Bob Mould: Classic or Dud?

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Inspired by the Mould name-dropping in the TM thread.

I used to LOVE Bob Mould - specifically, Sugar. Specifically, _Copper Blue_. Specifically, "Helpless" and "The Slick". (Why I indentified so well with a vague song about a car crash, I don't know.) From there, I got into Husker Du & his solo work. Husker Du was a revelation for me @ that time, but Mould's solo work left me a bit unenthused.

I dare say his best album is his self-titled one, because it sounds like he's trying to do SOMETHING, trying to dig a bit deeper. _Workbook_ has some beautiful moments, and some pretentious ones (like the oft-praised "Brasilia Crossed With Trenton"). _Black Sheets of Rain_ is just too flat-rock for me - tepid & turgid to an extreme. I don't want to even try the latest album, though I did end up seeing him live during his tour for _Dog & Pony Show_. It was OK, but lackluster. Passionate, but detatched - like he's going through the motions. Maybe the other fannies were eating it up, but I was left blah.

So, now: SST-era Husker Du CDs stay in the collection, pulled out once in a blue moon (with _Everything Falls Apart_ getting the most recent play). Sugar CDs & Bob Mould CDs sold a few years ago. Kinda miss Sugar (the same way I've been nostalgic for Soundgarden the past few weeks); don't really miss the Mould solo stuff at all. To me, Bob Mould is the epitome of wasted potential. Given how I used to hold him in high regard, it's a shame.

David Raposa, Wednesday, 4 July 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago) link

hey Dave, I agree with you on lots o things. Firstly, Bob Mould needs to pepper up his solo material a bit. Dog & Pony had too few moments on it for a full length release (mine even came with an interview disc!). I miss the days of Sugar. Those two albums + Beaster were the tightest Mould and his gang du jour ever sounded. I especially love 'Fortune Teller' and, yeah, 'Helpless'..it all takes me back to the 11th grade :D

Have to disagree with you about Black Sheets. As an album, it works because it's Bob acknowledging that he doesn't have to prove his cred to the die-hards anymore. And there's only a couple of unbearables like the sappy ballads off of Workbook or the '95 S/T release. Lots of straight-forward rockers on Black Sheets that sound good at the end of a hot hazy summer for some reason. I do miss the Huskers an awful lot (tho like you, Sugar was technically my intro to Mouldism)..Zen Arcade is still awesome. He could rock harder than any band in 2001, thats for sure.

Peeeve, Wednesday, 4 July 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago) link

I bought Copper Blue used years ago because a high school friend swore by it. I have never, ever seen what makes that album special.

Josh, Wednesday, 4 July 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago) link

As one of the Mouldies over at the TM thread, I felt I should go deeper. I first caught on to Husker Du around the time of New Day Rising, and at the time, it was a sonic assault, the likes of which I'd never heard before. Bob's guitar was magnificent--overdriven to the extreme, yet somehow still very melodic. I thought that album was great, even the Grant stuff. Digging further into the Du's catalogue, I found myself more and more drawn to the Bob material, especially on the later releases. So maybe he wasn't the most technically accomplished guitar player in the world, but he had a way of taking these really chunky overdriven strums and making them sound like the only thing that mattered. Even on Warehouse, which everyone else seemed to hate, Bob was able to pull off a number of great power pop numbers, like "Turn it Around", "Could You Be The One?", "Friend, You've Got to Fall" and "These Important Years".

Bob's first solo period was uneven. Everyone praised Workbook, but I didn't get it--there were some fine numbers, to be sure, especially on the first half ("See a Little Light" rose to the top I figure). Black Sheets of Rain, on the other hand, was bleak bleak bleak--the songs were dull, there was no dynamic range (how can there be when the whole thing is full-on?) and I felt there was precious little emotion in the record, something which later Husker Du-era Bob had.

My expectations for Sugar were extremely low after that. It was a really lovely surprise, then, that I utterly adored Copper Blue, which I think had his best songwriting ever ("If I Can't Change Your Mind" remains my favourite song ever written, bar none), and the backing band gave him a spark that made the album fun and exciting again. Plus that guitar sound...mmmm boy! Beaster was darker but still very sonically interesting. And File Under: Easy Listening, while it wasn't up to previous standards, still had quite a few great tracks.

Solo era two...I think David is probably right that his self-titled album is overall his best, with a lot of great numbers and a couple of blasts of guitar noise guaranteed to annoy parents and neighbors. Dog and Pony has some good numbers, but disappoints.

Ultimately, Mould has thrown off some clunkers, but I think the good stuff far outweighs those. And hell, he'd get classic in my book even if was only for that guitar tone. Mmmm.

