In this in-depth conversation, Bob Mould speaks about recent music he admires and offers insights into his bands and music from a handful of key phases in his career.

He answers the question what made Hüsker Dü so influential and discusses the late 80s transition into his solo career with Workbook. He touches on the Sugar era and the remarkable run he’s enjoyed with his current band featuring Jon Wurster and Jason Narducy. Bob also shares thoughts on his latest album Here We Go Crazy with honorable mentions to Pere Ubu, My Bloody Valentine and Steve Albini. He selected Deerlady, Justice featuring Tame Impala, Hannah Jadagu, Nada Surf, Momma, and Peter Xan for a radio show that was the initial idea for the hang.

This is a 30-minute version of the interview. I ended up cutting 10 minutes out of this and getting the rights to use videos for songs that we played. That version is posted on Bob’s YouTube page.

It was an honor and a privilege to DJ before just the second Sugar show in 31 years at Webster Hall on May 3rd.  (Their first show in 31 years was the night before.) The video is a peek at Sugar performing “Hoover Dam” from my perch on the soundboard.  It was also cool being part of a trio of DJs for the shows that included Michael Azerrad and David Cross.  Here’s what I played:

Morphine – Early to Bed
Iggy Pop – Nightclubbing
Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Burning
Siouxsie and the Banshees – Hong Kong Garden
Nada Surf – Blankest Year
Fishbone – Party at Ground Zero
Living Colour – Glamour Boys
Hannah Jadagu – What You Did
T Rex – The Groover
Lemonheads – My Drug Buddy
Big Star – Feel
Gang of Four – Damaged Goods
Skunk Anansie – An Artist Is An Artist
Lou Reed – Vicious
The Strokes – Hard to Explain
Jesse Malin – Turn Up the Mains
Joan Jett and the Blackhearts – Bad Reputation
Buzzcocks – What Do I Get
The Linda Linda’s – Oh!
The Clash – Brand New Cadillac
Lambrini Girls – Cult of Celebrity
Parquet Courts – Wide Awake
Prince – Rock n Roll is Alive (and it Lives in Minneapolis)
New York Dolls – Looking For a Kiss

You can listen to my set via this Spotify playlist  created by Ms. Kara Tucker, who is a friend of my technical advisor/spiritual guru for the Webster Hall gig Steve Reynolds.