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Zen Arcade
Background
Hsker D had gained notice in the American indie music scene of the early 1980s as a fast and aggressive hardcore punk band. They were the first non-West Coast signing 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 release; 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.”
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. 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 credit) to demand that Zen Arcade list individual songwriter credits. 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, Hsker D 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 being first takes (“Something I Learned Today” and “Newest Industry”), 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. The band collaborated with underground contemporaries during recording; “What’s Going On” contains guest vocals from ex-Black Flag vocalist Dez Cadena.
Music
Zen Arcade, in line with previous Hsker D albums, had a mainly hardcore punk focus, with songs such as “Indecision Time” and “Pride.” 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.
Narrative
Zen Arcade tells the story of a young boy who runs away to escape an unfulfilling home life (“Broken Home, Broken Heart”, “Indecision Time”, “Somewhere”). The character tries drugs (“Pink turns to Blue”) and religion (“Hare Krsna”), but eventually concludes that he will be unable to change his circumstances (“Newest Industry”, “Recurring Dreams”, the disorienting 14-minute instrumental that closes out the record). Indicative of the band’s desire for the album to be taken as a whole, no singles were released from it.
Release
While the band insisted sales would be strong for Zen Arcade, SST initially only pressed between 3,500 to 5,000 copies of the album. The album was out of stock for months afterward and the delay in further copies stifled sales.
Critical reception
Upon its release Zen Arcade received positive reviews in many mainstream publications, including NME, The New York Times and Rolling Stone. In his review for Rolling Stone, David Fricke described Zen Arcade as “the closest hardcore will ever get to an opera … a kind of thrash Quadrophenia.”
Zen Arcade placed eighth in the Village Voice annual Pazz & Jop poll. Village Voice crtic Robert Christgau declared in his annual review of the poll’s results that, while he preferred rivals The Replacements’ Let It Be, the song “Turn On the News” garnered his nomination for song of the year. The critical praise given to the album garnered attention from major labels, including Warner Bros. Records, with whom Hsker D would eventually sign in 1985.
Legacy
By spring of 1985 Zen Arcade had sold 20,000 copies, and in subsequent years it has maintained a high critical status regardless of commercial success. Allmusic says in its review of the album that “Hsker D try everything” and while “that reckless, ridiculously single-minded approach does result in some weak moments,” it is “also the key to the success of Zen Arcade.” In 1989, it was ranked #33 on Rolling Stone magazine’s list of the 100 greatest albums of the 1980s. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has placed “Turn On the News” on its list of “500 songs that shaped rock and roll.” It was ranked #4 on Spin magazine’s list of top 100 Alternative music albums, ahead of Nirvana’s Nevermind (#5), and Patti Smith’s Horses (#6).
Zen Arcade expanded perceptions of what American underground rock could sound like. Zen Arcade has been mentioned as an influence on the development of emo, for it “showed punks everywhere that caustic guitars and literate, angst-ridden lyrics equaled catharsis.”
LP track listing
Side one
“Something I Learned Today” (Mould) – 1:58
“Broken Home, Broken Heart” (Mould) – 2:01
“Never Talking to You Again” (Hart) – 1:39
“Chartered Trips” (Mould) – 3:33
“Dreams Reoccurring” (Hsker D) – 1:40
“Indecision Time” (Mould) – 2:07
“Hare Krsna” (Hsker D) – 3:33
Side two
“Beyond the Threshold” (Mould) – 1:35
“Pride” (Mould) – 1:45
“I’ll Never Forget You” (Mould) – 2:06
“The Biggest Lie” (Mould) – 1:58
“What’s Going On” (Hart) – 4:23
“Masochism World” (Hart/Mould) – 2:43
“Standing by the Sea” (Hart) – 3:12
Side three
“Somewhere” (Hart/Mould) – 2:30
“One Step at a Time” (Hart/Mould) – 0:45
“Pink Turns to Blue” (Hart) – 2:39
“Newest Industry” (Mould) – 3:02
“Monday Will Never Be the Same” (Mould) – 1:10
“Whatever” (Mould) – 3:50
“The Tooth Fairy and the Princess” (Mould) – 2:43
Side four
“Turn on the News” (Hart) – 4:21
“Reoccurring Dreams” (Hsker D) – 13:47
The CD and cassette releases of the album combines all the songs onto a single disc/cassette.
Personnel
Grant Hart – percussion, piano, drums, vocals, background vocals
Bob Mould – acoustic guitar, bass, percussion, piano, electric guitar, vocals, background vocals
Greg Norton – bass, background vocals
References
^ Weisbard & Marks, 1995. p.187
^ Azerrad, Michael. Our Band Could Be Your Life: Scenes from the American Indie Underground, 1981-1991. Little Brown and Company, 2001. ISBN 0-316-78753-1, pg. 180
^ Azerrad, pg. 179.
^ Azerrad, pg. 181
^ Azerrad, 2001. p. 181
^ Donohue, Mark T.R.. “Husker Du: Zen Arcade”. Nude as the News. http://www.nudeasthenews.com/reviews/1182. Retrieved 2007-03-06.
^ Azerrad, pg. 182
^ “NME Zen Arcade Review”. http://www.thirdav.com/zinestuff/nme_zen.html. Retrieved 2006-01-16.
^ “New York Times Article, 23 Sep 1984″. http://www.thirdav.com/zinestuff/nyt0984.html. Retrieved 2006-01-16.
^ “Rolling Stone: Hsker D: Zen Arcade”. http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/huskerdu/albums/album/110848/review/5944241/zen_arcade. Retrieved 2007-01-16.
^ Christgau, Robert (1985). “The Rise of the Corporate Single”. RobertChristgau.com. http://www.robertchristgau.com/xg/pnj/pj84.php. Retrieved January 19, 2007.
^ Azerrad, pg. 190
^ Azerrad, pg. 186
^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. “Zen Arcade (review)”. Allmusic.com. http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=A2votk6hx9kr3. Retrieved April 6, 2007.
^ “500 songs that shaped rock and roll”. RockHall.com. http://www.rockhall.com/exhibitions/permanent.asp?id=665. Retrieved January 19, 2007.
^ Weisband, E & Marks,,C (editors) 1995. Spin Alternative Record Guide 1st ed. Vintage books, ISBN 0-679-75574-8
^ Popkin, Helen A.S. (2006). “What exactly is mo, anyway?”. MSNBC.MSN.com. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11720603/. Retrieved April 10, 2007.
Notes
Weisbard, Eric; Craig Marks (1995). Spin Alternative Record Guide. Vintage Books. ISBN 0679755748.
External links
Analysis at Nude As The News
Review from the Univ. of Chicago Maroon
Zen Arcade at Allmusic
v d e
Hsker D
Grant Hart Bob Mould Greg Norton
Studio albums
Everything Falls Apart Zen Arcade New Day Rising Flip Your Wig Candy Apple Grey Warehouse: Songs and Stories
EPs and singles
Statues In a Free Land Metal Circus Eight Miles High Celebrated Summer Makes No Sense at All Sorry Somehow Don’t Want to Know If You Are Lonely Could You Be the One? She’s a Woman (And Now He Is a Man) Ice Cold Ice
Live albums
Land Speed Record The Living End
Related articles
Hsker D discography Grey Area Nova Mob Sugar
Categories: 1984 albums | Concept albums | Rock operas | Double albums | Hsker D albums | SST Records albums | Albums produced by Bob Mould | Albums produced by SPOT
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