The Minutemen were a punk rock trio which formed in 1980 in San Pedro, Cali… Read Full Bio ↴The Minutemen were a punk rock trio which formed in 1980 in San Pedro, California, United States. The band comprised guitarist/vocalist D Boon and his childhood friend, bassist/vocalist Mike Watt, along with a former high school classmate on drums, George Hurley.
The group played funk influenced punk rock music in the early 1980s, never finding (or even seeking) much mainstream success but influencing many subsequent musicians. The group ended when Boon died in an automobile accident in Arizona in December 1985.
Influences and Creativity
They were influenced heavily by bands such as Wire, Gang of Four, The Pop Group, The Urinals and also funk bands of the late '60s and '70s were an important influence. nearly all of their early songs had unusual structures and were less than a minute long — even later when the Minutemen's music became slightly more conventional, their songs rarely passed the three-minute mark.
Boon and Watt split songwriting fairly evenly (and Hurley made many contributions as well), though Watt rarely sang, and Hurley even less so. Boon's songs were typically more direct and progressively political in nature, while Watt's were often abstract, self-referential "spiels". Lyrics and themes would thus often veer from surreal humor, as in "Bob Dylan Wrote Propaganda Songs" and "One Reporter's Opinion", to the frustrations of blue collar life in California, as in the enduring "This Ain't No Picnic". While many contemporaries rarely displayed a sense of humor, the Minutemen were generally more light-hearted and whimsical. One example of this can be found in the title of their legendary album Double Nickels on the Dime, which poked fun at Sammy Hagar's "I Can't Drive 55" by implying that the Minutemen preferred to take risks with their music rather than behind the wheel of a car. Ironically, D. Boon died in a van accident in which he was not wearing a seat belt and was ejected from the vehicle.
The Minutemen were fans of Captain Beefheart, and echoes of his distinctive music can be heard in their songs, especially their early output. Through most of their career they ignored standard verse-chorus-verse song structures, in favor of experimenting with musical dynamics, rhythm and noise. Later in their career they blended in more traditional song elements they had initially avoided. They also played covers of classic rock songs by bands such as Creedence Clearwater Revival, Steely Dan and Blue Öyster Cult. Their covers were done out of appreciation for those bands' work rather than to be ironic, thereby diverging dramatically from hardcore punk orthodoxy of the 1980s.
History
They originally called themselves The Reactionaries, with additional band member and singer Martin Tamburovich. According to Watt, the name came from a Mao Tse-Tung quote about how all reactionaries are actually "paper tigers".
After the Reactionaries disbanded, Boon and Watt formed The Minutemen in January of 1980; the band's name was derived partly because of the fabled minutemen militia of colonial times, and partly to take the name back from a right-wing reactionary group of the 1960s that used to harass figures like Angela Davis through the mail. After a month with no drummer — during which Boon and Watt wrote their first batch of tunes, the band rehearsed and played a couple of early gigs with local welder Frank Tonche on drums. The group originally wanted George Hurley to join, but he had joined a new wave band called Hey Taxi after the Reactionaries disbanded. Tonche quit the group, citing a dislike of the audience the band initially drew, and Hurley took over the drum seat in June of 1980. (Rehearsal recordings with Tonche on drums later appeared as the posthumous EP Georgeless in 1987.)
Greg Ginn of Black Flag and SST Records produced the Minutemen's first 7" EP, Paranoid Time, which solidified their eclectic style. At first, they completely avoided guitar solos, choruses, and fade-outs. Later, they were known for hybridizing punk rock with forms of jazz, funk, acid rock, and R&B in novel ways, perhaps best exemplified on 1984's double-album, Double Nickels on the Dime. Though still somewhat obscure to mainstream audiences, Double Nickels has been cited as one of the more innovative and enduring albums of the 1980s American rock underground. On Double Nickels, they co-wrote some songs with other musicians, notably Henry Rollins, Chuck Dukowski and Joe Baiza.
The group's early recordings (up until their 1985 12" EP Project: Mersh) were recorded as "econo" (Pedro slang for inexpensive, short for "economic") as possible - the group would book studio time after midnight at cut rates, rehearse the songs prior to going into the studio, record on less expensive used tape, and record the songs in the order they intended to have them on the record rather than waste time editing the master tape during the sequencing phase. In fact, contrary to standard practice even in indie rock, the Minutemen saw records as a way to promote their tours, not the other way around.
