Albums of the Year 2016: Patch The Sky - Bob Mould

Patch The Sky - Bob Mould

Merge Records

Produced by Bob Mould

Released 25th March 2016

US Chart #82

US Independent Chart # 6

UK Chart #54

Select Tracks from Patch The Sky

Promos, Album and Performance

 Tracklist
A1 Voices In My Head    
A2 The End Of Things    
A3 Hold On    
A4 You Say You    
A5 Losing Sleep    
A6 Pray For Rain    
B1 Lucifer And God    
B2 Daddy's Favorite    
B3 Hands Are Tied    
B4 Black Confetti    
B5 Losing Time    
B6 Monument

Personnel
    Bob Mould - guitars, vocals, keyboards, percussion
    Jason Narducy - bass, backing vocals
    Jon Wurster - drums, percussion

Live On KEXP

Performance and Interview

10th May 2016

Songs:
The End Of Things
Losing Time
You Say You
The Descent
Black Confetti

Here's the previous performance that was mentioned in the above video (Click on the links):

Full KEXP Performance from 16th April 2016.

Songs:
Hoover Dam
See A Little Light
The Descent
I Don't Know You Anymore
You Say You
Voices In My Head
Hold On
If I Can't Change Your Mind
Makes No Sense At All

Five Song Encore 

Brooklyn Bowl, London

11th February 2016

Songs:

Flip Your Wig (Hüsker Dü) 

Hate Paper Doll (Hüsker Dü)

Your Generation (Generation X Cover)

Love Is All Around (Hüsker Dü)

Makes No Sense At All (Hüsker Dü)

******************** 

Patch The Sky is the 12th Solo Album from Bob Mould and his third for Merge Records following the absolutely ear shattering Silver Age in 2012 and the  magnificent Beauty and Ruin from 2014.

I really do think that Bob Mould has been making some of his best music in the past 8 years or so beginning with District Line in 2008 and Life and Times in 2009. 

I love the fact on this album he is sounding as raw and powerful as he did back with Hüsker Dü and his other power trio Sugar. There's a real sense of urgency to deliver these songs that you feel you barely have time to breath between one ending and the next one beginning.

Originally the album was going to be an Acoustic type album, similar to something like Workbook his fine solo Debut Album (there you go Pauline you were not dreaming you read that before!) but the death of his mother led to a more darker tone for the album.

Hold On is actually an older song that had been hanging around for a while and eventually finds its place here on Patch The Sky.

The title of the album arose out of a vision Mould had, "of when people leave or things end, of something shooting through the 'fabric of the sky' and disappearing. 'Sometimes you think you want to chase it,' he says, meditating on the people or elements you lose along the way in life. 'Sometimes you get right to the edge of it, and sow it back shut and stay on the other side. Does that make sense?' You decide to patch the sky and keep going, instead of shooting through yourself."*

*There's a great piece written by Ryan Leas for Stereogum back in January this year that is worth a read as Bob Mould looks back on his career and talks about this new album. The quote comes from that article.

Let The Day Begin...Let The Day Start!: Day 248 - Sugar

Copper Blue - Sugar

Creation / Rykodisc

Produced by Bob Mould and Lou Giordano

Released 4th September 1992

UK Chart #10

 Tracklist
The Act We Act
A Good Idea
Changes
Helpless
Hoover Dam
The Slim
If I Can't Change Your Mind
Fortune Teller
Slick
Man On The Moon

Personnel
    Bob Mould - guitars, vocals, keyboards, percussion
    David Barbe - bass
    Malcolm Travis - drums, percussion

Singles from Copper Blue

 Changes / Needle Hits E / If I Can't Change Your Mind (Solo Mix) / Try Again

Creation 12" UK

Did Not Chart

The Act We Act / Where Diamonds Are Halos / Slick  / Armenia City in the Sky 

Creation 12" UK

UK Chart #65

If I Can't Change Your Mind / Clownmaster / Anyone (Live) / Hoover Dam (Live)

Creation 12" UK

UK Chart #30

*******************

Back last year I included Copper Blue in the occasional series The Best Debut Albums and rightly so. Twenty Four years on from its release it is still an album that is captivating from start to finish.

