Double Nickels On The Dime

A long list of very short songs. Oddly, there was a lot of this that reminded me strongly of Donovan. Aside from the punk rock vocals, this is very melodic. Not sure I'd listen again, but I liked it.

Fair

It's some perfectly alright punk rock, I'm just not excited for it.

that's 20 cents

Not bad, and also not great. ★★★

I can comfortably say this is my favorite album of all time. The only album I've probably listened to hundreds of times. The only album where I felt compelled to learn all forty or so basslines (whether I was successful or not is besides the point; I believe last time I tried I got through disc one at least!). And the only album where its mythos and story are about as interesting as the music itself. This album is my life, man. I think I've always liked the idea of The Minutemen about as much as I enjoy their music, and there is a lot to enjoy. I loved the idea that these were just three average working-class shmoes forming a band and jamming for fun, as a hobby and a way to express themselves. Obviously they'd go on to see incredible success (at least "incredible" for an indie punk band), but their roots of "jamming econo" and recording their early '80s EPs in under an hour while still holding day jobs is just a very relatable position for the average-joe musician. The music I make personally barely sees the light of day, and has made me exactly zero dollars, but the joy I feel making it and sharing it with others is what matters to me. And that's clearly what mattered the most to the Minutemen - doing what they love with the people they love. Because under all the political ramblings and the self-referential abstract tangents of this album is a story about two incredible friends, D. Boon and Mike Watt, doing something they love in the face of general disinterest and apathy. Because these guys were not traditional hardcore punk, yet that was the very scene they were trying to break into. Mike Watt wore old-school flannels, and the band covered "uncool" groups like Creedence and polished soft rock groups like Steely Dan. But they didn't care; they loved each other and the music they were making. There's a live performance video of these guys that predates their debut album where they're quite literally getting spat on and heckled while on stage, all while the smiles on their faces just never cease. Anyways, that's my Minutemen tangent, and I feel it is very important as to why this band and this album are such a huge part of my life. Now, the music. The funny thing is, this album is very far from perfect. The band quite literally admits, pretty blatantly, that Side D of this thing is filled with throwaways. You also get a weird scat and free jazz interlude with 'You Need the Glory' that I want to skip every single time it comes on. But that's part of the fun, isn't it? With 43 songs (even more on the vinyl release) that are **mostly* less than 2 minutes each, you're bound to get hit with something completely off-the-wall and stupid. But a majority of this thing absolutely kills, and the playing here is uncontested by any rock band, let alone punk-rock band, of the '80s. It's really a funny thought though, the way these guys break into solos and jams that last literal seconds before immediately jumping to the next idea. The instrumental interludes on these tracks are like mini "blink-and-you'll-miss-them" bursts of energy that still end up feeling fully realized. For example, in just the one minute and twenty seconds of the opener 'Anxious Mo-Fo', Mike Watt throws out four distinct basslines, D Boon has two verses and two of his iconic trebly, scratchy, angular funk-kissed riffs and then a mini-solo closing it out...all in less than one and a half minutes. It's ridiculous and quite literally the low-attention-span music this generation yearns for. Anyways, it's time to list as many of the incredible moments here as I can. 'Theatre Is The Life Of You' is maybe the most disgustingly funky thing here. Mike's melodic and garbled bassline on this thing is bordering nonsensical in the verses, but the drum-pockets here are insatiable, and again, this song can't stay in one place for more than a few seconds; it's ridiculous. 'Viet Nam' by contrast, is far more organized, effectively making a clearing for D Boon's very straightforward criticisms of American imperialism, a topic he tackles a lot on this album. And the song itself just slaps; it's no wonder it's one of their most well-known; anyone can get down with this. '#1 Hit Song' is meant to be ironic in many ways, but it UN-ironically has one of the catchiest guitar riffs and basslines here despite a very non-melodic vocal delivery from D Boon. It feels like a casual stroll in the park typa thing. 'Two Beads at The End' has an insane instrumental climb to that first drop, just spontaneous tension building and then release. Kind of graphic lyrics on this one; I've never fully understood what it's on about - maybe it's one of those Minutemen inside jokes I'll never fully get. 'Do You Want New Wave or Do You Want The Truth', again, seems like an ironic change in pace, like sitting in a hot spring in some high mountain with some pseudo-intellectual monks spewing their unsolicited wisdom at you. Jokes aside, the lyrics are eye-opening in a lot of ways, and speak to The Minutemen's very "tell it how it is" style of lyricism. I also love the way the bass and guitar lock on this one; it's one of the many gorgeous moments on this album that sprout out of seemingly nothing. 'One Reporter's Opinion' has such an ominous introduction; it's unsettling and bone-chilling, but again, that tension is relieved in less than forty seconds (even though it feels like that intro is crawling around you for minutes at least) to one of Watt's best basslines. He's driving this thing completely with a bassline that jumps across the fretboard like it's nothing as D. Boon sings about him being a "stop sign" and a "dart board" ... ?. 'Political Song for Michael Jackson to Sing' is classic D. Boon political humor, and 'Maybe Partying Will Help' has some of my favorite lyrics by him. The existential spiraling in this song, followed by the "maybe partying will help," before that insane mini guitar, drum, and bass jam is both comedic and too on-the-nose when it comes to the idea of impulsively choosing easy-ticket escapism as opposed to addressing one's own fundamental issues. And when I say this band locks into one another's instruments like it's nothing, I'm referring to parts like the outro of this song. 'Retreat' also has a sort of unsettling feeling to it, especially with the bursts of untamable noise-guitar that jump at you after these very liminal and quiet introspective stream-of-consciousness verses by Boon. 'Corona' is maybe the most digestible song here. D Boon is melodic for one, and he sounds super passionate as he tackles themes of poverty and American greed running rampant in Mexico, using a first-hand anecdote to drive home the image of it. And it has one of the absolute best bass and guitar melodies in punk. 'The Glory Of Man' is another incredible song. The band feels like they're playing at breakneck speed, with no structure, no direction, and constantly jumping between verse, chorus, riff, interlude, and solo like it's nothing. It's one of the longer songs on the album, but, for once, it feels much shorter, like the band is playing under some insane pressure to hit a very hard deadline. I'll mention the interlude 'Take 5, D.' because it again has just an out-of-nowhere guitar melody that's absolutely gorgeous over this random voice snippet of Watt reading a letter from his landlords about not using the shower. I'm so happy these random ass moments exist in this album; they give it so much colour. And then there's 'History Lesson Pt 2', the song that defines The Minutemen, and for me, music. Love, friendship, purpose are maybe the three best words to describe the lyrics of this one. The song is recited in this spoken-word manner by Boon over the most pleasant and cute instrumental here, which has such an encompassing nostalgic warmth to it with twinkling guitar arpeggios and a welcoming bassline. It brings a tear to my eye; I truly believe it's a song that defines the purpose of life, to do what you love with the people you love. That's it. You might be corn dogs in the eyes of the world, but does it really matter? I'll try to race through the second disc here since this review is becoming stupidly long. The first REAL song of Side C (or "Hurley" after the drummer), 'The Roar of the Masses Could be Farts' is without a doubt one of the band's most fiery performances, like an atomic bomb that's been boiling for centuries finally going off in an explosion of adrenaline and energy. I love the walking bassline and disoriented playing of 'The Politics of Time', and the spoken word parts here by Watt and Boon are great. With 'There Ain't Shit on T.V. Tonight,' I always imagine D. Boon sitting on his couch in front of a small TV after a long day at work, talking to himself. The music quite literally sounds like that: nocturnal, subdued, but not entirely dark or foreboding, like an aura of mystery hovering over the whole thing. And Boon's introspection here is as poignant as ever, as he questions his role in the changing political tides and asks himself what he's capable of doing as just one man. Those feelings of powerlessness come back up in another all-timer punk song with 'This Ain't No Picnic,' where D Boon rages over his racist manager at work, but feels unable to quit his job because of the bills he needs to pay. When people say The Minutemen aren't hardcore or punk, show them this song. 'Spillage' has such a great melodic bassline, and the line "The idea of my life seems like a symbol" is quotable to the max. Side "Chaff", the throwaway side, feels like the comedown after such an insane album, but it still has some incredible moments laced throughout. 'Jesus and Tequila' is super catchy and has a sort of country-punk feel to it, and I love how "over it" Boon sounds on this thing (lyrically that is, vocally he's as out-there as ever). 'Dr. Wu' is actually a pretty great cover of the Steely Dan song of the same name, and 'The World According to Nouns' again has that foreboding build like many other songs on this album. And the album ends off on another incredible mini-jam with 'Love Dance'. Honestly, I'm exhausted writing this thing, but I just felt like I had to share all the things I love about this album. The thing is, that's not even all of it; I skipped past way too many incredible songs. But oh well. It's hard to really express how much this album means to me, my outlook on life and the world, and my relationship to music and punk rock. This album is everything to me, honestly, and I feel like it's one of those magical pieces of art that won't ever be replicated. R.I.P D. Boon, and long live Watt and Hurley - you've made this random dude's life so much better.

great album, it's a bit of everything

This one was totally new to me, but boy what a lot of fun!

I don't need to explain why I gave this a one.

A shotgun blast of 43 short punk songs averaging less than 2 minutes in length, none of these songs rise above mediocrity. No song lasts long enough to develop anything interesting, and the vocals are atrocious. Yeah yeah the jackass theme is here, but that doesn't mean this didn't suck ass.

