Double Nickels on the Dime (CD - 1984)

The Minutemen: D. Boon (vocals, guitar); Mike Watt (vocals, bass); George Hurley (drums, percussion).

Principally recorded at Radio Tokyo, Venice, California in November 1983 and April 1984. Originally issued as a 2-LP set.

This sprawling double-length release is the Minutemen's undisputed high-water mark, and one of the seminal platters of the post-punk, pre-grunge years. It perfectly encapsulates the strengths shown in their early works, then ups the ante. DOUBLE NICKELS runs the gamut from hardcore funk and honky-tonk to vaguely avant-garde experimentation, jazzy workouts, and a Steely Dan cover.

The level of songwriting has also been turned up several notches. The less-is-more aesthetic is still in effect--most songs last two minutes or so, and the essential elements of scratchy funk guitar and a hard and nimble rhythm section remain. But the canvas is more varied than before, with moments of oddball humor, songs about indoor plumbing, bizarro instrumentals, bits of gentle acoustic guitar. The group plays with its characteristic gusto, infusing songs like "Political Song for Michael Jackson to Sing" and "The Roar of the Masses Could be Farts" with glorious rage. And d. Boon takes aim at such targets as the banality of advertising ("The Big Foist") and the hell of working for the man ("This Ain't No Picnic," one of their best) with articulate bluntness. One of many gems is a funkified live take of Creedence's "Don't Look Now." minimize