NME named it as their Album of the Year in 1992 and it was then and still is the most successful of all the projects that Bob Mould has been involved in (including hiw work with Hüsker Dü and his various Solo albums).

After two Solo albums, Workbook (1989) - which had been a quieter affair than anything he done previously with  Hüsker Dü - and Black Sheets of Rain (1990) - which was a bit of a return to the heavier sound - Bob Mould took a short detour from his solo career and put together a new band called Sugar.

On the 20th anniversary of the album The Quietus posted a great assessment of the album and an interview with Bob Mould discussing Copper Blue. Part of their conclusion regarding the album then I would be in hearty agreement with today:

"Revisiting Copper Blue is to find an album that hasn’t dated in the slightest. It deals with the kind of universal truths that aren’t time bound and its animalistic sonic power remains undiminished. Indeed, listening to the newly re-mastered version of this masterpiece is to be introduced to even more strength and energy than one had expected. Ultimately, Copper Blue is an album that not only sounds as good now as it did twenty years ago, but also one that’ll still blow cobwebs away two decades hence."

Read The Quietus Interview Here.

Whilst recording Copper Blue they also managed to record enough songs to make the follow up, Beaster. I have a few friends who seem to prefer that to the debut, but for me Copper Blue remains one of my most favourite albums ever and I have lost count as to how many times I've played it in the 24 years since its release (easily into four figures now I reckon).

In 2012 Bob Mould toured all over the place playing the album from start to finish and to this day many of the songs from it still feature in his live set.

Songs From Copper Blue Live

Bob Mould

The Act We Act.

A Good Idea.

Changes.

Helpless.

Hoover Dam.

The Slim.

If I Can't Change Your Mind.

Fortune Teller.

Slick.

Man On The Moon.

Let The Day Begin...Let The Day Start!

Voices in My Head - Bob Mould (New Video 2016)

March 25th is the scheduled date for the release of a brand spanking new album from Bob Mould. The album is titled Patch the Sky and is on Merge Records.

There's a great new interview with Bob Mould over at Stereogum that's worth your consideration. Check it out HERE.

Happy Birthday Bob Mould

(Image from Publicradio.org)

Happy Birthday

Bob Mould

Born on this day in 1960

Track list:
 "The Act We Act" (Sugar)
"A Good Idea" (Sugar)
"Changes" (Sugar)
"Circles" (Bob Mould)
"Paralyzed" (Bob Mould)
"I Am Vision, I Am Sound" (Bob Mould)
"Underneath Days" (Bob Mould)
"Hoover Dam" (Sugar)
"See a Little Light" (Bob Mould)
"High Fidelity" (Bob Mould)
"Hardly Getting Over It" (Hüsker Dü)
"Could You Be the One?" (Hüsker Dü)
"I Apologize" (Hüsker Dü)
"Chartered Trips" (Hüsker Dü)
"The Receipt" (Bob Mould)
"Best Thing" (Bob Mould)
"Celebrated Summer" (Hüsker Dü)
"Beating Heart the Prize" (Bob Mould)
"Egoverride" (Bob Mould)
"If I Can't Change Your Mind" (Sugar)
"Helpless" (Sugar)
"Makes No Sense at All" (Hüsker Dü)
"Man on the Moon" (Sugar)

Notes on the video performance above

Found Tapes is a weekly show that highlights some of the rarest, wierdest, and sometimes just really cool videos that people send to us. This week, head down to DC to the legendary 9:30 Club to catch a live performance from the prolific (and very charming) Bob Mould.

Here, the iconic Hüsker Dü frontman is backed by drummer Brendan Canty (Fugazi), bassist/vocalist Jason Narducy (Rocket Over Sweden), and keyboards/vocals Richard Morel (Morel). This lineup was in the midst of 2005's Body of Song tour, which marked Mould's first non-solo tour in over a decade, and the first in which Hüsker Dü material was aired by a full band since their own 1988 split.

