# Grant Hart (Husker Dü) dead at 56 **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** celebrity-death\ **Created:** [September 14, 2017, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grant-hart-husker-du-dead-at-56/796325 "2017-09-14T16:38:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2017, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grant-hart-husker-du-dead-at-56/796325/1 "2017-09-14T16:38:27Z")
Hüsker Dü drummer and sometime vocalist Grant Hart passed away at just 56 years old. Seems to have been from cancer. > **[Grant Hart, Hüsker Dü Drummer and Songwriter, Dies at 56](https://www.vice.com/en/article/qvjpbd/grant-hart-husker-du-drummer-and-songwriter-dies-at-56)** > > The news was confirmed by his bandmate, Bob Mould, Thursday morning. I have spent thousands of hours listening to this band. _Zen Arcade_ is still one of the 10 best rock albums yet recorded, IMO. Mr. Hart’s work on the album comprises some of the best moments present in a landmark work of art (his songs are IMO the very best on the album), and his contributions influenced countless others in their own artistic endeavours, including my own. So I’m sorry to hear about Mr. Hart’s passing. RIP brother; you done good. [Hüsker Dü - Never Talking To You Again](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nnbygSxXZHQ) ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2017, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grant-hart-husker-du-dead-at-56/796325/2 "2017-09-14T17:07:12Z")
Damn. Diane is a great song, though it’s dark as hell. I love Bob Mould, but I always thought Hart was the better songwriter. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2017, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grant-hart-husker-du-dead-at-56/796325/3 "2017-09-14T18:32:42Z")
Just saw this and came to start or post to a thread. Wow. So important to the indie world. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2017, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grant-hart-husker-du-dead-at-56/796325/4 "2017-09-14T19:24:55Z")
Oof - 56 is way too young. Hüsker Dü were hit or miss for me, sometimes it seemed that the noise of it all( especially Bob Mould’s guitars )became almost obfuscatory. But when it all worked, it was tremendous. I still have copies of _Zen Arcade_ and _New Day Rising_ floating around on my shelves. RIP. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2017, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grant-hart-husker-du-dead-at-56/796325/5 "2017-09-14T20:37:16Z")
Damn, that fucking stings :(. Hüsker Dü were one of those classic two-great-songwriters bands, and I never could decide who was the better of them. I love Mould’s guitar, but a drumming songwriter and singer always gets extra credit in my book. He did massively important work with the band in the eighties, nineties music would’ve been a very different thing without them. RIP Grant Hart. Now I’m off to listen to _Flip Your Wig_. ---
**Author:** ![neofishboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/neofishboy/32/444_2.png) [@neofishboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/neofishboy)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2017, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grant-hart-husker-du-dead-at-56/796325/6 "2017-09-14T20:50:34Z")
I was always more of a Bob fan at heart, but Grant wrote some great songs. It’s always a pleasure when something from _Good News for Modern Man_ pops up on shuffle. I think I may go put that on. [Seka Knows](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LaYnq108UeA) ---
**Author:** ![Penfeather](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penfeather/32/384_2.png) [@Penfeather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Penfeather)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2017, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grant-hart-husker-du-dead-at-56/796325/7 "2017-09-14T21:11:00Z")
Damn. Husker Du were the first real “alternative” band I listened too, before alternative was even a term, and it opened me up to so much. I still have my original vinyl copy of Zen Arcade, and I will spin it loudly tonight. And I still have a soft spot for their version of [Love Is All Around.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ks0to2QuJtM) Rest in peace, Mr Hart. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2017, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grant-hart-husker-du-dead-at-56/796325/8 "2017-09-14T21:27:53Z")
Only 56, too damn young. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2017, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grant-hart-husker-du-dead-at-56/796325/9 "2017-09-14T21:44:59Z")
Great [eulogy on rollingstone.com](https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/rob-sheffield-how-husker-dus-grant-hart-changed-punk-rock-w503063). My favorite quote: “High school would have been so different if I’d known Hüsker Dü were gay and Depeche Mode weren’t.” ---
**Author:** ![jaycat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jaycat/32/3015_2.png) [@jaycat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jaycat)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2017, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grant-hart-husker-du-dead-at-56/796325/10 "2017-09-14T22:04:04Z")
I am greatly saddened to hear this news. He was one of my favorite musicians. “Think It Over Now” is a particular favorite, a real songwriter’s gem. ---
