Hüsker Dü and the Birth of Alternative Rock

Initially punk rock was not profitable. Though it might save your life, seldom did it pay the bills. The music was brash, loud and rarely ever played on the radio, but Nirvana and grunge changed that in 1991. Unlike the classic rock, metal indebted versions of grunge pedalled by Pearl Jam and Alice In Chains, Nirvana s version was a slick collision of Black Flag, and The Beatles; a punk, metal, pop hybrid previously unheard by the mainstream public. But as Nirvana bassist Krist Novoselic once said in interview: It was nothing new, Hüsker Dü did it before us. Few bands summed up the pregrunge alternative rock scene of the 1980s like Minneapolis Hüsker Dü. Their name came from a Danish boardgame that guitarist, songwriter Bob Mould recalled from his youth, ironically translated as do you remember Starting as an underground hardcore band they transformed into what we d know today as alternative rock, a sound that would attract the attention of radio stations, major labels and the masses. The musical groun