See a Little Light: The Trail of Rage and Melody

by Bob Mould

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The musician behind the ground-breaking punk band Hüsker Dü describes his early passion for music; reveals his struggles with homosexuality and drug and alcohol addiction; and discusses his solo career and founding of the band Sugar.

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10 reviews
Anyone hoping for an unearthing of long lost yarns about Husker Dü, SST legal documents, or remembrances of blinding nights at the leather bar with Rollins, will be sorely disappointed with Bob Mould's foray into the world of rock autobiographies. See A Little Light focuses on two main areas: a checklist of Mould's successes in music, which were all carried out by Bob Mould and no one else. And a look at his lack of success in love. Admittedly, as a music fan, I came to the book wanting a copious amount of thoughts and insight into what it was like to write songs such "Celebrated Summer" or "Changes", and to play in a band such as Husker Du. Unfortunately Mould is more focused on patting himself on the back while also screaming, "Why show more doesn't anyone love me?" Someone should give him Billy Corgan's number. show less
Fascinating autobiography. The first half covered ground that I was familiar with, Husker Du, his solo stuff and Sugar, but I pretty much lost track of Mould after Sugar broke up, so the second half was very interesting and eye-opening. He mentioned touring with Sugar in 1992-93 and he specifically mentions playing at the Aragon Ballroom in Chicago, so I dug my ticket sub out and sure enough, there it was, September 11, 1993! Good memories.

Mould's frank openness was great and I almost felt like his therapist as he rationally talks through his thoughts and feelings. Myself being a straight man, it was interesting to read about gay culture and I thought it was funny that Mould only learned about the different facets of the gay lifestyle show more in his later years! Overall, I think I was more shocked by the fact that he worked for World Championship Wrestling......!

A great read and well worth the time for any fan of Mould and his music.
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An amazing look at Bob Mould, the founder of Husker Du and Sugar. The musical journey this man has taken amazed me, just the range he has. Musically brilliant. I admit to not being familiar with Husker Du, well, not much. What I found fascinating was his personal journey. From an angry gay (but not really closeted and not really out or accepting of himself) punk rocker to the man who found himself in the bear community. Every gay man should read this, every pflag member should read this also. Just a great story of a musical genius' life.

Also, very interesting to see how tight knit the music community is. He talks about bands before they were big...just a compelling read.
This review was written for LibraryThing Member Giveaways.
An in-depth, chronological look into Bob's music and complicated (and often painful) life journey. Occasional clunky writing and it gets a bit list-oriented at times, especially during the Hüsker Dü portion (thanks to meticulously kept tour journals from the 1980s), but I enjoyed this touching, ultimately uplifting autobiography. Recommended to Bob fans.
½
I had an up and down relationship with this book. While at times I struggled with the narrative and the flow, the voice was authentic and my struggle was parallel with Mould's own struggle. I had to finish it and I couldn't put it down. It fills in a lot of other gaps in musical history, too.
Overall, I enjoyed the book. The history of his bands (Hüsker Dü & Sugar) his solo music career, and his short career backstage with professional wrestling were all done very well. Personally, I could have done without some of the details of his sex life, though that has been an important part of who he is, so I can't fault him for talking about it.
½
one of my favorite musicians, but the memoir was only okay. Sometimes got a little too deep in the weeds for me.

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LGBTQ Memoir/Biography
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2010s
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Author Information

19+ Works 241 Members

Common Knowledge

People/Characters
Bob Mould
Important places
Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota, USA

Classifications

Genres
Music, Nonfiction, Biography & Memoir, General Nonfiction
DDC/MDS
782.42166092Arts & recreationMusicVocal Music, SingingSecular forms of vocal musicSongsGeneral principles and musical formsTraditions of secular songs {genres}Rock songsmodified standard subdivisionsHistory, geographic treatment, biographyBiography
LCC
ML420 .M636 .A3MusicLiterature on musicLiterature on musicHistory and criticismBiography
BISAC

Statistics

Members
150
Popularity
216,201
Reviews
10
Rating
½ (3.52)
Languages
English
Media
Paper, Audiobook, Ebook
ISBNs
5
ASINs
3