Day After Day is an ambitious attempt to write about a song every day in 2024 (starting on Jan. 4).
See a Little Light (1989)
This is Bob Mould's third time in this series. First it was for his band Sugar, then for his iconic first band Husker Du. This song came out in between the end of Husker Du in 1988 and the 1992 debut of Sugar.
After Husker Du split up, Mould quit drinking and drugs and went to a farmhouse in Minnesota to write his first solo album. He teamed up with drummer Anton Fier (Feelies, Golden Palominos) and bassist Tony Maimone (Pere Ubu). Mould eschewed his usual wall-of-guitars sound for something lighter, mixing in acoustics and cellos. There were still rockers on the album, but the first single "See a Little Light" showcased a different side of Mould.
"Listen, there's music in the air/I heard your voice coming from somewhere/But look how much we've grown/Well, I guess I should have known/As the years go by, they take their toll on you/Think of all the things we wanted to do."
It's funny that he sings of the toll of passing years, given that he had just turned 28 when he recorded the song. But the Husker years were certainly packed full of ups and downs, I suppose.
"And all the words we said yesterday/Well, that's a long time ago/You didn't think I'd really go now/Are you waiting? I know why/You're already saying goodbye/Are you ready? I know why/I see a little light/I know you will/I can see it in your eyes/I know you still care/But if you want me to go/You should just say so."
The song, which was unusually positive by Mould's standards, was received well by critics and fans alike. The video got plenty of play on MTV and VH1 and the song was #4 on the Billboard Modern Rock chart in July 1989. In a 2016 Rolling Stone interview, Mould said he was surprised at how the song turned out. "I don't know if it was inspired by a sunny day or one of the chickens on the farm. But what an optimistic song given how isolated I was and how shocking life after Husker Du was for me. I was living a singular, solitary existence. I wouldn't say my relationship at the time was hopeless, but it was pretty far out of reach that anything positive would come. So I'm seeing a little light. Not a ton! Just a glimpse of hope."
The song has since been a staple of Mould's live shows and became the title of his 2011 memoir.
Of course, it wasn't all rainbows and lollipops on Workbook. "Poison Years" is a direct broadside at his Husker Du bandmate Grant Hart. Still, the album hit #127 on the Billboard 200 and set Mould up for a successful solo career. His next album, 1990's Black Sheets of Rain, was pissed off and heavy and didn't perform as well. Mould then started Sugar with bassist David Barbe and drummer Malcolm Travis, releasing two excellent and strong-selling albums. After Sugar's breakup in 1996, Mould went back to solo albums with mixed success, especially when he incorporated dance music and electronica sounds. He gradually got back to a rock sound, which was aided in 2012 by a kickass backing band featuring Jason Narducy on bass and Jon Wurster on drums. Mould has worked with them on his last five albums, the most recent being 2020's Blue Hearts.
I never got to see Husker Du, but I saw Sugar in '94 and then have seen Mould solo and with Narducy and Wurster several times. The man never disappoints.
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