Sold Date: July 1, 2024
Start Date: September 27, 2023
Final Price: $199.99 (USD)
Seller Feedback: 2500
Buyer Feedback: 0

Label:SST Records – SST 027 Format: 2 x Vinyl, LP, Album Country:US Released:Jul 1984 Genre:Rock Style:Hardcore, Punk A1Something I Learned Today Written-By – B. Mould* 1:58 A2Broken Home, Broken Heart Written-By – B. Mould* 2:01 A3Never Talking To You Again Written-By – Grant Hart 1:39 A4Chartered Trips Piano – Bob*, Grant* Written-By – B. Mould* 3:33 A5Dreams Reoccurring Written-By – B. Mould*, G. Hart*, G. Norton* 1:40 A6Indecision Time Written-By – B. Mould* 2:07 A7Hare Krsna Performer [Did All The Stuff] – Grant* Written-By – B. Mould*, G. Hart*, G. Norton* 3:33 B1Beyond The Threshold Written-By – B. Mould* 1:35 B2Pride Written-By – B. Mould* 1:45 B3I'll Never Forget You Written-By – B. Mould* 2:06 B4The Biggest Lie Written-By – B. Mould* 1:58 B5What's Going On Piano – Grant* Written-By – G. Hart* 4:23 B6Masochism World Written-By – B. Mould*, G. Hart* 2:43 B7Standing By The Sea Piano – Grant* Voice [Yell] – Spot Written-By – G. Hart* 3:12 C1Somewhere Lyrics By [Words] – Grant* Written-By – B. Mould*, G. Hart* 2:30 C2One Step At A Time Piano – Bob* Written-By – B. Mould*, G. Hart* 0:45 C3Pink Turns To Blue Written-By – G. Hart* 2:39 C4Newest Industry Piano – Bob* Written-By – B. Mould* 3:02 C5Monday Will Never Be The Same Piano – Bob*, Grant* Written-By – B. Mould* 1:10 C6Whatever Written-By – B. Mould* 3:50 C7The Tooth Fairy And The Princess Performer [Did All The Stuff] – Bob* Written-By – B. Mould* 2:43 D1Turn On The News Bass – Bob* Written-By – G. Hart* 4:21 D2Reoccurring Dreams Written-By – B. Mould*, G. Hart*, G. Norton* 13:47 Copyright © – Cesstone Music Phonographic Copyright ℗ – Cesstone Music Phonographic Copyright ℗ – SST Records Recorded At – Total Access Recording Studios Mixed At – Total Access Recording Studios Mastered At – Greg Lee Processing – L-17380 Mastered At – K Disc Mastering Artwork – Fake Name Graphx* Bass, Backing Vocals – Greg Norton Drums, Lead Vocals, Backing Vocals, Percussion, Piano – Grant Hart Electric Guitar, Acoustic Guitar, Lead Vocals, Backing Vocals, Percussion, Piano – Bob Mould Photography By [Cover Photos] – Mark Peterson (5) Producer, Engineer – Hüsker Dü, Spot
Zen Arcade is the second studio album by American punk rock band Hüsker Dü, released in July 1984 on SST Records. Originally released as a double album on two vinyl LPs, Zen Arcade tells the story of a young boy who runs away from an unfulfilling home life, only to find the world outside is even worse.[7] Zen Arcade and subsequent Hüsker Dü albums were instrumental in the creation of the alternative rock genre,[8][9] and it is considered by some to be one of the greatest rock albums of all time.[10][11][12]
Background Hüsker Dü had gained notice in the American indie music scene of the early 1980s as a fast, aggressive hardcore punk band. They were the first non-West Coast group signed to the California independent record label SST Records, which at the time specialized in releases by hardcore bands, most notably Black Flag. However, the trio's music was becoming more melodic and nuanced with each album; songs such as "Diane" (from the EP Metal Circus), a true story about the rape and murder of a young woman, covered subjects not addressed in hardcore at the time, and the band indicated an interest in 1960s rock by covering The Byrds' "Eight Miles High".
