#280 ‘Don’t Want To Know If You Are Lonely’ by Hüsker Dü (9 June)

Album: Candy Apple Gray, 1986

Justification: I got into Hüsker Dü backwards, which means “I sought them out because I loved the Pixies” rather than “Pixies were totally just ripping off the Dü, man”. This was one of Grant Hart’s songs and is probably their best known single, which is where proper fans sniff and talk about how Bob Mould wrote all the best songs anyway. And then the Grant Hart defenders weigh in about how at least Hart knew how to write a good pop song, and that’s when I used to zone out the conversations that the other people working at Big Star Records in the 90s were having.

Anyway, it’s a hell of a song. And Hart’s solo album from last year, Hot Wax, is actually pretty damn strong (the closing track, ‘My Regrets’ is particularly great). Bob Mould’s solo work has been damned patchy, although now I think about it, there really should be some Sugar on this list. I’ll leave it for a while until you forget, though, then when you least expect it I’m going to SMASH IT RIGHT IN YOUR FACE.

Sorry. It’s been that sort of a week.

THIS TIME IN 2010: Lemonheads were creating indie-pop masterpieces like ‘Confetti’.