The quartet breeze through twenty-three songs from Hüsker Dü, Mould's former band Sugar, and his own solo material (including a heart-wrenching renditition of Hüsker Düs ballad "Hardly Getting over It”). Mould's in fine fettle here, his voice as plaintive and powerful as it was back in the Midwestern punk glory days.

 

The August Album Challenge: 17. Final Album From A Band

A final album from a band? Wow, that's a tough challenge for today, but one, my fellow lovers of all things musical, that I am perfectly willing to rise to.

Sometimes Final albums can be a bit disappointing, not only the fact that the band you like is going to be no more but sometimes they just sound tired and patchy. Our choice today is neither of those!

So, how do you follow an album like Copper Blue, or even the Mini-Album/EP Beaster? Both had been recorded at the same time but released 6 months apart but they had broke the Top Ten in the UK. Copper Blue stalled at #10 whilst it's baby brother Beaster reached #3! For their final hurrah, after a false start, they released File Under Easy Listening, it reached #7 in the UK Album Chart.

It would have been hard to beat Copper Blue, which I still think sounds incredible, but F.U.E.L. came close.

The band wrapped up as David Barbe wanted to spend more time with his family and Bob Mould wanted to expand his solo career (he's still out there blasting out fantastic music). Drummer Malcom Travis moved on to other projects as well.


Lots of links below, click to enjoy more Sugar.

File Under Easy Listening - Sugar

Creation Records

Produced by Bob Mould

Released 6th September 1994

UK Album Chart #7

US Album Chart #50

Original Tracklist

All Songs Written By Bob Mould unless otherwise noted.

1. "Gift"
2. "Company Book" (David Barbe)
3. "Your Favorite Thing"
4. "What You Want It to Be"
5. "Gee Angel"
6. "Panama City Motel"
7. "Can't Help You Anymore"
8. "Granny Cool"
9. "Believe What You're Saying"
10. "Explode and Make Up".

Singles From F.U.E.L.

Your Favorite Thing

UK #48

Believe What You're Saying

UK #73

Promo Videos

Your Favorite Thing.

Believe What You're Saying.

 Gee Angel.

F.U.E.L. Live
1. "Gift"
2. "Company Book" 
3. "Your Favorite Thing" (Bob Mould 2013)
4. "What You Want It to Be"
5. "Gee Angel"
6. "Panama City Motel"
7. "Can't Help You Anymore"
8. "Granny Cool"
9. "Believe What You're Saying" (Bob Mould and Lou Barlow)
10. "Explode and Make Up".

Bob Mould on Letterman

Bob Mould on Letterman

6th February 2015

Tomorrow Morning/The Kid With A Crooked Face

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Best of 2014: The S4L Album of the Year 2014

So, the big one, The S4L Album of the Year 2014. What on earth could it be? Well, be surprised because it is an album that has largely been ignored by Uncut, Q and Mojo and I cannot understand why.

This years Album of the Year goes to:

Beauty and Ruin - Bob Mould

Released 3rd June 2014 on Merge Records 

Listen to Album in Full Here.

Or Click on the links for the individual tracks.

The album has not been off my playlist since its release back in June and it garnered heaps of great reviews (but obviously was not loved enough to be included amongst the best of the year for much of the music press!).

Many reviews seemed to harp on about Bob Mould coming to terms with his musical legacy - as if being in Hüsker Dü and fronting Sugar are to be considered as some kind of musical leprosy! Nothing could be further from the truth though, Mould manages to capture the spirit of both of his legendary former bands and seems unashamed about them (and rightly so in my opinion!).

Beauty and Ruin is Bob Mould's 11th studio album as a Solo artist and it's interesting seeing as his first solo album,  'Workbook' got a 25th Anniversary release this year just how far he has progressed musically.

"I look at the record and there’s an arc, a narrative to it — at least I hope there is because I spent a lot of time putting it together that way. I started writing this record in October of 2012, right in the middle of touring for Silver Age. My dad passed away, not unexpectedly, but still, never a fun thing. And that triggered ideas about loss, about health and loss. That’s sort of where the record starts, and it moves through pretty clear ideas, from loss to reflection to acceptance to future. If you go back and look at the record in three-song packets with that in mind, you’ll see the cold, gray, slow beginning heading towards this warm, fast, sunny finish. It’s a very simple story. As far as Beauty and Ruin specifically, I think the two are oftentimes the same. I think one can always lead to the other, and that’s just the nature of things. I hope that short version of this all can get us to a place to talk about specific things." (Bob Mould interview with Stereogum)

Tracks are not necessarily the actual version that appears on the album, some are live versions.