In an interview with Steve Albini for his Matter column in 1983, singer and guitarist Bob Mould told Albini: "We're going to try to do something bigger than anything like rock & roll and the whole puny touring band idea. I don't know what it's going to be, we have to work that out, but it's going to go beyond the whole idea of 'punk rock' or whatever."[13][14]
The band began rehearsing in preparation for the album during the summer of 1983, in a church-turned-punk squat in St. Paul, Minnesota. The band brainstormed lyrics and musical ideas during jam sessions that lasted several hours.[15] Mould and drummer Grant Hart were the band's songwriters, and prior to embarking to California to record Zen Arcade, Mould was moved (by artwork that Hart had done for another band that did not list songwriting credits) to demand that Zen Arcade list individual songwriter credits.[7] This practice would continue on all of the band's subsequent albums and would contribute to ever-growing tensions between Mould and Hart.
Recording and production As their EP Metal Circus was being released, Hüsker Dü entered the Total Access studio in Redondo Beach, California to record their next album with SST producer Spot. The band recorded 25 tracks, with all but two songs ("Something I Learned Today" and "Newest Industry") being first takes, in 40 hours. The entire album was then mixed in one 40-hour session; the entire album took 85 hours to record and produce and cost $3,200.[7] The band collaborated with underground contemporaries during recording; "What's Going On" contains guest vocals from ex-Black Flag vocalist Dez Cadena.
"Eight Miles High" was also recorded at the sessions and released as a non-album single in April 1984.[16] In a 2019 interview with Stereogum, Mould talked about the track, saying, "Everything we did in the studio, basic tracks, was first take. We did not want to use one of the songs from the album as a warm up track. We would jam a little. We had to do something, so that was the first song. We did that, and I did vocals right away to warm up. It's a pretty crazy vocal take. It became this calling card, at the moment, for the band, coming out right before Zen Arcade.[17]
Music Zen Arcade, in line with previous Hüsker Dü albums, had a mainly hardcore punk focus, with songs such as "Indecision Time" and "Pride" displaying common traits of the hardcore punk genre. However, the album also marked the point where the band introduced a more melodic and guitar-driven musical style, with elements of acoustic folk ("Never Talking to You Again"), psychedelia ("Hare Krsna" and "The Tooth Fairy and the Princess") and piano interludes ("One Step at a Time," "Monday Will Never Be the Same"), concepts rarely touched upon in early '80s hardcore punk.
Indicative of the band's desire for the album to be taken as a whole, no singles were released from it.[original research?]
"Something I Learned Today" The opening song, written by guitarist Bob Mould, was often used to open their set as early as 1983. The lyric describes growing up and trusting few people. A fast-paced song with simple verse and chord progressions, it begins with a simple drum beat, then an undulating bass rhythm, and finally kicks into the verse riff. Mould and Hart harmonize vocally in the chorus.
"Something I Learned Today" and "Newest Industry" were the album's only songs that were not recorded in one take.[18]
Narrative Zen Arcade tells the story of a young man who runs away to escape a miserable and abusive home life ("Broken Home, Broken Heart", "Never Talking to You Again"). The character briefly joins the military ("Chartered Trips"), turns to religion ("Hare Krsna"), and seems to find a tenuous peace through love ("Somewhere") before losing his lover to drugs ("Pink Turns to Blue").[19] He reaches a point of despair, ultimately concluding that he won't be able to change his circumstances ("Newest Industry", "Whatever") before waking up to find that the whole odyssey had occurred in his subconscious during a night of troubled sleep; the challenges of his life—for better or worse—remain in front of him ("The Tooth Fairy and the Princess", "Turn on the News"). "Reoccurring Dreams", a disorienting 14-minute instrumental that reprises a shorter instrumental interlude ("Dreams Reoccurring"), closes the album.
Release While the band insisted sales would be strong for Zen Arcade, SST initially pressed only between 3,500 and 5,000 copies of the album. The album was out of stock for months afterward and the delay in further copies stifled sales.