Sean Carruthers, Wednesday, 4 July 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago) link

I think the affect that album has on you depends on where you're coming from. _Copper Blue_ came (for me) right @ the beginning of my "underground music" exploration, and it totally blew my mind. Eventually, it lead me to other things (most notably, the SST posse), and the luster of that CD dimmer immensely. Once upon a time, though, _Copper Blue_ sounded FUN (like Mould & Co. had a thrill recording it).

All his work with Sugar (& later on, I'd gather) is very professional. Cleanly recorded in a dirty way, like Alan Moulder's production work, or _Loveless_. (One song off _File Under: Easy Listening_ "borrows" the melody from "Make a Wish". Also, he used to say something about his ideal show featuring MBV & Sugar on opposite ends of a football field making as much noise as possible.) Meticulous and modulated. Some inspired moments, sure - "If I Can't Change Your Mind" (as Sean noted), "Explode and Make Up", "Gee Angel". However, this professionalism arrived at the expense of any true passion. Sure, on _Beaster_, he screams his lungs out, but it all sounds pheff - not too different from the bevy of nu-metal poseurs out & about. It could just be a matter of him growing old / up - the intensity on older Husker Du material is apparent even when he's not screaming. Sugar sounds cool 'n' all dat, but it's not half as engaging as the messier stuff that preceeded it.

Sometimes I think that, on "I Hate Alternative Rock" ("I wish you had something new to say"), he's talking about himself. Ach - I feel like I'm talking about an ex-girlfriend that didn't live up to my expectations.

David Raposa, Wednesday, 4 July 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago) link

Husker Du - Classic

Bob Mould solo - Dud

Sugar - Classic

alex in nyc, Wednesday, 4 July 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago) link

I'll second alex: husker du and sugar: classic, bobby moldy solo: blah

Blake, Thursday, 5 July 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago) link

Sugar: dud in letters a continent high. Liked it for about two weeks then hated it with a vengeance. Hated the voice, hated the noise, hated the songwriting, hated the lyrics - every single thing I have ever hated and will ever hate about 'indie rock' in one ghastly package. Then of course it was overpraised to fuck and back and I hated it even more. Listening to it was like being forced to eat a sweaty grey T-Shirt. I have noted down the people who are saying they like it and will be paying less attention to their opinions in future: sorry and all, you're lovely people but it's that mediocre.

(I then heard a bit of Husker Du and didn't like that either. But nowhere near as little as Sugar.)

Tom, Thursday, 5 July 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago) link

I think the word I'm looking for is: blimey!

Bobby btw is between C and D. Husker Du: Classic. "Copper Blue", when it came out i played it over & over & over again (esp. side 1). Then out of the blue: nothing. Haven't played it since. By the time the next Sugar album came out (crap name for a band also) didn't care anymore as did most of us.

Omar, Thursday, 5 July 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago) link

I may have gone a little over the top actually, in that I dont really care what anyone else thinks of Sugar. But you have to find your enemies somewhere.

Tom, Thursday, 5 July 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago) link

Sorry Tom but you'd best add another name to your list, everything Bob Mould has come into contact with *band-wise* has 'classic' stamped all over it. Can't say I've ever given his solo stuff much of a chance, but it sounded like a pale imitation of his earlier bombastic style, but still pisses over most of the so-called rock bands at the moment. 'Beaster' in particular rocks most viciously.

Add, Thursday, 5 July 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago) link

Aww, but Tom...we're still nice people. *sniffle*

Sean Carruthers, Thursday, 5 July 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago) link

Damn, Tom. Those who live in glass houses with pre-fab teen idols shouldn't throw stones lest they get dirty pop all over their chinos.

David Raposa, Thursday, 5 July 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago) link

In the early '90s, Sugar (and Throwing Muses -- hah!) were THE antidote to American indie rock for me. They had ZERO of that smug posturing attitude, none of that lazy "Oh we can PLAY our instruments, we just refuse to" mentality. They wrote pop songs with standard pop song structures, threw some noise in for good measure, and played it louder and with more conviction than most around them.

The only thing they really had in common with an indie band was that they loaded their own gear. All three members had been involved with music for ages and never showed much bitterness about their stature. They made some records, played a ton of shows, were professional and smart about what they did and got the fuck out.

Okay -- so they were on Creation in the UK and Ryko (hardly a Touch & Go or Merge) in the US. Technically they were an indie band. However, Sugar never possessed any of the negative connotations I associate with the word 'indie'. I don't care about how many people have regarded Bob Mould too highly. It's not as if he ever whored himself out for the attention. Besides, he was too busy watching wrestling.

Andy, Thursday, 5 July 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago) link

Everything he did from Huskers to Beaster IS classic. The turning point is the Sugar album F.U.E.L., that album and everything after is a fucking dud.

