Album: Double Nickels On The Dime
Artist: Minutemen
Artist: Minutemen
Born: San Pedro, Los Angeles
Released: July 1984
Genre: Post-punk
Influenced: Pixies, Fugazi, Sonic Youth, Pearl Jam, Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Hold Steady
With 45 songs, Double Nickels On The Dime is easily the longest and most diverse album covered on this blog so far. Mixing punk, jazz, funk and folk, and many more genres besides, the Minutemen were the most original of the west coast punk bands to emerge in the 80s. Sharing the same label, SST, as more hardcore punk acts like Black Flag and Husker Dü, the band shared the same DIY ethic but had a much less hard-edged sound. Like the best punk bands, they didn't feel the need to thrash guitars to make a point; the subversive lyrics and open, experimental approach to blending musical styles was far more effective. The influence of Gang of Four and other British post-punk acts is obvious on various tracks, notably This Ain't No Picnic (see the video below, which was nominated for MTV's first ever Video Music Awards). As with Tom Waits, Captain Beefheart was also an inspirational figure. The first three sides of the double LP were named after each of the band members: "D" (lead guitarist & vocalist D. Boon, not the legendary Australian batsman, but equally portly), "Mike" (bass guitarist & vocalist Mike Watt) and "George" (drummer George Hurley). They named the fourth side, "Chaff", and this contains tracks written by all three members as well as covers of Steely Dan and Van Halen.
Creedence Clearwater Revival song, Don't Look Now, is also covered on the opening "D'" side and fits with the ethos of hard-hitting social commentary throughout the album. Viet Nam explores similar territory as anti-Vietnam diatribe Fortunate Son ("the working masses / are manipulated"), while Cohesion takes a dark, folky turn into Leonard Cohen territory, a stunning guitar arrangement by Boon. There's tons of humour on the record, on tracks like Do You Want New Wave or Do You Want the Truth? ("should a word have two meanings? What the fuck for?"). Political Song For Michael Jackson To Sing is one of the more memorable tracks on Mike's side, exploring the dilemma between making music with a political message and music to entertain, with the brilliant moment of "cut down on guitars solos", followed by a BIG SOLO. The real focus of the song is not MJ but Middle America. The Latin-tinged pop of Corona shows the Minutemen had a brilliant ear for a melody, while History Lesson, Part II is a beautiful autobiography by Boon of how he started as a punk rocker, and how the music of the Clash and others was to him like Bob Dylan to previous generations. Given the sad accident that would end Boon's life soon after this album's release at the age of just 27, this feels like a eulogy.
With 45 songs, Double Nickels On The Dime is easily the longest and most diverse album covered on this blog so far. Mixing punk, jazz, funk and folk, and many more genres besides, the Minutemen were the most original of the west coast punk bands to emerge in the 80s. Sharing the same label, SST, as more hardcore punk acts like Black Flag and Husker Dü, the band shared the same DIY ethic but had a much less hard-edged sound. Like the best punk bands, they didn't feel the need to thrash guitars to make a point; the subversive lyrics and open, experimental approach to blending musical styles was far more effective. The influence of Gang of Four and other British post-punk acts is obvious on various tracks, notably This Ain't No Picnic (see the video below, which was nominated for MTV's first ever Video Music Awards). As with Tom Waits, Captain Beefheart was also an inspirational figure. The first three sides of the double LP were named after each of the band members: "D" (lead guitarist & vocalist D. Boon, not the legendary Australian batsman, but equally portly), "Mike" (bass guitarist & vocalist Mike Watt) and "George" (drummer George Hurley). They named the fourth side, "Chaff", and this contains tracks written by all three members as well as covers of Steely Dan and Van Halen.
Creedence Clearwater Revival song, Don't Look Now, is also covered on the opening "D'" side and fits with the ethos of hard-hitting social commentary throughout the album. Viet Nam explores similar territory as anti-Vietnam diatribe Fortunate Son ("the working masses / are manipulated"), while Cohesion takes a dark, folky turn into Leonard Cohen territory, a stunning guitar arrangement by Boon. There's tons of humour on the record, on tracks like Do You Want New Wave or Do You Want the Truth? ("should a word have two meanings? What the fuck for?"). Political Song For Michael Jackson To Sing is one of the more memorable tracks on Mike's side, exploring the dilemma between making music with a political message and music to entertain, with the brilliant moment of "cut down on guitars solos", followed by a BIG SOLO. The real focus of the song is not MJ but Middle America. The Latin-tinged pop of Corona shows the Minutemen had a brilliant ear for a melody, while History Lesson, Part II is a beautiful autobiography by Boon of how he started as a punk rocker, and how the music of the Clash and others was to him like Bob Dylan to previous generations. Given the sad accident that would end Boon's life soon after this album's release at the age of just 27, this feels like a eulogy.
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