The Minutemen toured frequently, but usually for only a few weeks at a time--they all held down day jobs. Their "econo" practices helped ensure that their tours were always profitable, unlike some of their SST peers.
Several Minutemen album sleeves and covers, such as the Paranoid Time EP and What Makes a Man Start Fires? LP and the inner gatefold jacket for Double Nickels, feature drawings by noted artist Raymond Pettibon, who was at the time associated with the SST label, providing sleeves for Black Flag. Other album covers, like on The Punch Line and 3-Way Tie For Last, featured paintings by D. Boon.
Following Boon's death, Watt and Hurley originally intended to quit music altogether. But encouraged by Minutemen fan Ed Crawford, they formed fIREHOSE and have had solo projects since the Minutemen disbanded.
Watt has done three acclaimed solo albums, toured briefly as a member of Porno for Pyros in 1996 and J Mascis and The Fog in 2000 and 2001, and became the bassist for the reformed Iggy Pop & The Stooges in 2003. George Hurley has produced work with Vida, Mayo Thompson and Red Crayola, further indulging the free-form and off-the-wall leanings showcased on Double Nickels.
Legacy
From 1999 until the show's cancellation, an instrumental version of the Minutemen's song "Corona" (off Double Nickels) was the theme song of the MTV television show Jackass.
In 2000 Watt, as administrator of the band's publishing, allowed the auto maker Volvo to use the D. Boon instrumental "Love Dance" (from Double Nickels...) in a car ad. Watt's motivation for licensing the song was actually generosity rather than greed, as Boon's royalties at the time were being paid to his father, who was suffering from emphysema; Watt simply refers to the decision as a way for D. Boon to help his father from beyond the grave.
Since 2001 Watt and Hurley have done occasional gigs, mainly in the L.A. area except for two December 2004 shows in England, playing Minutemen songs as a duet with no guitarist. At some of these gigs, Watt would set up one of D. Boon's old guitars and amps on the side of the stage where Boon used to stand. Rather than cheapen or "vampire" the Minutemen name, these performances, at Watt's insistence, are to be billed strictly as "George Hurley and Mike Watt". They are also now involved in an improvisational music group, Unknown Instructors, with members of Saccharine Trust and Pere Ubu.
The group's career is chronicled in the book Our Band Could Be Your Life, a study of several important American underground rock groups whose title is taken from the lyrics to the Double Nickels track "History Lesson Pt.2"; and the film We Jam Econo — The Story of the Minutemen, which charts the band's history through interviews with Watt, Hurley, Henry Rollins, Flea of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, and other California punk rock contemporaries (Billboard Review). The film premiered at the Warner Grand Theatre in the Minutemen's hometown of San Pedro in February 2005.
In 2003, Watt released his own book on the Minutemen, Spiels of a Minuteman, which contains all of Watt's song lyrics from the Minutemen era as well as the tour journal he wrote during the Minutemen's only European tour with Black Flag, essays by former SST co-owner Joe Carducci, Sonic Youth's Thurston Moore, and Blue Öyster Cult lyricist and longtime Watt hero Richard Meltzer, and illustrations by Raymond Pettibon that had been used in all of the Minutemen's album artwork. The book, released by Quebec-based publisher L'ole De Cravan, is published in both English and French.
Covers and Tributes
Mike Watt has dedicated all of fIREHOSE's releases and his solo albums to the memory of D. Boon. "Disciples of the 3-Way" on fIREHOSE's final studio album Mr. Machinery Operator is about the Minutemen, and "The Boilerman" from Watt's second solo album Contemplating The Engine Room (which parallels the stories of The Minutemen, Watt's father, and the novel The Sand Pebbles) is about D. Boon.
The Minutemen track "Sickles and Hammers" (from Paranoid Time) was covered by Sebadoh on 1991's Sebadoh III.