Cash Lone, Sunday, 8 July 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago) link

I never really got Sugar/Husker Du/Mould either. I can see how influential their sound was but that's about it. And my did the fruits of their roots go bad. NME naming 'Copper Blue' the best album of 1992 was almost as weird as them picking Queens Of The Stone Age last year.

Nick, Monday, 9 July 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago) link

ten months pass...
Thank you David Raposa, I think you understadn what Ive been trying to do with my work better than thouse some people who only have negative things to say about anothers person love +work. If you dont like it, DO SOMETHING BETTER!!!!!

Bob Mould, Saturday, 25 May 2002 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

I want to believe...

Ned Raggett, Saturday, 25 May 2002 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

I bailed out after finding 'Workbook's' acoustic melancholy tepic but still rever the man. Mould's contributed more in many a Hüsker Dü solo than some decent bands do in 5 albums. Joe Carducci (plausibly) suggested Mould forming Sugar after seeing Nirvana's sales figures, and 'Copper Blue' is desperately drab, but 'wasted potential?' is way off the mark imho.

stevo, Saturday, 25 May 2002 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

tepic = tepid

stevo, Saturday, 25 May 2002 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

Has anyone seen Hedwig and the Angry Inch yet? Bob Mould is playing on the soundtrack. i hate all his bands and his solo career so this is the best things hes done (except for the wrestling script writing of course).

hamish, Saturday, 25 May 2002 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

Husker du were one of the great bands. There is a tendancy to blame these guys (w/ pixies) for grunge but don't OK.

Solo= don't like it. The songwriting isn't on that great level.

Sugar= got copper blue and beaster. I love it! I can't undestand Tom's hatred of them. The NME (for once) got it right!

Julio Desouza, Monday, 27 May 2002 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

There's two discrete solo periods for Bob, and I think in both cases the first album outshone the second. I liked Workbook just fine, but Black Sheets I found a bit dreary. I liked the self-titled one just fine, but the Last Dog and Pony Show had less sparkling moments...still, thought they were tons better than much of the other stuff I heard on the radio, so.

Sean Carruthers, Monday, 27 May 2002 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

sean- got workbook and found it really disappointing. Didn't get anything else (another example of me getting one thing and not trying another if I'm disappointed).

Julio Desouza, Monday, 27 May 2002 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

Workbook is certainly disappointing if you are expecting full-out sonic assault ala Hüsker Dü, but it was actually quite a pleasure at the time, I remember. If I also remember correctly, the production on the album hasn't particularly aged well. I think there are still a number of songs on Workbook that are top notch, though: introspective yet angry, and still very melodic.

Sean Carruthers, Monday, 27 May 2002 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

one year passes...
Reviving because ol' Bob apparently has a blog

Elvis Telecom (Chris Barrus), Monday, 19 January 2004 23:56 (twenty years ago) link

holy shit! That's awesome. I remember this old SPIN cartoon where the author finds himself wondering what David Byrne is doing that very second and imagines Byrne playing a pair of congas. Soon, if we're curious, we won't have to wonder.

Anthony Miccio (Anthony Miccio), Tuesday, 20 January 2004 00:03 (twenty years ago) link

His take on the whole 'Bush=Hitler' thing and the place of nuance (implicitly) in political discussion makes me happy.

Ned Raggett (Ned), Tuesday, 20 January 2004 00:08 (twenty years ago) link

first i find out he's gay. then i find out he's got a blog. now i find out he djs electronica????
i obviously haven't been paying attention since beaster.

mullygrubber (gaz), Tuesday, 20 January 2004 00:14 (twenty years ago) link

The Huskers stuff is more or less all classic. Up through Flip Yr Wig, Mould's songs were typically stronger than Hart's. Then for some reason on Candy Apple Grey, Bob's 'rock' songs are boring and his acoustic ones are amazing.

I like Sugar, and like nobody else I liked File Under more than Copper Blue. "Gee Angel" and "Explode & Make Up" and "Your Favorite Thing" are fucking brilliant. The live disc that came with Besides is also absolutely amazing. I really wish I had seen Sugar live; a bit too young.

His only solo stuff I've heard is the s/t one, and it's great, especially the quieter stuff. The harder/louder stuff sounds a little bizarre without a real band.

Ian Johnson (orion), Tuesday, 20 January 2004 04:00 (twenty years ago) link

"Black Sheets of Rain" is better than you might expect and it was even better live. That band was a pretty good one: Tony Maimone on bass and Anton Fier on drums. It is really dark and angry. You can usually pick this one up for a buck or two.

After Sugar, I just can't get with what Bob has been doing. It started going wrong with that record where he did all of the instruments and the little I have heard after that one wasn't my thing.

Husker Du, parts of his first two solo records and Sugar are great.

