2 tracks · 27 min
Land Speed Record is the debut full-length record by American punk rock band Hüsker Dü, released in January 1982 by New Alliance Records. It was recorded live on August 15, 1981, at the 7th Street Entry, a venue in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The album is a straight-forward hardcore record compared to the melodic post-hardcore that the band pioneered and performed towards the end of their career. The title has a triple meaning, referring to 1) the band's ability to play as fast as they could (there are 17 songs crammed into 26½ minutes) 2) their penchant for pills and 3) the play-on-words that it is a "record," an album. Hüsker Dü's August 1981 concert was recorded straight to 4-track soundboard tape on a three hundred dollar budget. Once the band had taped it they realized they lacked the financial means to release the album. Friend of the band and member of Minutemen, Mike Watt, offered to put out the album on his label, New Alliance. The original LP release on New Alliance contained an insert with lyrics and upcoming tour dates. The album got a European release on Alternative Tentacles in the UK. The album was reissued in 1987 on SST Records on compact disc and LP. Like Hüsker Dü…