This album would have been passable if the band made a concerted effort to make 10 decent songs instead of 43 short and underdeveloped songs. To add insult to injury after 39 unimpressive tracks, the band completely disrespects Steely Dan by poorly covering one of their finest and jazziest songs. Why even bother covering a complex song like Dr. Wu if the cover only features lazy guitar and vocals? What a disgrace.

Her løser vi verdens problemer og politikk. You need the glory🥰😤 Kule rifs. kan sikkert treffe bedre en dag, vakke dagen Må ha vært hele 80tallets album, lagd i 84 jo

Litt røff start... litt skeptisk, men blei bitt av basillen innen two beads at the end Litt rart album egt, koffår e alle sangene så korte? I like it corona introen kom på og eg bare... "no way... joda" Take 5, D va kul, likte å værme på øverommet på slutten:) My heart the real world, surfrock i like it Repeat var åg kul Beste sang: Two beads at the end

What a discovery! I'd never heard of these guys - really like them!

Loving it, so full of energy. It does feel like a mix of genres and doesn't really feel like any other band out there. I had to wait a day and give a repeat listen to properly rate it, but it's deserves a 5, an achievement for music new to me

Not necessarily a bad album, but for something so long it sucks when there aren't any standout tracks.

Best year in U.S. punk rock history by far. I’ve thought hard about this but it’s hard to argue really. In 1984 the Replacements released Let It Be, Husker Du released Zen Arcade, and Minutemen released this brilliant record which sounded nothing like anything else that was in the punk rock scene or any other album anywhere- really. I’ve listened to this record hundreds of times over the past 40 years and was lucky enough to see them perform live several times. Hurley, Watt and Boon brought joy to punk rock and an authentic curiosity to their corner of the punk rock scene. Not your average punk rock record with bass playing by Watt that clears the way for the existence of Primus. The record jump around a number of topics including those of both a political and philosophical nature that makes it one of the few punk rock records that forces you to listen and think rather than shouting the message fir effect. When this came out originally, it didn’t all work for me. Sure, there are obviously some immediately catchy “hits” such as Corona, Vietnam, and History Lesson Pt2 which remain classics to this day. When I actually “got” the record was ten years later in my mid-30s and it was the section beginning with Political Song For Michael Jackson to Sing through God Bows To Math. Then I understood that these 3 truly working class dudes from San Pedro were onto something bigger than themselves. D Boon had died in 1985, a year after this record was released at 27. I was two years younger and had grown up in Canada’s punk rock scene and that death reverberated throughout Canada and the U.S. I moved to LA in 1986 and without the Minutemen the rest of the 80s sucked. Looking back to my reconnecting with this record in the early 90s influenced my thinking beyond just enjoying the music. These songs are a call to action- a protest of sorts- against complacency and blind following and obedience. The record is also about possibilities as well as accepting who you are and where you are from. Few records are so distinctive that they leave a lasting impression let alone a lifetime impression. So, if this record hasn’t clicked for you yet, give it a few more spins. It is so subversive as to its influence. It has many layers such that each listen provides a different experience adding to the power of this record. 5/5

This album sounds very lazy. Just a bunch of meaningless songs.

Ou nice, very nice - harnomized between melodic and raw sound, unexpectedly sophisticated

This was different in a very fun and cool way actually. I liked this a lot, this is funk meets punk and actually sounds great. I want more of this experimental stuff on this list and less of the same sounding 50s and 60s stuff.

Meh.

I'm grateful for what this sound grew into, but this isn't quite what I want from punk music.

I found this album after I’d found many bands that were influenced by it, subsequently its appeal became mostly academic. It’s too long and the songs are too short and everything is too scattered and too random and too much.

Post-Punk/Art Punk/Post-Hardcore Favorite Songs: …too many to list off, so instead, my top three are Viet Nam, Corona, and West Germany. Least Favorite Song: Don’t Look Now (don’t have an issue with live songs, but man, this was not mixed good.) I was first frightened by the fact that there were 45 songs on this album, 43 if you listened to it on Apple Music, but thankfully, all of these tracks are very short on time, I believe none of them even go past the three minute mark. In comparison to the other punk album that I received from the site Suicide’s self titled album, this punk album was an absolute of a breathe of fresh air. The songs on the album have a lot of short messages in the tracks, and while they can become samey instrumentally, it’s the songs’ lyrics that would leave an overall lasting impact about the at the time current climate of the world. Overall, wasn’t a massive punk fan before, but this might be the album that could convince me otherwise. 8/10.

Yeah, I soon had enough of that.

This singer is so fucking annoying

La réponse des Minutemen au Zen Arcade de Hüsker Dü. J'adore cet album que je veux me procurer en vinyle depuis des années.

okay celui-ci je suis vachement impressionné. Ça a pris une 2e écoute attentive, parce qu'en bruit de fond, ça le fait pas vraiment, trop d'idées dans 1000 directions. Mais on touche à une vitesse fulgurante à du punk, du post-punk, du blues, du folk, du country, du pur rock-a-billy, du genre de hip-hop, du funk. J'entends là des Talking Heads par moment, du noise rock/grunge comme Pixies ou Nirvana. Du proto-punk à la Stooges par moment, du rage against the machine. Mais tout ça marche plutôt. L'album double le pllus improbable qui m'ait été donné d'écouter. Seul petit problème avec cet album: c'est quoi le contexte où on écoute ça ?

Classique punk!

This was one of those listen-and-appreciate, but probably not come back. Punk was dead by the time this album was put out, and yet the Minutemen put out a perfect Post-punk album with a bipolar dichotomy. One on hand, it sounds like garage tapes and on the other it is a honed machine with superb musicality. The first five songs are classic punk: raw; dirty; hardly structured. And then they drop a flamenco guitar driven Cohesion and Do you Want New Wave Or… on you, still punk but …not. More raw punk, followed by HonkyTonk Corona. I think there is nothing more punk than not being punk, and doing it really well. Like Superman said, “nothing is more punk than pink!” Key songs for me were The Glory of Man and Political Song for MJ, which is a song worthy of returning for. This album was either late or before it’s time. I can’t decide.

Random thoughts: * This has a little early RHCP feel. Not sure what it is. Maybe just the ethos/alternative of the 80s. Maybe the bass. * Jackass them song in Corona! I had no clue. I love when random pop knowledge collides. * I listened to this straight through back to back. This is really good. I’m not sure how to define it though as they cover so many genres and sounds. Maybe just early alternative. * I’m definitely going to listen to this one again. * So much happening on this album, hard to pick out specific songs but I was jamming along. This does seem to be a hidden gem due to the fact that the lead singer died unexpectedly. Feels like they would have gone on to be a huge success. * This is a perfect example of why I started this whole crazy 1001 thing to begin with!

This is something I can put on and enjoy but ultimately am unlikely to. The songs were fine and listenable but ultimately never really connected with me.

This was okay.... Then it became annoying

This felt more like a bunch of concepts of songs rather than an album of completed tracks, which got more frustrating to listen to the longer the album went on. Standout Tracks: None Rating: 1.5

I always cringe when a band is described as american punk. Its usually pretty crap with a horrible affected accent with the vocal. This was not what I expected at all, There was some great guitar and very decent drumming. Vocal was a bit crap. I enjoyed the album so really good songs on it. Too long I was starting to get bored towards the end.

Music is excellent. Guitar is fucking brilliant. Vocal is crap. Overall is decent. I dread double albums, they're too long. This one was easier to get through than most. This was like Primus meets Talking Heads, but better.

BEFORE: I know this, but not well. Pretty classic punk album, if memory serves. AFTER: D. Boon was an incredible talent taken too soon. I love complex compositions deployed in the service of a punk attitude. Everyone here is at the absolute top of their game. While it's musically very different and far less polished, this reminded me of Refused's The Shape of Punk to Come in the scale of its ambition and quality of execution. There is definitely more jazz / funk / post-punk influence than I remember from previous listens. Will try to keep this high level given the album is so long. HIGHLIGHTS: Favourite tracks here were Theatre Is The Life Of You, Cohesion, Two Beads At The End, Maybe Partying Will Help, Retreat, Corona (the soundtrack to a thousand gratuitous injuries), History Lesson Part 2, You Need the Glory, The Roar of the Masses Could Be Farts, The Politics of Time, Jesus and Tequila, Storm in My House, Love Dance. LOWLIGHTS: Few and far between. I guess the CCR and Steely Dan covers are a bit unnecessary when the originals here are so strong. VERDICT: 5 stars. An incredible record. Going into my regular rotation.

O.O Mein Gesicht als das Jackass Intro kam, hahahaha

Erwartungsvoller Beginn, aber dann stark abgenommen. Eigentlich kein schlechter Sound (Gitarre, Bass, Schlagzeug), aber der Gesang war extrem nervig. Bonuspunkt für Jackass-Intro.

Fand ich echt guten angenehmen Punk

Oh man! I love these guys......also Fugazi...they rip too! Admittedly, I am not the biggest fan of either band, I enjoy both but am not super aware of all things with either camp. The moral of this really poorly written review is that if you play me a random Fugazi song and said it was the Minutemen, I would believe you, and enjoy it.

Pro punk, mwah

The backing music reminds me a lot of Red Hot Chilly Peppers (but the vocals are pretty different, more punk). It's refreshing to hear an album where all the songs are like 1-2 minutes long, though there are 43 songs so it's not a short album. Most of it was a fun listen, with just a few annoying interludes (e.g. "Take 5, D").

This reminds me a lot of 69 Love Songs both in length and song count, but also because both albums manage to side step the problems that come with those things by keeping a lot of the songs playful, loose and short. I enjoyed this overall.

