Husker Du: 1985: The Miracle Year

"Hüsker Dü's "Flip Your Wig" isn't so much a song as a status update from a world before social media. The excitable opening track from the namesake 1985 album is an on-the-ground dispatch from the eye of the hype storm that engulfed the Minneapolis trio as they transitioned from SST hardcore antagonists to Warner Brothers-backed alt-rock trailblazers. The song marked the rare occasion where both principal songwriters-guitarist/vocalist Bob Mould and singing drummer Grant Hart-shared lead vocals, despite their notoriously thorny relationship."

"If "Flip Your Wig" provides a two-and-a-half-minute snapshot of what it was like to be in Hüsker Dü in 1985, a new Numero Group box set gives us the director's cut view of a band that, at the time, seemed unstoppable-a term that applies equally to their relentless onstage attack, their prodigious rate of musical output, and the great strides they made as songwriters with each new release."

Hüsker Dü's "Flip Your Wig" functions as a status update from a pre-social-media world, blending excitement and cynicism. The opening track documents the hype surrounding the Minneapolis trio as they moved from SST hardcore antagonists to Warner Brothers-backed alt-rock trailblazers. Both principal songwriters—guitarist/vocalist Bob Mould and singing drummer Grant Hart—rarely shared lead vocals despite a thorny relationship. Hart's lyrics reveal relief at escaping nights on floors while remaining wary of opportunists. A new Numero Group box set compiles live material that captures the band's relentless onstage attack and prodigious output during a highly productive period. Between summer 1984 and winter 1987 the band released five albums that balanced melody and noise and helped define indie rock; "1985: The Miracle Year" centers on that stretch with two discs of live recordings.

Read at Pitchfork