On this day in 1984, one of the great albums of the US post-punk movement was released.
So, this seemed as good a time as any, to take a look back at one of the great US albums of the 1980s.
I, like many people, had not had Minutemen on my radar for the longest time, but this is something that thankfully I have corrected in the last few years. Heralding from San Pedro, California, they put out a lo-fi fusion of punk, rock, country and heck, even a pinch of jazz, across the first half of the 1980s.
And you may actually know at least one thing about them and not realise it. Especially if you are male and are now somewhere between your mid-40s and mid-50s (although I promise I am not trying to stereotype). Intrigued? Listen to the first few bars of this song and it might take you back to TV land in the 1990s. Still not sure?
The answer is at the bottom of the article.....*
It started in 1973, when friends Dennes 'D' Boon and Mike Watt formed Bright Orange Band with Joe Boon. There was then a brief spell in Starstruck in 1976, before D Boon and Watt met George Hurley and formed The Reactionaries, with Martin Tamburovich on vocals. And when that band reached its end, Minutemen was born - named, not so much for the brevity of their songs, but in reference to the minutemen militia of the revolutionary era, and also to lampoon the right wing reactionary group of the 1960s.
Their first album, The Punch Line, was recorded in one single late night session in 1981, being released in November of that year. Second long player, What Makes A Man Start Fires? stretched to 3 late night sessions and came out in January 1983. In total, over their all too brief career, Minutemen put out four studio albums and eight EP's.
Double Nickels On The Dime
This, their third album, was recorded between November 1983 and April 1984, with Ethan James producing, before coming out on 3 July on the SST label. SST was created by Greg Ginn of Black Flag to release their records, but also put albums out by the likes of Dinosaur Jr, The Meat Puppets and Husker Du.
The album name comes from; Double Nickels - aka the number 55, alluding to the 55mph speed limit in place on most highways at that time (apparently a reaction to the oil crisis of the mid-70s); The Dime - aka Interstate 10, the main highway running North-South through California, by their San Pedro home.
The original recording session in late 1983 had produced an albums worth of material, but on hearing that Zen Arcade by Husker Du was going to be a double, Boon and Watt were spurred on to go back in and write more material. In the end SST issued both of these double albums simultaneously in 1984 - two of the best post-punk records of all time, basically released at the same time.
Each of the three Minutemen (Watt, Boon and Hurley) got a side of the album each to write, with the fourth side being called 'Chaff'. The end result was 45 songs, coming in at right around eighty minutes, with only one song coming in at over three minutes (Mr. Robots Holy Orders - at a whopping 3.05).
If you want to get a feel for what the album is like, I will leave it other, more professional wordsmiths to provide a little colour. Robert Palmer, writing in the New York Times, said that the album was, "addressing their young constituencies directly with lyrics that apply to the lifestyles they share, teaching such values as tolerance of cultural, racial and sexual differences." Writing in his book Our Band Could Be Your Life, Michael Azerrad said the album was, "a Whitman's sampler of left-wing politics, moving autobiographical vignettes and twisted Beefheartian twang."
There was to be one more album, 3-Way Tie For Last, the following year. A brief tour supporting REM in late 1985 suggested they were still on track. But on 22 December 1985, just 12 days after their last show with REM, Boon was killed in a traffic accident.
But they do leave the legacy of some great tunes - so check some of this album (and their other stuff) out on your favourite music listening vehicle of choice. The high paced punk-funk is found in tunes like Viet Nam and The Glory of Man, while Political Song for Michael Jackson offers some more straight up rock, backing up intriguing lyrics. History Lesson Part II finds them being more reflective, over a gentle jazz-blues riff. If you read anything about them, what will always come through is how Boon played his guitar parts so precisely (even live whilst throwing himself around) and that great funky-punk partnership of Watt and Hurley, that must have been the envy of many indie bands back in the day.
There is also an excellent documentary about the band, We Jam Econo, freely available on YouTube and well worth a watch.
Notes:
Produced byEthan James
Released on 3 July 1984
Featuring: Dennes D Boon, Mike Watt, George Hurley
Score:
A post-punk funk - 8.2 / 10
* To answer the question posed at the top. The tune is called Corona and an instrumental version was used as the theme for the Jackass TV show!
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