 
01. Low Season
02. Little Glass Pill
03. I Don’t Know You Anymore
04. Kid With Crooked Face
05. Nemeses Are Laughing
06. The War
07. Forgiveness
08. Hey Mr. Grey
09. Fire in the City
10. Tomorrow Morning
11. Let the Beauty Be
12. Fix It

More Bob Mould 2014

Tiny Desk Concert NPR.

See A Little Light - Letterman.

Helpless and Keep Believing - Paradiso.

I Apologize (with Ryan Adams) - Bowery Ballroom NYC.

See A Little Light - A Celebration of the Music and Legacy of Bob Mould (with Dave Grohl).

The Quest Benefit Show 21st October - Grant Hart and Bob Mould.

Tidy Tune #248: The Slim - Sugar

Rewind: 1992: Sugar Release Their Debut Album 'Copper Blue'

On this day in musical history one of The Most Epic Indie Albums Ever was released on Creation Records.

No more words need to be uttered as the music speaks for itself. This is Bob Mould at his mighty best.

Bob Mould - 7th Street Entry 1st September 2014

Gig Review for Bob Mould's two sets at 7th Street Entry.

Click on the links to enjoy the music. I'll keep checking to see if anymore videos have been uploaded and will add them as they become available.

FIRST SET

Star Machine / The Descent / I Don't Know You Anymore / Sinners and Their Repentances / Little Glass Pill / Kid With Crooked Face / Nemeses Are Laughing / The War / Come Around* / Changes* / Helpless* / Keep Believing

SECOND SET

In A Free Land+ / Real World+ / Something I Learned Today++ / Chartered Trips+ / Could You Be The One?+ / Flip Your Wig+ / See a Little Light / Celebrated Summer+ / Hardly Getting Over It+ / Tomorrow Morning / Up in the Air+ / If I Can't Change Your Mind* / Hey Mr. Grey / Fix It   

ENCORE

Makes No Sense at All+ / Love Is All Around (theme from “Mary Tyler Moore Show”) / New Day Rising+

(+Hüsker Dü songs   *Sugar songs ++Actually from a show at the same venue from 2012 linked by accident!)

Bob Mould - Tiny Desk Concert 11th August 2014

Bob Mould came alone, except for his 1987 Lake Placid Blue Fender Stratocaster. We provided the Epiphone Blues Custom 30 amp, which he promptly cranked. Needless to say, he announced his own Tiny Desk Concert without using the paging system.Mould isn't a shy man — his power chords will tell you that — but he's humble and gentle. Many know Mould from his days with Hüsker Dü, an awesome punkish band from Minnesota that laid the groundwork for the Pixies and more. His subsequent work with Sugar managed to do something none of his other records did so well: Copper Blue sold hundreds of thousands of copies. Beauty and Ruin is solo album No. 11 for Mould, and as you can hear from these songs, he's all amped up and ready to go. Sweaty and happy, he makes "Makes No Sense At All" his final calling card — classic Hüsker Dü. --BOB BOILEN

Set List:
"The War"
"I Don't Know You Anymore"
"Hey Mr. Grey"
"Makes No Sense At All"

Tidy Tune #219: Let The Beauty Be - Bob Mould

Bonus

I Don't Know You Anymore (Live on Conan).

Boing Boing Interview and Performance.

Beauty and Ruin - Bob Mould (June 2014)

It's not often that I hear an album that leaves me grasping for words because it's that good, but the new album by Bob Mould does just that!

So, my only words are: BUY THIS RECORD!

