• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Lieff Ink

TELL YOUR STORY

  • About
  • Services
    • Writing • Editing
    • PR
    • Writing Tutor
  • Words
  • Press
  • Blog
  • Clients
    • Client List
    • Testimonials
  • Contact
  • Book
    • Accolades
    • Reviews

Bob Mould: See A Little Light, The Trail of Rage and Melody

June 12, 2015

Bob Mould book coverIt took 389 pages for Bob Mould, acclaimed lead singer and guitarist of punk band Husker Du and alternative rock band Sugar, to tell his story. And for the most part, it is a captivating tale. If you’re a punk rock fan you’ve listened to Husker Du and if you’re a Foo Fighters fan you should listen to Husker Du because Dave Grohl credits Mould as one of his most significant influences.

But this book isn’t just about the music. Mould starts from the beginning, delving deep into his chaotic childhood, his alcohol abuse and sobriety at early ages, how music got him through the tough times, how he dealt with being a gay man in the rock music scene and where he is today.

Although a few of the chapters provide a little too much information and give too many details, overall the book is fascinating. Mould holds nothing back and paints a very clear picture of exactly what it takes to be a skilled musician, an eloquent songwriter and a successful band leader. He also depicts difficulties that come with working with friends and significant others and, most importantly, finding your place in the world.

A few quotes from the man who created the punk rock soundtrack for three decades:

“Being into a band was like being in a gang.”

“We realized we weren’t alone in the fight to change the direction of modern music.”

“Music had gotten me through my childhood, music was the language I spoke with the other two members of my band – and people were listening to what we had to say.”

“Husker Du was an assault, slamming sonics together to shock people.”

“I had probably been the first of my generation of American underground musicians to step away from a well-known band to begin a solo career.”

“What I learned: if the song is good, it will resonate, no matter what the orchestration.”

“The only thing a songwriter has, in the end, is he publishing.”

In reference to a SPIN magazine article: “I could try to steer the story the way I wanted it to read, but ultimately, editorial always wins out. It’s the business.”

“To this day I’ve found no good way to end a band.”

“It was inspiring to write about the people I was interested in from a more optimistic emotional view and boiling those feelings down into songs.”

“Beyond my personal reasons for not looking back, a Husker Du reunion would surely tarnish the history of the band.”

“So we listen, we become fans, we become inspired, we create and somehow the work we create eventually finds its way back to the ones who inspired us.”

“I stayed curious and active – something a lot of people don’t do later in life.”

“As life goes on, I’m much more aware of how all my experiences have contributed to who I am and what I do, and how those connections lead me from one place to the next.”

 Things I learned about Bob Mould and his bands:

-Husker Du was the name of a board game (“in which the child can outwit the adult”) that was advertised on TV. For the band, “the name Husker Du was an identifier, not a description.”

-The first Sugar show was on February 20, 1992 and the last was November 13, 1994.

-He was a card-carrying member of the Kiss Army.

-The Ramones was a gang he wanted to join.

-When Husker Du played an Indian reservation in Reno the flyer listed the band as “Who Screwed You.”

-He describes himself as an American outsider/storyteller.

-Husker Du had a huge influence on the Pixies – there was an ad placed in 1986 in a newspaper that said: “Bassist wanted for rock band. Influences: Husker Du and Peter, Paul and Mary.”

-Mould ran his own business affairs for 11 years and learned so much about the music industry during that time that fellow musicians often called him about the business side of things.

-If you have an original ticket stub that’s dated between 1979 and 1987, you saw Husker Du. If not, you didn’t see the band.

-People who were influenced by Mould’s work and who influence his work: Kevin Shields from My Bloody Valentine, Frank Black of the Pixies and Dave Grohl of the Foo Fighters.

Laura

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Blog Archive

  • March 2023
  • February 2023
  • January 2023
  • December 2022
  • November 2022
  • October 2022
  • September 2022
  • August 2022
  • July 2022
  • June 2022
  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • December 2013
  • November 2013
  • October 2013
  • September 2013
  • August 2013
  • July 2013
  • June 2013
  • May 2013
  • April 2013
  • March 2013
  • February 2013
  • January 2013
  • December 2012
  • November 2012
  • October 2012
  • September 2012
  • August 2012
  • July 2012
  • June 2012
  • May 2012
  • April 2012
  • March 2012
  • February 2012
  • January 2012
  • December 2011
  • November 2011
  • October 2011
  • September 2011
  • August 2011
  • July 2011
  • June 2011
  • May 2011
  • April 2011
  • March 2011
  • February 2011
  • January 2011
  • December 2010
  • November 2010
  • October 2010
  • September 2010
  • August 2010
  • July 2010
  • June 2010
  • May 2010
  • April 2010
  • March 2010
  • February 2010
  • January 2010

Footer

Laura Lieff was named Colorado Mountain College’s 2017-2018 Part Time Staff Member of the Year for her work as a writing tutor and teaching assistant.
Laura Lieff was named Colorado Mountain College’s 2017-2018 Part Time Staff Member of the Year for her work as a writing tutor and teaching assistant.

Work With Me

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
lieff-ink-logo_updated-2
  • About
  • Services
  • Words
  • Blog
  • Client List
  • Contact

Copyright © 2023 · PO Box 1228 Edwards CO 81632 · info@lauralieff.com