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Death plagues us again, but exactly who do tell is Husker Du, as I came to the Cities scene a year too late, and even a similar-age friend is iffy on their relentless fame

Just who clarify for me, is Husker Du? Even if you have a “heart” for Hart, it may depend on an umlaut.

— The latest death on the rock scene, Grant Hart of the so-termed iconic and influential Twin Cities-then-national alt-punk group Husker Du, has me wondering — since I’m from central Wisconsin and didn’t move to Minnesconsin until 1989 when the band quit performing together — Just who exactly are these guys? I’ve heard plenty of praise, but few actual songs. The question was posed to a friend who grew up in Edina — and like me is almost exactly the same age as Hart — and she initially said she didn’t know of him either, and then changed her answer up, down and around when wondering out loud how you pronounce the first “U.” That’s the first of two umlauts in their band name, which might make for the odd bedfellows of Scandinavian punk. At least their subsequent side projects went by the names of more standard English, which generally might make them more recognizable, even to someone like me, who is known for knowledge of obscure rock trivia.
— As football makes its return, people just get excited. This was the case with a fan at Buffalo Wild Wings that looked just like Nick Saban, the Alabama coach, but with a crewcut. Minutes earlier, Saban had gotten just as animated in a postgame interview, and even had to be bleeped. Then his buddy also became talkative, noting that in a different sport that was on a different TV, the Brewers were closing out their win, but needed to get an out from a batter who the guy said was notorious for fouling off pitches. Even with two strikes on him, I was told that there’d likely be ten more foul balls. It turns out there were four. Is that a Big 10-4? Lastly, the coasters that were setting in front of us had a Vikings logo. I guess their season-opening victory held more weight than that of the Packers. But then there was last weekend’s losses by both teams. What a difference a week makes.
— Here’s a sneak preview of the venue coming into the old Ellie’s, which you can’t see very often, since it is now shuttered in plastic. But that didn’t mean you couldn’t look through a single small window when its late night. That’s unlike the rest of the storefront, which has been shrouded in plywood during construction. The bottom line, based on my viewing: The general layout, as far as which walls are where, has not at this point changed from the previous user. But there is outside scaffolding that extends to the upper floor.

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