''Land Speed Record'' is the debut full-length record by American punk rock band

Hüsker Dü Hüsker Dü () was an American punk rock band formed in Saint Paul, Minnesota, in 1979. The band's continual members were guitarist/vocalist Bob Mould, bassist/vocalist Greg Norton, and drummer/vocalist Grant Hart. They first gained notabili ...

, released in January 1982 by

New Alliance Records New Alliance Records was an independent record label founded by American musicians D. Boon and Mike Watt (of The Minutemen) and longtime friend and associate Martin Tamburovich. They were inspired by the example of their friends in southern Califo ...

. It was recorded live on August 15, 1981, at the

7th Street Entry First Avenue & 7th St Entry are two historic music venues housed in the same landmark building in downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota. The nightclub sits on the corner of First Avenue North and 7th Street North, from which the venues get their names. ...

, a venue in

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

. The album is a straight-forward hardcore record compared to the melodic

post-hardcore Post-hardcore is a punk rock music genre that maintains the aggression and intensity of hardcore punk but emphasizes a greater degree of creative expression. It was initially inspired by post-punk and noise rock. Like post-punk, the term has been ...

that the band pioneered and performed towards the end of their career. The title has a triple meaning, referring to 1) the band's ability to play as fast as they could (there are 17 songs crammed into 26½ minutes) 2) their penchant for mphetaminepills and 3) the play-on-words that it is a "record," an album.

History

Hüsker Dü's August 1981 concert was recorded straight to 4-track

soundboard tape A soundboard recording is a sound recording of a concert taken from a direct connection to the soundboard at the venue. Soundboard recordings are considered to be among the highest quality bootleg recordings of live performances though some soundb ...

on a three hundred dollar budget. Once the band had taped it they realized they lacked the financial means to release the album. Friend of the band and member of

Minutemen Minutemen were members of the organized New England colonial militia companies trained in weaponry, tactics, and military strategies during the American Revolutionary War. They were known for being ready at a minute's notice, hence the name. Mi ...

Mike Watt Michael David Watt (born December 20, 1957) is an American bassist, vocalist and songwriter. Watt co-founded and played bass guitar for the rock bands Minutemen (1980–1985), Dos (1985–present), and Firehose (1986–1994). He began a solo ...

, offered to put out the album on his label, New Alliance. The original LP release on New Alliance contained an insert with lyrics and upcoming tour dates. The album got a European release on

Alternative Tentacles Alternative Tentacles is an independent record label established in 1979 in San Francisco, California. It was used by Dead Kennedys for the self-produced single " California Über Alles". After realizing the potential for an independent label, t ...

in the UK. The album was reissued in 1987 on

SST Records SST Records is an American independent record label formed in 1978 in Long Beach, California by musician Greg Ginn. The company was formed in 1966 by Ginn at age 12 as Solid State Tuners, a small business through which he sold electronics equipm ...

compact disc The compact disc (CD) is a Digital media, digital optical disc data storage format that was co-developed by Philips and Sony to store and play digital audio recordings. In August 1982, the first compact disc was manufactured. It was then rele ...

and LP. Like Hüsker Dü's other releases, ''Land Speed Record'' has not been

remastered Remaster refers to changing the quality of the sound or of the image, or both, of previously created recordings, either audiophonic, cinematic, or videographic. The terms digital remastering and digitally remastered are also used. Mastering A ...

to alter the LP's sound for the

release. The band's ongoing royalty disputes with SST have been given as the cause for not having a unique CD edition issued. Ken Shipley of

The Numero Group The Numero Group is an archival record label that creates compilations of previously released music, reissues original albums, and creates album reconstructions from a variety of musical genres. The label, known as Numero, was founded in 2003 b ...

has noted that the original tape was stolen from the band's van. The SST CD contains only two

track Track or Tracks may refer to: Routes or imprints * Ancient trackway, any track or trail whose origin is lost in antiquity * Animal track, imprints left on surfaces that an animal walks across * Desire path, a line worn by people taking the shorte ...

s, one for each side of the original LP. The Numero Group's 2017 box set '' Savage Young Dü'' includes an alternate version of the same set, recorded at a

Twin/Tone Records Twin/Tone Records was an independent record label based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, which operated from 1977 until 1994. It was the original home of influential Minnesota bands the Replacements and Soul Asylum and was instrumental in helping the T ...

showcase two weeks later.

Track listing

Side One – 12:27 # "All Tensed Up" (

Bob Mould Robert Arthur Mould (born October 16, 1960) is an American musician, principally known for his work as guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter for alternative rock bands Hüsker Dü in the 1980s and Sugar in the 1990s. Early years Born in Malone, ...

) – 2:02 # "Don't Try to Call" (Mould) – 1:30 # "I'm Not Interested" (

Grant Hart Grantzberg Vernon Hart (March 18, 1961 – September 13, 2017) was an American musician, best known as the drummer and co-songwriter for the punk rock band Hüsker Dü. After the band's breakup in 1988, he released his first solo album '' ...

) – 1:31 # "Guns at My School" (Mould) – 0:55 # "Push the Button" (Hart) – 1:48 # "Gilligan's Island" (Hart) – 1:23 # "M.T.C." (

Greg Norton Gregory James Norton (born March 13, 1959) is an American musician, formerly of the band Hüsker Dü. Early life Norton was born in Davenport, Iowa, as this was the most local Catholic hospital to his family’s home in Rock Island, Illinois. He ...

) – 1:09 # "Don't Have a Life" (Norton) – 2:09 Side Two – 14:08 #

"Bricklayer" (Mould) – 0:53 # "Tired of Doing Things" (Hart) – 0:58 # "You're Naive" (Mould) – 0:53 # "Strange Week" (Hart) – 0:57 # "Do the Bee" (Hart) – 1:49 # "Big Sky" (Mould) – 0:57 # "Ultracore" (Mould) – 0:47 # "Let's Go Die" (Norton) – 1:26 # "Data Control" (Hart) – 5:28

Personnel

Adapted from the album's liner notes. ;Hüsker Dü *

– guitar, vocals *

– bass, vocals *

– drums, vocals ;Technical *

– producer, mixdown *Steve Fjelstad – remote mix, mixdown * Terry Katzman – remote mix assistant *Doug Remley – remote mix assistant *Wayne B. Case – remote mix assistant * Fake Name Grafx – artwork

References

{{Authority control Hüsker Dü albums 1982 debut albums Albums produced by Bob Mould 1982 live albums New Alliance Records live albums SST Records live albums