Born in Malone, New York, Mould lived in several places, including Pine City, Minnesota and the Minneapolis-St. Paul area, where he attended Macalester College. There, he formed Hüsker Dü in the late 1970s, with drummer/singer Grant Hart and bass guitarist Greg Norton.
Mould released his first solo album after Hüsker Dü broke up; 1989's Workbook eschewed Mould's trademark wall-of-noise guitar for a stripped-down sound featuring acoustic guitars and cellos. 1991's jagged Black Sheets of Rain put Mould in more familiar territory, recalling Hüsker Dü's loudest, angriest moments. Mould also started a record label, Singles Only Label, which released singles from up and coming bands such as Grant Lee Buffalo.
Mould then formed the group Sugar, a college/alternative radio favorite in the mid-1990s. Along with extensive touring, Sugar released two albums, an EP and a B-sides collection before splitting.
Mould returned to solo recording, releasing a self-titled album in 1996 (which is often referred to as Hubcap because of the cover photo) and 1998's The Last Dog and Pony Show. During a stint living in New York City in the late-1990s, Mould's tastes took a detour into dance music and electronica. Those influences were clear on his 2002 release Modulate, which featured a strong electronica influence to mixed critical reviews. To pursue this sound, Mould also began recording under the pseudonym LoudBomb (an anagram of his name). He has released one CD so far under this name.
Mould took a brief break from the music world to get involved with another passion of his, professional wrestling, when he joined WCW as a scriptwriter for a brief period. Creative differences with some of the other writers of the league led to Mould leaving the company and returning to music. The liner notes for Modulate thank some of the wrestlers he associated with, most notably Kevin Nash and Kevin Sullivan.
In addition to his solo work, Mould is also a live DJ in collaboration with Washington DC-area dance music artist Richard Morel, under the collective banner Blowoff. A recording under that banner was released in September 2006. Mould has been asked to do remixes for a variety of dance and alternative rock artists. A recent remix of the Interpol song "Length Of Love" has led to more critical acclaim for the veteran artist.
For much of the 1990s, Mould toured playing solo acoustic renditions of his catalog (occasionally switching to electric guitar midway through his set). In 2005 his solo album Body of Song was cross-announced with his first band tour since 1998. Brendan Canty, best known as the drummer for Fugazi, and Mould's Blowoff collaborator, Morel, played drums and keyboards, respectively, for the 2005 tour. Mould's latest album, District Line, was released in February 2008.
Though his homosexuality was previously something of an open secret, Mould was outed in the early 1990s; he is now openly gay. Though it was often rumored during his Hüsker Dü days that he and bandmate Hart were an item (Hart was also gay, and both acknowledge taking partners on tour), both have flatly denied ever having been romantically involved.
In 2006, Mould contributed the song "If I Can't Change Your Mind" to the album Wed-Rock, an album to promote same-sex marriage.
On September 29, 2005, Mould's song "Circles" was featured on The OC as Marissa Cooper was starting her first day at her public school in Season 3. Mould's song "Dog on Fire" is the theme song for The Daily Show. They Might Be Giants perform the current version. The song "See a Little Light" has been used more than once in various television applications: It was used in the closing scene of the original un-aired test pilot episode of Buffy The Vampire Slayer, it became one of the principal theme songs for the HBO series The Mind of the Married Man and was also used in a television commercial for TIAA-CREF (August 2007). Mould also composed the theme for the TLC program, In a Fix.
Mould and director Cameron Crowe are close friends; the character Bob Sugar (played by Jay Mohr) in Crowe's 1996 film Jerry Maguire is named for both Mould and his former band, Sugar.
Mould appeared on an episode of IFC's The Henry Rollins Show on June 15, 2007.
Mould also played lead guitar in the house band for the film of John Cameron Mitchell's Hedwig and the Angry Inch. Mould also participated in a Hedwig tribute album, Wig in a Box, on which he covered the song "Nailed."