It would be nice if Bob Mound could get over it and come to terms with Grant Hart. Even 15 years down the line, it seems like there is some really bad blood between them. Mould seems to want to write Grant Hart out of the history of the band or something. What a grudge or power trip. Mind you this is all based on reading bunches of interviews with both of them. Considering how Sugar ended up, a pattern seems somewhat evident.

Sugar was really good and much more intense live. It was a pretty brave move on Mould's part to tour a few times with that band before they had a record out. I saw them a couple of times, once at Bogarts in Cinci before anything had come out and once later on in Chicago. They were a blinding wall of sound live.

Never saw Husker Du. They were my favorite band when I was 17-18 years old and broke up my senior year in high school. A friend of mine used to have a tape of Husker Du playing on the Joan Rivers show, they did two songs and the set that looked like the cover of Warehouse: Songs and Stories. Joan also had them over briefly to be interviewed. My friend's Mom taped over it a couple of years later...what a loss. (This is the kind of thing that would be great on some deluxe Husker Du reissue, but Bob and Grant haven't been able to work things out to make something like this happen.)

earlnash, Tuesday, 20 January 2004 04:19 (twenty years ago) link

Mound = Mould

Sorty...sorry.

earlnash, Tuesday, 20 January 2004 04:25 (twenty years ago) link

I saw the "Black Sheets of Rain" here in NYC and, I mean, I had no opinion about the guy, a total feh reaction, but the show made my head explode. Especially, as noted by others, the guitar tone, and how purely pissed off he seemed.

Ian Grey (Ian_G), Tuesday, 20 January 2004 05:04 (twenty years ago) link

four months pass...
My introduction was Copper Blue, which I still love to this day. I have the entire Huskers, Sugar and solo catalogue and can honestly say I have a genuine love for every record, with the exception of Modulate, which I just can't seem to connect with. The Loudbomb album I liked a lot better, but Modulate seemed too stuck between two worlds for me, and I found some of it made me cringe in the same way 'Megamanic' on Dog & Pony Show did.

It would be nice if Bob and Grant buried the hatchet, it would be great to hear the older albums remastered, particularly as they have never really been done justice on CD. But that seems unlikely, even as recently as Modulate the Grant-bashing persists (I thought the line "Some deadbeat Dad who lives at home" in The Receipt was particularly hurtful, Grant also claims that Bob cryptically reveals Grant's address in the lyrics to that song.)

I only saw Sugar once, in 1994 shortly after FU:EL came out - it was one of the biggest disapointments of my life. You just couldn't hear the guitar or vocals at ALL. Several audience members were trying to alert the band to this fact but to no avail.

Perhaps because Sugar were my favourite band when I was fifteen I still feel a very powerful emotional connection with Bob's songs, particularly those on Copper Blue and Warehouse. But I also believe he does the vulnerable lyrics/loud guitars thing better than anybody else. To this day, I tend to put a Bob record on to listen to loud, through headphones, late at night when I'm drunk!

All time favourites would be Zen Arcade, New Day Rising, Warehouse:Songs and Stories, Beaster.

Weaker moments: Candy Apple Grey (in term's of Bob's songs), Modulate.

Pretty much everything else, classic!

wombatX (wombatX), Monday, 31 May 2004 11:14 (twenty years ago) link

Love Husker Du with a vengence, one of my favourite bands ever.

Haven't heard Sugar. Bought 'Modulate' the other day. It's okay, not outstanding, but something I'll listen to again, even though he sounds disturbingly like Dave Grohl, which a friend pointed out to me. Haven't heard anything else of his solo stuff, but apparently it's better. So, I'll have to get it.

Can I just say though, Grant Hart's 'Intolerence' is definitely worth getting.

Sasha (sgh), Monday, 31 May 2004 13:48 (twenty years ago) link

Back in 2001, I wrote...

Husker Du - Classic

Bob Mould solo - Dud

Sugar - Classic

-- alex in nyc (vassife...), July 4th, 2001.

Looking back, that seems a bit harsh. While I still prefer Husker Du and Sugar, there have been moments in Bob's solo work that have been quite good.

Alex in NYC (vassifer), Monday, 31 May 2004 13:54 (twenty years ago) link

I really like Black Sheets. I remember getting the album, playing it a lot, and seeing a great Mould show at Bogart's in Cincinatti that same week. He was definitely on that night and the songs sounded terrific, and I was able to get even more into the album after that. I quite like "Stop Your Crying."

shookout (shookout), Monday, 31 May 2004 14:39 (twenty years ago) link

I just don't get it. With Husker Du Bob wrote & sang fantastic noisy-but-melodic songs and played guitar to match...then the band breaks up and it all goes to hell. Virtually nothing from his first two solo recs was memorable to me, so I hesitated buying Sugar until overwhelming universal praise won me over. And again...almost nothing. Two, maybe three memorable songs and zero guitar heroics. This guy used to SHRED: the best hardcore-derived guitarist in my opinion (including Greg Ginn), and now...who knows? It's like he's embarrassed or can't stand the noise or something. Where have his gifts gone? I don't understand it and I don't like it. And now I understand that he's turned to electronics like his hero Pete Shelley - wonder what that sounds like?

