“The War” is the first collaboration between Bob Mould and Dave Markey, two punk rock pioneers. Bob Mould is best known as the singer and guitarist for the early SST punk trio, Hüsker Dü. In the 90s his solo recordings and work with his band Sugar gained critical acclaim. According to Wikipedia. “1992’s Copper Blue was named as NME‘s 1992 Album of the Year, and was Mould’s most successful commercial album, selling nearly 300,000 copies.” Since that time, he has focused on his solo career and working as a DJ.
Dave Markey was also pretty busy in the 80s. Still a teenager, he co-founded the fanzine and film company “We Got Power” with longtime friend Jordan Schwartz. Markey was also playing drums with his own band, SIN 34. In 2012, their fanzines and photographs were immortalized in the hardcover book, “We Got Power: Hardcore Punk Scenes From 1980’s Southern California.”
According to Dave Markey, “I first met Bob when he first came to LA in ’82. Hüsker Dü showed up at my mom’s apartment in Santa Monica and hung out with Jordan [Schwartz], Jennifer [Schwartz] and I during the We Got Power days.” You can read the resulting interview in the We Got Power website archives, Issue #4.
Although best known for his films, “Desperate Teenage Lovedolls,” “Lovedolls Superstar” and “1991: The Year Punk Broke,” Dave Markey has directed dozens of music videos. Some of the most recognizable are “Slip It In” for Black Flag, “Superstar” for Sonic Youth, “Scum” for the Meat Puppets and “Ritchie Dagger’s Crime” for the Posies.
“The War” is a track from Mould’s newest album, “Beauty and Ruin,” just released in June. In the song he poignantly sings about the death of his father.Dave Markey told The Beat that the video was shot “over two hot summer days on location in Silver Lake, and Eagle Rock. The live stuff was shot at Akbar, and the extras were fans that showed up after Bob and I mentioned it on Facebook.” In the video, Mould symbolically passes the torch to the next generation, represented by musician Ryan Adams. “Don’t give up. Don’t give in.”
