Hüsker Dü - Zen Arcade

They didn't yet have terms like 'alternative rock' when Minneapolis's Hüsker Dü made their mark as one of the 1980s most influential bands. With two skilled songwriters — guitarist Bob Mould and drummer Grant Hart — the genre-bending trio (bassist Greg Norton completed the lineup) juxtaposed hardcore punk speed and aggression with pop-leaning melodies. Add their uniformly thoughtful, introspective lyrics, and you've got this stunning 1984 double-length release, a semi-concept album about youthful rites of passage. It includes such memorable tracks as Mould's "Broken Home, Broken Heart," Hart's "Never Talking to You Again," and the evocative 14-minute instrumental closer, "Recurring Dreams."

Tracklist

1. Something I Learned Today
2. Broken Home, Broken Heart
3. Never Talking to You Again
4. Chartered Trips
5. Dreams Reoccurring
6. Indecision Time
7. Hare Krsna
8. Beyond the Threshold
9. Pride
10. I'll Never Forget You
11. The Biggest Lie
12. What's Going On
13. Masochism World
14. Standing by the Sea
15. Somewhere
16. One Step at a Time
17. Pink Turns to Blue
18. Newest Industry
19. Monday Will Never Be the Same
20. Whatever
21. The Tooth Fairy and the Princess
22. Turn on the News
23. Reoccurring Dreams