C/D/S/D: Minutemen

That driveway party is so awesome! The biggest Minutemen mystery for me is how this working class band from San Pedro raised on CCR and BOC and inspired by punk even accidentally turned into this leftwing jazz-fusion juggernaut.

Been listening to an old cd of Double Nickels in my car over the last couple days. It sounds perfect, especially when compared to Husker Du from the same era. Must have to do with the fact that Minutemen used no distortion at all, no overdubs etc. ive never heard the full Double Nickels with the missing songs.

man that Quietus thing is great, missed that

The thing I found about getting older is the danger is you think you know it all, and I try to fight that, man, 'cause everyone's got something to teach you.

love this dude

Love the shoutout for Tyranny and Mutation. I always knew these guys were into BOC

They covered 'The Red and The Black', twice, and they gave a lyrical shout-out to E Bloom. They were even set to work with him before D Boon's accident. They were demonstrably BOC fans!

Okay so I think any fan will need this book talked about here:

http://larecord.com/interviews/2015/06/04/a-wailing-of-a-town-an-oral-history-of-early-san-pedro-punk-interview

Direct order link here -- hell, I'm getting it now.

http://endfwy.bigcartel.com/product/a-wailing-of-a-town-an-oral-history-of-early-san-pedro-punk-and-more-1977-1985

Yes, can't wait to read it!

What a vast, daunting catalog -- yet approachable. I tried my best.

yeah it's tough to pick 20! I also love "If Reagan Played Disco" and "Jesus & Tequila" and "Corona" and "Cohesion" and "Paranoid Chant"

“The Red and the Black,” named after Stendhal’s classic novel about political intrigue in post-Napoleonic France.

Pretty sure that's a secondhand reference to the color scheme of a police force that works. Dogsled on ice.

I saw somewhere a few months ago where Joe Strummer was asked to name the greatest punk band of all time, and he said something like "Probably the Minutemen, right?"
― andy, Friday, 8 February 2002 01:00 Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Just looked this up because I thought that was pretty cool if Joe did say that, but not quite:

Spin: Who would you say were the ultimate punk band?

Joe Strummer: The Television Personalities

Spin: Really?

Joe Strummer: Well, they're second place. First place are the Ramones. They're the daddy punk rock group of all time. The Television Personalities, they're slightly obscure, but they brought a severe sense of intelligence to it, just at a time when punk needed the piss taken out of it. And three, maybe I'd put in the Buzzcocks. Oh yeah, the Minutemen. Big ups to the Minutemen!

Nice writeup, as usual! A few other favorites of mine: Cut, Take Our Test, My Heart and the Real World

Pretty sure that's a secondhand reference to the color scheme of a police force that works. Dogsled on ice.

Definitely sure it's a Blue Oyster Cult cover.

In which our hero, Mike Watt, pops in to comment on some soundcloud podcast about his music:

https://soundcloud.com/that-record-got-me-high-podcast/s2e50-minutemen-double-nickels-on-the-dime?fbclid=IwAR3yxUNXJJEt98VDR8yWpWgzOvlzX83pV19T_hrF-DtFVGuDEtSJFBXN8RE

you understand we needed to come up w/a bunch of new tunes to make this a double album so for the second batch we asked lots of friends for lyrics so our tunes wouldn't start repeating themselves in regards to spiel. for me also, words coming from different places than myself helped w/coming up w/fresh music ideas. on bass, watt

Valuable piece of insight into the process.

fbclid=IwAR3yxUNXJJEt98VDR8yWpWgzOvlzX83pV19T_hrF-DtFVGuDEtSJFBXN8RE

Interesting Podcast. I've been listening through them since somebody shared the news of the Gun Club Fire of love edition a few months ago. There have been some interesting takes on things.

mike watt really is an american treasure

Nothing earth shattering here, but always great to hear the voice of Watt:

https://www.latimes.com/food/story/2019-09-03/mike-watt-minutemen-san-pedro-busy-bee

Once my wife I spent the better part of day wandering/driving around San Pedro and we ate at some joint cuz I had heard Watt talk about it and it was great.

Unlike a lot of people on this message board I seldom revisit the music of my youth, but recently I decided to take a nostalgic dive and listen to the big four alt rock albums of 1984: Husker Du's Zen Arcade, The Replacements' Let it Be, The Meat Puppets' Meat Puppets II, and The Minutemen's Double Nickels on the Dime.

They all came out when I was 15-16 yrs old and I adored them all back then.

When I listen to them now they all sound really good but the Minutemen album sounds by far the most interesting of the batch. It's got the best grooves, the most intriguing lyrics.

I've mentioned this in another thread, but I'm eternally pissed off that I had a ticket to see the Minutemen opening for REM in 1985 but didn't use it, and D. Boon died only a few weeks later.

Just saw that BGO has a 2cd compilation of the 3 Columbia releases by fIREHOSE Flyin' the Flannel, Mr. Machinery Operator and Live Totem Pole but no Big Bottom Pow Wow . Stumbled on it while looking through the site.
Shame the SST stuff can't be similarly compiled .

