BOB MOULD (HÜSKER DÜ, SUGAR)

THE PETE TOWNSHEND OF ALT-ROCK.

STARTING OUT AS a fast-and-furious hardcore act, Hüsker Dü crossed over to alternative rock when Bob Mould invested their punk rock with melody, acoustic folk and psychedelia for 1984’s Zen Arcade. With its ambitious soundscape and rock opera storyline about a young runaway, the album brought a sense of rough-hewn grandeur to the fledgling alt-rock genre. “The ’80s was really a special time in music,” the guitarist explains. “We all really wanted to change people’s ideas of what music could be.” Central to Mould’s furious guitar tone were Flying V–style guitars, including an Ibanez Rocket Roll Jr., and an MXR Distortion Plus, which he used to fill every inch of Hüsker Dü’s sonic space. “When you’re in a three-piece and it’s a guitar/bass/drums configuration, everybody has to carry a lot of weight,” he says. “We just wanted to create as big a wall of sound as possible.” Mould’s music would ultimately influence the Pixies, Nirvana and Foo Fighters, while he plowed new sonic territory with Sugar before going solo in 1996.

RECOMMENDED TRACK “EXPLODE AND MAKE UP” ( SUGAR— FILE UNDER: EASY LISTENING)