August 14, 2006

Do You Remember?

Really, as much as I like Husker Du, and I like them a lot, their records are never as good as I remember them being. I always think of New Day Rising as a totally amazing record but then every few years I'll put it on and end up walking away disappointed over the lack of great songs. The songs are good, they're just not mind-blowing the way I remember. In the case of NDR, the title track and "The Girl Who Lives On Heaven Hill" more than make up for the rest of the album being good-but-not-great and they're well worth the price of the album but the rest of the stuff hasn't aged very well in this man's view, sounding in 2006 an awful lot like 1985.*

I ran across this item this morning and the first thing I thought was "Great! Asta Kask have a new album coming out! Happy days!" But since I've never actually owned an Asta Kask album and since I haven't actually heard them since sometime in the very late 80s or very early 90s, I'm wondering if I'm giving 'em too much credit. Were they really as amazing as my memory says? Anybody remember?

*Do not, I repeat do not leave a comment here defending the honor of Husker Du. They were a great band, I already said so. But I don't agree with the view that they (or the Replacements, who I found to be incredibly boring most of the time) were some sort of pedestal-occupying jewel in an ocean of punk rock shit. That's 80s college kid/hip rock critic talk and I won't have it here.

Posted by benweasel at 08:23 AM
Comments

If a band hasn't released ANY new material in twenty years, I find it incredibly difficult to get my hopes up about new recordings. It has been my listening experience that few bands can come back after a lengthy absence (especially more than ten years)and do anything that stacks up to their past work. The one exception that immediately comes to mind is Wire (that 'Comet' song falls under the 'I wish I had written that one' category). Perhaps, I am guilty of unfairly judging a band by past achievements and should let each work stand or sink on its own merits. The new Replacements songs, incidentally, really bored me to tears. As well, every time I hear the 'Mats, I think of Tommy Stinson now playing along side Axl Rose.

Posted by: resident jason at August 14, 2006 09:01 AM

I agree with yah on the terms that those midwest bands did really stir up critics, and leave some sort of break from the usual punk bands...but something like the Replacements, always got to me, but you had to search through 3 or 4 records (TIM- being my fav), to find a couple of AMAZING songs...I'm not saying the songwriting was hit or miss, but personally the ones I connected to were hard to find, when I found 'em though, they we're amazing and still are amazing to me...too bad it was only a handful. The new Westerburg and Mould stuff, doesn't really affect me much at all. But scrapping through and finding those old gems, is very nostalgic.

Posted by: Rob Suss at August 14, 2006 09:25 AM

How is it that you are always thinking what I am thinking? Just last night I thought the very same thing - how Husker Du doesn't sound as great as they did in the 80's. I remember getting Flip Your Wig in 1985 (my first HD LP) and just being blown away. It was nothing like anything I had heard. From "Make No Sense at All" to the softer "Green Eyes," I was hooked. Now I listen to all of their stuff and its not as good as it once was....and I never liked the Replacements either, in fact I have never heard a single album by them that I even remotely liked (that includes Tim).

However, I will say that the Minutemen stand the test of time quite well, so all is not bad in Minneapolis.

Posted by: David at August 14, 2006 01:42 PM

Fuck the Pixies too!

Posted by: Mike at August 14, 2006 03:23 PM

I just recently put on one of my old Fifteen cassette tapes (Swain's First Bike Ride)that I haven't listened too in about 5 years, and I couldn't believe that I ever liked those guys.

Posted by: Handsome Dan at August 14, 2006 04:05 PM

David,
The Minutemen were from California, not Minneapolis.

Husker Du was a good band but those SST CDs sound terrible.

Posted by: Patrick at August 14, 2006 04:44 PM

Bands like the Pixies started to sound like grandmas playing ''punkrock'' with a ''smart'' point of view, which sucked a lot.

Posted by: David Siañez at August 14, 2006 04:54 PM

Didn't heard of that swedish band ever, enlight us Ben.

Posted by: David Siañez at August 14, 2006 04:56 PM

Jawbreaker were better than Husker Du.
Abuse to the usual address. :)

Posted by: Nadz at August 15, 2006 09:10 AM

I never really got into Husker Du that much - I was only marginally even aware of their existence back in the 80's. I keep intending to listen to more of their stuff, because I do like what Mould did with Sugar.

About The Replacements, I was a fan back when Tim came out, and have been ever since. I can understand why a lot of people think they're over-rated, because there was less and less rock & roll in their stuff as time went on and because the hipster rock critics have taken them up as an icon. I would say that Westerberg is a consistently great songwriter, but not a consistently great ROCK & ROLL songwriter. Fire-breathing rock & roll in the vein of Bastards Of Young is what I'm most passionate about but I also enjoy his softer stuff, at the same time I wish he would rock out more. There are some excellent, not-so-slow songs on Come Feel Me Tremble, which came out a few years ago (much superior to the two new Replacements songs).

Posted by: MikeR at August 15, 2006 01:39 PM

Couldn't it be that you just grow up and just not as into it as you once were? when you are really into some type of music you tend to think its amazing. Or better yet, because they were some sort of pioneers (i don't really know. i didn't leave then, nor do i really listen/like them, so whatever)...well maybe they've been drowned out by everyone after them. i dont know. whatever.

Posted by: matthew at August 15, 2006 05:22 PM

You're right Patrick. Growing up here in the midwest during the 80's, I always saw Husker Du touring (and hanging out) with one of these three bands, repeatedly: The Replacements, Soul Asylum, and the Minutemen. I always associated the Minutemen with the Minneapolis scene, even though you're right, this fellow SST band is from Cali.

Posted by: David at August 15, 2006 05:47 PM

I was always a little disappointed by Husker Du. I like their really good songs, but I expected more from them after all the hype. In my opinion, Mould's best work is "Copper Blue" by Sugar. It might sound overproduced if you're a punk purist, but in terms of consistent catchiness it blows any Husker Du album out of the water. I felt the same about the Replacements too. To me, nothing Westerberg has ever done can compare to the two songs he did for the Singles Soundtrack back in '91 ("Dyslexic Heart" and "Waiting for Somebody").

Posted by: Chuck at August 16, 2006 05:33 AM

Asta kask were great in the eighties but this reunion stinks like horse shit. Bands getting back together always suck. I mean Reagan youth without Dave Insurgent? oh no...

Anyone know of a reunion thats been good?

Posted by: Mark at August 16, 2006 06:13 AM

Feel the same way about Naked Raygun. While I dig a lot of their stuff, overall, I think that their music is a bit overrated. However, what they did for Chicago is not.

Sidenote to Ben W....now that you live in Madison, I'm hoping that you've checked out Four Star Video Heaven -- thee best (yes, thee...) video store I have ever been to. I lived in Madison myself back in 94-95 and they introduced me to so, so much. It was the first time I was ever able to see "Pink Flamingos" and a bunch of Russ Meyer stuff. Do yourself a favor if you haven't yet.

Ben

Posted by: Ben at August 16, 2006 08:15 AM