I absolutely love the vocals on this song!!!I met Bob Mould in the 80's...he was (and still is) a truly nice guy...musical genius and all..I even ate pizza with him at his house..it was awesome!!!!I saw the game box for "Husker Du" laying on the floor...I wish I had a video camera then..I could have captured that wonderful day for prosperity..Husker Du rocks and who cares what anyone is doing in bed or with whom...as long as the music touches your soul? I for one will always be grateful to Bob!
It's sad that this great band had to end prematurely due to personal differences just two years after this release. Right here, it looked like they were the best of friends, really enjoying each other's company.
I don't think Husker Du pissed it all away by any means. They are indeed one of the greatest bands in the history of rock music. And they showed such a tremendous progression on each album. In the words of John Lennon, "it's all there."
they recorded this song because Rhoda Morgenstern was Bob Mould's cousin (she's not any more, after the surgery) and she said, "Hey, there's a really cool song about my friend Mary, you know, the one who used to be a duck when she thought her name was Gwen? You guys should make a record of that song." And the guys in Husker Du said, "Thanks, Rhoda, that's a great idea. Do you have any more of those cookies?"
@jackal59 I feel they could have been much bigger if they chose to release their most accessible album(Flip Your Wig) on Warner rather than SST(It was their choice). At times it seemed like they wanted popularity, and other times it seemed like they just wanted to do whatever they do. And yeah, I, too am irritated that Bob and Grant pretty much hated each other. But I do find it oddly fascinating they lasted until 1987.
Noticed your name. Minutemen were amazing too. Your are right. Seems like just about everyone on the SST label just rocked, including an Atlanta guitarist named Glenn Phillips (not from Toad).
And Husker Du MADE IT AFTER ALL! I'm going to get a tattoo of a butt which has a tattoo of a butt with a tattoo of a butt with a tattoo of a butt on it. That tattoo will be on my butt.
Man, what a great effing band. In a perfect world, they would have sold a ton of records. Instead, they merely heavily influenced later bands who made a bunch of money.
i wish they'd made an official video for gerry rafferty's baker street. hey for once i can say i actually saw the band perform the song. when the sst tour came to palo alto i was walking down the street in my captain beefheart tshirt and the minutemen stopped me and asked for directions to the club. after that i had to go, right? so i got to see husker du, minutemen, and meat puppets
It's funny, but at the time, it wasn't that anyone was gay or not- either nobody knew or nobody cared. But a dude in a punk band with A MOUSTACHE?! Unheard of! I think there were about 3 - Greg, the guy in the Stranglers, and maybe Chuck Dukowski in Black Flag with his Chaplin 'tache.
Thanks for the correction, but now that I'm thinking about it, I probably could have gotten big bucks for pictures of that day too...hehehehe, yes I am blessed!!!!!! And now I'm hungry for PIZZA!!!!!!
I wonder why they didn't sing the 2nd verse. 'Goes something like this..... "How will you make it on your own This world is pretty big, and girl this time you're on your own But it's time to do some living It's time to let someone else do the giving" We play this song in a band in Omaha, and the crowd always seems to like it quite a bit.
@Sweetashanni - You're entitled to feel that way up to and then abruptly stopping at the point where it impacts on someone else's life - and then you're not. :) In other words, if you don't want to have a same-sex relationship, then don't.
Sexual orientation has never been more irrelevant. Husker du were among the true groundbreakers of "alt rock" and should have been as big as Nirvana. Some of the most spectacular shows I ever saw were by this group, For older rockers, think of the Who without Daltry.
It's moderately ill-advised to use the word 'faggot' in a Husker Du-related thread, even if you were trying to make some kind of ironic point (it's actually ill-advised even in, oh, a Mel Gibson video).;)
Wow. It looks like they had a lot of fun together before they got so serious about doing lots of drugs and hating each other. (Sorry, but it is a little irritating to have one of the greatest American bands in the history of rock music kind of piss away what they could have done.)
I say I say I say... I call bullshit! They were indeed punk. That wa suntil late 1985 when they put out that piece of shit selloutica record called Flip Your Fucking Wig (and flush it down the pop toilet./.) That was the beginning of the end of their punk legacy and my liking them. I will always cherish what they did on Land Speed through NDR. But after that is was all downhill all the time... HD did an REM ripoff nosedive into the pop radio aor baby boomer corporate mainstream toilet.
Now that I listen more closely this is an even poppier recycle of 'Perfect Example'. What a shock, they recycled every slow song of NDR and used it on Flipped Wigs making it even worse... That song was one of the few slow lame songs on NDR. And yet even that song is better than this or anything they did On Flipperrrr Your Wig and later.