Tight and punchy with the upbeat inflection of Dead Milkmen or Dead Kennedy - but a little more straightforward in feel, like Bad Religion. Enjoyed some of the mellower songs most (History Lesson Part 2, the instrumental Cohesion). My only note is it's a bit long - but otherwise a fun listen.

music is love

I like the sound of this album and appreciate its (relative) variety, but I really don’t need this to be so long. The band’s commitment to stripped-back punk simplicity means it can’t help but be monotonous after a certain point, ergo the (relative) tag.

I’m going to irreparably damage my indie credentials here but I don’t fully gel with this album. I love History Lesson, and I like Viet Nam, but I find a lot of the album too sparse and lacking structure to really get it

Respect the commitment. These boys can play

# Album Name: Double Nickels On The Dime # Artist: Minutemen # Rating: 2/5 # Comments: Too Long # Top Tunes: Corona # Would I listen to it again? No

I really liked this. Great vibes. They seemed like serious musicians who didn't take themselves seriously. The song titles themselves are entertaining. I'd like to listen to this more. Great basslines.

This is a pretty special punk album. The vocals from D. Boon are nothing special, some would argue he sounds like shit but this is a punk album and it works. It works because D. Boon is a poet and Mike Watt and George Hurley back up that poetry with good variety over the course of 43 songs. All that being said, while I do like this album quite a bit, I don’t share the same absolute love for it that others do. I absolutely understand the adoration though. 4 stars

This wasn’t my favourite

Cool classic punk album. Never heard of the minutemen before. But the opening riff of Corona is incredibly nostalgic to the Jackass series which teenage me was always psyched to watch with the boys.

Interesting history and lore to this album, cool naming for the title as well. Going the speed limit on highway 10, (5+5 on the 10), ironic for a punk band. However I don't think I love their style of punk other than a few moments here or there on the album. One thing I don't love about certain punk albums is how each song is like a minute long. So the album ends up being like 50 songs. I'm into the fact that each member of the Minutemen sort of drafted their own songs onto their respective sides of the album, having the 4th side be the leftover scraps. But for a song to really pop up, build, or have more depth to it, I feel like the song length needs to be a bit longer from time to time.

Uh not good. Don’t care for the genre

Fun punk funk music

Listened

Listening to this, I could hear so many future influences that were really clear. Loved the satirical parts, the folk punk beginnings, and the overall performance. But this is just too many notes Herr Mozart, the album just keeps going on, it makes even the good ones less interesting and stand out less, and I got tired of it. It’s not even that long in time, just in tracks.

The musicians are talented enough, the ideas are solid, the execution doesn't do it for me. Normally I'm all for fast paced, short, punk songs. It feels like this tie the songs need to breathe a little more. This was like an amuse bouche gone wrong. Instead of enticing me in, I just started tuning out. The length of the album isn't wrong, but I never engaged with any individual track. I can hear the influence on other work, especially the paired down sound with the funk bass. Lyrically, the vocals passed me by. Without time for a hook and with as short as the songs were, unless I was reading along the lyrics, I barely noticed what songs were about.

Garage punk, and an absolute speed run through 40 or so songs

When the first song played, I sighed, because I initially didn’t like the singer’s voice. And then I sighed looking at how long the track list was. But oh my god, this album truly won me over with its inventive, new wave sound that still tends toward punk, and its total humor. Every song felt fresh, and even though I still think the vocalist sounds like a podcaster, I think his delivery is really unique and has a lot of emotion. A casual San Pedro W.

I did not like the vocals on this recording and most of it was too jam band sounding for me.

Hey look! It’s the “Jackass” theme! I liked the album. I didn’t like the lead singer’s vocal style. Liked the playing more.

Infectious and addictive

You know, I was going to be more charitable and give this maybe a two. For most of the album that was my mindset - but after 25, 30, 40 songs I’m fed up. There were some cool sounds but cool sounds alone do not a good song make.

‘Double Nickels on the Dime’ is the third studio album by the American punk band Minutemen. Until now, I had never heard of the album or the band. Surprisingly, although it is a punk album, it is fortunately not punk rock. From the very first track, it's clear that the trio are exceptional musicians. Bassist Mike Watt stands out in particular with his original and technically demanding bass lines, but singer and guitarist D. Boon and drummer George Hurley are also masters of their craft. The double album consists of over 40 short tracks in a variety of styles, ranging from etude-like acoustic guitar solos to post-punk, hardcore and a kind of anti-funk. It even includes bizarre cover versions of songs by Van Halen, CCR and Steely Dan. The result is a furious blend of the raw energy of Talking Heads' 1977 debut and the style of hardcore punk icon Henry Rollins, who incidentally contributed lyrics to one of the album's tracks. While I haven't understood or liked everything on the album, the originality of the music and their fearless exploration of different genres commands my utmost respect. This exceptional album is made even better by its three highly talented musicians and songwriters. The average rating is therefore an accurate reflection of the brilliant five-star tracks and the filler that you can safely skip. It's one of the best albums with a 'punk label' that I've discovered recently (i.e. not at the time of its release or shortly afterwards).

That guitar guy is absolutely shredding it. His efforts and ability really elevate this. Wow. This was a journey.. I don't know what I expected, but I enjoyed it. I flew in totally blind and left impressed. Super short songs, varied but competent music, and strong political messaging. Nice! I'll be back. (4/5)

Oh, I get it! The MINUTEmen. Because most of their songs are about a minute long, right? Seriously, this band (or at least this album) should have been called ADHD, as that's an incredibly apt description of what's going on here. Just about the time you start to like a track, it's over and onto the next one, almost as though each were a concept of a song rather than a fully realized, multi stanza effort. Definitely prefer the music itself to the vocalist, though the lyrics are pretty hilarious or effectively vitriolic, in their turn. Can't miss the shades of Talking Heads, David Bowie, Weezer, the Beastie Boys, and several others that are blended in here, some of which was very enjoyable, but most of which seemed not to give a damn if you enjoyed it or not. Rounding this one up from a 3.5/5, and intrigued anough to revisit and explore some of their other stuff when I get the opportunity.