The My First Bells tape compilation on SST was a wonderful, wonderful thing, Wore out two of them.

God that was a great tape

I've been listening through them since somebody shared the news of the Gun Club Fire of love edition a few months ago

THat Record Got Me HIgh is a weekly podcast where 2 geezers from somewhere in Florida investigate the contents of an e.p. that has been significant either to them or a guest . There have been some very interesting episodes. Somebody was sharing the news that there was a gun Club Fire of love episode I think a bit after it was on.
http://thatrecordgotmehigh.com/2018/11/22/s1e35-the-gun-club-fire-of-love-with-special-guest-charlie-pickett/
The show started in March last year & is currently on episode 76 with a look at The Fall's Dragnet
http://thatrecordgotmehigh.com/2019/09/07/s2e76-the-fall-dragnet-with-jeffrey-weaver/
which I haven't listened to so far but was the first lp by them I got. Not sure why it was that one since I bought it several years later. I saw them quite a bit between 83 and the late 80s.

I listen to almost all my podcasts on Spotify but I think those links take you to something that will play the specific episodes. It will definitely take you to the list of other episodes.

ok thanks, somehow i misread your post that there was a new edition of the album out. my bad.

"Shame the SST stuff can't be similarly compiled ."

The 3x Post Mersh CDs out there have pretty much everything but Double Nickels and 3 Way Tied for Last.

Could do with a remaster though couldn't they. Isn't that all late 80s stuff.
I have a couple of them somewhere.

I think you're radically overestimating how much "remastering" can even be done to a hardcore 7" from 1983 that was recorded pretty much live in the studio for about $100.

Think the original comment was about the first couple of fIREHOSE lps.
But would like my Minutemen to sound pristine anyway.

The whole of Double Nickels hasn’t even been released on CD, so that’s a good place as any to start

Shame it isn't happening in the near future. I did have momentary hopes when i saw the BGO 2cd thing. Then saw it was major label stuff initially anyway.
Woulo have thought you could get the sound on the material that was on the compiled Post mersh cds to sound a bit better than late 80s cds anyway. BUT would love all that catalogue to be put out in best possible sound the right side of the brickwall problem.

When they invent time travel they can send somebody back with some wad and pay for a more expensive recording in the first place. or is that in danger of the grandfather problem?

Mastering from the actual masters (if they still exist) would be a start, as it's been said many SST CD releases are just vinyl rips (Paganicons, for one).

Doesvanyone actually know, WHY the f--- is Double Nickels not in print??

It isn’t? I thought Greg Ginn would keep it in circulation for the foreseeable.

Not as far as I can tell, pretty much the only release by them not on the sst store. Dont think there has been a vinyl repress for quite some years now.

I asked about this on Steve Hoffman. The rights are still with SST; it’s probably a COVID-related vinyl production snag. The LP was still being sold on their online store last year

Don’t buy it for an inflated price on Discogs or Amazon

Yes, was just looking. Cheapest vinyl copy is £75!

Completed listings on eBay showing a similar trend, if not quite so gougey.

It also appears to be OOP on CD, for what it's worth. Can get a copy got $71 on Amazon, or about $40 on discogs.

Read Beamish13's Hoffmann thread. Would be a real shame if pressing plates were gone with Rainbo.

Snapped up the seemingly very limited 2022 repress on clear vinyl from Discogs this week. Seems identical to the 2008 pressing (run-out grooves and “Mike’s Car Jam” missing from LP1).

You can buy the vinyl directly from SST now that includes a shirt

Coincidentally, I just finished Jim Ruland’s solid book on SST, Corporate Rock Sucks. It’s a bit hampered by the total lack of participation from every Black Flag and Minutemen member save for Keith Morris, and the book doesn’t spend enough time on really worthy artists that fell through the cracks during their 1987 production peak like Opal, but it does paint a relatively comprehensive picture of how the label imploded from within and morphed into a boutique vanity press for Greg Ginn’s shit. I just hope that the company can be dissolved and we can get an accurate assessment of the masters they’re supposedly holding onto. They also need a team of forensic accounts to sift through their bowels

https://www.instagram.com/p/CZmlmScpa2Z/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet
Getting re-cut for a new master??

I saw that. Funny, SST kept Bad Brains’ I Against I OOP for years. The second they reissue all of their other albums, SST represses it and claims they own it in perpetuity

There is a great quote in Ruland’s book about virtually none of SST’s pre-1990 recording contracts being likely to stand up to legal scrutiny. I just wish groups like Husker Du and the Minutemen could get their shit together and make an effort to acquire their works

Fwiw I dont think I've ever heard mike watt give out about his arrangement with sst, whatever it is. Does Bob Mould grumble?
I see all the vinyl options are already out of stock in the sst store. I'd have been shafted with the postage to UK anyway.

Watt always seems loyal to Ginn for whatever reason.

I’d love to know what George Hurley is up to nowadays. I think he’s a contractor?

George recently played a tribute gig for his brother Greg, who died in November. Greg was in Slivers who did a single for New Alliance way back when.