Rocktober 8th

On the 8th day of Rocktober Bob Mould gave to me...some sweet pills that made me fly!

One of the best covers ever.

Husker Du - Eight Miles High.mp3
Buy: Eight Miles High/Makes No Sense At All EP (1991)

If Only You Were Lonley

Grant Hart, Mark Olson, Prince Rogers Nelson, and Paul Westerberg were all born within three and a half years of each other in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area. Hart, New York-born Bob Mould and Illinois-born Greg Norton stated the hardcore band Husker Du at about the same time as Westerberg and his Minneapolis- born friends Bobby and Tommy Stinson and Chris Mars formed The Replacements. The two bands even performed together and had somewhat of a healthy competition in the Minneapolis music scene. Although by the time that Husker Du and The Replacements released their first albums in 1981, Prince had already released four albums, and was on the verge of mega-stardom with his fifth release 1999 (1982). Jim Walsh's book The Replacements: All Over But the Shouting, An Oral Historyhints that Westerberg and Prince may have gone to high school together, with Prince being a year ahead of Westy. Walsh even reports of a crazy 1981 Replacements outdoor show where "Prince sat on the grass wearing a confused smirk throughout the set." (p. 148) To quote Westerberg:

[Prince has] always been a great musician: If he's a pop star or he's in vogue is irrelevant. Like Coltrane or Sly Stone, he's creative, he's great. He's the shit. He's a great, great musician. And, in a way, I think that I am - you know, not as great - but maybe more of a songwriter. I am a musician and a writer, and I'll always be. And if I'm hip or if I'm an old man, that shouldn't really matter. I'm gonna do this forever, and I think we have that in common. (p. 53)

A few years later Mark Olson along with his Toledo-born pal Gary Louris and friends Marc Perlman and Norm Rogers formed the seminal alt country band The Jayhawks. Their first release came out in 1986. Likewise, in that same year a slightly younger Minneapolis-based band, Soul Asylum was releasing their second album.

It completely blows my minds that five very different, yet highly influential artists could emerge from a city like Minneapolis all within a few years of each other. This isn't New York, or Los Angeles, or even London. Its a land-locked city in the upper Midwest settled by Northern European loggers, where one freezes their ass off in the winter, and which, until very recently, contained an Norwegian Consulate. But, its also where Bob Dylan first learned how to play folk music.

The Replacements were massively influential on American rock music, while Husker Du similarly influenced hard rock and punk. Soul Asylum became a pop band with some huge hits in the early 90s, while, as mentioned, The Jayhawks were wildly influential in alt country and country music. And Prince, well, Prince's music has had some influence on every style of music, but most notably on pop and R&B. And, all of these artists are still active in their respective genres. Westerberg, Mould, Olson & Louris, and Prince all put out albums within the last year, they have over 30 years of music experience each. Westy was right, they are gonna do this forever.

Prince - Head.mp3
Buy: Controversy (1981)

Husker Du - Never Talking to You Again.mp3
Buy: Zen Arcade (1984)

Soul Asylum - Made to be Broken.mp3
Buy: Made to Be Broken (1986)

The Jayhawks - Martin's Song.mp3
Buy: Blue Earth (1989, reissued 2003)

The Replacements - If Only You Were Lonely.mp3
Buy: Sorry Ma, Forgot to Take Out the Trash (1981, reissued 2008)
This Westerberg solo track was not on the original album, but can now be found among the 13 bonus tracks on the 2008 reissue. This song was originally released as a B-side to "I'm in Trouble," The Replacements first official single.

College Radio

College radio had a huge influence on developing my musical tastes in the 1980s and early 90s. Growing up in small town Wisconsin, I listened to WRST from the University of Wisconsin at Oshkosh. They even let some of my high school friends DJ, usually at 4a.m. on Thursdays. My only other source of alternative music came from friends who had older siblings in college, and they passed on what they heard at their local college stations to we high school underlings.

Another recent article in the New York Times talks about how college radio is maintaining its presence, and in some cases thriving, despite the availability of a wide range of music on the internet. Most of these stations are student-run, and allow students to DJ whatever they feel like during certain programming hours. And, according to the article, some actually do influence the success of indie bands, many by integrating their broadcast with a streaming webcast. While commercial radio is run by huge conglomerates and so-called professional "DJs" have no influence on the playlist, its great to see that young people still want to get involved with local radio.

In the future I am going to say a lot more about college radio, but in the meantime here are a few tracks that I discovered by college radio in the 1980s.

Hüsker Dü - Never Talking To You Again.mp3
Buy: Zen Arcade (1984)

The Smiths - Cemetry Gates.mp3
Buy: The Queen Is Dead (1986)

They Might Be Giants -Ana Ng.mp3
Buy: Lincoln (1989)

And here's a song by the Replacements from their most produced record, but a great song regardless. I will have much, much more to say about the Replacements at a later date. Man, I remember seeing this on MTV's 120 Minutes. And now its VH1 Classic? I'm old.
Buy: Don't Tell a Soul (1989, reissued with bonus tracks 2008)