Photo courtesy of Warner Records
Minneapolis Husker Du will perform Saturday at the Ranch Bowl in Omaha.
Hiisker Dil to play hardcore
‘new punk’ at Ranch Bowl
By Charles Iaeurance
Senior Editor
m f
With hardcore punk bands basically degen
erating into millions of interchangeable atoms
and their vital anger diluted into inconsequen
tial musical tantrums, it’s a mighty credit to
their foresight that Minneapolis’ Hiisker Dii got
out while the getting was good.
Hiisker Dii will bring the plentiful benefits
of this foresight to Omaha’s Ranch Bowl Satur
day at 9 p.m.
Identifiable melody has been regarded as a
superfluous sell-out to mainstream rock values
in those circles still intent upon punk’s annihi
lation of what they perceive as “corporate”
Concert Preview
musical form. But Hiisker Dii enclose chiming
i pop songs inside a solid wall of punk noise and
justifiable rancor, diverging on their last few
albums to clear-eyed optimism.
Formed in 1980 while the hardcore scene
was becoming decadent and losing all sense of
direction in Los Angeles, this Minneapolis trio
moved the alternative focus to the Midwest. In
the cultural ice-vacuum Hiisker Dii, The Re
placements and their kindred in oblivion recre
ated punk rock in the image of their landscape.
The sound was desolate, exaggerated slops,
starts and dynamics imitated the exaggerated
nature of the Midwest — too much space, too
much time to think and too much hostile nature
to do that thinking in — and the passion was
unmistakable, often sacrificing any kind of
musical professionalism.
The first three Hiisker Dii LPs,“Lanci Speed
Record,” “Everything Falls Apart” and “Metal
Circus" show little sign of the “progressive"
hardcore the band came to pioneer. The songs
arc basic “Loud Fast Rules” rants.
With “Zen Arcade” Husker Dii redecorated
the shack of hardcore, on a completely new
foundation. Using elements of the folk-rock
revival, neo-psychedelia, Ramones-esque
hook writing and the best L.A hardcore, “Zen
Arcade” was the “Sandinisla” of hardcore.
Hiisker went from car-numbing assault (“Turn
on the News”) to heartsick ballads (“Never
Talking to You Again”) without ever burying
their unerring car for melody. Under the feed
back and roar of Bob Mould’s guitar lurked an
intelligence and musical virtuosity that would
make the rest of Huskcrs’ career urgently lis
tcnable and incredibly influential.
“New Day Rising,” “Candy Apple Grey”
and Husker Dii’s most recent LP, “Warehouse:
Stories and Songs,” were not the sprawling
monsters “Zen Arcade” was, but each marked
new strides toward a perfect amalgam of pop
and punk. The sound is simpler and often the
group’s pop instinct wins out over the absolute
power they are capable of mustering at will.
Much of the group’s original anger has dissi
pated, and with this dissipation the songwriting
has suffered marginally. Bob Mould and Grant
Hart's lyrics have been, for the most part,
recently centered on all-too-common themes
like love, reflective angst and social detritus.
Many Husker Dti fans blame this on the band’s
signing to corporate bloodsuckers Warner
Brothers for the making of their last two LPs.
Still, Husker Dti remain the fathers of lis
tenablc and distinguishable hardcore, the bri
dling of which could be the savior of any efforts
to infuse mainstream music with some of punk
rock’s undeniable passion.
Cost for Saturday ’s show is $7, $8 at the
door. Tickets arc available in Lincoln at Pickles
Records.
Christmas specials air on ETV
Some of the upcoming Christmas specials
on Nebraska ETV include:
• An award-winning animated story of a
country boy who builds a snowman who comes
to life in a Christmas Eve dream, “The Snow
man,” airs Dec. 20 at 9:30 a.m., and Dec. 24 at
8:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m.
• “Bach’s Christmas Oratorio: The Nativ
ity’ is performed by Nikolaus Harnoncourt
conducting the Vienna Conccntus Musicus and
the Tolzer Boys Choir of Munich on “Great
Performances” at 10 a.m. Dec. 20 and at 9:30
a.m. Dec. 23.
• “Christmas with Flicka” on “Great Per
formances” airs at 2 p.m. Dec. 20 and Dec. 24.
Set in a snowy Austrian village, the story
follows mezzo-soprano Frederica von Slade
and two children through a day of traditional
holiday activities, including shopping, baking
and trimming the tree.
• a Christmas calendar airs Dee. zu at s
p.m. This special traces some of the best-loved
Christmas traditions to their origins in Ger
many. Host Loretta Swit visits locations in
Germany depicted on an Advent calendar to
experience the holiday traditions first hand.
• Locally produced “Nebraska High School
Caroling Choirs” begins Dee. 21. The holiday
scries
features eight new programs. Airing at 9 a.m.
and 3 p.m., and repeating at 8 p.m. and 8:30
p.m. each day, programs include singing
groups from Omaha Central and Tekamah
Herman high schools (Dee. 21); Hastings and
Henderson high schools (Dee. 22); North Platte
St. Patrick’s and Holdrcgc high schools (Dee.
23) ; and Millard North and Lincoln High (Dee.
24) .
• “Caroling, Caroling” airs at 12:30 p.m.
Dee. 21 and features the Mormon Youth Sym
phony and Chorus performing a concert of
>'f * Vi * * • '
Christmas music videotaped at the world-fa
mous Mormon Tabernacle.
• “A Brandywine Christmas Carol” airs
Dcc.23at 12:30p.m. A sleigh full of Christmas !
carols, musical giftsand aglimpseof St. Nicho
las are part of this special, hosted by actor John
Blcasdale. Following at 1 p.m., amid the early
baroque splendor of the Cloister Church in
Waldhausen, Austria, Nikolaus Harnoncourt
leads the Concentus Musicus of Vienna in
“Bach’s Christmas Oratorio: The Epiphany”
on “Great Performances.” The history of the
most prominent American Christmas customs
and traditions — from the early 17th century to
present — is traced in poetry and song at 2:30
p.m. by The Singing Sergeants, the official
chorus of the United States Air Force, and the
USAF Symphony Orchestra on “An American
Christmas.” Capping the day at 7 p.m., “A
Child’s Christmas in Wales” captures the
warmth and ageless spirit of Dylan Thomas’
poem about Christmastime in a small Welsh
town. Denholm Elliot stars asOld Geraint, who
shares memories of boyhood Christmases with
his grandson.
• “Sounds of Christmas,” featuring singer
Tony Sandler performing with the nuns of St.
Cecilia’s Chorale, begins at 9:30 a.m. Dee. 24.
Beginning at 1 p.m., 3,OCX) San Francisco Bay
area music lovers gather at Louise Davies
Symphony Hall for an annual holiday tradition,
the singing of Handel’s “Messiah” on “The
Sing-It-Yourself ‘ Messiah,’” and at 7 p.m. Dec.
24, excerpts from Handel’s “Messiah” are
performed by the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra
and Chorus under the direction of Robert Shaw
in “Handel’s ‘Messiah' with Robert Shaw and
the Atlanta Symphony.” This special also re
peals Christmas Day at 9 a.m.
I v Gift Ideas To Make\bur Spirits Bright v |
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