How do you pair a distortion pedal with a novel set in Florence, Italy? Here’s how:
One night our hero Kevin misses the last bus home after being out at the bars. So he pops Zen Arcade into his walkman and walks back home through the cobblestone streets.
Bob Mould was known for plugging his MXR Distortion+ straight into the mixing board, a trick he likely used while recording Zen Arcade back in 1983.
From Wikipedia: As their EP Metal Circus was being released, Hüsker Dü entered the Total Access Studio in Redondo Beach, California to record their next album with SST producer Spot. The band recorded 25 tracks, with all but two songs (“Something I Learned Today” and “Newest Industry”) being first takes, in 40 hours. The entire album was then mixed in one 40-hour session; the entire album took 85 hours to record and produce and cost $3,200.
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