It’s not just a mid-eighties hardcore band fucking around with a song from a contrasting genre – it’s a blistering attack on the philosophical failure of a previous generation’s subculture and a landmark recording in the life of an important and influential underground band. When looked at in context, maybe those eminent music journalists have a point about the significance of this cover version.
Eight miles high about to fall torrent#
Despite the cacophony, The Byrds’ tune remains audible, presaging the direction that the band would take in their next two, classic albums, 1984’s Zen Arcade and 1985’s New Day Rising, both of which would retain the volume of their earlier work but with melodies more clearly detectable within the torrent of sound. At the beginning of the track, his voice is an angry roar by the end it’s a furious, throat-shredding, animal holler. Mould’s guitar work is sublime, slashing out the melodies in searing, high-velocity metallic squalls. The cover replaces the dreamy pop jangle of the original with excessive volume, distortion and aggression.
Husker Du’s furious assault on a sacred hippie hymn was an attack on them and their treachery. Like many in the eighties US punk scene, Bob Mould had long been disillusioned with what he saw as sixties counter-culture’s betrayal of its own ideals, the pinnacle of which being the election of Ronald Reagan as president.
Which is exactly why Husker Du went for it. In 1984 when Husker Du covered it, it was still a beloved artefact for ageing hippies. The song’s originality, fusion of Eastern and Western sounds and influence on psychedelic rock make it an important cultural touchstone of its era. Banned by radio stations for its drug references, the title and lyrics also refer to The Byrds’ flight to the UK for a 1965 tour and their mixed reception on arrival – adulation from fans, hostility from rivals. The Byrds’ 1966 original Eight Miles High was a classic example of their jangly, psychedelic folk rock and their last US Top 20 hit.
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