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The history of rock would surely have been better if some bands had thrown in the towel in time, avoiding long and somewhat embarrassing "agonies" or unexpected reunions. But how many bands can say they've disbanded at their peak, in the phase of their creative zenith, after releasing their most accomplished work? They can be counted on the fingers of one hand. Hüsker Dü ("do you remember?" in Swedish) from Minneapolis definitely fit within that handful. Indeed, after the release of this monumental "Warehouse: Songs And Stories" in 1987, the trio, comprised of Bob Mould, Greg Norton, and Grant Hart, after violent disputes exacerbated by serious drug issues particularly on the part of drummer and co-writer Hart, decided to end the story of a band whose influence and significance have only grown the further we get from that fateful year.
After about six years as independents, marked by an abrasive, raw, lightning-fast hardcore that still challenges hi-fi systems today, masterfully encapsulated in works like the double album "Zen Arcade", the band progressively gravitated towards a sound, always powerful and energetic, but more inclined towards melody. With "Warehouse", the second title after "Candle Apple Grey" released under the major label Warner, this "cold fusion" between pop and punk succeeds perhaps in an unrepeatable way.
The "guitar-bass-drums" sound of our trio has few equals in terms of power and fullness. It is truly hard to believe that those twenty tracks, almost all adrenaline-fueled and around three minutes, are played by only three people. A true wall of sound awaits the fortunate ones who have yet to discover them. But behind that thick and shiny armor, which alone is worth the purchase, they will discover subtle yet solid and enjoyable melodies, intertwining and merging with those hard, angular riffs, creating a blend that perfectly coexists with the best characteristics of the two genres, usually considered polar opposites.
From this incandescent material, skillfully cooled, our trio, displaying the combined talents of ancient blacksmiths and Murano masters, creates memorable songs, not lacking intelligent lyrics (the "Stories" in the title) that mix a certain spleen, commitment, and irony.
It is hard to choose among those twenty tracks: indecision reigns supreme, akin to standing before a rich box of chocolates. Perhaps worth mentioning, without taking away from the others, are at least the explosive opening of "These Important Years", the Beatles-like but at triple speed "Ice Cold Ice", the iron fist in a velvet glove of "It's Not Peculiar", the ironic and carefree rock 'n' roll of "Actual Condition" ("Well the actual condition of my mind / Is elusive as the answers that I find / I keep going through transition / From doubt to indecision / It's the actual condition of my mind"
), the willful optimism of "No Reservations".
From the Hüsker Dü "Warehouse," many, even in recent times, have taken something, some without even thanking them. But few have come close to their dazzling outcomes.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
01 These Important Years (03:51)
Well, you get up every morning
And you see it's still the same
All the floors and all the walls
And all the rest remains
Nothing changes fast enough
The hurry-worry days
It makes you want to give it up
And drift into a haze
Revelations seem to be another way
To make the days go fast anyways
We're all exchanging pleasantries
No matter how we feel
And no one knows the difference
'Cause it all seems so unreal
You'd better grab ahold of something
Simple, but it's true
If you don't stop to smell the roses now
They might end up on you
Expectations only mean you really think you know
What's coming next, and you don't
Yearbooks with their autographs
From friends you might have had
These are your important years
You'd better make them last
Falling in and out of love just like...
These are your important years, your life
Once you've seen the light, you suddenly
Realize it might end up all right
It might end up all right now
Yearbooks with their autographs
From friends you might have had
These are your important years
You'd better make them last
Falling in and out of love just like...
These are your important years, your life
02 Charity, Chastity, Prudence, and Hope (03:15)
She gave her little child a name
A ward of welfare she became
And then one day she met a man
Digging through the trash for cans
Charity, chastity, prudence, and hope
It was his aluminum
That attracted her to him
And quite a day there did unfold
Turning garbage into gold
Charity, chastity, prudence, and hope
She took that money in a trunk
And bought a bunch of worthless junk
And now they're back where they began
Digging through the trash for cans
Charity, chastity, prudence, and hope
03 Standing in the Rain (03:48)
Looking outside my window
And all I see is grey
I'm watching the clouds roll by every day
And we make a reservation
You say you'll be on time
I say, "I might be a little late"
Well, I pull it together and brush my teeth
And comb my hair
I stop to think and I can see you there
I think of the times you've waited
Just for me to care
I care about you
Checking the clock inside
The room we call our own
I see that I'm late, I should be going
Hop on a local transit
Spending all my change
And I can still hear the telephone
I wanna go back, but I'm halfway to
The place where we will meet
And I'm half dead on my feet
And once I get there, I see
Everything's the same
Here comes the rain
You left me standing
I should have guessed that you'd stand me up
Why did I even go, now
And I guess it goes to show
The snow may well thaw out
But it goes right down the train
You left me
You left me
You left me
You left me
You left me standing in the rain
04 Back From Somewhere (02:19)
Now, you look like you just got back from somewhere
Somewhere, yeah, you know that it's true
Together we went nearly to nowhere
Nowhere really worth going to
Standing at the City Center
In the middle of the winter
I was waiting for you
