Editing Zen Arcade (section)

==Composition==

=== Music ===
''Zen Arcade'', in line with previous Hüsker Dü albums, had a mainly hardcore punk focus, with songs such as "Indecision Time" and "Pride" displaying common traits of the hardcore punk genre. However, the album also marked the point where the band introduced a more melodic and guitar-driven musical style, with elements of acoustic [[folk music|folk]] ("Never Talking to You Again"), [[psychedelic music|psychedelia]] ("Hare Krsna" and "The Tooth Fairy and the Princess") and piano interludes ("One Step at a Time," "Monday Will Never Be the Same"), concepts rarely touched upon in early '80s hardcore punk.

Indicative of the band's desire for the album to be taken as a whole, no singles were released from it.{{Original research inline|date=July 2010}}

The opening song, written by guitarist Bob Mould, was often used to open their set as early as 1983. The lyric describes growing up and trusting few people. A fast-paced song with simple verse and chord progressions, it begins with a simple drum beat, then an undulating bass rhythm, and finally kicks into the verse riff. Mould and Hart harmonize vocally in the chorus.

===Lyrics===
''Zen Arcade'' tells the story of a young man who runs away to escape a miserable and abusive home life ("Broken Home, Broken Heart", "Never Talking to You Again"). The character briefly joins the military ("Chartered Trips"), turns to religion ("Hare Krsna"), and seems to find a tenuous peace through love ("Somewhere") before losing his lover to drugs ("[[Pink Turns to Blue]]").<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.nudeasthenews.com/reviews/1182 |title=Husker Du: Zen Arcade |access-date=March 6, 2007 |last=Donohue |first=Mark T.R. |website=Nude as the News |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061115104722/http://www.nudeasthenews.com/reviews/1182 |archive-date=November 15, 2006}}</ref> He reaches a point of despair, ultimately concluding that he won't be able to change his circumstances ("Newest Industry", "Whatever") before waking up to find that the whole odyssey had occurred in his subconscious during a night of troubled sleep; the challenges of his life—for better or worse—remain in front of him ("The Tooth Fairy and the Princess", "[[Turn on the News]]"). "Reoccurring Dreams", a disorienting 14-minute instrumental that reprises a shorter instrumental interlude ("Dreams Reoccurring"), closes the album.