Song of the Day No.63

I Will Dare

by The Replacements (Let It Be, 1984)

The band emerged out of Minneapolis in the early 1980s in the local hardcore scene locked in competition with another local band, Hüsker Dü, even tipping their hat to them (in a good way or bad way is yet to be established) by writing the song 'Something To Dü' for The Replacements debut effort Sorry Ma, Forgot To Take Out The Trash (1981). By the time the band got to writing Let It Be they had become a little tired of playing hardcore punk and wanted to try to incorporate more influences and styles into their songwriting. It proved to be an inspired move with Let It Be now regarded as a classic album.

'I Will Dare' is the album's opener and immediately sheds any dead hardcore punk skin from the band's image. With its bouncy rhythm section and pandemically infectious lyrics the song seems to be a paean to first dates and young love, “Call me on Thursday if you will, Or Call me on Wednesday better still”. R.E.M's Peter Buck appears on this song after nearly producing the album but nobody can decide if he played the guitar solo or the mandolin on it. What is without any doubt is the speed at which you will fall in love with this song.

AR

Song Of The Day No.46

Weatherbox

by Mission Of Burma (Vs, 1982)

The Boston band had originally only released one long-player, Vs, until they reformed in 2002 with Bob Weston (Shellac) performing live with them. Formed in 1979 the band had roots in post-punk which was developing at speed at that time but when Vs was released in 1982 the band had developed to include more a industrial-rock, hardcore aspect to complement their post-punk sound. An extra layer of music in the form of cassette tape loops courtesy of Martin Swope helped the group stand apart and claim a more experimental demeanour.

The tape loops are easily recognised on this track as they accompany a steady rhythm with screeches, beeps and psychedelia influenced oscillations. The song has a heavier feel to it than a standard post-punk offering would have, this is thanks, mainly, to the crunching guitars and the deeply dominate bass line. This repetitive combination of guitar and bass provides a vehicle for the song which is interspersed with changes in rhythm and intensity by the incision of collective vocals and high piercing, chiming guitars at various points in the three and a half minute long track.

AR

Song Of The Day No.12

Something I Learned Today

by Hüsker Dü (Zen Arcade, 1984)

While always attempting to distance themselves from the hardcore punk genre there is no getting away from the fact that most of their music is pretty much hardcore punk. The speed and aggressiveness of Hüsker Dü's music dominates. However, this American three piece do set themselves apart from the more typical hardcore punk bands by acknowledging more mainstream rock and even paying more attention to song creation and melody. On this 1984 concept album about a boy running away from home, the band give proof to their reluctance to be classified as entirely hardcore with snippets of psychedelia, piano interludes and acoustic guitar.

As a live favourite before the release of Zen Arcade, 'Something I Learned Today' starts with intensely spitting drums which are joined in quick succession by a rumbling bass line and thrashing guitar chords. Once altogether, crashing cymbals complete the urgently pugnacious sound. The song takes from the generally accepted model of punk rock and hardcore punk where the rhythm of the vocal delivery runs concurrently with the drum beats and for every spiky shout of a lyric come a drum thud and cymbal smash. For all the violent thrashing of the song, it ends in a rather calm way, fading out with tinkling notes on the guitar.

AR