Uh huh, everything they did starting on Flipped Wigs (the beginning of the end of Husker Du) was a re-cycle/ripoff of the slower songs of NDR. They ran out of ideas, creativity, and their own identity. So they then proceeded to homogenize everything to sell records and to sound like every other 'alternative' band of the time. Their most bltant ripoff of sound was REM. Listen to candy ass grey and warehouse and try to convince yourself that this was just a 'normal progression' and not a sellout.
I absolutely love the vocals on this song!!!I met Bob Mould in the 80's...he was (and still is) a truly nice guy...musical genius and all..I even ate pizza with him at his house..it was awesome!!!!I saw the game box for "Husker Du" laying on the floor...I wish I had a video camera then..I could have captured that wonderful day for prosperity..Husker Du rocks and who cares what anyone is doing in bed or with whom...as long as the music touches your soul? I for one will always be grateful to Bob!
Zen Arcade changed my Life, back in 1984, when I was only a 15yrs old. Don't forget the other Husker Du Genius, Grant Hart
Beautiful comment ☺️. Very well said.
the best band on planet, ever.
That's hilarious.
One of the greatest bands of all time covering one of television's greatest ever themes. Heaven for sure. RIP MTM, GH
This is fantastic!! I need to hear this every flippin' morning!!!
Awesome! What a powerful two minutes of music by a great group.
Music for heads circa ‘70-80’s
So good.
They seemed to actually like each other at that time.
Yeah,happy times
It's sad that this great band had to end prematurely due to personal differences just two years after this release. Right here, it looked like they were the best of friends, really enjoying each other's company.
Heartbreakingly, staggeringly beautiful and sweet.
I don't think Husker Du pissed it all away by any means. They are indeed one of the greatest bands in the history of rock music. And they showed such a tremendous progression on each album. In the words of John Lennon, "it's all there."
Originally written by Sonny Curtis, of Buddy Holly and the Crickets... he also wrote I Fought The Law, also performed by the CLash...
Dang rest in peace Mary Tyler Moore
Bill Webb Came here for the same reason. Leave it to Husker Du to lighten the spirit a bit.
yes sir! Love them and her!
still one of my favourite punk covers. long live husker du
Aw...just three nice lads doing what they do, about town. One of my favorite groups of all time!
Great video of Minneapolis ..... Such a coincidence that I just heard Bob interviewed on the radio today .
I don't even remember this song .And i watched a lot of MTV back in the 80's.
Oh love them, still! Great band! KUSF San Fransciso (back when it was good) played them, and blew me away!
He belted this out tonight at The Roxy. Made me miss Minnesota.
this song is perfect for bob's voice. I love it.
Long live the memory of the late, great Mary Tyler Moore!
Husker Du rules!
xoxo
The Clarences
Gods!
Saw them 1985 in Austria.
they recorded this song because Rhoda Morgenstern was Bob Mould's cousin (she's not any more, after the surgery) and she said, "Hey, there's a really cool song about my friend Mary, you know, the one who used to be a duck when she thought her name was Gwen? You guys should make a record of that song." And the guys in Husker Du said, "Thanks, Rhoda, that's a great idea. Do you have any more of those cookies?"
RIP Mary Tyler Moore!! My hero!! XOXOXOXOXOXO
Yeah!!
Beautiful.
I love this band..
I was expecting Greg N. to throw his hat in the air at the end.
I'd rather say, The Beatles were the Hüsker Dü of 60's :)
@jackal59 I feel they could have been much bigger if they chose to release their most accessible album(Flip Your Wig) on Warner rather than SST(It was their choice). At times it seemed like they wanted popularity, and other times it seemed like they just wanted to do whatever they do.
And yeah, I, too am irritated that Bob and Grant pretty much hated each other. But I do find it oddly fascinating they lasted until 1987.
Noticed your name. Minutemen were amazing too.
Your are right. Seems like just about everyone on the SST label just rocked, including an Atlanta guitarist named Glenn Phillips (not from Toad).
And Husker Du MADE IT AFTER ALL!
I'm going to get a tattoo of a butt which has a tattoo of a butt with a tattoo of a butt with a tattoo of a butt on it. That tattoo will be on my butt.
Wait, they actually made the Beavis and Butthead clips? I remem that line from the show
Man, what a great effing band. In a perfect world, they would have sold a ton of records. Instead, they merely heavily influenced later bands who made a bunch of money.
Nice!
RIP MTM ❤
the beatles of rock
Written by one of Buddy Holly's pre-Crickets, Sonny Curtis.
i wish they'd made an official video for gerry rafferty's baker street.
hey for once i can say i actually saw the band perform the song. when the sst tour came to palo alto i was walking down the street in my captain beefheart tshirt and the minutemen stopped me and asked for directions to the club. after that i had to go, right? so i got to see husker du, minutemen, and meat puppets
They would kill a cover of that incredible song! I would love to hear that!!
well done mates. well done.
oh mister grant!!