Myonga Von Bontee (Myonga Von Bontee), Monday, 31 May 2004 16:32 (twenty years ago) link

I agree the quality isn't consistent on Bob Mould and Last Dog & Pony Show, however I find Workbook an enormously comforting and warm record. I kind of see Black Sheets as it's darker companion in the same way as Copper Blue/Beaster.

Sasha otm re: Intolerance - we need a Grant Hart thread..

wombatX (wombatX), Monday, 31 May 2004 23:36 (twenty years ago) link

And again. "Intolerance" is prob my single fav record connected to Husker Du, incredibly fragile/sloppy and beautiful.

Mr Mime (Andrew Thames), Monday, 31 May 2004 23:39 (twenty years ago) link

Sugar is bargain bin classic.

Be sure to Loop! Loop, Loop, Loop. (ex machina), Tuesday, 1 June 2004 12:00 (twenty years ago) link

he sounds disturbingly like Dave Grohl

don't blame bob for that; he came first. although i always thought grohl was a bit closer to grant hart.

love love love husker du, although they started sliping on the last couple albums. i find sugar a tad bit less interesting than, say, jimmy eat world. not a huge waste of talent, just the usual steady decline.

fact checking cuz (fcc), Tuesday, 1 June 2004 13:26 (twenty years ago) link

"See A Little Light" is faboo. Much of the rest of his solo output flies by me in a blur, tho there are songs here and there that stick out. I haven't paid attention to him since Sugar broke up (and even then I wasn't paying much attention to Sugar).

Shakey Mo Collier, Tuesday, 1 June 2004 17:55 (twenty years ago) link

i just had this dilemma while going through and purging my cd collection. I've spared workbook and black sheets for the last six or seven purges (s/t and dog and pony were not so lucky; I'll keep the husker du albums I have; no-one will take copper blue away from me). I haven't made up my mind. I think what will probably save them is that I can't really sell them anywhere for anything over a dollar. Workbook is very dated productionwise, and like a lot of music of the same time (REM, specifically), I just have a hard time listening to it. It doesn't really bring back bad memories, but it seems like something that's steeped in a part of my life (college) that I'm just not interested in. Black Sheets's last track shreds though.

kyle (akmonday), Tuesday, 1 June 2004 18:04 (twenty years ago) link

yeah, there's stuff on both of those albums that sound really cold and clunky, production-wise. And Anton Fier's drums sound like cardboard boxes.

Shakey Mo Collier, Tuesday, 1 June 2004 18:06 (twenty years ago) link

his drums always sound like that. I don't really "get" anton fier.

kyle (akmonday), Tuesday, 1 June 2004 18:08 (twenty years ago) link

Husker Du - dud
Sugar - dud
Bob solo - dud

He just seems so unimaginative, so lacking in spark. Sure, he had a good guitar sound. That doesn't give him license to make bog-standard indie fuzz songs for 20 years.

paulhw (paulhw), Tuesday, 1 June 2004 19:12 (twenty years ago) link

Just listening to "Hoover Dam" for the first time in years; it sounds like Marillion! Not that there's anything wrong with that. Dick period anyway.

Keith Watson (kmw), Tuesday, 1 June 2004 21:02 (twenty years ago) link

The moments in Bob Mould's solo career I think hold up to Husker Du and Sugar: "See A Little Light," "Whichever Way The Wind Blows," "Black Sheets Of Rain," "Anymore Time Between," "Next Time That You Leave," "Egoverride," "Hair Stew," "Roll Over And Die," "Trade."

Anthony Miccio (Anthony Miccio), Tuesday, 1 June 2004 21:55 (twenty years ago) link

oh, and "New #1."

Anthony Miccio (Anthony Miccio), Tuesday, 1 June 2004 21:55 (twenty years ago) link

Hmm, actually, maybe just ("just") 9 tonight, too. I want to say he did:

Flip Your Wig
I Apologize
Something I Learned Today
Makes No Sense at All
Celebrated Summer
Chartered Trips
Hate Paper Doll
Never Talking to You Again
Hardly Getting Over it

Josh in Chicago, Friday, 8 July 2022 04:15 (two years ago) link

but I’m seeing nine at a solo show he did in Dublin back on July 1st.

