Grant Hart '2541'

I hate business speak and jargon. I sat through a meeting at the end of work today (and I don't work in a business environment) where people used phrases like 'giving you the heads up', 'upskilling' and 'actioning'. I've started to visibly flinch when I hear them. Foul.

That's not got anything to do with this post, just wanted to get it off my chest.

Since Husker Du split up Bob Mould has been the busiest, with solo albums, Sugar and writing scripts for wrestling. Bob's solo stuff is good in parts, but it's dour. Grim and dour. He had an album called Black Sheets Of Rain, which works quite well as a title for his whole post-Husker solo stuff.

Grant Hart had the drug problems and suffered by being seen as being the second song writer in Husker Du. Also, he was a singing songwriting drummer, like a post-punk Phil Collins. But he was first off the mark with this 1988 release 2541, off an album called Intolerance.

This sounds nothing like Husker Du (depending on your taste for US hardcore that'll be either a relief or disappointment). Lots of organ, great tune, story telling lyrics. A couple move into a new home (2541), with 'big windows to let in the sun'. The song's got loads of little lines painting pictures ('got hold of a van and a man and moved in the very next day', 'we had to keep the stove on all night long so the mice wouldn't freeze', that sort of thing)and then moves on to the couples splitting, and moving out of 2541. Great little song, not dour at all. Just giving you 'the heads up'.

2541.mp3