With this mustache you will conquer the world.
It's funny, but at the time, it wasn't that anyone was gay or not- either nobody knew or nobody cared. But a dude in a punk band with A MOUSTACHE?! Unheard of! I think there were about 3 - Greg, the guy in the Stranglers, and maybe Chuck Dukowski in Black Flag with his Chaplin 'tache.
This is the kind of video they played on 120 Minutes.
@zped99 i always thought it was written by sonny curtis.
"Now it's got a sweet-tooth for long hair,
So Bob and Greg and Grant, you should beware"
Long hair in a punk band? That's unpossible!
Thanks for the correction, but now that I'm thinking about it, I probably could have gotten big bucks for pictures of that day too...hehehehe, yes I am blessed!!!!!! And now I'm hungry for PIZZA!!!!!!
I wonder why they didn't sing the 2nd verse. 'Goes something like this.....
"How will you make it on your own
This world is pretty big, and girl this time you're on your own
But it's time to do some living
It's time to let someone else do the giving"
We play this song in a band in Omaha, and the crowd always seems to like it quite a bit.
@Sweetashanni - You're entitled to feel that way up to and then abruptly stopping at the point where it impacts on someone else's life - and then you're not. :) In other words, if you don't want to have a same-sex relationship, then don't.
Great game aka DO YOU REMEMBER
And y'know, from a distance Grant bears a striking resemblance to MTM. :)
Sexual orientation has never been more irrelevant. Husker du were among the true groundbreakers of "alt rock" and should have been as big as Nirvana. Some of the most spectacular shows I ever saw were by this group, For older rockers, think of the Who without Daltry.
Video by David Askevold and Dorit Cypis
Are you referring to the version Joan Jett does?
lmao Always a good time reading the comments! Never mind the music is great!
@oetlul i have a great sense of humour. i just dont understand why everyone has to bring sexuality into it. they're a great band END OF STORY
I think you meant "posterity"
What I wouldn't do to have pizza with Bob Mould...you're one lucky person
Agreed
Hey, were can i find this song?
the Du need the same re-release treatment Mission of Burma got a couple months back.
rip grant hart :(
Greg. Tall, skinny, a cook, and that 'stache, and occasionally wore leather. The only straight boy in the band. Go fig. :)
1:07 I don't even think that tash is meant to be ironic anymore.
@aghily yup, that's what punk is to me.
Joan Jett's version is better, but this is pretty good. Look for her performance of it on Lettermen on YT.
1:06
It is all about Minnesota. You can follow me a simple Minnesota Ex-Pat on Twitter at my name...
RIP MTM
haha true
anyone in near london who wants to start a husker du covers band, message me : )
I've always found it ironic that the Husker who most conforms to sad gay stereotypes, in terms of image, is the only hetero in the band. :)
It's moderately ill-advised to use the word 'faggot' in a Husker Du-related thread, even if you were trying to make some kind of ironic point (it's actually ill-advised even in, oh, a Mel Gibson video).;)
Wow. It looks like they had a lot of fun together before they got so serious about doing lots of drugs and hating each other. (Sorry, but it is a little irritating to have one of the greatest American bands in the history of rock music kind of piss away what they could have done.)
Well, Greg wouldn't. Straight boys hit like girls. ;)
I say I say I say... I call bullshit! They were indeed punk. That wa suntil late 1985 when they put out that piece of shit selloutica record called Flip Your Fucking Wig (and flush it down the pop toilet./.) That was the beginning of the end of their punk legacy and my liking them. I will always cherish what they did on Land Speed through NDR. But after that is was all downhill all the time... HD did an REM ripoff nosedive into the pop radio aor baby boomer corporate mainstream toilet.
Now that I listen more closely this is an even poppier recycle of 'Perfect Example'. What a shock, they recycled every slow song of NDR and used it on Flipped Wigs making it even worse... That song was one of the few slow lame songs on NDR. And yet even that song is better than this or anything they did On Flipperrrr Your Wig and later.
Punk was not a fashion.
this is awful !
+Brian Carter You're awful.
your awful
My awful what?
Uh huh, everything they did starting on Flipped Wigs (the beginning of the end of Husker Du) was a re-cycle/ripoff of the slower songs of NDR. They ran out of ideas, creativity, and their own identity. So they then proceeded to homogenize everything to sell records and to sound like every other 'alternative' band of the time. Their most bltant ripoff of sound was REM. Listen to candy ass grey and warehouse and try to convince yourself that this was just a 'normal progression' and not a sellout.
Go ahead and butcher one of the favored show intros, you sods. Leave Mary alone, boys.