I was there. I didn’t count, and someone nicked the setlist as soon as Bob walked off, but that sounds about right. Mostly HD stuff from Zen Arcade to Candy Apple Grey, and songs from Blue Hearts which actually fit in really well with the older tunes. Plus a few from Sugar and solo.

wronger than 100 geir posts (MacDara), Friday, 8 July 2022 07:53 (two years ago) link

Last time I saw Bob was the Workbook anniversary retrospective tour. Before that, solo at the Birchmere with Kristin Hersh. He was loud AF, and more than a little cranky.

I admire Bob immensely but I do not think he's great as a solo act. Especially with an electric guitar and nothing else. It's an unforgiving sound.

Nutellanor Roosevelt (Ye Mad Puffin), Friday, 8 July 2022 10:04 (two years ago) link

Ugh

Mr. Art-I-Ficial (James Redd and the Blecchs), Friday, 8 July 2022 12:06 (two years ago) link

This was with his most recent longstanding cohort Jason Narducy and Jon Wurster. They rock and seem to be having so much fun playing this stuff.

Josh in Chicago, Friday, 8 July 2022 13:31 (two years ago) link

Yeah the trio sound is good! Just don't love him solo quite as much, sorry

Nutellanor Roosevelt (Ye Mad Puffin), Friday, 8 July 2022 13:42 (two years ago) link

I admire Bob immensely but I do not think he's great as a solo act. Especially with an electric guitar and nothing else. It's an unforgiving sound

This is why I passed on his latest (solo electric) tour in these parts - he plays songs like “If I Can’t Change Your Mind” and other stuff originally recorded with acoustic guitars and it just seems to smother any of the subtleties of the original recordings.

It’s nice that he’s dipping into more of the back catalogue but imo it just seems he’s more at ease these days with sticking to a familiar sound and set up rather than exploring his more leftfield journeys of the past

(I might be wrong but it seems like he doesn’t really perform as many solo acoustic shows these days)

Master of Treacle, Friday, 8 July 2022 14:14 (two years ago) link

It’s nice that he’s dipping into more of the back catalogue but imo it just seems he’s more at ease these days with sticking to a familiar sound and set up rather than exploring his more leftfield journeys of the past

Yeah, and that's why the last few albums and band tours have been good! I've seen him a few times in various formats: Sugar, various solo bands, solo electric (works for Billy Bragg!), solo with drum machines, etc., all behind albums that more or less made no impression at all, and they've all been pretty dull. After I saw him on the Modulate tour - alone on stage with a drum machine, and maybe once or twice a guitar, iirc - I heard a guy after at the merch table and, very politely, he says to the guy behind the table (more or less), "I know this isn't really your job, but I've been a fan for decades and have seen every one of Mould's shows here, but this was terrible and is going to be the last one."

Long and short is that Mould is (go figure) apparently most at ease making the music he's good at, stun-guitar power-trio stuff.

Josh in Chicago, Friday, 8 July 2022 14:38 (two years ago) link

I've seen him twice with his current band and once solo, and I have to agree, it's a lot better with the band. I think he sounded great at his solo show, but at a certain point, it wore a bit thin and I got the impression that it was really hard to sustain an entire set of similarly paced songs with only one raging guitar. (I started thinking about solo acoustic shows and why those were more likely to be great, and virtually every one I enjoyed didn't rely on one guitar either - they usually had accompaniment in spots or the singer mixing it up with a piano and possibly a harmonica.)

birdistheword, Friday, 8 July 2022 14:53 (two years ago) link

xp did Sugar tour for Copper Blue / Beaster? Seems like those shows would have been awesome.

death generator (lukas), Friday, 8 July 2022 15:33 (two years ago) link

i saw them in november of 94 w velocity girl & magnapop -- it was ok but FU:EL was my least favorite Mould album at that time and there was not nearly enough Beaster content, certainly 0 Dü

Piggy Lepton (La Lechera), Friday, 8 July 2022 15:40 (two years ago) link

the ticket was $10 <3

Piggy Lepton (La Lechera), Friday, 8 July 2022 15:41 (two years ago) link

I’m certain Sugar toured for Copper Blue, yes, and before the release too.

Antifa Sandwich Artist (Boring, Maryland), Friday, 8 July 2022 17:25 (two years ago) link

I saw that FU:EL tour, too, and it was a bust, imo. The recordings of earlier Sugar tours sound great.

Josh in Chicago, Friday, 8 July 2022 18:17 (two years ago) link

Also saw that tour and the mix was so loud, all the dynamics were lost. I mean, it was fun to bear the brunt of such a guitar assault but it wasn't satisfying as far as "music" is concerned.