"I look at the record and there’s an arc, a narrative to it — at least I hope there is because I spent a lot of time putting it together that way. I started writing this record in October of 2012, right in the middle of touring for Silver Age. My dad passed away, not unexpectedly, but still, never a fun thing. And that triggered ideas about loss, about health and loss. That’s sort of where the record starts, and it moves through pretty clear ideas, from loss to reflection to acceptance to future. If you go back and look at the record in three-song packets with that in mind, you’ll see the cold, gray, slow beginning heading towards this warm, fast, sunny finish. It’s a very simple story. As far as Beauty and Ruin specifically, I think the two are oftentimes the same. I think one can always lead to the other, and that’s just the nature of things. I hope that short version of this all can get us to a place to talk about specific things." (Bob Mould interview with Stereogum)

Links in the tracklist are not necessarily the version that appears on the album. 

01. Low Season
02. Little Glass Pill
03. I Don’t Know You Anymore
04. Kid With Crooked Face
05. Nemeses Are Laughing
06. The War
07. Forgiveness
08. Hey Mr. Grey
09. Fire in the City
10. Tomorrow Morning
11. Let the Beauty Be
12. Fix It

Some Past Albums by Bob Mould.
Workbook.
Black Sheets of Rain.

Life and Times.

Hubcap.

Live Performance

Live on KEXP 2013.

Philadelphia 2012.

Sao Paulo 04/10/13.
Sao Paulo 05/10/13.

Soundtrac4Life Best of 2012 Part Two Single of the Year and other winners

Unlike the Album of the Year which hasn't been decided the following have been declared winners.

A bit like last year when we had joint winners of the Single of the Year it's pretty much the same again. Not really into buying singles so it's always nice when a couple of things creep up and surprise!

Single of the Year Joint Winners

Honest John Plain - Never Listen to Rumours

He could have won it all on his own for this fabulous slice of rock and roll (and surely one of the best backing bands of the year!)

But Wendy James came along with an exceptional Double A-Side of cover versions originally released by The Sonic Rendezvous Band and Bob Dylan. Also supporting a great cast in James Williamson (The Stooges) and James Sclavunos (The Bad Seeds) 

Wendy James, James Williamson and James Sclavunos - You're So Great

 It's Alright Ma'

Reissue of the Year

Sugar - Copper Blue

There has actually been a vast array of reissues this year and so the decision to give it to Sugar was not an easy one. Twenty years after it's first release it still sounds great. It remains one of the standout albums in Indie Music History.

Honourable mentions go to the Aztec Camera and Kirsty MacColl albums that were reissued as well.

BEST BOX SET OF THE YEAR

Blur - 21

 
The career spanning boxset that basically has everything a Blur fan might ever want and more! A fantastic audio and visual experience.

The Please Don't Ever Make An Album Like That Again Award!

Meat Loaf - Hell In A Handbasket

This album came out in December 2011 and so missed out on being included in last years awards and so it has the mispleasure of being the first ever recipient of The Please Don't Ever Make An Album Like That Award!  

After absolutely wrecking one of the best songs to come out of the 1960's (California Dreaming) Mr Loaf just goes from bad to worse. It's that bad that even One Direction's album couldn't win this award!

Bob Mould - Tavastia Helsinki 6th August 2012

Live Footage from Tavastia Set


A Good Idea
Helpless
The Slim
If I Can't Change Your Mind
Fortune Teller
Slick
Man On The Moon

Three of the Seven Husker Du tracks Bob played

Hardly Getting Over It

I Apologize

Chartered Trips

Sugar Reissues

I have to admit that 'Copper Blue' is one album that has never been off my radar since it's release 20 years ago. It's actually hard to believe that it is actually that old because to my ears it doesn't sound dated at all. I consider the album to be so good that it has never been out of my Top Ten Favourite Albums of All Time.

