My Desert Island Disc – Intolerance by Grant Hart

“You see, I think drugs have done some good things for us.I really do. And if you don’t believe drugs have done some good things for us, do me a favour. Go home tonight. Take all your albums, all your tapes and all your CDs and burn them. ‘Cause you know what? The musicians that made all that great music that’s enhanced your lives throughout the years? Were rrrreal f…..ng high on drugs. The Beatles were so f….g high, they let Ringo sing a few tunes.” – Bill Hicks

Grant Hart (1961-2017) was a native of St Paul, Minnesota and along with guitarist Bob Mould he wrote, sang and drummed with the hugely influential post-punk band Husker Du. The band, along with bassist Greg Norton, existed from 1979-1988 before splitting acrimoniously, leaving behind a few critically acclaimed albums, still as fresh and exciting to this day.

Both Grant and Bob had a fractured relationship at best and only wrote and sang their own penned songs. Here is a Bob classic, “Could You Be The One” and a Grant classic, “Don’t Want To Know If You Are Lonely”.

One year later in 1989 both artists recorded their first solo albums. Bob, the glistening “Workbook” and Grant the peerless “Intolerance”. My initial listen would be the first of hundreds and stamp Intolerance as my undisputed “desert island disc”, the one album, if it came down to choosing to take in total isolation, I would take before all others.

When I think of Intolerance, the words eclectic and flawed come to mind, two characteristics of the human spirit I’ve always been attracted to. Grant was a heroin addict but a high functioning one. He plays every instrument on the album and is only helped out with a bit of backing vocals from friends. The album sleeve has no liner notes, just a selfie, decades before that practice became a virus. 🙂

It’s only after hundreds of listens have I been able to nail down the number of instruments and assorted percussion implements used on the album. There are hand claps, whistles, kazoos, organs, synthesizers, cow bells, guitars, harmonicas, drums, and even an electric drill. A credit to Grant’s incredible creativity and skill. The song writing is brutally honest and at times full of melancholy and romance. There is even thumping instrumentals which give the album a sort of concept style, perhaps a prelude to his final album The Argument in 2013.

This is the track listing with a few videos to provide a taster. The full album is available on streaming services these days:

1. All Of My Senses – The psychedelic frenzy at the start leads to a carnival style organ that reminds me of a horse carousel at a fair. It’s a catchy, narcotic of a song and the perfect opener for this album.

2. Now That You Know Me – This song reeks of frustration and anger for me and I wonder whether it’s a call out to Bob Mould. It’s a mish-mash of instruments bursting with Bob Dylan-like circa-1975 elements and strong raspy vocals from Grant.

3. Fanfare in D Major (Come Come) – A slow build up with synthesiser, drums and guitar build to a driving chorus with Grant’s vocals soaring above the incessant keyboards trying to intrude on Grant’s powerful delivery.

4. The Main – My all-time favourite song EVER! I can’t explain why, other than this piano-driven, sea shanty of a song just resonates with me in an all-consuming, incandescent way. I never paid much attention to the lyrics until my youngest daughter Mia, in her teens at the time and sick of hearing me play it, said, “Dad, you know it’s about heroin addiction don’t you?” I had my suspicions but I never cared, just selfishly belting out erroneous, indecipherable lyrics for 20 x years! She emailed me the lyrics and it only reinforced what an amazing song it is. It’s deeply personal and it gets me every single time. My daughters know what to play when they put me in the oven down the track 🙂 Here’s the song and lyrics if you get the urge to sing along!

Well, it sinks to the bottom or floats to the top
I avoided policemen when I went to cop
She sang one two three, one two three, come get it now
And I took just as much as my brass would allow
On the main, the main, remember your name
Remember the things you and I became
Reeperbahn, Christiania, Pigalle all the same
On the main, the main, remember your name

She was so crucified by the end of the day
With her head in her hands she decided to pray
Jesus Christ topped the list of the most wanted souls
Like De Quincey he died with his arms full of holes
On the main, the main, remember your name
Remember the things you and I became
Reeperbahn, Christiania, Pigalle all the same
On the main, the main, remember your name

I was smack in the middle of alphabet town
There was life on the corners and death all around
You know hell is the worst place that I’ve ever been to

The hell that I went through when I stuck it into
The main, the main, remember your name
Remember the things you and I became
Reeperbahn, Christiania, Pigalle all the same
On the main, the main, remember your name

5. 2541 – Perhaps one of Grant’s most recognisable tunes thanks to the guitar riff and was covered 10 years later by former Go Between, Robert Forster. This true life story of a shared house Grant once occupied in Minneapolis is an independent classic.

6. Roller Rink – A slightly demented organ and drum-driven instrumental that could easily be played at a roller skating rink. A little bit of gritty guitar overlays the track at the halfway mark and drives it home but mostly the song highlights Grant’s distinctive drum sound

7. You’re The Victim – Cowbells, whistles, electric drills, kazoos, you name it, they all come together to create this little ditty clearly aimed at someone close to Grant.

8. Anything – Just a cracking, rollicking rock song. Enter some backing vocals via what appears to be Grant himself, courtesy of overdubs. The sort of song that would have inspired fellow Minneapolis legends, The Replacements.

9. She Can See The Angels Coming – A beautiful but sad poem about a woman’s loss accompanied by more exquisite organ and percussion.

10. Reprise – Another instrumental to finish the record. This one is a short, tumbling, cacophony of everything Grant could get his hands on in the studio. On the CD version, it also ends with the infinite sound of a record player stylus stuck at the end of a vinyl record which you can’t stop until you hit “stop” or eject the CD. An eclectic end to a fine album.

Grant Hart always did things his own way with no interest in compromising his artistic integrity for commercial success. He released half a dozen albums after Intolerance including a couple with his band Nova Mob, but anything other than independent and critical success would evade him. Regardless, he toured relentlessly to all parts of the world and has remained an inspiration to young musicians everywhere.

He sadly passed away from liver cancer at his home in Minneapolis in 2017 and I was blessed to see him in Melbourne solo in 2009. I stood in front of him at the Northcote Social Club looking like a deranged serial killer having waited 20 x years and driven 2 x hours to see him! When he played The Main, I almost spontaneously combusted and looked around for someone to hug and share my exultance, but to no avail. Just hipsters sipping craft beers unfortunately. Never mind. 🙂

There is an excellent documentary about Grant which was released in 2013 called Every Everything, which examines a remarkable artist, writer and musician. A terrific insight into a true original.

Lynda and I visited Minneapolis/St Paul a few years ago curious to understand the city’s musical legacy. It’s a quirky city with a tough working class history, a real melting pot for great artists like Bob Dylan, Prince and Grant Hart to spark their ingenuity. What’s your desert island disc?