Gerald McBoing-Boing, Friday, 8 July 2022 18:37 (two years ago) link

I brought Bob into a commissioned round-up of 2006 dance-related releases, thought there was more but this is it:

Blowoff (Husker Du/Sugar frontman Bob Mould, times DJ Richard Morel), on their amorously armored, self-titled debut, brought shadows into stripe the strobe light. Blowoff summons Bob as Leatherman, dancing like Peter Boyle in Young Frankenstein surely would have, if only he'd reached the beach.
Wish he'd done more like this---hopefully he did, and I just didn't get the memo/promo.

dow, Friday, 8 July 2022 22:48 (two years ago) link

this is unrelated to live shows but i do have a question --

can anyone explain what is the musical reason that every time I hear "JC Auto" there is a specific point where it sort of morphs into "Poison Years" (mostly the chorus, from BSOR) every time i hear it? Both songs reference Jesus H Christ but aside from that i can't quite figure it out!

for ease of comparison
JC Auto
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JacQxqqtbrQ

Poison Years
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rc-fROR3NN0

Piggy Lepton (La Lechera), Friday, 8 July 2022 22:57 (two years ago) link

sorry it's Workbook not Black Sheets of Rain

Piggy Lepton (La Lechera), Friday, 8 July 2022 22:58 (two years ago) link

I’m certain Sugar toured for Copper Blue, yes, and before the release too.

Yup. I saw (part of) the first Chicago appearance of Sugar, which predated the release of Copper Blue by two months. I mainly went to see openers Scrawl, who played a brilliant set (I was lucky enough to see them again almost exactly a year later, opening for PJ Harvey). But I was also excited to hear Mould’s new band. Three songs in, the realization that Grant Hart was the heart and soul of Hüsker Dü was painfully evident. Sugar wasn’t bad; they were just…there. Standing still. They did not threaten to take off, blow up, or collapse. I was so underwhelmed by the first few songs that I left. Come to find out later they played the Who’s “Armenia City In The Sky” for an encore. Serves me right, I guess.

Montgomery Burns' Jazz (Tarfumes The Escape Goat), Friday, 8 July 2022 23:18 (two years ago) link

Anyone pony up for that humongous CD box set Edsel put out of everything "Bob" yet?

earlnash, Friday, 8 July 2022 23:23 (two years ago) link

xpost

Yeah that was my experience of Sugar too, a more competent ploddy version of HD without any frisson or danger. They played London before Copper Blue came out, supported by Milk and Swallow which I'm sure was a little joke on the part of the promoter, and whelming it was not.

A friend and bandmate of worked sound at some pretty high-end venues in the 90s, and said that Sugar was the absolute loudest act he ever supported. Like, louder than Metallica Slipknot, Gwar; indeed louder than any metal act then in existence.

Personally I have no idea why a song like "If I Can't Change Your Mind" or "See a Little Light" or "Important Years" needs to be the loudest sound in the universe. But evidently it is part of the Mould shtick. Always has been.

Nutellanor Roosevelt (Ye Mad Puffin), Saturday, 9 July 2022 02:37 (two years ago) link

can anyone explain what is the musical reason that every time I hear “JC Auto” there is a specific point where it sort of morphs into “Poison Years” (mostly the chorus, from BSOR) every time i hear it? Both songs reference Jesus H Christ but aside from that i can’t quite figure it out!

I don’t have an answer for this, but it does remind me that the start of “Deep Karma Canyon” on the s/t solo album nicks the verse riff from Saccharine Trust’s “A Human Certainty” so he’s probably not beyond recycling musical motifs here and there.

wronger than 100 geir posts (MacDara), Saturday, 9 July 2022 11:45 (two years ago) link

and said that Sugar was the absolute loudest act he ever supported.

I remember reading a Musician magazine rundown of Mould’s amp rig around that time, and it said that his stage volume — just his guitar, without bass or drums — was 128dB.

For comparison, the first Guinness record holder for Loudest Pop Group was the Who at 120dB.

Montgomery Burns' Jazz (Tarfumes The Escape Goat), Saturday, 9 July 2022 12:58 (two years ago) link

I love Copper Blue more than any HD album. So there's that.

Malevolent Arugula (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Saturday, 9 July 2022 13:11 (two years ago) link

"Copper Blue" still sounds impeccable. Produced with Lou Giordano, who I believe was HD's longtime sound guy.

Josh in Chicago, Saturday, 9 July 2022 13:16 (two years ago) link

Oh, and MBV at its loudest usually hovers around 120dB, and has reportedly reached close to 130 at its absolute noise zenith, so it seems unlikely Mould comes close to that. Mould is loud, but it's not disorientingly loud like MBV (and a few others, like Mogwai, High on Fire, etc.)

Josh in Chicago, Saturday, 9 July 2022 13:21 (two years ago) link

this is from the FU:EL tour and sounds pretty good to me

(it was also the bonus disc on certain pressings of the 'besides' comp)

mookieproof, Saturday, 9 July 2022 14:15 (two years ago) link

nine months pass...