And you were due
When I got back, you said you were leaving
Leaving, you said right away
And coming back for the sake of retrieving
Things you'd forgotten on that day
Still now my eyes are burning
With the sight of your returning
Everywhere I look, I'm finding you
I remember you
Familiar places that we turned into gardens
Somewhere, yeah, you know that it's true
I'm begging you now a thousand pardons
For all of the wastelands we've been through
I remember asking whether
Or where we could be together
You smiled at me, and you said "Soon"
05 Ice Cold Ice (04:23)
Barren lands and barren minds
In another place and time
I feel I've never known myself
Frozen in the sand again
See the blank expressions waiting for progression
They're standing still in place and time
And no one's moving, they're only
Standing still in ice cold ice cold ice
All machines and all are one
Catching up on what's been done
Stealing glimpses from the past
These impressions always last
Never penetrating, always contemplating
We sit and count the blessings but we're blessed by icons
No one else could
Trust in ice cold ice cold ice
We'll stay together till the end
Thinking you might be a friend
We sit and pray together that they might change the weather
My love for you will never die
If I sound distant, that's because
You shouldn't see me crying ice cold ice
06 You're a Soldier (03:04)
Running around like an insane maniac
Anywhere that you please
Taking advantage of anyone handy
To satisfy your disease
You're a soldier
Going off on a big adventure
You never want it to end
Saving up a million stories
To tell to all your friends
You're a soldier
Knocking over everything that's standing in your way
Can you tell me just how many did you kill today
You're a soldier
Patrolling the world with your little boy face
And a grown up gun that shoots
You got a fresh scrubbed teenage outlook on terror
And a khaki attitude
You're a soldier
Knocking over everything that's standing in your way
Can you tell me just how many did you kill today
You're a soldier
07 Could You Be the One? (02:35)
Could you be the one they talk about?
Hiding inside, behind another door?
Is it only happiness you want?
Does wanting a feeling matter any more?
It doesn't mean that much to me
Sometimes I don't mean that much to you
And I don't even know what I'm hiding for
And I don't even know what I'm crying for
Don't even know what I'm hiding for
Could you be the one they talk about?
Life is a game that only you can make
Maybe I'm about to throw it out
I've given it all, that's all that I can take
It doesn't mean that much to me
Sometimes I don't mean that much to you
And I don't even know what I'm hiding for
Could you be the one
Could you be the one
Could you be the one that's hanging all around
And I don't even know what I'm crying for
Don't even know what I'm hiding for
Don't even know what I'm hiding for
Don't even know what I'm crying for
Don't even know, could you be the only
Broken hearted one
Could you be the one
Could you be the one
Could you be the one that's hanging all around
And I don't even know what I'm hiding for
Don't even know what I'm hiding for
Could you be the one
Could you be the one
Could you be the one that's hanging all around...
08 Too Much Spice (02:56)
You never used to care for fancy new obsessions
You never used to have a reason to be bored
Now you indulge yourself with new ways of possession
Now you indulge yourself and your feelings are ignored
And you're coloring your life with too much spice
There was a time, there was a place, there was a reason
There was a situation comfortable for you
You've tasted everything in this here bag of season
But now you're bored and you've run out of things to do
And you're coloring your life with too much spice
You don't see anything, your eyes are so revealing
They're sharply focused on looking for a thrill
You've turned so numb, you never notice any feeling
Your thoughts are dead and you've still got some time to kill
And you're coloring your life with too much spice
10 Visionary (02:33)
Panhandle, pedal faster
Playing card, listen, master
Pointed gun, aim to please
No one talking, no one sees
Take a stand and collect
Images and imageless
Think in rhymes every time
Someone was a friend of mine
Visionary, in a cage, Londonderry
Visionary, foggiest notion, visionary
Visionary
Strip away the silver and the gold
Torn up stories in your cage
Never time to be a sage
So sublime
Growing old before your time
Visionary, in a cage, Londonderry
Visionary, foggiest notion, visionary
Visionary
Strip away the silver and the gold
11 She Floated Away (03:39)
With her grandmother's face and her father's brown eyes
Her own force of will to her mother's surprise
A whole look about her that says that she may
She lifted her arms and she floated away
She floated away, she floated away
She lifted her arms and she floated away
She don't give a damn what the other girls say
She lifted her arms and she floated away
"Let me talk to you Mother," she tried to confess
"Go ahead, honey, and wear the white dress
Don't let traditions go stand in your way"
She lifted her arms and she floated away
She floated away, she floated away
She lifted her arms and she floated away
She don't give a damn what the other girls say
She lifted her arms and she floated away
Well, a man has two reasons for things that he does
The first one is pride and the second one is love
All understandings must come by this way
She lifted her arms and she floated away
She floated away, she floated away
She lifted her arms and she floated away
She don't give a damn what the other girls say
She lifted her arms and she floated away
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Other reviews
By jeremy
Warehouse: Songs and Stories is an outstanding album that captivates you from the very first track.
A cornerstone for what would become emocore.
By kloo
I think of my 28 years and feel it’s necessary to honor a work that turns 30.
I’m talking about life, mine, yours, and everyone’s. Familiar words, situations we may have all experienced more or less similarly.