Sublime (whose lead singer, Bradley Nowell also died prematurely) sampled "History Lesson Part II" (though, only about two seconds of it — specifically, D. Boon saying "Punk rock changed our lives") from Double Nickels... as part of their song "Waiting For My Ruca" in 1992. Watt repaid this salute by appearing in Sublime's video for "Wrong Way" in 1996. Sublime also sampled George Hurley's drum intro from "It's Expected I'm Gone" for their "Get Out! (remix)" on their posthumous release Second Hand Smoke. On their eponymous debut LP, San Diego-based indie rockers Pinback also used the same drum loop from "It's Expected I'm Gone"; in his honor, the band named the track "Hurley."
In 1994, Little Brother Records released the Minutemen tribute CD and LP Our Band Could Be Your Life. The CD version included 33 tracks by artists covering Minutemen songs, plus a track with a D. Boon interview and a live version of the Minutemen song Badges. The LP version had 23 tracks, including the interview and Minutemen items.
Jem Cohen and Fugazi dedicated their 1999 film Instrument to the memory of D. Boon.
The rising indie band Calexico covered "Corona", a staple of their live act for quite some time, on their 2004 EP Convict Pool, adding mariachi trumpets reminiscent of Johnny Cash's "Ring of Fire".
The group played funk influenced punk rock music in the early 1980s, never finding (or even seeking) much mainstream success but influencing many subsequent musicians. The group ended when Boon died in an automobile accident in Arizona in December 1985.
Influences and Creativity
They were influenced heavily by bands such as Wire, Gang of Four, The Pop Group, The Urinals and also funk bands of the late '60s and '70s were an important influence. nearly all of their early songs had unusual structures and were less than a minute long — even later when the Minutemen's music became slightly more conventional, their songs rarely passed the three-minute mark.
Boon and Watt split songwriting fairly evenly (and Hurley made many contributions as well), though Watt rarely sang, and Hurley even less so. Boon's songs were typically more direct and progressively political in nature, while Watt's were often abstract, self-referential "spiels". Lyrics and themes would thus often veer from surreal humor, as in "Bob Dylan Wrote Propaganda Songs" and "One Reporter's Opinion", to the frustrations of blue collar life in California, as in the enduring "This Ain't No Picnic". While many contemporaries rarely displayed a sense of humor, the Minutemen were generally more light-hearted and whimsical. One example of this can be found in the title of their legendary album Double Nickels on the Dime, which poked fun at Sammy Hagar's "I Can't Drive 55" by implying that the Minutemen preferred to take risks with their music rather than behind the wheel of a car. Ironically, D. Boon died in a van accident in which he was not wearing a seat belt and was ejected from the vehicle.
The Minutemen were fans of Captain Beefheart, and echoes of his distinctive music can be heard in their songs, especially their early output. Through most of their career they ignored standard verse-chorus-verse song structures, in favor of experimenting with musical dynamics, rhythm and noise. Later in their career they blended in more traditional song elements they had initially avoided. They also played covers of classic rock songs by bands such as Creedence Clearwater Revival, Steely Dan and Blue Öyster Cult. Their covers were done out of appreciation for those bands' work rather than to be ironic, thereby diverging dramatically from hardcore punk orthodoxy of the 1980s.
History
They originally called themselves The Reactionaries, with additional band member and singer Martin Tamburovich. According to Watt, the name came from a Mao Tse-Tung quote about how all reactionaries are actually "paper tigers".
After the Reactionaries disbanded, Boon and Watt formed The Minutemen in January of 1980; the band's name was derived partly because of the fabled minutemen militia of colonial times, and partly to take the name back from a right-wing reactionary group of the 1960s that used to harass figures like Angela Davis through the mail. After a month with no drummer — during which Boon and Watt wrote their first batch of tunes, the band rehearsed and played a couple of early gigs with local welder Frank Tonche on drums. The group originally wanted George Hurley to join, but he had joined a new wave band called Hey Taxi after the Reactionaries disbanded. Tonche quit the group, citing a dislike of the audience the band initially drew, and Hurley took over the drum seat in June of 1980. (Rehearsal recordings with Tonche on drums later appeared as the posthumous EP Georgeless in 1987.)
