Minutemen Albums

1984

Double Nickels on the Dime -    99%

To say there isn’t another album quite like this one is an understatement, as this is quite the singular achievement and one of the greatest pieces of pure energy ever created. At 43 songs, most around a minute long and any song over three minutes deemed an ‘epic track’. There are feats of guitar/bass/drumming wizardry (“Vietnam”, “Maybe Partying Will Help”, “Love Dance”), some that are quite hilarious (“Toadies”, “#1 Hit Song”, “Jesus and Tequilla”), those songs that have an epic quality, though this band keeps everything pretty short (“Glory of Man”, “It’s Expected I am Gone”) and just some amazing rock n roll singles (“Corona”, “Ain’t No Picnic”, my personal favorite “Nothing Indeed”). Each side is about 10 songs each and ‘created’ by a member of the band, with the final 4th side being more of a jam session and a couple of cover songs – the CD I grew up with had Steely Dans “Dr Wu” while some editions like original vinyl have Van Halen’s “Ain’t Talking About Love”; it is called Side ‘chaff’ but nothing on here is forgettable, in fact “Martin’s Story”, “the World According to Nouns” and “Love Jam” are some of the album’s most memorable tunes.

The way D Boon bends his guitar strings has such a useful and unique energy, Watt has bass riffs that balance out the guitar riffs, and Hurley keeps all the percussion fluid and at the same time memorable and unpredictable. It is punk rock that is political on the personal level, influencing many bands after them such as Fugazi, Rage Against The Machine, Pearl Jam, um..Toadies… and countless others. Most of all, it might just be the most fun time you will ever have listening to music. I will have a longer review of this album coming someday, dissecting it even more, it would be quite easy top write an entire book on its many nuances. With respect to The Minutemen’s mighty career, this is the crowning achievement and one of the must hear albums in music history.

Best Songs: Nothing indeed, Maybe Partying Will Help, The Glory of Man, Vietnam, The Big Foist, God Bows to Math, Corona, The Roar of the Masses Could Be Farts, Jesus and Tequila