154. Double Nickels On The Dime - Minutemen (1984) 7.26.26 Variety: 4 Adequacy: 5 Listenability: 5 Uniqueness: 5 Emotionality: 3 = 4.4 rounded down to a 4 ""I live sweat, but I dream lightyears/ I am the tide, the rise and the fall" Yet another on the list that I have very vague memories of, having listened to it at the prompting of some other curated list way back when. I ended up keeping around 20 of the tracks, so that's good news I guess. The only track I remember with any real detail is the one used for the Jackass theme, which I think colors the band in my mind as much more of a cowpunk act that they ever were, as I also know that this one is stylistically all over the place. Let's see what the quantity to quality ration is. In the spirit of brevity ( which this album seems to be wholly invested in) I'll try to keep my impressions of each song brief. THE TRACKS Side D. "Anxious Mo-Fo" - Watt's powerful bass work here is the key element, and this is much jammier than anyone must have expected from a hardcore band at the time. As has been noted elsewhere and probably by anyone who has ever reviewed these guys, D. Boon is not the most talented vocalist. But he's got a magnetic delivery, and it's the right one for this material. I wonder if he was influenced at all by the likes of David Thomas from Pere Ubu. "Theatre Is the Life of You" - Loose and a very nice groove going on here. Boon's noodly guitar is not my favorite, but nothing that grates. "Viet Nam" - Much more cohesive ideas in this track, with, if not some Talking Heads influence, then at least some Gang of Four maybe. Very Good, if brief bit of dance funk punk. Maybe it's more fair to say they had similar influences as those other bands. Either way, this was very tasty stuff. And the one thing I doubt I will be able to knock them on is any sort of plodding, slow songs that exhaust their ideas. "Cohesion" - A very pretty bit of classical guitar runs, with a bit of Tex-Mex influence, and one of the tracks that remains in my 5-star list to this day. Beautiful. "It's Expected I'm Gone" - Great clean live in the studio sound, especially on these drums. I can see stuff like this going on to become an influence on acts like Cake. A shole HOST of 90s indie and post rock guys ripped off this ambling kind of delivery though for sure. More of that noodling that I'm not big on though. "#1 Hit Song" - Speaking of those Cake influences... This felt much more put together and solid of an attempt. This is the band operating as a unit, and the tiny bit of noodling we get feels much more in service of the whole. "Two Beads at the End" - The Pere Ubu influence comes in strong here in the instrumentation as well as the vocal delivery. Pixies would expand upon this formula and take it into more pop friendly vistas, but this kind of crunchy, jazzy approach to song structure that works for me. "Do You Want New Wave or Do You Want the Truth?" - Another from my 5-star list. A very pretty bit of guitar work supported by some sparse, and gentle drums and a lovely bass line. Boon's vocals here are more poetry reading than singing, which would normally drive me crazy, but he kills it and it's entirely appropriate for the song. This could have went on for another 5-6 minutes and I would have been fine with that. Aces. "Don't Look Now" - The first big misstep. Though when you pack nearly 50 songs into a 72:00 runtime, there are going to be casualties. First of all, they chose to cover nobody's favorite Creedence song, and doubly the audio quality is garbage. A slightly better quality version can be found on a live set they recorded in '85 for anyone interested: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Fe_7qxlW-Q "Shit from an Old Notebook" - Great messaging, and the music is fine enough to make it palatable, but not very engaging or memorable. "Nature Without Man" - Hell yeah. This is great. More of that Gang of Four =, danceable agitprop feel. A fully realized idea in 1:45. This is the sort of thing that I can see would make a disaffected youth really start to resent prog-rog bloat ( coming from someone who loves a great deal of the stuff). Efficiency, groovy, and with some catchy ass guitars to boot. "One Reporter's Opinion" - There's enough to like about this one instrumentally, but at 1:50 it still manages to be a bit repetitive. Not a terrible ratio of hits to misses for the first disc, with about half making it to the top of the list, and only one real lemon in the crate. Side Mike "Political Song for Michael Jackson to Sing" - I guess this is political in an elliptical way? Anti nazi at the very least? This one didn't leave much of an impression "Maybe Partying Will Help" - This one was a big messy jam, and even the bass work got into meaningless noodling. "Toadies" - A step back in the right direction, this one had some personality at least. The scratch guitar work was interesting, and the quiet breakdown added a lot of dynamics. "Retreat" - I was getting worried for a second there, but the guys are back in form with with some free jazz that gets interrupted by some very cool occasional freakouts. This reminded me of some stuff by Dismemberment Plan that is another 15 years off in the future. "The Big Foist" - More good playing, but other than the ding-dong bell ringing guitar line, there was not much here for me. A much harder lean into the spoken word performance aspect as well. "God Bows to Math" - This one works a lot more, especially with the swinging jazz drums "Corona" - Yet another 5-star track. This one made famous a decade and some change later by being used in a protracted form as the theme sing to MTVs's Jackass. Cowpunk perfection with one of Boon's best vocal performances. This hits all the sweet spots for me. "The Glory of Man" - Followed by another 5-star. This is maybe my favorite of theirs. Up there with the best dance punk from the likes of ESG, Gang of Four, the Bush Tetras and all the rest. Tight as fuck, with a laser focus and enigmatic but awesome lyrics. All three guys kill it on this one. One of the longer songs on this thing, and it does not suffer one lick for it. "Take 5, D." - This was funny, with what reads like a message scrawled out to a house guest warning them recent plumbing issues. The last third is just the sounds of them warming up though, and not sure it was worth the 1:40. "My Heart and the Real World" "My Heart and the Real World" - This was a fun, breezy one that seemed to nod in the direction of some 60s garage pop. "History Lesson – Part II" - A very catchy bit of band auto-bio, and source for the title of a great book "Our Band Could Be Your Life" by Michael Azerrad about American indie music in the 80s. Highly recommended. Side George "You Need the Glory" - A mostly percussive instrumental with Boon doing some comedy scatting over top. Very atmospheric and entertaining, and reminiscent of some more serious takes on the same concept by Jim Thirlwell. "The Roar of the Masses Could Be Farts" - A very blistering bit of funk punk, with some stop-starts that really give this some BIG energy. "Mr. Robot's Holy Orders" - A track only available on the vinyl, so had to track this one down. Wasn't too hard though. A very plain, but fine extended ( mostly) instrumental with some psych guitar stylings. Nothing special. Would make decent chase music on a movie I guess. "West Germany" - Another perfectly fine one, this time with more obvious politics. Anti-fascist dance music is something I can get behind. "The Politics of Time" - Similar messaging, but with more of a avant-garde free jazz jam feel. Nothing to write home about but another notch in their belt as far as listenability. "Themselves" - A great showcase for George Hurley's drumming, and just catchy enough to make it into the top tier. Despite liking so much of what's going on, I'm still surprised at just how much is not falling into the cracks and landing in the lowlight, given the number of tracks. "Please Don't Be Gentle with Me" - Heavy on the funk guitar, lite on anything memorable "Nothing Indeed" - This one swings quite a bit, and has a very fun progression. The bass on this whole album has been top notch and this is as good an example as any. "No Exchange" - Another of their best in my opinion. Everything about this slaps. Hard. Very pessimistic content, but a bass line that lifts the entire song up and as the volume soars and then crashes like a wave hitting a wall, gives the song itself a sort of positive feel. "There Ain't Shit on T.V. Tonight" - Awesome rhythms on this one and lyrics that have more than stood the test of time. Maybe even more applicable now than ever. "This Ain't No Picnic" - Ah, capitalism... An anthemic lament about shitty ass jobs and the inescapable dehumanization that comes with them. And all with a catchy chorus. This was yet another good one. These guys are racking them up. "Spillage" - Great moody opening. This sounds like Sublime should have maybe covered it at some point. Fun stuff. Side Chaff "Untitled Song for Latin America" - In case it wasn't entirely clear by this point, their opinion of Reagan and his cronies, and their murderous double-dealing very clear here. I can here some surf rock influences here, especially in those "Wipeout" drum rolls. "Jesus and Tequila" - A catchy s hell ascending/ descending guitar riff anchors this one, and gives it planet of flavor to set it apart from everything around it. "June 16th" - An memorable instrumental full of nervous energy and a slight bit of menace. The twangy guitar reminded me a bit of some of the playing you might here on a Pavement album, dancing around and playing away from the established rhythms. "Storm in My House" - Loved the guitar tone on this as it felt very power poppish. Then it switches over to a crunchier repetitive riff over the vocals. "Martin's Story" - The guitar and bass swirl around each other, forming a kind funky little tornado of a song that spins itself out when the drums get caught in the vortex. "Ain't Talkin' 'bout Love" - This was fun, but way too short and of a lesser audio quality. There's a much better, longer version on the SST compilation The Blasting Concept Volume II: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-pFRP5hQVoc "Dr. Wu" - The band stretches even further with a cover of a Steely Dan track off Katy Lied. I guess the jazz influences make it make a little bit of sense. But not a fan or the original, and this felt too out of their wheelhouse, even with all the changes, and felt more like a joke song. "Little Man with a Gun in His Hand" - Well damn, more material that's sadly just as relevant today. Might as well just have this keyed up to play over the nightly news credits every few weeks when another incel nutjob goes on a rampage. "The World According to Nouns" - Bringing us into the home stretch we get an at first chill number that grows and swells and bursts with just a bit of anger that deflates again into some cool martial drum rolls. "Love Dance" - More future shades of Cake here as we end things on bouncy, delightful little instrumental. It didn't melt my face off or anything, but felt like the perfect music to play as the band leaves the stage and the lights go up, and the audience begins to shuffle toward the exit. HIGHLIGHTS ( those marked with an * are the tippiest top of the tip top) - "Viet Nam" - "Cohesion" * - "#1 Hit Song" - "Two Beads at the End" - "Do You Want New Wave or Do You Want the Truth?" * - "Nature Without Man" - "Corona" * - "The Glory of Man" * - "History Lesson – Part II" * - "The Roar of the Masses Could Be Farts" - "Themselves" - "Nothing Indeed" - "No Exchange" * - "There Ain't Shit on T.V. Tonight" - "This Ain't No Picnic" - "Spillage" - "Untitled Song for Latin America" - "Jesus and Tequila" - "June 16th" - "Storm in My House" - "Little Man with a Gun in His Hand" - "The World According to Nouns" MIDLIGHTS - "Anxious Mo-Fo" - "Theatre Is the Life of You" - "It's Expected I'm Gone" - "Shit from an Old Notebook" - "One Reporter's Opinion" - "Political Song for Michael Jackson to Sing" - "Toadies" - "God Bows to Math" - "My Heart and the Real World" - "You Need the Glory" - "Mr. Robot's Holy Orders" - "West Germany" - "The Politics of Time" - "Please Don't Be Gentle with Me" - "Martin's Story" - "Ain't Talkin' 'bout Love" - "Love Dance" LOWLIGHTS - "Don't Look Now" - "Maybe Partying Will Help" - "The Big Foist" - "Take 5, D." - "Dr. Wu" FINAL THOUGHTS *WHEW* - that was a bit of a rollercoaster ride. As much as I liked it overall ( only 5 losers out of 44 tracks!) it was a tiny bit front loaded, with Side Mike yielding the most of the cream of the crop. A quick glance tells me that the tracks left on my iPod are mostly accounted for in those highlights, with a few extra surprise additions this go around. This was a blast to revisit and even though that's a hell of a spare tire hanging out there in the middle, it was all very listenable still and the ration of high hitter was still pretty good, ending up with a solid 50% in the highlights, 39% in the middle, and only 11% that I deemed unlistenable. And even those weren't offensive. Now, would I have preferred a MUCH tighter, more focused set of tracks? Sure. I think that would have made this a lot easier to deem a certified classic given that it's got 6 AMAZING tracks on it. But then I'd still be grading on a curve and some of those top 22 would be shunted down into the middle and we're back where we started. This feels like a very solid, easy 4 to me. It's not up there with my favorite albums, and despite loving quite a bit of it, and being entertained all the way through, it's not one I can see myself throwing on to revisit any time soon. Those best tracks will get regular rotation to be sure though. And I'll certainly be visiting more of their catalogue that I haven't gotten around to yet. PLAYLIST ALTERATIONS - ditch the lowlights FURTHER LISTENING - Entertainment! by Gang of Four - Fear of Music by Talking Heads - Youth of America by Wipers - Vs. by Mission of Burma - Zen Arcade by Hüsker Dü - Fashion Nugget by Cake - Emergency and I by Dismemberment Plan

“I make certain, that my head is connected to my body.” This album was a revelation! I can’t say for certain I’ve never heard of these guys but I have no memory of them and didn’t know what to expect before pressing play on the album. What unfolded before me was nothing short of astounding given the sound and the year this album came out. I think I fell in love. Those noodling guitar riffs, that playful bass, and the impish sensibility that covers the entire proceedings. All 43 of the tracks! This is like pure distilled garage punk administered in small, less than 2-minute, doses. Nothing on this album fell flat for me. It kept me constantly engaged and I enjoyed every moment. How can you not with lyrics like “If we heard mortar shells, we’d cuss more in our songs, and cut down on guitar solos.” *cue guitar solo* Perfection. I don’t know who on the Jackass production team was a fan of this band, but damn if they didn’t select the perfect album to lift a track from for the theme song. In doing so they ensured for both entities this is the soundtrack to immortal fame. Stupid crazy immortal fame, or infamy. I only had a Corona. 5/5 deposit.