Greg Ginn of Black Flag and SST Records produced the Minutemen's first 7" EP, Paranoid Time, which solidified their eclectic style. At first, they completely avoided guitar solos, choruses, and fade-outs. Later, they were known for hybridizing punk rock with forms of jazz, funk, acid rock, and R&B in novel ways, perhaps best exemplified on 1984's double-album, Double Nickels on the Dime. Though still somewhat obscure to mainstream audiences, Double Nickels has been cited as one of the more innovative and enduring albums of the 1980s American rock underground. On Double Nickels, they co-wrote some songs with other musicians, notably Henry Rollins, Chuck Dukowski and Joe Baiza.
The group's early recordings (up until their 1985 12" EP Project: Mersh) were recorded as "econo" (Pedro slang for inexpensive, short for "economic") as possible - the group would book studio time after midnight at cut rates, rehearse the songs prior to going into the studio, record on less expensive used tape, and record the songs in the order they intended to have them on the record rather than waste time editing the master tape during the sequencing phase. In fact, contrary to standard practice even in indie rock, the Minutemen saw records as a way to promote their tours, not the other way around.
The Minutemen toured frequently, but usually for only a few weeks at a time--they all held down day jobs. Their "econo" practices helped ensure that their tours were always profitable, unlike some of their SST peers.
Several Minutemen album sleeves and covers, such as the Paranoid Time EP and What Makes a Man Start Fires? LP and the inner gatefold jacket for Double Nickels, feature drawings by noted artist Raymond Pettibon, who was at the time associated with the SST label, providing sleeves for Black Flag. Other album covers, like on The Punch Line and 3-Way Tie For Last, featured paintings by D. Boon.
Following Boon's death, Watt and Hurley originally intended to quit music altogether. But encouraged by Minutemen fan Ed Crawford, they formed fIREHOSE and have had solo projects since the Minutemen disbanded.
Watt has done three acclaimed solo albums, toured briefly as a member of Porno for Pyros in 1996 and J Mascis and The Fog in 2000 and 2001, and became the bassist for the reformed Iggy Pop & The Stooges in 2003. George Hurley has produced work with Vida, Mayo Thompson and Red Crayola, further indulging the free-form and off-the-wall leanings showcased on Double Nickels.
Legacy
From 1999 until the show's cancellation, an instrumental version of the Minutemen's song "Corona" (off Double Nickels) was the theme song of the MTV television show Jackass.
In 2000 Watt, as administrator of the band's publishing, allowed the auto maker Volvo to use the D. Boon instrumental "Love Dance" (from Double Nickels...) in a car ad. Watt's motivation for licensing the song was actually generosity rather than greed, as Boon's royalties at the time were being paid to his father, who was suffering from emphysema; Watt simply refers to the decision as a way for D. Boon to help his father from beyond the grave.
Since 2001 Watt and Hurley have done occasional gigs, mainly in the L.A. area except for two December 2004 shows in England, playing Minutemen songs as a duet with no guitarist. At some of these gigs, Watt would set up one of D. Boon's old guitars and amps on the side of the stage where Boon used to stand. Rather than cheapen or "vampire" the Minutemen name, these performances, at Watt's insistence, are to be billed strictly as "George Hurley and Mike Watt". They are also now involved in an improvisational music group, Unknown Instructors, with members of Saccharine Trust and Pere Ubu.
The group's career is chronicled in the book Our Band Could Be Your Life, a study of several important American underground rock groups whose title is taken from the lyrics to the Double Nickels track "History Lesson Pt.2"; and the film We Jam Econo — The Story of the Minutemen, which charts the band's history through interviews with Watt, Hurley, Henry Rollins, Flea of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, and other California punk rock contemporaries (Billboard Review). The film premiered at the Warner Grand Theatre in the Minutemen's hometown of San Pedro in February 2005.
In 2003, Watt released his own book on the Minutemen, Spiels of a Minuteman, which contains all of Watt's song lyrics from the Minutemen era as well as the tour journal he wrote during the Minutemen's only European tour with Black Flag, essays by former SST co-owner Joe Carducci, Sonic Youth's Thurston Moore, and Blue Öyster Cult lyricist and longtime Watt hero Richard Meltzer, and illustrations by Raymond Pettibon that had been used in all of the Minutemen's album artwork. The book, released by Quebec-based publisher L'ole De Cravan, is published in both English and French.
