Gotta Make Polls for the Polls I Make - ILM HUSKER DU POLL RESULTS

I had a secret crush on a friend for years and years. It never went anywhere, but the most intense moment of the non-relationship was being unable to sleep and listening to 'Could You Be The One' on repeat at 2am.

Warehouse was my first Husker Du album, and I'm pretty sure I hadn't heard anything from Sugar before that either.

I think Warehouse was the first one I bought, mostly thanks to the ol' 92 rolling stone guide that gave it five stars - would have been a solid single album, that's for sure

Warehouse was the 1st one i bought cos i bought it when it came out, then went backwards

http://i612.photobucket.com/albums/tt203/pplains/Husker%20Du%20Poll/flip_your_wig700.jpg

14. “Flip Your Wig” - 240 points / (1 vote for first place)
• Live at First Ave

i think zen (now my favorite) was the last i picked up (never did actually buy anything earlier, though i heard them all) and the hit-miss ratio really isn't that different, it's just that zen actually adds up to something, with the weaker tracks meshing into the varied blur, while warehouse is just song-song-song and you can easily chop out the filler

Rawk. Last two are my #4 (Wig) and #6. And not to be pedantical, but isn't "What's Going On?" a Grant song?

i warmed to a lot of the weaker Warehouse songs over time but i agree you cd make a killer single album, Zen's sprawl feels like part of the point even if i never really wanna listen to "Reoccuring Dreams" nowadays

but isn't "What's Going On?" a Grant song?

With 30 of those things, I knew I'd slip up on at least one. You should be surprised I didn't give the credit to Marvin Gaye.

http://i612.photobucket.com/albums/tt203/pplains/Husker%20Du%20Poll/Books_about_ufos700.jpg

13. “Books About U.F.O.s” - 246 points
• Grant Hart, very close to busking in Toronto.

I don't think enough has been said about Grant's songs about girls. Not a whole lot of people write nonromantic songs about girls, but Grant Hart did!

by nonromantic I mean just about girls doing their thing, going about their lives -- not as romantic objects or subjects of longing or w/e

also this song is super fun

Man, it's been so long since I listened to "Zen Arcade," and listening now there's a good third of the record I would have been happy to put on my ballot, everything from pop to prime blaaaaarrgh like "Broken Home, Broken Heart."

I always imagined "Books About UFOs" as this sort of alternate world Smiths song.

I always thought about it as a song about a girl who loves going to the library. Finally, a song about me!

I should probably know this, but isn't Grant gay too? Not that that would necessarily influence his take on nonromantic songs about girls...

My #3! Love the barroom piano.

That piano incorporated in a rock song reminds me of Lazy Sunday Afternoon

Was it this song or Heaven Hill that was supposed to have a slide guitar part until Bob threw a fit?

Grant's gay, but I think he's also a biological dad too, so there's that.

Would love to hear Grant sing Books About UFOs in a mock cockney accent btw

by nonromantic I mean just about girls doing their thing, going about their lives -- not as romantic objects or subjects of longing or w/e

― passion it person (La Lechera), Tuesday, November 27, 2012 3:57 PM (13 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

songs that pass the bechdel test basically

Being constantly aware of all the changes that occur
Sitting in my room
Sitting on the rooftop
Telling the same story to everyone that I know
Reading books about UFOs

^^ all things i have done irl
this song could have easily been about a boy, but he chose to make it about a girl and i appreciate that. i don't get the sense that he's mocking her for being spaced out and dreamy either; it's just the way she is. <3

xp -- exactly

http://i612.photobucket.com/albums/tt203/pplains/Husker%20Du%20Poll/you_can_live_at_home700.jpg

12. “You Can Live At Home” - 250 points / (1 vote for first place)
• Alternate take from Warehouse sessions

And do listen to that alternate take holy fuuuck.

BTW, just for a funny reminder/context, sleeve note on Minutemen's "Double Nickels:"

http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m9xmfyDvyy1ql6h4fo1_500.jpg

xpost o_O

I may be misremembering, but I think Zen Arcade, Double Nickels, and the 'Mats Let It Be were all reviewed in the same issue of Rolling Stone.

One more for today:

http://i612.photobucket.com/albums/tt203/pplains/Husker%20Du%20Poll/games2700.jpg

11. “Games” - 251 points
• Couldn't find any cover/live stuff/bootlegs, so here's what you get all over the place if you try to Google for Husker Du games.

yeaaaaaah

honestly had no idea if that was a fave or not, esp since i think i read that it was rarely played live

if anyone has that alt take of You Can Live... in mp3 form I definitely DO NOT want to hear about it in an ILX webmail. That is one remarkable performance.

got a feeling at least 1 of the tracks i'd've had in my top 3 isn't gonna make the poll at all but cd be wrong

also i didn't vote so screw me

30. Hardly Getting Over It
29. Turn On the News
28. I Apologize
28. It's Not Funny Anymore
26. In A Free Land
26. Flexible Flyer
24. Powerline
23. Diane
23. She Floated Away
21. Divide and Conquer
20. Terms of Psychic Warfare
19. Whatever
18. Sorry Somehow
17. Could You Be the One?
16. I'll Never Forget You
15. What's Going On
14. Flip Your Wig
13. Books About UFOs
12. You Can Live At Home
11. Games
Spotify link

I like this version of Could You Be The One with Bob adding a lot more interest to the vocal lines

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kmk_Fw1GrMk

Also so weird to see these clips of them appearing on these mainstream TV shows, at the time i had no idea they were getting quite such a push by Warners.

oops, didn't mean to embed, sorry for rude

God I love 'Games' so much.

That whole Huskers outtakes disc can be found here:

hxxp://captainsdead.com/husker-du-up-in-the-air-studio-outtakes.html

"Books About UFOs" was my #1. One of the most joyous songs I can think of. I remember how utterly out of nowhere it seemed to appear on New Day Rising--there had been definite hints of a pop sensibility before on "It's Not Funny Anymore" and parts of Zen Arcade, but nothing like that. If it's based a real girl, that was the girl for me. She sounds like the most perfect and perfectly flaky '70s kind of girl.

That "Books" clip is so good. The kid walking back and forth, the people in back who are barely paying attention...Part of me wants to say, "Don't you know who this is? Don't you know what he's playing?" But in other ways, everything seems exactly as it ought to be for "Books About UFOs." Why wasn't I there?!

People who prefer Hart to Mould: is it about lyrics? I just realized that Hart probably wrote much better lyrics.

not always

I think his songs are catchier/prettier/more affecting/moving. And as much as I like Mould's mastery of bllllaaaaaaargh!, Hart can even best him in that category on stuff like "The Girl Who Lives On Heaven Hill." Which I imagine will place ... high. I still love Mould's songs, of course, but it was Hart I always connected with when the band and me were in sync.

it's a testament to the band that any claim one wants to make about the qualities of one over the other can be shut down. like i might want to say grant has more annoying hollow earworms, someone could play me "it's not peculiar" or "turn it around" to differ. cuz really anything, good or bad, one was doing, the other would be damn sure to do to

o

It's Not Peculiar was my #1, btw.

I think it took til "Warehouse," honestly, for Bob to catch up to Grant in the pop department. Up until then they sort of excelled at different things. But, like, those two songs I pretty much like as much as any of the Grant stuff.

i'm done with mould on warehouse after "bed of nails"

I really like "It's Not Peculiar" and enjoy "Turn It Around". Maybe I just like Mould's voice better? I rarely even remember most Hart songs, with some exceptions.

I'm almost never this partisan about band members so it puzzles me! I could never decide between John and Paul.

can't believe i forgot about Games! massive cock-up that.