Hüsker Dü Historic Sites

2541 S Garfield Ave, Minneapolis MN


Photos: plh
This is the house on S Garfield that served in 1988 as the backdrop for the artwork on Grant Hart's 2541 EP. By the time the above shots were taken (Aug 2011), it's obvious that some remodeling had been done. Except for the porch area, the siding is all new, the bay windows have been replaced with run-of-the-mill sash windows, and some of the Victorian gingerbread features have been lost — in particular, the carved decorations above the windows. The song itself, though never recorded or performed live by Hüsker Dü nevertheless may have played a role in the band's eventual breakup. Bob Mould writes in his autobiography, See A Little Light:

At one rehearsal Grant submitted a song, we played through it a couple of times, and after a moment I said, "Grant, I don't know about this one. It's the same riff and melody as a Dream Syndicate song that's out right now." The song was called "2541." Later I realized it was probably about a failed relationship he'd had, that it carried a lot of emotional weight for him at the time, and that it was one of the best songs he'd ever written. But at the time, I just wasn't putting it together. I only meant to point out something. I think it really hurt him, and he think he viewed me as an adversary from then on. Years later I felt bad about it, and I often wondered if it might have been the beginning of the end.

In the passage above, Bob is referring to the New Day Rising sessions, so the song dates to at least 1984, if not earlier.

Back to Hüsker Dü historic sites index
Back to Hüsker Dü images
Back to Hüsker Dü database main page