Flip Your Wig

Hüsker Dü | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 25, 1990)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Sst Records
• ASIN: B000000M0N
• In-Print Editions: Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (28 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #16,007 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #41 in Music > Indie Music > Alternative Rock > Hardcore & Punk
  • #66 in Music > Alternative Rock > Hardcore & Punk > American Punk
  • #80 in Music > Alternative Rock > Hardcore & Punk > Hardcore

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com essential recording

Brutality was always the central selling point for this loud and fast Minneapolis trio, but there was a strange development after five years on the independent SST Records. Melodies happened. The last album before jumping to big Warner Bros. Records, 1985's Flip Your Wig contains some of guitarist Bob Mould's strongest songcraft, from the cracked chorus of "Makes No Sense at All" to the big-rock chords of the sociopolitical power lesson "Divide and Conquer." Though Hüsker's raw production and biting lyrics helped them avoid punk charges of "selling out," this album hints at traditional pop values. --Steve Knopper

Product Description

No Description Available.
Genre: Popular Music
Media Format: Compact Disk
Rating:
Release Date: 15-JAN-1990

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars another amazing album after Zen Arcade & New Day Rising, February 15, 2000

By 

Jay (seattle) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Flip Your Wig (Audio CD)

It constantly blows me away how damn good Husker Du was. I mean, they played their music as if it could be everything at once -- the power of punk, the sheer melody of pop, and the emotions of alternative. And darned if they didn't succeed. This album is probably the best "introduction" to the Huskers from a normal rock fan's point of view -- not as sprawling as "Warehouse," but not as hard as ZA and NDR.

Perfect songs: Every Everything. Makes No Sense at all. Green Eyes. Divide and Conquer. Games. Find Me. Flexible Flyer. I could listen to these beautiful powerful songs over and over. Husker Du were my Beatles -- brilliant fusionists, singers, songwriters, and performers. Here's why.

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Husker Du at their melodic best, November 20, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Flip Your Wig (Audio CD)

"Zen Arcade" still may be the purest distillation of Husker Du's visceral sonic assualt, but "Wig" was the album that finally showcased Mould and Hart's unique melodic sensibilties. For those unfamiliar with the Husker Du legacy, "Flip Your Wig" is maybe their most accessible effort and a good place to start."Flip Your Wig" balances their trademark guitar roar with wonderfully catchy pop hooks to help create some garage classics (Makes No Sense, Flexible Flyer, Keep Hangin On) This combination of punk spirit and sing-song melody is certainly a familiar formula to children of 90's alt-rock, but at the time (1985) these guys were helping push the boandaries of rock music. Unfortunately, whereas Zen Arcades sound has held up well over the last 15 years, time probably will not be so kind to "Flip Your Wig". The production is horrific. At the time "Wig" was released it was considered a huge step up from the no-frills basement sounds of "Zen". Today it is "Zen" that sounds fresh and edgy, while "Flip Your Wig" is often dated with an 80's-era sludginess. What a shame. These are their best songs.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An essential disc indeed; Amazon should treat it better, September 2, 2002

By 

Karl C. Bade (Chicago, IL United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Flip Your Wig (Audio CD)

Awash in the distorted chorusing of Bob Mould's flying V guitar and Grant Hart's manic percussion, including heaping helpings of jangling tambourine, Flip Your Wig finds Husker Du in total control of their production for the first time, producing a neo-Spectorian Wall of Sound that perfectly complements what is perhaps their most "pop" collection of songs. From the sly humor of the title track (which chronicles their rise to demi-stardom) to the romantic "Green Eyes," the wistful "Flexible Flyer," the Dylan-goes-punk insult of "Makes No Sense At All," or the outright silliness of "The Baby Song," every track delivers. One of the best recordings by one of the most influential bands of the last quarter-century.

Following the hardcore of Metal Circus and the psychedelic overtones of Zen Arcade, some may have been surprised by the more "pop" feel of this record, though in hindsight, the crystalline buzz of New Day Rising foreshadowed it...