Double Nickels On The Dime Minutemen 1984 Genres: Rock, Punk Styles: Alternative Rock, Post Hardcore, Post Punk, Hardcore 1. Anxious Mo-Fo (★★★☆☆) - Contexto: Ansiedad, estrés y sensación de vivir constantemente bajo presión. 2. Theatre Is the Life of You (★★★☆☆) - Contexto: La vida vista como una representación donde todos interpretan papeles. 3. Viet Nam (★★⯨☆☆) - Contexto: Crítica a la Guerra de Vietnam y a las consecuencias humanas de los conflictos. 4. Cohesion (★★★★★) - Contexto: Reflexiona sobre la unión entre personas e ideas. -Fav 5. It's Expected I'm Gone (★★★★☆) - Contexto: Sentimiento de ser descartable y de que la sociedad espera tu desaparición. -Fav 6. #1 Hit Song (★★★⯨☆) - Contexto: Sátira de la industria musical y de la obsesión por fabricar éxitos. 7. Two Beads at the End (★★★⯨☆) - Contexto: Metáfora sobre la identidad y el paso del tiempo. 8. Do You Want New Wave or Do You Want the Truth? (★★★★☆) - Contexto: Crítica a quienes prefieren las modas antes que la honestidad artística. -Fav 9. Don't Look Now (★⯨☆☆☆) - Contexto: Versión de Creedence Clearwater Revival sobre desigualdad y privilegios. -Comentario: Un asco de sonido, más allá de ser en vivo, está muy poco cuidado y no hace más que restar. 10. Shit from an Old Notebook (★★★☆☆) - Contexto: Ideas dispersas y observaciones cotidianas convertidas en canción. 11. Nature Without Man (★★★⯨☆) - Contexto: Imagina un planeta funcionando perfectamente sin la humanidad. 12. One Reporter's Opinion (★★★☆☆) - Contexto: Cuestiona la objetividad del periodismo. 13. Political Song for Michael Jackson to Sing (★★★☆☆) - Contexto: Ironiza sobre cómo una estrella del pop podría transmitir mensajes políticos. 14. Maybe Partying Will Help (★★⯨☆☆) - Contexto: Burla a quienes intentan escapar de sus problemas mediante la diversión. 15. Toadies (★★⯨☆☆) - Contexto: Ataque contra los aduladores y oportunistas. 16. Retreat (★★⯨☆☆) - Contexto: Habla de retirarse antes de perder la propia integridad. 17. The Big Foist (★★★☆☆) - Contexto: Crítica al engaño y las falsas promesas. 18. God Bows to Math (★★★⯨☆) - Contexto: Reflexión filosófica sobre la lógica y las leyes naturales. 19. Corona (★★⯨☆☆) - Contexto: Retrato de la vida sencilla y de la identidad del sur de California; luego sería famosa como tema de Jackass. 20. The Glory of Man (★★★⯨☆) - Contexto: Examina las contradicciones y limitaciones de la naturaleza humana. 21. Take 5, D. (★⯨☆☆☆) - Contexto: Breve experimento instrumental dedicado a D. Boon. 22. My Heart and the Real World (★★★★☆) - Contexto: El conflicto entre ideales personales y realidad. -Fav 23. History Lesson – Part II (★★★☆☆) - Contexto: Autobiografía de la banda y declaración de principios. 24. You Need the Glory (★⯨☆☆☆) - Contexto: Crítica a la búsqueda obsesiva de reconocimiento. 25. The Roar of the Masses Could Be Farts (★★★⯨☆) - Contexto: Ridiculiza el poder de las multitudes y la opinión popular. 26. West Germany (★★★☆☆) - Contexto: Observaciones sobre la Alemania Occidental durante la Guerra Fría. 27. The Politics of Time (★★⯨☆☆) - Contexto: Cómo el tiempo modifica las ideas y la política. 28. Themselves (★★★☆☆) - Contexto: La importancia de actuar con autenticidad. 29. Please Don't Be Gentle With Me (★★⯨☆☆) - Contexto: Aceptar las críticas y el crecimiento personal. 30. Nothing Indeed (★★★☆☆) - Contexto: Reflexión sobre el vacío y el sinsentido. 31. No Exchange (★★★⯨☆) - Contexto: Relaciones donde nadie cede ni comprende al otro. 32. There Ain't Shit on TV Tonight (★★⯨☆☆) - Contexto: Crítica al empobrecimiento de la televisión. 33. This Ain't No Picnic (★★★☆☆) - Contexto: Dureza del trabajo asalariado y explotación laboral. 34. Spillage (★★★☆☆) - Contexto: Caos, desperdicio y consecuencias inesperadas. 35. Untitled Song for Latin America (★★★★★) - Contexto: Solidaridad con América Latina y mirada crítica sobre la política exterior estadounidense. -Fav 36. Jesus and Tequila (★★★☆☆) - Contexto: Contraste entre religión y excesos. 37. June 16th (★★★☆☆) - Contexto: Pequeña viñeta autobiográfica. 38. Storm in My House (★★★☆☆) - Contexto: Conflictos personales y emocionales. 39. Martin's Story (★★★☆☆) - Contexto: Narración breve sobre un personaje común. 40. Dr. Wu (★★★☆☆) - Contexto: Relectura del clásico de Steely Dan con el estilo frenético de Minutemen. 41. The World According to Nouns (★★★⯨☆) - Contexto: Juego lingüístico sobre cómo describimos la realidad. 42. Love Dance (★★★☆☆) - Contexto: Versión humorística y experimental de una canción de amor. 43. Three Car Jam (★☆☆☆☆) - Contexto: Collage de sonidos de automóviles que une el concepto del álbum. -TOTAL = ★★★☆☆ (3,01)

I respect this band for what they were. They were different.

I didn't listen to the entire thing. I just wasn't in the mood. It's ok - light punk-ish.

2,5

Interesting and nice taste, almost scared me!

not bad, i heard it before.

This album was a mixed bag of highs and lows critically for me. Highs... Loves the guitar and drum sound! Very crisp but yet thick. Kept my attention. Lows... His voice, the lyrics, and song structures. The songs were like 90 seconds a piece, so after a while I was like, ok... It got exhausting.

this is another one where I ~get~ the history behind it, but it's not for me

Too much chaff, cringe lyrics

I missed out on the Minutemen at the time, so coming to this first time Its an album with a ton of songs and styles, so inevitably its difficult to like it all, but at the same time, there is plenty in there to enjoy I'll be revisiting this one again soon

Pretty cool, but whats going on here? I fear I am uninformed

Good

Seems super inspirational for future bands like Primus and all the grunge.

Fun album and has the Jackass theme too :D

This was definitely unique! Joe warned me that he didn’t think I would like it, but also didn’t think I would hate it. That’s about right. I didn’t skip any tracks but will never listen to this again. 2.5 rounded down.

Liked about half of this.

While this band could be my life, it will not be.

Wow a very long album but I enjoyed it immensely. Never heard of minutemen but they're like a talking heads /new wavy esque punk band with some nice 80s edge abt social stuff, folky bits, jazzy bits, spoken word and All around it goes by fast and nearly all of it is incredible so big props.

- Rare to hear a punk album that is both this earnest but simultaneously easy to listen to. I could just turn this album on while I am working and enjoy the these low-key jams; granted, I would be more impacted by more melodic diversity, but I appreciate the option nevertheless. - Lot of interesting tracks here. Some are sweet or really hit on the Minutemen being normal dudes ("Maybe Partying Will Help," "History Lesson Part 2", the latter my favorite track). Others are politically meaningful ("Viet Nam," "This Ain't No Picnic," and many others). - Crazy that Jackass sampled "Corona" for its theme. Great song, but the message is 90% of the greatness.

Not for me I fear :( Top Songs: None

muy variado y no sabía que la canción de Jackass era de ellos

I love this. It was great driving into work blasting this!

Frantic, noisy, & off-beat; just doesn’t really flow all that well.

"Hi. Im Johnny Knoxville and Welcome to Jackass!" This was like...funky grunge? Super interesting and unlike anything else I've heard. Super cool actual rating...3.75 Liked Songs: "D.'s Car Jam / Anxious Mo-Fo" , "Viet Nam" , "It's Expected I'm Gone" , "#1 Hit Song" , "Two Beads at the End" , "One Reporter's Opinion" , "Political Song for Michael Jackson to Sing" , "The Big Foist" , "Corona" , "The Glory of Man" , "History Lesson Part 2" , "The Roar of the Masses Could Be Farts" , "West Germany" , "The Politics of Time" , "Please Don't Be Gentle With Me" , "Nothing Indeed" , "There Ain't Shit On T.V. Tonight" , "This Ain't No Picnic" , "Jesus and Tequila" , "Dr. Wu"

- “50,000 that’s 10% of 500,000” Okay math rock - These tracks are short n sweet - Cohesion is a vibe - Bit too disjointed for me buttt it’s not bad

Tried to get into this a lot of times over the years but always found it too samey compared to the variety of other long albums such as 69 Love Songs. Some nice Gang of Four type punk numbers in there though.

