79. Hüsker Dü - Zen Arcade (1984)
The book which this thread is based on included Warehouse: Songs and Stories, which is a damn good album itself. However what it should have included was Zen Arcade. This album is one of the most important, if not the most important album in 80’s alternative music. Hardcore punk was fast becoming a restricted and cliqued genre of music and Hüsker Dü blew the shackles right off with something that would have been nearly unthinkable in hardcore punk at the time – a 23 track double album. And not just a double album but a double concept album with a storyline... and one which was recorded and produced in 85 hours!
This album was a significant turning point for alternative music and had a huge influence on the alternative/indie rock and post-hardcore bands that would follow after. The album still had strong roots in hardcore punk with songs such as ‘Pride’ and ‘I Will Never Forget You’ for example. But what made it different was more melody, psychedelic influences which added colour to the album (the band experimented a lot with LSD at the time) and overall more variety.