Glen E. Friedman
Husker Du
Melodic Hardcore Pioneers By T. Cole RachelHusker Du melded the ethos of punk rock and hardcore with airtight melodies and a pop sensibility
There is a popular misconception that Sonic Youth invented dissonant guitar sounds. In truth, the first American band to wring melody of out of overdriven amplifiers was Minneapolis trio Husker Du. Unlike any band before them, Husker Du managed to balance beauty and abrasiveness in equal measure while proving that even a two-minute song could be as emotionally moving as it was loud. Exploding onto the hardcore scene in 1981 with the release of Land Speed Record, the band quickly became known for short, melodic songbursts played incredibly loud and almost inhumanly fast. (Husker Du were also a rarity in the uber-macho hardcore scene for having two openly gay members.) Starting with 1984's hugely influential Zen Arcade, the band released five albums (two of them double-LP sets!) in two and a half years, each more critically lauded and musically adventurous than its predecessor, before internal tensions between songwriters Bob Mould and Grant Hart caused the band to crumble. Husker Du also presaged the arrival of indie rock into the commercial mainstream, becoming one of the first underground bands to sign to a major label.
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