bros.)
– Signing with Warner / defending a move
– Recording Candy Apple Grey
– Getting into cocaine / quitting drinking
– Differences of opinion with Warner
Quote
I was drinking almost non-stop – and the trip was a complete blur. I wasn’t alone in this, as Lou was hitting the booze rather heavily as well. In addition to the usual beer and scotch, we had made the mistake of adding several bottles of red wine to our hospitality rider. Those beverages never went to waste.
But to the casual observer, the band appeared to be fueled by amphetamines, and that was the case for a few years. One wouldn’t normally associate that kind of music with alcohol. But as with the lyrics from New Day Rising, my writing was definitely shaped by my heavy drinking.
Chapter 10
In which Bob Mould talks about
– Dealing with suicide of David Savoy / death in general
– Dealing with tensions within the band
– Performing on The Late Show Starring Joan Rivers
Quote
The night before David committed suicide, he met up with the road crew and wanted to go out for a ride. According to the crew, David showed no signs whatsoever , no behavior that would lead anyone to think he would throw himself sixty-six feet from a bridge onto the frozen Mississippi only hours later.
Why did he do it? I don’t know. I will never know. I can only speculate. David had a history of emotional issues and had stopped taking his medication. It might have been something personal, perhaps a relationship went off course. It may have been the increasingly toxic environment in which we we all worked. It may have been a crisis of confidence, brought on by the label questioning his ability. It was probably a combination of all those things. That’s where I live with it. That’s what gets me through.
Chapter 11
In which Bob Mould talks about
– Final Husker Du tour
– Grant Hart’s drug problems
– The end of Husker Du
Quote
Grant was a wreck – irritable, sweating then freezing. We kept changing the temperature in the van to try and satisfy him. At one point he said, “I’m hot, I’m cold, get me ten candy bars,” so we pulled over to a gas station. Beyond this, there was nothing but total silence for entire five-hundred-mile drive. I’d never been in a funeral procession, but this sure seemed like one. It was death. It felt like the end.
Soundtrack
Husker Du – New Day Rising
Husker Du – Eight Miles High
Husker Du – Could You Be The One + She’s a Woman (And Now He is a Man)’ (Live on the Late Show With Joan Rivers)
Image Credit: Peter Ross
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