The news that all three Sugar albums are to be released as Deluxe Editions is excellent and here's the tracklist for 'Copper Blue'

Disc 1

1. The Act We Act
2. A Good Idea
3. Changes
4. Helpless
5. Hoover Dam
6. The Slim
7. If I Can't Change Your Mind
8. Fortune Teller
9. Slick
10. Man On The Moon
11. Needle Hits E (B-side of "Helpless" in US or "Changes" in UK)
12. If I Can't Change Your Mind (Solo Mix) (B-side of "Helpless" in US or "Changes" in UK)
13. Try Again (B-side of "Helpless" in US or "Changes" in UK)
14. Clownmaster (B-side of "If I Can't Change Your Mind")
15. If I Can't Change Your Mind (BBC radio session)
16. Hoover Dam (BBC radio session)
17. Try Again (BBC radio session)
18. Clownmaster (BBC radio session)

Disc 2

Live At The Cabaret Metro, Chicago, Illinois, 22nd July 1992

1. The Act We Act
2. A Good Idea
3. Changes
4. Running Out Of Time
5. Helpless (B-side of "A Good Idea" except in UK)
6. If I Can't Change Your Mind
7. Where Diamonds Are Halos (B-side of "A Good Idea")
8. Hoover Dam (B-side of "If I Can't Change Your Mind")
9. Beer Commercial
10. Slick (B-side of "A Good Idea")
11. Anyone (B-side of "If I Can't Change Your Mind")
12. Clownmaster
13. Tilted
14. Armenia City In The Sky (B-side of "A Good Idea")
15. JC Auto (B-side of "JC Auto")
16. The Slim
17. Dum Dum Boys
18. Man On The Moon 

Disc3 DVD

1. Helpless (Promo video)
2. Changes (Promo video)
3. If I Can't Change Your Mind (Promo video)
4. Helpless (Live On The Late Show UK)
5. Interview (MTV UK)
6. Interview (MTV US 120 Minutes)

Disc 1 (CD):
"BEASTER"
1. Come Around/2. Tilted.
3. Judas Cradle.
4. JC Auto.
5. Feeling Better.
6. Walking Away.

Disc 2 (DVD):
"PROMO VIDEO"
1. Tilted

"LIVE AT FINSBURY PARK 13TH JUNE 1993"
2. The Act We Act
3. A Good Idea
4. Changes
5. Beer Commercial 

Listen to Full Album Here.

Disc: 1
1. Gift
2. Company Book
3. Your Favorite Thing
4. What You Want It To Be
5. Gee Angel
6. Panama City Motel
7. Can't Help You Anymore
8. Granny Cool
9. Believe What You're Saying
10. Explode And Make Up
11. Mind Is An Island
12. Frustration
13. Going Home
14. In The Eyes Of My Friends
15. And You Tell Me
16. Believe What You're Saying [Campfire Mix]
Disc: 2
1. Gift
2. Company Book
3. Hoover Dam
4. After All The Roads Have Led To Nowhere
5. Where Diamonds Are Halos
6. Slick
7. Going Home
8. Running Out Of Time
9. Frustration
10. Changes
11. Can't Help You Any More
12. Helpless
13. If I Can't Change Your Mind
14. In The Eyes Of My Friends
15. Clownmaster
16. Gee Angel
17. Explode And Make Up
18. The Slim
Disc: 3 DVD
1. Your Favourite Thing
2. Believe What You're Saying
3. Gee Angel
4. MTV Sugar Feature
5. Bob Mould and Lou Barlow: Believe What You're Saying (live on MTV 120 Minutes)

See A Little Light by Bob Mould and Michael Azzerrad

From Amazon:
Product Description
Bob Mould emerged at the epicenter of America's punk rock scene upon forming Husker Du in 1979. Their music roused a generation. For the very first time, Mould opens up to tell the passionate story of life inside that furnace, creating music that mattered. He details the growth of his own music, from an early love of the Ramones to the making of Husker Du classics like 'Bed of Nails' and '59 Times the Pain.' Opening up about drug addictions, suicide, what it meant to come out as gay in a heavily hetero music world, and the band's violent implosion, Mould takes us on a whirlwind ride, culminating with his sobriety, his solo career, and creating the band Sugar. A classic story of individualism and persistence, Mould's memoir is an open account of one man's driving force, which altered the shape of American music.

I am quite tempted to get hold of this. I loved Husker Du and Sugar and have a lot of time for the music of Bob Mould. He is one of those very underrated songwriters that has produced some great music down through the years.

In Record Collector's review they mentioned that Bob Mould also used to write scripts for Hulk Hogan and the WCW!!