Minutemen - The Punchline

If you've stumbled upon this blog somehow, you probably enjoy the Minutemen to some extent. In fact, I can't recall meeting anyone (online or off) who didn't really like their sound, let alone hate them. This is the first piece of their discography I picked up after catching wind of them back in mid-high school, and it's probably my second favorite album of theirs. I don't know why I keep picking albums that were really pivotal to my musical growth - they're hard to review objectively and I typically end up talking about myself more than the actual album. Whatever, though, this blog has 3 followers. Anyhoo, when the Minutemen first started out, they played super short, speedy, angular, scratchy, jazz/funk-informed punk songs right when hardcore punk was first taking off. I know that descriptor could describe pretty much their entire discography, but the songs on What Makes A Man Start Fires are slightly longer, slower, and more post-punk-y, Double Nickels On The Dime is more rock and pop-based while retaining all their classic elements, and 3-Way Tie For Last is not very good. Oh, also, the songs are long and they're formatted more like regular rock songs with choruses and D. Boon sings everything instead of rhythmically rambling and yelling. It's alright.

But here, almost every song clocks in at under a minute, there's 18 tracks, and the entire album is over in 15 minutes. Namesake-y. Despite the brevity, almost every track on here is memorable and catchy, give or take one or two go-nowheres. I know bringing up the quality of Mike Watt's bass riffs is really obvious (and there's certainly more to the band's sound) but his riffs are easily the most standout feature, and what got me into these guys in the first place. As I mentioned earlier, they're funky as hell, and give the songs a herky-jerky feeling since they're crammed into such short, fast songs. D's guitar playing is really scratchy and sharp sounding, but it's nothing like what he'd go on to do in subsequent releases, and Hurley's drumming is tight and precise. I suck at reviewing tonight.

http://www.mediafire.com/?2yodml2mzi2

I know I haven't exactly made this sound like a dazzling release, but it really is. It's catchy, tight, noisy, fun you can listen to over and over again due to it's teeny running time. I'd probably recommend this to anyone who's never heard the Minutemen - sure it's nowhere near as incredible as Double Nickels, but it's also not as overwhelmingly long for newcomers. Oh, and happy new year and shit. I don't care.