This was absolutely banging! I mistakenly thought this was the Walkmen - a super group from the noughties. A band I did not enjoy at the time. This however is again an amazing concept album, but one that captivates, energises and is so damn catchy. I love the voice, the melodies, the unexpected hooks, the riffs, the bass, THAT DRUM! Great to hear about the background of the story as well, which can be viewed on several different platforms, including historic reviews on this website. Thank you 1001 albums, I thank you again!

Oh, I loved this. A vital link between the punk and art rock of the 70s and the alt rock of the 90s, between Television and Pavement. And a great shout of human creativity and sound.

I loved this. Fast, raucous, raw. And the Jackass theme tune was on here! Happy to have listened. The kind of gem that I came to this for.

Really fun album! Super unique sound; definitely punk but some of these licks are almost jazzy, and really funky and rigid (if that is the correct word). Although this album is pretty lengthy, it was never boring and it constantly kept me invested. I also did not know the Jackass theme song is on this album, so that was a fun surprise.

First album in the challenge that I've never heard of the band or hadn't heard any of the songs. Nonetheless, overall pretty enjoyable. Lead singer is flat as a board, but most of the tracks are far more music oriented. I was surprised that this was 'hard punk' (?) when I looked the band up on Wikipedia - which did two things, make me feel bad for listening to it on Spotify, and also get terribly weepy. Band mates were best friends as children and while two of the three of them still get together to play music, never as Minutemen 😭 Wouldn't what I would have called punk based purely on the music, which I liked quite a bit

Some good music on here it’s just that the album was way too damn long! Which is ironic because the Minutemen went for a damn hour plus

I enjoyed this more than I expected since I really don’t like punk. But it’s a good album. I’m going to give it a three because I don’t like punk, but there’s some good music on this album. If they would just not sing, I’d be very happy.

These guys can play! They make their statement in less than two minutes, and then get out of there. Their version of Dr. Wu's got to be the best Steeley Dan cover I've ever heard. Liked Songs Added: Jesus And Tequila Dr. Wu

Very good and varied album and one for me to add to my collection

Favorite track(s): Viet Nam, Cohesion, It's Expected I'm Gone, #1 Hit Song, Maybe Partying Will Help, Corona, The Glory of Man, This Ain't No Picnic, Untitled Song for Latin America, Jesus and Tequila Heard before Previous rating: 7/10

Like so many others on this project, I've often complained about albums that are too long. It's a completely different story when there's an album I've known and loved for a long time. Double Nickels on the Dime never gets boring.

An album that proves even short songs can overstay their welcome. I enjoyed a lot of the songs here but the concept of a double album of this music is just too much.

I cannot begin to tell you the sheer horror that filled me when I saw how many tracks were on this album. That horror continued as I listened for over an hour. It was an absolute mess. Shit from an old notebook indeed.

Another looooong album. But full of very short songs. I think that's my preference. Had this been 1 hour 14 minutes of 6 songs I'd have been wanting to throw stuff. I had no idea Minuteman were responsible for the theme tune to Jackass. And I genuinely really enjoy that song, and actually quite a lot of this record. I probably won't listen to it in full again, but it passed the time enjoyably while it was happening. Make this 40 minutes and I'd probably be fully onboard. 3/5

the neck snap I did when I realized jackass used one of their songs for their theme

Enjoyed a lot more than I thought. At the start of first track was expecting Gen X sublime adjacent slop but sounds a lot more New York

That was fun! Most of the instrumentation was very enjoyable! I did not expect to hear the Jackass theme today

Can see the initial appeal but became too samey after the first 10 or so tracks

Not my kind of music but a good punk album.

A band that was far ahead of its time and gone too soon. This is it's magnum opus.

Like: funky bass, pretty cohesion song, edgy songs with good riffs. Pretty catchy tunes. Shoutout Jackass theme song. Disliked: somewhat repetitive but kind of messy like some song sounded live or completely different in a choppy way and I didn’t find it necessarily artistic but maybe that’s the edgy vibe they are going for. Probably won’t relisten but glad I did. 4/10

Reminds of the hold steady which is a very bad band he likes. That’s really all I got on this one

Not my cup of tea. There were a select few that were good, but the album was a large haystack of slop that needed to be combed through in order to get to those songs.

First take I was like this is certified booty cheeks. But then I had the blessing of enough time in my day to listen again twice more. It got better. Guitar riffs carried songs by themselves. I like what the band represents in diy punk music all that. But I can’t say it’s good just cuz it’s different.

Every track is incredible. I think it’s hurt by its density. There are just so many songs that are all so short that it’s hard to lock into it. If any of the (very numerous, extremely good) ideas here had time to breathe, this would be a perfect album. Fucker

While the music is not always great, there is a lovely spirit to this album.

It seemed so fresh at the time. Now the noodling is too much.

I probably would never have heard this album except that an old boyfriend had it in his collection and played it frequently. I thought most of it was fine, not my favorite...BUT...I LOVE Dr. Wu. I didn't even know it was a Steely Dan cover until a few years ago. I LOATHE Steely Dan and have since heard their version, which pales in comparison to this one. So for that cover alone I give this a 4.

The origin story, the tragic death, and Mike Watt's devotion to D Boon are so legendary I never really focused on the music. It is helpful to see whose songs are whose (D's are better), but it's all weirder and more interesting than you'd expect from a punk band. I will revisit, I promise.

"I'm fucking overwhelmed," sings D Boon on The Big Foist. That's fair. Not only is it a long album of very short songs and not only is it a double album of solo sides (which has been unwelcoming since Ummagumma), but it is punk rock, so nothing feels too honed - the instrumental break that ends D's Car Jam feels like two different songs playing at once. Same on Anxious Mo-Fo. Same. Same. Same. But it's okay if everything starts to fall apart, because you can just stop the song suddenly. However, this puts a lot of pressure on the listener to make this into an album rather than a bootleg of various demos on one CD like the ones we used to buy at Hector's House. Thankfully, I find Boon charming. When he says "Our band could be your life," it is an obvious overstatement, but you believe he could mean "our band could be your band too - we're not fussy." I like how he pronounces Pedro. I like that he recognises he and his bandmates as corndogs. I like the treble-up guitar tone. I like the Badnose song about Boon's tragic death. While the ramshackle urgency of everything here is a disadvantage, it is also, obviously, its greatest strength - the price of jamming econo. 2 No point in accusing this lot of any snark; what they are doing - condensing jams into miniatures - is nearly as much trouble as writing ‘proper’ songs. The appeal of the exercise is certainly lost on me, however. Any potential for building meaning - political as well as musical - is hobbled by their fealty to brevity. Polonius was a fool - Brevity is not, as we know, the soul of wit; accordingly nothing here is funny. That’s ok. More important in explaining why Minutemen waste their time and, more cruelly, that of their listeners is the fact that Brevity is not the soul of anything. 1/5

I don't know

This album rules. It feels weirdly modern. Will definitely be adding to the rotation.

Quite a lengthy punk album, full of bite-sized tracks. These guys had a lot to say about the world and society, however. Hard to remember specific tracks due to the breakneck pace, but this was certainly unique given that it doesn't really "sound" hardcore like most punk records were at the time. It's funky, jazzy, and more spoken word all throughout. I guess that's how post-punk/hardcore came to be! Pretty worthy inclusion here IMO Also, wasn't expecting to hear the Jackass theme song here! ("Corona")

6.25.26 I've loved a handful of songs from this album for a while, so I'm excited to give the full thing a listen!!!! Basically this rocks. Really incredible sound sustained throughout the album with a nice variety within that rather cohesive style. Quite a long album but it never feels like it is. I love this kind of punk what can I say. Incredible riffs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Forgot that the Jackass song was on here so that was crazy for a moment. Shout out Johnny Knoxville. Favorite Song: Rating: 4.5/5

This is just awesome. There's nothing new for me to say that the other positive reviews don't. The more you look into this album, the more you find to enjoy about it, and there is a lot here. Punk as fuck to an extent that still feels fresh 40 years later. Like holy shit, WHAT? How'd they do it? I don't know. But it's awesome. This is probably one of my top 5 favorite finds on this journey so far.

Really fun. I love being able to re-listen to an album and pull something new from it each time. There’s a lot going on in a good way. 4 out of 5 nickels, iconic album artwork.

Really didn't like that

A classic from the punk era even though it could not be more alien to the California's early 80s punk scene. Minimalistic funk jazz punk microsongs about political issues. Ahead of its time.

Not... bad? But very long. Wasn't feeling it.

стриминги чуть не подвели, но я всё послушала) ну милый панк такой

Formative album for me, I love it front to back. Is it objectively a five star perfect album? Maybe not, but for me it is

Really enjoyed this album. Fairly short, as punk albums tend to be, but ended up listening to the entire extended version. Definitely a 3.5 - round up.

Pretty dope

This was a very cool punk album - definitely long but so many different influences here and you can see how these guys did a lot of stuff that we see in hardcore and skater punk in later years.

