Zen Arcade is the second studio album by American punk rock band Hüsker Dü, released in July 1984 on SST Records. Originally released as a double album on two vinyl LPs, Zen Arcade tells the story of a young boy who runs away from an unfulfilling home life, only to find the world outside is even worse. Zen Arcade and subsequent Hüsker Dü albums were instrumental in the creation of the alternative rock genre, and it is considered by some to be one of the greatest rock albums of all time.
Slint was an American rock band consisting of Brian McMahan, David Pajo (guitar), Britt Walford, Todd Brashear, and Ethan Buckler. They formed in Louisville, Kentucky, United States, in 1986. Slint's first album Tweez was recorded by engineer Steve Albini in 1987 and released in obscurity on the Jennifer Hartman Records label in 1989. It was followed two years later by the critically acclaimed Spiderland, released on the independent label Touch and Go Records.
Fear, stylized as FEAR, is an American punk rock band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 1977. The band is credited for helping to shape the sound and style of Californian hardcore punk. The group gained national prominence after an infamous 1981 performance on Saturday Night Live.
Throwing Muses are an American alternative rock band formed in 1981 in Newport, Rhode Island, United States, that toured and recorded extensively until 1997, when its members began concentrating more on other projects. The group was originally fronted by two lead singers, Kristin Hersh and Tanya Donelly (stepsisters), who both wrote the group's songs. Throwing Muses are known for performing music with shifting tempos, creative chord progressions, unorthodox song structures, and surreal lyrics. The group was set apart from other contemporary acts by Hersh's stark, candid writing style; Donelly's pop stylings and vocal harmonies; and David Narcizo's unusual drumming techniques eschewing use of cymbals. Hersh's hallucinatory, feverish lyrics occasionally touch on the subject of mental illness, more often drawing portraits of characters from daily life or addressing relationships.
Naïve is the fifth studio album by German industrial band KMFDM, released on 15 November 1990 by Wax Trax! Records. It was recorded following KMFDM's return from their first visit to the United States and subsequent tour with Ministry. It was also the first record they released after signing directly to Wax Trax! Records.
Angelic Upstarts are an English punk rock band formed in South Shields in 1977. AllMusic calls them "one of the period's most politically charged and thought-provoking groups". The band espoused an anti-fascist and socialist working class philosophy, and have been associated with the punk subculture and skinhead subculture.
Spiderland is the second and final studio album by the American rock band Slint. It contains six songs played over 40 minutes, and was released by Touch and Go Records on March 27, 1991. Slint's lineup at the time of recording were Brian McMahan on vocals and guitar, David Pajo on guitar, Todd Brashear on bass guitar and Britt Walford on drums. Spiderland was engineered by Brian Paulson and recorded over four days in August 1990. The music and vocal melodies were written over the summer of 1990, with lyrics composed in-studio.
Come On Down is the debut EP by the Seattle-based alternative rock band Green River. It was released in October 1985 through Homestead Records, while the band were on their first US tour. It is considered the first grunge record because it was released several months before the Deep Six album that was compiled by six other Seattle grunge bands.
Squirrel Bait was an American punk rock band from Louisville, Kentucky active from 1983 to 1987. Squirrel Bait's dense, moody, melodic hardcore sound, featuring pronounced tempo shifts, foreshadowed the grunge sound of the late 1980s as well as math rock. Squirrel Bait, along with Hüsker Dü, are often noted as precursors to the emocore sound that arose from the D.C. hardcore punk scene with bands like Rites of Spring, Beefeater and Fugazi.
Squirrel Bait signaled the second coming of American punk - bands of little brothers and sisters who got to grow up on Black Flag and Hüsker Dü without a preparatory course in Supertramp. ... Like a hundred other little Düs across the country, Squirrel Bait managed to make a couple of records before spintering off to form five more bands. Unlike most of that punk rock loam, the members of Squirrel Bait chewed up their legacy and shat out something curious and consequential.
Volcano Suns was an American alternative rock band from Boston, Massachusetts formed by Mission of Burma drummer Peter Prescott in 1984.
Unholy was a Finnish avant-garde doom metal band. Formed in 1988, they were one of the first doom metal groups in their home country.
Bastro was an American post-hardcore band which was active in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The band's main line-up consisted of David Grubbs on guitar, Clark Johnson on bass guitar, and John McEntire on drums. The band also experimented with use of piano, organ and musique concrète compositions, foreshadowing McEntire's and Grubbs' subsequent musical projects.
Britt Walford is an American musician best known for being the drummer, co-founder, and occasional guitarist for the post-rock band Slint.
Racer-X is the third EP by American post-hardcore band Big Black. It was released by Homestead Records in 1984 and reissued by Touch and Go Records in 1992.
The Pretty Reckless is an American rock band from New York City, formed in 2009. The band consists of Taylor Momsen, Ben Phillips, Mark Damon (bass), and Jamie Perkins (drums).
Skag Heaven is the second record by the American punk rock band Squirrel Bait, released in 1987 through Homestead Records. Squirrel Bait disbanded after the album's release and the band's members went on to form Slint, Bastro and a number of other influential indie and post-rock bands.
Impaler is a Minnesota horror rock band from the Twin Cities. Impaler formed in the spring of 1983 with founding members Bill Lindsey (vocals), Michael James Torok (guitar), "Commander" Court Hawley (bass), Robert "Meaty Bob" Johnson (drums), and Mike Senn (guitar). The band played original songs sprinkled with a few covers by favorite influential bands such as Kiss, Alice Cooper, and Motörhead. Bill Lindsey is the sole continuing member of Impaler, keeping the band alive for over 30 years.
Farside was an American hardcore punk band formed in Orange County, California, United States, in 1989. The group disbanded in 2000.
"Turn On the News" is a song by American rock band Hüsker Dü. Written by Grant Hart, it is the 22nd track on their 1984 double album Zen Arcade. The song was never released as a single, but is considered one of their best songs. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame placed "Turn On the News" on its list of "500 songs that shaped rock and roll".
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