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The SYFFAL Roundtable: The Minutemen - Double Nickels on the Dime
SYFFAL Roundtable Record Reviews
God dammit Double Nickels on the Dime is a jangly muthafucker, filled with 40+ genre blending and destroying tracks it remains the definitive album by the So-Cal punk band The Minutemen. The trio consisting of singer/guitarist D. Boon, bassist Mike Watt and drummer George Hurley are legends in the punk scene and sit beside contemporaries like Black Flag, Minor Threat, Husker Du, and The Adolescents, although I don't know if I would put them in the same category as these bands.
Sure the impact is similar; an offbeat reaction to the rock music that dominated the times, where the other bands where hard, heavy and fast, The Minutemen took their time getting to their destination. They meandered and took in the scenery. Double Nickels on the Dime is a perfect example of why The Minutemen should stand alone on the outside and not be lumped in with the aforementioned greats.
It is in no way meant to slander those fuckers, but The Minutemen were a different mold. My friend and noted nerd Reggie often says is more to the Talking Heads than Black Flag, and that nerdy fucker is right. They do not fit the mold of what we now expect 80s punk to be. For my money they are more the proto-type for indie jam bands that came after them. Sure the songs are shorter than the typical jam band but the concept of exploring the musical space is definitely there. There is so much god damned delicious noodling and jangling on this album, The Minutemen were smart enough to keep it in short one and two minute installments as opposed to the self indulgent twenty minute jams we are now accustom too.
Over the eighty plus minutes of Double Nickels on the Dime, D. Boon and the boys show and prove. They are jazz. They figured out how to present abstract and avant garde approaches and make I palatable, as opposed to just annoying listeners with the sounds of heroin addiction. There is a reason this fucker stays on all of the best of lists for every major music publication and it is not just because music critics need to feel important. It is because The Minutemen made one of the stand-out American rock albums, an album that has influenced a generation of musicians and is sure to keep on influencing the musical landscape for years to come. The Minutemen and Double Nickels on the Dime are what music should be.
Minutemen - Brandon
Album Rating:
Brandon Backhaus
What's the best track and why?
shit From an Old Notebook for the riff and the break. Made me feel happiness.
I recommend listening to this record while...
Reading We Got the Neutron Bomb and wearing suspenders.
While I listened to this record, I pictured...
D. Boon and Mike Watt getting their ass kicked by Fred O'Bannion.
Anything else to add?
I can appreciate the relevance of the record and all the top rock album stuff… but mostly it sounded dated. It was amazed though at the variety of material, from country to punk, spoken word to jazz. Also, Corona instantly put me on a downhill trajectory in a large shopping cart between Wee Man and Preston. I'm pretty sure the bass lick at the beginning of The Glory of Man was sampled by Chemical Brothers.
Minutemen - Dick
Album Rating:
Dick Richardson
What's the best track and why?
It's Expected I'm Gone - Although it was difficult to pick a clear favorite from this album's massive list, this one shimmy-glimmered a bit brighter than the rest. It is energetic and catchy and lemme just say that bass guitar is funk-AY.
I recommend listening to this record while...
This is something you can just put on during the beginning 33.3333% of a house party. Nobody is really getting sauced yet and they want to have music that can be easily conversed over. The record can really pick up here and there, but for the most part it remains fairly chill while being anything but a complete snoozer to listen to.
While I listened to this record, I pictured...
The hundreds of other bands who have derived their entire sound from this record's aesthetic. To call The Minutemen "influential" with this one is an understatement.
Anything else to add?
This has got a little bit of everything to it and has the same quirky variety found in a Beastie Boys or Fugazi album. Double Nickels On The Dime should be necessary listening for anyone who enjoys eclectic music in the vein of either of those bands.
Minutemen - Ted
Album Rating:
Ted Singer
What's the best track and why?
There are so freakin' many and they are all so short that this is a tough one to respond to. I'll go with One Reporter's Opinion as hearing D. Boon take good nature d shots at Mike Watt made me feel like it was a band that actually enjoyed hanging out together.
I recommend listening to this record while...
Trying to learn how to play the bass. Mike Watt's melodic flow took me by surprise, I was expecting sharper angles.
While I listened to this record, I pictured...
Charles Bukowski, who also came from San Pedro.
Anything else to add?
I like how the 3 members of the band each got an LP side and held a draft to select which songs went on their portion - this was years before fantasy football.
Minutemen - Tim
Album Rating:
Tim Baker
What's the best track and why?
I am torn between History Lesson Pt. 2, Themselves and Storm In My House. If forced to wittle it down I would have to go with History Lesson Pt. 2 mainly because I love the background music and the spoken word punk stylings.
I recommend listening to this record while...
You can pretty much listen to this while doing anything it is that kind of good background music that you never get lost in, and can pop in and out of and still get the gist of it. Probably good music to listen to while cleaning the pool. Oh you don't have a pool? How punk rock of you.
While I listened to this record, I pictured...
I think of working on muscle cars in Texas. I can totally see this blaring out Woodersons garage after he finally settled down with a recent high school graduate and traded in his creep mustache for a sweet mullet. Either that or being one of those annoying people that still talks about how cool New York was in the 80s.
Anything else to add?
I am amazed at how long Double Nickels on the Dime now seems. I guess it explains why it hasn't remained in my heavy rotation of 80s punk albums. The form is just much better suited to shorter albums. While it is much more musically progressive than most punk records it is still a punk record and should be under 20 minutes. They could have gotten four albums out of this fucker for Fucks sake.
Minutemen - Del
Album Rating:
Del LeFevre
What's the best track and why?
My knee jerk reaction is to go with Cohesion. However I have to change my vote because as I typed that previous sentence a Spotify ad ran and then shit From An Old Notebook followed, blaring it's anti-commercialism mantra. You can't plan that kind of kismet. The song rocks too.
I recommend listening to this record while...
Sitting at home far away from your iPod and it's skip or shuffle buttons. Try playing it on your PC while reading about the SF Bart Protests, and if you're really a cool ass punk check it out on Spotify. Let freedom ring!
While I listened to this record, I pictured...
Myself suffering from a paralyzing OCD attack trying to keep up with the 45 song title track listing
Anything else to add?
This is a must hear for new music listeners. Coming on late to the scene on this album/band I hear countless years of inspiration from all of the other artists I listened to of my youth. I may have been better served starting off right here with Double Nickels on the Dime... even if the album name and title is a lame joke response to Sammy Hager's "I Can't Drive 55". I always thought that "I Can't Drive 55" was a joke in and of itself so this Double Nickels on the Dime (55) pun seemed a bit unneeded.
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