Listened before?: maybe a few tracks in passing? i don't remember enough about the album to really say, so i this is a mostly fresh listen. i've heard good things Anxious Mo-Fo - 4/5 Theatre Is the Life of You - 4/5 Viet Nam - 5/5 Cohesion - 5/5 It's Expected I'm Gone - 4/5 #1 Hit Song - 5/5 Two Beads at the End - 4/5 Do You Want New Wave or Do You Want the Truth? - 4/5 Don't Look Now - 3/5 Shit From an Old Notebook - 4/5 Nature Without Man - 4/5 One Reporter's Opinion - 3/5 Political Song for Michael Jackson to Sing - 4/5 Maybe Partying Will Help - 4/5 Toadies - 4/5 Retreat - 4/5 The Big Foist - 3/5 God Bows to Math - 3/5 Corona - 5/5 The Glory of Man - 5/5 Take 5, D. - 3/5 My Heart and the Real World - 4/5 History Lesson - Part II - 5/5 You Need the Glory - 2/5 The Roar of the Masses Could Be Farts - 4/5 Mr. Robot's Holy Orders - 4/5 West Germany - 4/5 The Politics of Time - 3/5 Themselves - 4/5 Please Don't Be Gentle With Me - 3/5 Nothing Indeed - 4/5 No Exchange - 3/5 There Ain't Shit on T.V. Tonight - 4/5 This Ain't No Picnic - 5/5 Spillage - 4/5 Untitled Song for Latin America - 4/5 Jesus and Tequila - 5/5 June 16th - 4/5 Storm in My House - 4/5 Martin's Story - 3/5 Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love - 3/5 Doctor Wu - 3/5 Little Man With a Gun in His Hand - 4/5 The World According to Nouns - 4/5 Love Dance - 3/5 Average score: 3.9/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ i'd been eyeing this album for a long time but never got around to listening. i probably saw the number of tracks and the total run time and was intimidated. honestly, it's really not all that hard of a listen as most of the songs are like 1-2 minutes on average so i was trippin it seems the ratings here are pretty divided, and i can see why. i went into this thinking this would be a hardcore punk album but it's definitely very atypical for what was popular at the time. personally, this album didn't disappoint. most tracks sound very similar to each other after a while but i'm not too put off by it (the tracks are so short they pretty much blend into each other anyway). i'm a sucker for a good slappy bass, and D. Boon definitely delivers. i can't really describe their sound here any other way than to say they were ahead of their time. i'm glad i eventually got to listen to this, albeit very late

Listened Before? N Wow! A hardcore band I've somehow never heard of! Cool! Great punk rock with a little rock fusion in there. Short songs, hard hitters. Awesome! Added to Library? N Songs added to playlist: Viet Nam

Been a fan of Mike Watt since Ball-Hog or Tugboat. This was fun.

Post hardcore, double album, highly regarded Corona

Violent Femmes? David Byrne? Sublime? Hints of The Doors. Musically engaging but singer mid. The short songs give an impression of variety and the generally upbeat style is fun. My inclination is toward long songs - give me 13 minute jams all day long. The sophimoric lyrics make it hard to take serious. I’m iffy on this one. It feels like there is more here and multiple listens may build admiration. I’m going to park it at 3 and see if ever make it back. 3/5

Not particularly enjoyed this punk rock album. Its also quite long with too many songs 43 ! 2.5

A bit of a slog with too many songs. Interesting ideas at times but nothing that I want to relisten to necessarily.

Some promising ideas in this album, which provides a good demonstration of the sound and anti-Reagan politics of American punk (see Kevin Mattson’s ‘We’re not Here to Entertain’ for more on that). But overall this *43* track album was too scattergun- as soon as it worked towards a good idea, it was onto the next. Worth a listen, but needed so much more refinement.

There’s some great stuff on this (post-punk, art-punk?) album, but they certainly make you work for it. A sprawling double album of over 40 tracks, most of which are, somewhat appropriately, less than two minutes long, it manages an impressive amount of variety given the limited instrumentation. It’s in direct contradiction with the album’s scattergun approach, but I probably would have enjoyed it more had it been pared back to a single disc of the strongest material, as I did feel it was a case of diminishing returns the longer it went on. Still good enough for 3 stars though.

More interesting than great, but really, really interesting. Something to revisit later on.

I don’t really see the point of this album, it sounded like a much diluted David Byrne tribute to The Birthday Party.

Surprisingly unboringed by this one.

The absolute masterpiece in Punk Jazz Rock amazing guitar work top AAA

Hilariously bad! Favorite song: "Political Song for Michael Jackson To Sing"

I used to love this album. The sings are so short.

I think I’d heard of the Minutemen before, but I can’t remember any of their songs. That doesn’t really mean anything, though, because the songs on *Double Nickels On The Dime* are practically unrecognizable. Wikipedia classifies this album as hardcore punk, and if that’s supposed to mean it’s mostly disjointed strumming, then that’s accurate. Yet the album is actually well-produced, and the exceptionally clear sound really precludes any punk associations. The musicians also know their craft, and the singer is really good—no, this isn’t a punk band, but professionals who simply want to sound weird. They achieve this by playing every part completely at random, making it seem almost improvised. If you were to bring together ambitious country musicians and simply dictate the tempo and key to them, the result might sound quite similar. Interesting, but I don’t really need it.

4 stars if this was shorter

Pretty good rock 'n roll althoug only part of the album is available in digital format.

way too many tracks for this style. The point of a great album is that decisions were made for a cohesive vision. Not feeling that here. Some cool rock stuff but it was buried in the punishing length for me.

Listening session: june 15th, while getting ready in the morning Listened to before: heard one song before Thoughts: I quite liked the mix of genres here, because the punk sound combines well with funk influences. The album’s too long for me to pay attention though Favourite tracks: Cohesion, Corona & History Lesson Part 2

Cohesion

This rocks. A little long

As monumental as a band known for being economical can be. Perhaps the greatest output of the 80's SoCal rock scene, this sprawling album never gets stale. A mix of American esoterica, philosophical musings, and political/class commentary that is both sincere and witty. D. Boon's guitar rings and pierces along with a highly unique rhythm section, that bounces and rattles. The group grabs a bit of everything as they go, CCR and Steely Dan included. On History Lesson - Part II, they call their shot like Babe Ruth; putting themselves in line with Bob Dylan, The Clash, et al. and they are of that ilk. Simple but not easy.

it's a but long but has a good balance of songs

compelled, but not yet convinced...

Jackass theme??? I quite like a load of short songs felt really dynamic

Loved it! Something really different that I’d never have found myself. I didn’t think I’d like it at first but I had a great time listening

I some missed listening to these guys back in the day. Really freaking cool... kinda like a proto-Pavement mixed with other good-shit elements from the 80s (Devo? The Fall?).

Appréciation que je qualifierais... d'ambivalence. L'album en lui-même est très long et il m'a été difficile de l'écouter d'un seul tenant, sans occupation à côté. Ce n'est pas non plus un chef-d'œuvre, certains morceaux ne sont même pas des interludes. Je sens en revanche, que si ça avait été un concert, j'aurais sûrement passé un bon moment à y assister. Contrairement aux notes précédentes basées sur le nombre de coup de coeur, cette note là est plutôt une appréciation globale.

If I were giving stars for number of tracks...geeze. Ok but this is pretty good. Great instrumentals, pretty funny in places, pretty on point in others. "You Need the Glory" sounds like something Mr Bungle would do. Nice. Cool band. Sad that the sociopolitical commentary of the 70s and 80s is still relevant in the 2020s. Goddamn tragic.

minutemen like fallout

Not my fav not my like

not for me

Really enjoyed - great drums

Niceeeee, sounds like primus but punker.

I was not previously familiar with the artist or album. This is actually pretty cool. It's a whole bunch of short mini-songs, almost like vignettes. These cover a lot of ground musically. The guitar work in particular is very good. In particular, I liked the solo guitar piece Cohesion. Overall though, there are quite a lot of throwaway tracks. I wouldn't mind hearing this again but I doubt I would seek it out as it seems like more of a novelty than anything.

I love this record (double technically). Quick hit songs, musically complex, gritty, real, funny, D Boon shouts of songs. Smart punk, super inventive, a blast.

I know, let’s write 43 very DYI, mostly underwhelming songs and put them all out there as an album. Just not my cup of tea.

Imperfect from many angles but one of my favourite albums

Smart punk. Comes out the gate with an explosion, then flexes its chops with the acoustic Cohesion. And then sidles right back into the punk. Listened to it twice on the spot. So much to take in and explore. I love the funny, the irony, the wit, the self-effacement. I would love to have the guts to not only write and confidently pull off performing lyrics like this.

An album that is so acclaimed among many of my friends that it almost feels superficial and upsetting that I don't worship it either. That being said, this is still a beast of a record. 80 minutes of some of the most cutting, catchy and beautifully raw songwriting to burst out of the post-punk/PHC bubble. I've always preferred Husker Du's aggressive approach when it comes to highly influential 1984 double albums (why isn't Zen Arcade in this book), but this one is no slouch either. Shoutout "Corona" for its use in Jackass. Our band could be your life.

It was alright

Okay listen, but far to less variety for so many minutes.

3.0 When I was 15 I would have loved this. There are some good moments on here, these guys are really talented, the production is great given how little the entire thing cost to make, but gah, launching straight into a 45-ish song 74-minute album is going to be tough for anyone without familiarity. I think the second half was definitely weaker, though I'm not sure if I'd just ran out of patience by then. A second listen tells me not, but I'm not willing to attempt a third. Plus points for the effort, but minus points because I only saved down 4 or 5 songs, about 8 minutes worth of action. That's not a great ratio when you consider the album length...

Siento que alguien cogió todos los demos que tenia o grababa en su día a día y los puso en un álbum y somehow es entretenido, pero me conflictúa un poco

This album is incredible

Surprisingly good, and not at all that punky as I would have thought.