(actually saturday)

Bob Mould got married today. 💕 Congrats Bob and Don. pic.twitter.com/3x8fH1qepR

— Roni (@roni1133) May 7, 2023

mookieproof, Monday, 8 May 2023 00:04 (one year ago) link

You will lose your mind
When Bob Moulds are two of a kind

Halfway there but for you, Monday, 8 May 2023 21:27 (one year ago) link

one year passes...

Tour dates, starting in Chicago July 25, most marked Solo Electric, which I find kind of appealing at this point:


track to get concert, live stream and tour updates.
https://bobmould.com/tour/

dow, Thursday, 20 June 2024 20:49 (six months ago) link

Wow - Chicago, Skokie and Schaumburg. He must love northern Illinois.

birdistheword, Thursday, 20 June 2024 21:01 (six months ago) link

Elkton, Maryland?! (nowhere near me, or at least as far as you can get in Maryland away from me, unless her were to play Deep Creek Lake or something).

Gigi Allen (Boring, Maryland), Thursday, 20 June 2024 22:29 (six months ago) link

Yeah I noticed that the Maryland gig is very far away from the Md suburbs of DC and even Baltimore. No DC or Baltimore gig listed

curmudgeon, Monday, 24 June 2024 04:49 (five months ago) link

one month passes...

Saw him perform solo last night -- absolutely lost my shit and had to bend down to scream into my knees to protect my neighbors' ears when I recognized Something I Learned Today (without the bassline, which took a few seconds longer than I expected!) and then he followed it with Chartered Trips. I have never heard either of these songs performed live and I most definitely flipped tf out. How exhilarating.

He only played two songs I didn't know and the rest felt like a sonic trip through my life from 15 to present. I did actively miss Grant several times, especially when he sang Flip Your Wig bc I always loved the "I don't know" Grant part so I sang it myself. It only took about 5 seconds of hearing him play guitar to alleviate my concerns about there not being a band. It almost felt more intimate this way even though it was outdoors and most of the crowd was in a lawn chair (I scooted to the front and did not regret it). Hell yeah Bob Mould 4-ever <3 XOXOXOX

Piggy Lepton (La Lechera), Saturday, 27 July 2024 15:00 (four months ago) link

That was one of the solo electric shows?? So want to go.

dow, Saturday, 27 July 2024 17:11 (four months ago) link

Yep. Would def recommend!!

Piggy Lepton (La Lechera), Saturday, 27 July 2024 17:13 (four months ago) link

glad you had such a good time! what guitar does he play live now?

Bernard Quidbins (NickB), Saturday, 27 July 2024 21:53 (four months ago) link

Workbook is so damn impressive.

Just mentioning it for the record.

the talented mr pimply (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Saturday, 27 July 2024 21:58 (four months ago) link

He played Sinners and their Repentances in addition to See a Little Light — fun to hear a deep cut!

No idea about the guitar. I’m not a guitar person.

Piggy Lepton (La Lechera), Saturday, 27 July 2024 22:32 (four months ago) link

He mostly plays the silver Strat with the Lace Sensors live, I think? I remember him having some kind of custom DOD 250 variant, a TC Electronic Flashback delay, an EHX Freeze (mostly used for transitions between songs, it seemed), and a Wampler Ego at the end of the chain into a Deluxe Reverb the last time I saw him.

spastic heritage, Saturday, 27 July 2024 22:42 (four months ago) link

thx!

Bernard Quidbins (NickB), Sunday, 28 July 2024 09:31 (four months ago) link

three weeks pass...

Bob Mould is sitting in with the 8G Band on Late Night with Seth Meyers on Thursday August 22

curmudgeon, Tuesday, 20 August 2024 13:29 (four months ago) link

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bwngl8api94

Maresn3st, Friday, 23 August 2024 16:28 (four months ago) link

Nice . I think NBC is going ahead with their plans to make Seth Meyer’s show dump the studio band to save NBC money. I think that explains the song choice “Makes No sense at all”. A dc rooted musician Ely Janney is in the band

curmudgeon, Friday, 23 August 2024 19:13 (four months ago) link

members of les savy fav as well

na (NA), Friday, 23 August 2024 19:44 (four months ago) link

one month passes...

When he's 64. (I've got "Makes No Sense at All" cued up for a grade 3 class this morning. May make no sense at all.)

clemenza, Wednesday, 16 October 2024 12:30 (two months ago) link

Hope they like it

curmudgeon, Wednesday, 16 October 2024 17:27 (two months ago) link

They didn't walk out of class en masse, but I think they liked the Just Dance "I Gotta Feeling" they picked for DPA better.

clemenza, Wednesday, 16 October 2024 18:32 (two months ago) link


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