Solo Discography
Workbook LP (Virgin, 1989)
See A Little Light Single (Virgin, 1989)
Wishing Well + 4 Tracks Single (Virgin, 1989)
Black Sheets of Rain LP (Virgin, 1990)
Poison Years Compilation LP (Virgin, 1994)
Egøverride Single (Rykodisc, 1995)
Bob Mould LP (Rykodisc, 1996)
The Last Dog and Pony Show LP (Rykodisc, 1998)
Modulate LP (Granary Music, 2002)
Live Dog 98: The Forum, London UK Live LP (Granary Music, 2002)
Long Playing Grooves (released under anagram LoudBomb) LP (Granary Music, 2002)
Body of Song (Yep Roc, 2005)
District Line (Granary Music, 2008)
Silver Age (Edsel 2012)
Beauty & Ruin (Merge Records, 2014)
Patch the Sky (Merge Records, 2016)
Sunshine Rock (Merge Records, 2019)
Bootlegs
The Calm Before the Storm (Kiss The Stone, 1994)
Bands Produced
Soul Asylum, Made To Be Broken LP
Articles of Faith, Give Thanks and In this Life LPs
Magnapop, Hot Boxing LP
Verbow, Chronicles LP
The Zulus, Down on the Floor LP
Impaler, If We Had Brains... We'd Be Dangerous LP
Low, Tonight the Monkeys Die Remixes EP
http://www.bobmould.com
http://modulate.blogspot.com
Angels Rearrange
Bob Mould Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
A wooden nickel's worth of diamond rings
Good ideas, dozen for a dime
And quarter notes are all lined up in time
We're sitting somewhere frightened
Right between that and excited
Angels are rearranging
I never thought that we would fall apart
But the weather came and withered up your heart
We're sitting somewhere frightened
Right between that and excited
Angels are rearranging
I never ever thought that we would fall apart
And though we tried
All the good times passed us by
And left us standing in the middle
Of a place we've never been
And if we die
Angels falling from the sky, singing
Don't be scared of change
'Cause it may be time to rearrange
The lyrics of Bob Mould's "Angels Rearrange" start by talking about the various material and abstract things that can be afforded with different amounts of money. The singer notes that a pretty penny can buy a lot, while a wooden nickel will only get you a phony version of something valuable. This then transitions into the idea that good ideas can be found for cheap, and that music is a mixed bag where quarter notes are always in place. But the focus quickly shifts to the present moment of the song, where the singer is "sitting somewhere frightened" between fear and excitement while the angels are rearranging. This phrase is the key to understanding the song's overarching theme, which is that change is often scary but also inevitable.
The second verse reveals a deep personal pain that the singer is struggling with. He sings about how he never thought that the subject of the song (possibly a past lover or friend) would fall apart, but that the weather (perhaps a metaphor for life's difficulties or unexpected circumstances) ultimately caused their heart to wither. The repetition of "sitting somewhere frightened / right between that and excited / angels are rearranging" in between each verse emphasizes that these two themes are intertwined and constantly affecting each other. The singer then reflects on how all the good times have passed by, and that they are now standing in a new and scary place that they've never experienced before. But despite the angels falling from the sky, the song ends on a message of hope and encouragement to embrace change instead of fearing it.
Overall, "Angels Rearrange" is a song that speaks to the universality of change and how it can bring both fear and excitement. Mould's lyrics capture the human experience of uncertainty and pain while also encouraging listeners to embrace change as an opportunity for growth and new experiences.
Line by Line Meaning
A pretty penny buys you lots of things
Having a lot of money can buy you many material possessions
A wooden nickel's worth of diamond rings
Even something that seems valuable may not be worth much
Good ideas, dozen for a dime
Coming up with good ideas is easy and cheap
And quarter notes are all lined up in time
Musical notes played in a specific tempo and rhythm are orderly and predictable
We're sitting somewhere frightened
We are in a state of fear
Right between that and excited
Our emotions are in a state of uncertainty, halfway between fear and excitement
Angels are rearranging
There is a sense that something significant is happening and it is being orchestrated by spiritual beings
I never thought that we would fall apart
I didn't anticipate our relationship or situation to crumble
But the weather came and withered up your heart
Something has happened that has changed you and made you less loving or kind
And though we tried
Despite our efforts
All the good times passed us by
We didn't enjoy or fully appreciate the good moments we had
And left us standing in the middle
We are now in a state of confusion and uncertainty
Of a place we've never been
We are experiencing something that is entirely new and unfamiliar
And if we die
Even if we pass away from this life
Angels falling from the sky, singing
There is a sense of spiritual intervention and that we are being looked after
Don't be scared of change
Change is inevitable and shouldn't be feared
'Cause it may be time to rearrange
Change can bring new opportunities and a fresh start
Lyrics © BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC
Written by: BOB MOULD
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@MeetYouAtTheBing
louder, louder, more volume....yeah Bob, i see the angels dancing up above
@Kangabeer
Great to see the Husker boys still rocking it out......good luck Grant with your new lp too!!
@danjay67
Well said.... VERY well said.
@timskelton1
but the weather came and withered up your heart.......
@mrmartintoth
Bob Mould and Michael Stipe should make a song together!
@stephenroche5107
And Mark Edwards from MYy Dad Is Dead too
@fragile1966
scrummy stuff