Fred Armisen Helps Bob Mould Unbox His Career-Spanning Collection ‘Distortion

Fred Armisen helps Bob Mould unbox every version of Mould’s career-spanning retrospective box set, Distortion.

Distortion chronicles Mould’s post-Hüsker Dü career, the 18 studio albums he recorded as a solo artist and as the frontman of Sugar, plus four live albums, and two albums of rarities and collaborations. A 24-CD set was released last year, while the vinyl sets were subsequently issued in four separate volumes with the last, Distortion: Live, set to arrive August 6th.

The new unboxing video finds Mould offering some great historical tidbits, like the fact that he named Sugar’s 1993 EP Beaster purely because it was coming out right before Easter. Mould also taught Armisen a trick for more easily removing each collection’s plastic cling wrap (rub it against your knee, because the heat from the friction helps break the seam).

“I’m a longtime fan of Fred’s work, especially the Portlandia series,” Mould said in a statement. “Fred and I have made music together in the past — with my band, with Ian Rubbish, on Late Night with Seth Meyers, and at the occasional birthday party. So, it was a thrill for me to ‘unbox’ the various configurations, geek out on the packaging, and share a handful of fun stories.”

Mould released his most recent solo album, Blue Hearts, last fall. He’s set to embark on a North American tour in support of the record later this year, kicking off the trek September 16th in Boston and wrapping October 24th in Iowa City. On select dates, he’ll receive support from Kestrels, Moaning, Slow Caves, and Gentlemen Rogues.