23 tracks · 70 min
Zen Arcade is the second studio album by American punk rock band Hüsker Dü, released in July 1984 on SST Records. Originally released as a double album on two vinyl LPs, Zen Arcade tells the story of a young boy who runs away from an unfulfilling home life, only to find the world outside is even worse. Zen Arcade and subsequent Hüsker Dü albums were instrumental in the creation of the alternative rock genre, and it is considered by some to be one of the greatest rock albums of all time. Zen Arcade, in line with previous Hüsker Dü albums, had a mainly hardcore punk focus, with songs such as "Indecision Time" and "Pride" displaying common traits of the hardcore punk genre. However, the album also marked the point where the band introduced a more melodic and guitar-driven musical style, with elements of acoustic folk ("Never Talking to You Again"), psychedelia ("Hare Krsna" and "The Tooth Fairy and the Princess") and piano interludes ("One Step at a Time," "Monday Will Never Be the Same"), concepts rarely touched upon in early '80s hardcore punk. Indicative of the band's desire for the album to be taken as a whole, no singles were released from it.