Covers and Tributes
Mike Watt has dedicated all of fIREHOSE's releases and his solo albums to the memory of D. Boon. "Disciples of the 3-Way" on fIREHOSE's final studio album Mr. Machinery Operator is about the Minutemen, and "The Boilerman" from Watt's second solo album Contemplating The Engine Room (which parallels the stories of The Minutemen, Watt's father, and the novel The Sand Pebbles) is about D. Boon.
The Minutemen track "Sickles and Hammers" (from Paranoid Time) was covered by Sebadoh on 1991's Sebadoh III.
Sublime (whose lead singer, Bradley Nowell also died prematurely) sampled "History Lesson Part II" (though, only about two seconds of it — specifically, D. Boon saying "Punk rock changed our lives") from Double Nickels... as part of their song "Waiting For My Ruca" in 1992. Watt repaid this salute by appearing in Sublime's video for "Wrong Way" in 1996. Sublime also sampled George Hurley's drum intro from "It's Expected I'm Gone" for their "Get Out! (remix)" on their posthumous release Second Hand Smoke. On their eponymous debut LP, San Diego-based indie rockers Pinback also used the same drum loop from "It's Expected I'm Gone"; in his honor, the band named the track "Hurley."
In 1994, Little Brother Records released the Minutemen tribute CD and LP Our Band Could Be Your Life. The CD version included 33 tracks by artists covering Minutemen songs, plus a track with a D. Boon interview and a live version of the Minutemen song Badges. The LP version had 23 tracks, including the interview and Minutemen items.
Jem Cohen and Fugazi dedicated their 1999 film Instrument to the memory of D. Boon.
The rising indie band Calexico covered "Corona", a staple of their live act for quite some time, on their 2004 EP Convict Pool, adding mariachi trumpets reminiscent of Johnny Cash's "Ring of Fire".
The Punch Line
Minutemen Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I believe when they found the body of General George A. Custer
Quilled like a porcupine with Indian arrows
He didn't die with any honor, any dignity, or any valor.
I believe when they found George A. Custer
An American general, patriot, and Indian-fighter
He died with shit in his pants!
Quilled like a porcupine with Indian arrows
He didn't die with any honor, any dignity, or any valor.
I believe when they found George A. Custer
An American general, patriot, and Indian-fighter
He died with shit in his pants!
The lyrics of Minutemen's The Punch Line reflect the band's political and social views, and their criticism of US imperialism and military glorification. In particular, these lyrics refer to the infamous Battle of Little Bighorn, where George A. Custer led a failed attack against an alliance of Lakota, Cheyenne, and Arapaho tribes, resulting in the death of Custer and most of his troops. The song challenges the heroic narrative often associated with Custer and the US army, and instead suggests that Custer died in a cowardly and humiliating way, marked by his defecation at the moment of death.
By pointing out the undignified death of a celebrated military figure, Minutemen question the validity of wars and the double standards of those who celebrate violence and conquest. Moreover, the lyrics highlight the tragic consequences of imperialism and colonialism, particularly for indigenous communities who have been systematically oppressed and eradicated by Western powers.
Overall, the message of The Punch Line is one of dissent and critique, calling for a re-evaluation of history and the value systems that justify violence and domination.
Line by Line Meaning
I believe when they found the body of General George A. Custer
I have reason to believe that when the deceased body of General George A. Custer was discovered
Quilled like a porcupine with Indian arrows
He was pierced countless times with arrows by Native Americans, resembling the appearance of a porcupine
He didn't die with any honor, any dignity, or any valor.
His untimely death was not in any way respectful or admirable as he displayed no honorable or dignified attributes during his struggles and defeat against the Indian warriors.
I believe when they found George A. Custer
I am convinced that upon discovering George Custer's remains
An American general, patriot, and Indian-fighter
an individual who held the rank and title of a high-ranking military officer in the United States' army, who fought strongly for their country and against Native American people.
He died with shit in his pants!
He died so disgracefully that even his bowels failed him. This serves as a cautionary tale about overestimating your strength and skills.
