Tuesday, February 19, 2008

Band Spotlight: Minutemen





Genre:
Punk Rock( they were very attached to the DIY ethic and "jamming econo") Hardcore Punk (early years), also a major influence on Alternative Rock.

History: The band says it best themselves in their timeless classic, "History Lesson-Part II"

our band could be your life
real names'd be proof
me and mike watt played for years
punk rock changed our lives

we learned punk rock in hollywood
drove up from pedro
we were fucking corndogs
we'd go drink and pogo

mr. narrator
this is bob dylan to me
my story could be his songs
i'm his soldier child

our band is scientist rock
but i was e. bloom and richard hell,
joe strummer, and john doe
me and mike watt, playing guitar

Tragically lead singer/guitarist D. Boon died in a car accident in 1985, forever leaving behind one of rock's greatest legacies.

Musical Style: The Minutemen's music was known for its brevity(most songs never made it past the two minute mark) and of course its constant experimentation. Hardly something you could say about every early 80's hardcore outfit. As the decade progressed, so did the band's music. They began incorporating funk, soul, country, spoken word, R&B, and jazz into their Southern California Punk Rock sound. Their eclectic sound is best epitomized on their magnum opus (43 tracks!) Double Nickels on the Dime, without a doubt one of rock's greatest masterpieces.

Best Album: Double Nickels on the Dime (1984)

Top Songs:
"The Punch Line"
"Song For El Salvador"
"History Lesson"
"Bob Dylan Wrote Propaganda Songs"
"Fake Contest"
"The Only Minority"
"Little Man With A Gun In His Hand"
"Viet Nam"
"Shit From The Old Notebook"
"One Reporter's Opinion"
"Political Song For Michael Jackson To Sing"
"Corona"
"History Lesson-Part II"
"The Roar of the Masses Could Be Farts"
"West Germany"
"This Ain't No Picnic"
"Untitled Song for Latin America"
"Jesus and Tequila"
"Ack Ack Ack"( Urinals cover)

Influences: Credence Clearwater Revival, Blue Oyster Cult, The Ramones, Wire, The Urinals, The Pop Group, Richard Hell and the Voidoids, X, The Clash, and Captain Beefheart.

Influenced: Red Hot Chili Peppers, Sublime, Sonic Youth, Fugazi, Henry Rollins, and countless others.

Why You Should Listen To The Minutemen: First things fucking last, I bet you have already heard a Minutemen song before and I bet you liked it. You know that opening and closing theme for MTV's "Jackass"? Well, brothers and sisters, that song actually has vocals and it is in fact titled "Corona." So if you are fan of it, why not hear the rest of the group's wide body of bounding, revolutionary tunes? You will hear lyrics discussing pivotal topics such as the Vietnam War, U.S. Foreign Policy, life in contemporary Blue Collar America, and Econo practices. However the lyrics are not limited to said topics and they are also intertwined with dark humor and satire. On a final note, Ben, here's a band whose musicianship I think you will admire.




2 comments:

  1. Nice addition of "Influenced" and "Influences". I like that.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks I thought it was a vital, really key point to an artist's music.

    ReplyDelete

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