12/23/2014

File Under: Fizzy Reading

BOB MOULD
See a Little Light: The Trail of Rage and Melody
(with Michael Azzerad)
[Little, Brown-2011]

Perhaps we went into See a Little Light a bit unprepared but we weren’t expecting Mould to dedicate a significant chunk of ink to his romances—long-term relationships, flings, one night stands and unrequited crushes, all reflected thru the prism of his awakening as a gay man—and his stint as a writer for World Championship Wrestling, when he could be delving into more details about the internal dealings of Hüsker Dü or, say, the making of Sugar’s Copper Blue or the impetus behind his creative process. The end result is approximately half of this tome coming across as unnecessary overshare.

And while he does cover the entirety of his professional career, we don’t learn much past the fact that Mould has made good money, maintains decades-long business relationships with his attorney and booking agents, and that anyone holding their breath for a Hüsker Dü reunion had best re-caliber their expectations in that regard. Overall, Mould could’ve shed a bit more light on his lengthy career and not so much on the peripheral, non-artistic aspects of his life.