Contributed by Zachary F. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
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Ramen Vac
1. Search - 0:00
2. Tension - 0:54
3. Games - 2:13
4. Boiling - 3:17
5. Disguises - 4:15
6. The Struggle - 5:03
7. Monuments - 5:43
8. Ruins - 6:35
9. Issued - 7:25
10. The Punch Line - 8:05
11. Song For El Salvador - 8:46
12. History Lesson - 9:18
13. Fanatics - 9:56
14. No Parade - 10:27
15. Straight Jacket - 11:19
16. Gravity - 12:19
17. Warfare - 13:15
18. Static - 14:10
Caio Gabriel Guimarães
1. Search - @0:00
2. Tension - @0:54
3. Games - @2:13
4. Boiling - @3:17
5. Disguises - @4:15
6. The Struggle - @5:03
7. Monument - @5:43
8. Ruins - @6:35
9. Issued - @7:25
10. The Punch Line - @8:05
11. Song For El Salvador - @8:46
12. History Lesson - @9:18
13. Fanatics - @9:56
14. No Parade - @10:27
15. Straight Jacket - @11:19
16. Gravity - @12:19
17. Warfare - @13:15
18. Static - @14:10
Original comment by @TheFunnelWebb
Brian Whitehorn
It's as if these were songs made for the future - it doesn't sound as if it could have possibly come out in '81 or '95 or 2008. Yet it sounds as if it could have existed at any time in the last 45 years. That is the very definition of timelessness.
Bill Chavez
Timeless
thinly veiled alien
@Matthew Mendez well fuckin said my friend
Matthew Mendez
@Ondrya Wolfson I believe you can come up with examples of contemporary artists that sound kinda angular kinda funky kinda punky, but you absolutely cannot name 100 (or 100s) of bands that sound like this. Most things close to this from the 70s/80s took their music in more of a dance punk direction, wrote a chorus or two, stretched their songs out to 5+ minutes, and often had singers who could sing. Or they just made jazz. This is something else. This is militantly anti-imperial working class imagist poetry set against this sort of spastic motorik. It enters at full steam, makes a bold claim, leaves an impression, and then it wants to talk about something else and simply can't calm down. It sounds like a manic episode as experienced specifically by people living in post-war boom times suburban America but reading the news and looking around and just feeling wrong about it all, like, "this isn't fair to to the downtrodden people of the world and it also isn't fair to ME!" Pop Group, Public Image, Liquid Liquid, whatever, none of that shit does what the Minutemen do. They can't. They aren't as free, they aren't as open, they aren't as personal, and they aren't as good.
Ian Henderson
absolutely. thats why they are the greatest rnr band in history.
Ramen Vac
1. Search - 0:00
2. Tension - 0:54
3. Games - 2:13
4. Boiling - 3:17
5. Disguises - 4:15
6. The Struggle - 5:03
7. Monuments - 5:43
8. Ruins - 6:35
9. Issued - 7:25
10. The Punch Line - 8:05
11. Song For El Salvador - 8:46
12. History Lesson - 9:18
13. Fanatics - 9:56
14. No Parade - 10:27
15. Straight Jacket - 11:19
16. Gravity - 12:19
17. Warfare - 13:15
18. Static - 14:10
Charles Chalmers
I have listened to Minutemen more than any other rock band. This album, hundreds of times, and it never ever gets boring, or old. It astounds me how fresh it remains, and how many listens it bears. I can rightly say I revere Minutemen. Bless ya.
Kelly Tyner
Yeah Charles, talented and finely-honed musicians without the ego who are finally getting the attentions from the masses. Hey, I was late to really get into them too; but when I did, it bordered on having to go to anti-Minutemen tunes in my head meetings under some kind of twelve San Pedro steps. They were representative of their environment, and way ahead of most punks like me who were impressed with the intelligence of punk without some of the hardcore hardworking musicianship that the Minutemen are still impressing young cats with. They are drug-like in the need to hear certain tunes(General George A. Custer, stuck like a porcupine with Indian arrows, he DIED WITH SHIT IN HIS PANTS [HAHAHAHA]). classy and classic. cheers.
CouchCutter
I just discovered this band and theres so much material and songs to listen to, its all brand new to me!
Kelly Tyner
welcome to the new obsession, would you like to go to a anti-Minutemen tune in your head meeting today? cheers.