**Author:** ![tuesdayweld](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ccd318/32.png) [@tuesdayweld](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tuesdayweld)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2017, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grant-hart-husker-du-dead-at-56/796325/11 "2017-09-15T00:15:35Z")
Thanks for starting this thread Snowboarder Bo. I was just logging on to do the same. I came home from working a few hours ago and read the news. Haven’t moved much since because his passing is feeling like a kick to my gut. Since the early 80’s and to this day, Husker Du is my absolute favorite band. Honestly, I moved to live in Minneapolis/St. Paul in the mid-80’s because that was where all the best music was coming from at the time. My favorite as well as most regrettable Husker Du story: Back in the day & being out and about in the music clubs so many nights a week, a friend who’d worked at a radio station in Milwaukee had been given some comp tickets to see a pretty-much unheard of band at the time - Husker Du - at a small local club that evening. Friend phoned me and asked if I wanted to catch the show & feeling the need to catch a good nights sleep for a change - I responded, while snarkily laughing (and I’ve never lived this down): “Husker _Who_?” Well, I got my sleep that night and my friends went bowling with Grant, Bob, and Greg after their show. Had a good old time, they did. Within the following 6 months, Husker Du became my favorite band. Still have it all on vinyl. Hope that didn’t bore anyone - just having a whole lot of memories come at me tonight as Husker Du was in some ways attached to pretty much everything I did/remember about my 20’s and 30’s. RIP Grant. What do you remember? ---
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2017, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grant-hart-husker-du-dead-at-56/796325/12 "2017-09-15T00:57:57Z")
Turn on the News…damn. I remember when they burst onto the hardcore scene with Land Speed Record. There were a ton of hardcore bands, that would do a blindingly fast 90 second song, and then spend 9 minutes getting ready to play their next blindingly fast 90 second song, rinse, lather, repeat. Husker Du was different in that they played blindingly fast 90 second songs with no more than 9 seconds break until the next song, and did that for a dozen or two songs. Wild. He was a really nice guy too. All of Husker Du were. Saw them at least half a dozen times in SF/Sacramento up until 1985. One absolutely great show with DOA and Husker Du. IIRC, Grant played guitar and sang on the last song. He explained the set finish song really blew his knee out, so when they did an encore he switched. Can’t remember the songs now. RIP ---
**Author:** ![Penfeather](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penfeather/32/384_2.png) [@Penfeather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Penfeather)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2017, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grant-hart-husker-du-dead-at-56/796325/13 "2017-09-15T03:19:56Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > Great [eulogy on rollingstone.com](https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/rob-sheffield-how-husker-dus-grant-hart-changed-punk-rock-w503063). My favorite quote: “High school would have been so different if I’d known Hüsker Dü were gay and Depeche Mode weren’t.” Thanks for that link, it also reminded me of Grant’s wonderfully happy take on Sunshine Superman. I mean, they could have just had a cheap ironic sneer at a dumb ol’ hippy song, but [Husker Du made it their own with an unfashionable-for-the-time-and-genre cheery smile](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y84ERGNjmp4). Love Greg’s super-cool bass intro, too. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2017, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grant-hart-husker-du-dead-at-56/796325/14 "2017-09-15T03:30:06Z")
I’ve always thought Bob Mould was one of the greatest musicians ever. RIP, Grant. ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2017, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grant-hart-husker-du-dead-at-56/796325/15 "2017-09-15T04:32:54Z")
I don’t really have anything to say that hasn’t been said. He was a great songwriter, he died too early, and I’m gonna miss him. I prefer Zen Arcade and earlier to any of his later work. But that’s not to denigrate it, the stuff that came later was still great, just in a different way. Adios, sir. You gave me a lot. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2017, 7:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grant-hart-husker-du-dead-at-56/796325/16 "2017-09-15T07:20:25Z")
I’m really glad I got to see Husker Du live. (I’m old.) It’s sad that Grant and Bob never really reconciled, though Bob had a nice tribute to Grant on Facebook. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2017, 7:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grant-hart-husker-du-dead-at-56/796325/17 "2017-09-15T07:34:21Z")
Too late to ETA: [Pink Turns to Blue.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kTjfl0yhyRk) ---
**Author:** ![BlueOhio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/439d5e/32.png) [@BlueOhio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlueOhio)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2017, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grant-hart-husker-du-dead-at-56/796325/18 "2017-09-15T12:15:24Z")
I watched a documentary on Hart called “Every Everything”. I thought it was really interesting. I think I accessed it via Amazon Prime, but it wouldn’t surprise me if it was a Youtube find by now. I recommend this for all of us sad people in this thread. ---
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2017, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grant-hart-husker-du-dead-at-56/796325/19 "2017-09-15T21:35:50Z")
He looked so beat in the last few years. It seemed like he was missing some teeth or something. ---
**Author:** ![Snooooopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Snooooopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snooooopy)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2017, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grant-hart-husker-du-dead-at-56/796325/20 "2017-09-15T23:20:29Z")
I’ve been a huge fan of the band since college, so this was a tough bit of news. “Don’t Want To Know If You Are Lonely,” in particular, was one of the catchiest songs that the band ever cranked out. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grant-hart-husker-du-dead-at-56/796325.md?page=2)