Husker Du Series Part 8: Flip Your Wig

1. Flip Your Wig 2. Every Everything 3. Makes No Sense At All 4. Hate Paper Doll 5. Green Eyes 6. Divide and Conquer 7. Games 8. Find Me 9. The Baby Song 10. Flexible Flyer 11. Private Plane 12. Keep Hanging On 13. The Wit and Wisdom 14. Don’t Know Yet

9.5 Out of Ten

Well, eventually all great things finally slow down and end. Husker Du released their two greatest albums in a row. They had peaked after making only three studio albums, one live album and an EP. Where else but the band go but down? Indeed, in spite of Bob Mould’s claim that “Flip Your Wig” is the “greatest album” Husker Du ever released, this simply is not true. Although the band began integrating more instruments, such as piano, vibraphone and even slide whistle into their arrangements, they were simply refining the formula they had created, not truly expanding on it in new and exciting ways.

However, just because a band has peaked and has begun to slip doesn’t mean it’s awful. Indeed, as is obvious by the rating of this album, Husker Du did slip but not by much. “Flip Your Wig” is in fact, very similar to “New Day Rising.” In fact, it can be considered the “adoring little brother” to “New Day Rising”; copying his older brother faithfully, but coming up with variations due to his own unique personality.

The first obvious shift is the lighter tone of the album. This change is both musically and lyrically. The band is still a very serious band at times but weird moments such as “The Baby Song” pop out and lighten the mood. This may be due to Grant Hart writing five of the 14 songs on the album. He was coming more and more into his own as a writer and contributing more songs than ever.

Bob was also truly mastering the art of songwriting: “Hate Paper Doll” and “Makes No Sense At All” are nearly perfect pop songs from the grumpiest man in hardcore. In fact, the only song Bob regularly plays from his Husker Du days is “Makes No Sense At All.” Song after song flies by the listeners ear giving something new with each song: a melodic twist you hadn’t heard before;  a turn of a lyrical phrase; a suddenly prominent bass line; piano suddenly popping up in weird places; or even crystal clear singing.

I have read that while “New Day Rising” is “punk played as pop” then “Flip Your Wig” is “pop played as punk.” I agree with this wholeheartedly. Truly, this is where the album’s unique identity lies. While it is in many ways a minor little brother to the previous album, it plows its own fields and reaps its own rewards. No album by the “Du” is as instantly catchy, light hearted and easy to enjoy.

“Flip Your Wig” is the sound of a band that has reached its peak, found where it excels and which has no intention of letting up. While the band isn’t exactly advancing its sound on this album or changing things up in a big way as they had done in the past, it is still an essential and integral part of their legacy. In fact, it may be a good album to start with when listening to the band: it can easily be listened to by non-hardcore fans and hardcore fans alike and enjoyed.

After releasing this album, Husker Du was finished with SST. They were one of the first underground bands, if not the first, to sign with a major label. The band would release two studio albums with Warner Brothers as well as a live album. Many fans throw accusations of “sell out” at the band during this period. And the band did slightly mellow its sound. However, while the band may have moved (slightly) away from hardcore punk, they expanded their sonic dimensions even further and even helped influenced alternative music in the 90’s and 2000’s.