Really fun album to listen to. I will listen to it again. It is so '80s pop.

i wonder what songs didn't make the album. not very musical in lyrics but some good guitar riffs. topics still relevant today. favourite song: love dance.

The reviews on this one surprise me, ngl. Absolutely amazing punk album. Not too in your face and a legendary double album. As the years go by I truly appreciate this one more and more.

This was my first time hearing this and I thought it was a fantastic album. There is a playfulness to the punk that you don’t normally hear. Songs have distinct melodies and identities and don’t seem to overstay their welcome. And I can hear so many influences on future bands in this work, from other punk to alternative, indie, and some others I can’t remember. I had to listen over a few days, so it was a broken up experience, but I looked forward to coming back to it every time.

Really solid, very long so will need to give it another listen for sure. Reminded me of a cross between Modest Mouse and Parquet Courts.

Minutemen are a band that just had no equal at the time and spawned dozens of bands that wanted to replicate and expand upon their unique sound. I still like the simplicity and quick, perfectly crafted songs of their first album, but they continued to be great until the end, just tweaking their sound in different ways, very similar to The Pixies (sans the reunion).

This album feels very ahead of its time; it sounds straight out of the 90s punk scenes. Stand outs to me are “It’s Expected I’m Gone”, “Retreat”, and “History Lesson, Pt. 2”. Though I like this album, it doesn’t feel like one that I would pull out very often, especially with the sheer volume of it. I like the songs, but it just goes on too long for my taste. Maybe my attention span is too short, but the thought of sticking around at full attention for 43 tracks takes this album down a bit, no matter the content. The songs are all catchy, unique enough, and cohesive, but the constant moving through short track after short track leaves me feeling a bit wanting.

When I first saw a 43 song punk album I groaned. But this is different than anything I've heard before, a true genre bender. This is the kind of thing I’m going through the list to discover! 3.5⭐️

I fell in love with it the minute I first heard it and I still love it today... over 40 years later. I love this record top-to-bottom. 1 hour 21m of what can only be explained as genius. This is a stone-cold classic of 80's punk rock. It's the perfect example of early/mid 80's punk evolving to more than straight, fast hardcore songs. The Minutemen packed more dense jams into a less-than-two-minute-song than most bands could jam into a whole record.

I just thought it was uninteresting and samey.

Cohesion, History Lesson and haha take 5,D.

Was okay album. I hadn’t heard it then or listened, so didn’t know what to expect. Was easy to listen to.

some funky 80's punk rock. Its nice enough but wow does it get old fast. Some of the guitar work is pretty cool outside the distortion, but the lead singer talk-singing over everything just killed my patience overall.

Why? Funky bass but way too long and wears out its welcome by minute 20.

Not some I'm a big fan of punk albums. I got Wire's album 'Pink Flag' a couple days ago and I had this same sentiment. The songs on this Minutemen album are really nice; I love the shifting genre/style between each song and the vocals compliment it well. But I'd rather have like 12~ full length songs instead of 45 short ones. Maybe it's because I'm just used to that now but everytime I heard a riff I liked - on either guitar or bass - it was gone before I could properly think about it. I'm sure if I saw these guys live I would absolutely love it but in this setting, where I sit on my bed and listen to these albums, it doesn't really work. Also trying to listen to 45 songs in one go is impossible. 3/5

43 songs, 74 minutes....fuck me! It was good in parts, but lads, get an A&R!

tremendous 43 track monster of an album by LA punk rock pioneers, with an amazing album cover to boot.

This was fine. Rock/punk music. Another solid 3.5 star album. (3)

NOT INTO IT

definitely music suiting my taste but I can see why it might not be for everyone. Love the addition to the list and the old school feel of the recording.

Pynk, ikke rigtig Punk men slam poetrey, og pisse langt med sine 74 minutters spilletid, og 43!!! Numre! - Sangen "Corona" er nok blevet playlistet en del, både for sit navn, og fordi Jackass fandt introen så charmerende.

Det er ret fedt. Melodisk punk der tager små afstikkere i alle mulige musikalske retninger. Men fååååårk hvor er det altså langt. Og med 43 tracks!!! bliver det overvældende og umuligt (for mig) at holde styr på alle de indtryk jeg får under en gennem lytning. Jeg har lyst til at høre det igen, men det ville være rart hvis det var to albums på 40min. Den her kolos er meget at smide på bordet i en bid.

A discovery! The opening track already did it for me, stunning bass, echoes of Captain Beefheart. And the goodness kept coming in chunks of barely 1-2 minutes. Delicious funky post-punk-rock or whatever one might call this.

Found this super enjoyable, my ADHD brain loved the variety, learning about the band I've only really heard of

dunno 3.5

It’s impossible for me to not associate this album with Jackass, but separate from that it’s still really good. Favorite track: Corona

43 songs is a lot, but the brief runtime of each and the pure energy makes it a worthwhile listen. Likes: Viet Nam; Corona; The Glory of Man; History Lesson Pt. 2; This Ain’t No Picnic

This was not my vibe, but I appreciate my music palate being extended!

It's unfortunate nothing sticks around for long on this album, as some of it is actually really good. For instance, tracks like "Viet Nam" had really fun guitar riffs, bass and vocal delivery but is only 1m 30s. Then comes "Cohesion", which was simply gorgeous. With some lyrics and another 2 or so mins to stew, it could have been something really special. And so I am frustrated with this one, but for an entirely different reason than I was with Nick Cave and Tom Waits: the music is great, but never around long enough to realise itself. With the sheer number tracks and each of their running times, I am powerless to do anything but dub this: 'ADHD, the Album'. Then... I heard "Corona". I never knew Jackass straight up used their song, I always thought it was original. Kinda got bumped to 4 stars for this alone (weak, I know) but the Nostalgia was too much to ignore.

Man just get this over with. That was the longest hour and 15 of my life.

not bad, but man that was way too long. Halve the time and it's perfect

My skin keeps the storm inside

Funky punk. Quality stuff. I'd love to be in this band

Wednesday, 13 May, 2026 This was an amazing meander through the minds of three young men who have a hilarious sense of humor and corrupt politics.

2.5 slightly leaning towards the three. A light 6/10

Absolute banger of a punk album, another artist i've not really listened to,but this won't happen again. I knew of Mike Watt and his bass work outside of this but woof, love it. Jackass Theme Tune!

On the one side typical punk from the eighties. Simple and short songs paired with simple chord changes. But not loud as so many other punk bands. Very interesting and worthy to be here on this list.

A life-changing album. Along with Wire's Pink Flag, this was the first album that opened up my mind about what punk could be. When I was in high school, this was not an easy record to find, and it felt like my friends and I stumbled across something obscure, sacred, and truly counter-cultural. Everything about the Minutemen -- their musical radicalism, their personal ethos, their politics, their affability, their realness -- is exactly what I love about punk. I've since seen Watt play a handful of times, including a Missingmen show about 15 years ago where I got to meet him and speak with him briefly. The dude is the real deal. I did the fan thing -- I told him how much I love and appreciate his music -- and he immediately started recommending other bands I should listen to. "Oh, if you like the Minutemen you really should listen to the Pop Group and Captain Beefheart. Me and D Boon loved those guys. That stuff's really out there." It just seemed so humble and genuine, and to me it affirmed these guys were real, no bullshit, working-class artists who loved and cared about their craft with no pretense whatsoever; in this day and age, this kind of authenticity is almost impossible to come by.

I'm not sure how I had missed this excellent album before now, but I'm glad to know it now. I knew a few songs on it without realizing they were all from this band. The obvious example is Corona, which will be familiar to Jackass fans. Hearing an album like this for the first time is exactly the reason I'm doing this list. Great stuff.

Honestly a lot more fun and listenable than a lot of other punk from this era. It would have been a 4 if it were half the length.

interesting

It's the song from Jackass

funky, punky, singular, fresh, full of ideas. "Do you want new wave, or do you want the truth?"

I was only vaguely aware of the Minutemen before, but I really enjoyed this. A huge range of styles but genuinely punk in its ethos and feel.

fine! a little more acoustic than i was expecting, but a good listen. 3.5

With the context that I'm submitting this review a full three months after I listened: I remember liking it either more than I expected. Or maybe less. Who's counting. 2.5

hell yeah punk rock

I'd actually never heard of minutemen before, but I fell in love with them right away. My goodness, this album is great!

This is my sort of music but a double album of 2-3 minute punk songs does go on a bit...

More interesting than your typical punk release in that there's actual melody and musical chops here. Didn't thrill me.

Just wanted it to end

Anxious mo-fo - 3 Theatre is the life of you - 3 Viet nam - 4 Cohesion - 4 It's expected i'm gone - 3 #1 hit song - 3 Two beads at the end - 4 Do you want new wave or do you want the truth? - 3 Don't look now - 2 Shit from an old notebook - 4 Nature without man - 3 One reporters opinion - 4 Political song for michael jackson to sing - 3 Maybe partying will help - 4 Toadies - 3 Retreat - 3 The big foist - 4 God bows to math - 4 Corona - 5 The glory of man - 4 Take 5, d - 3 My heart and the real world - 4 History lesson part 2 - 4 You need the glory - 2 The roar of the masses could be farts - 3 West germany - 4 The politics of time - 3 Themselves - 4 Please don't be gentle with me - 3 Nothing indeed - 3 No exchange - 4 There ain't shit on t.v. tonight - 2 This ain't no picnic - 4 Spillage - 4 Untitled song for latin america - 3 Jesus and tequila - 4 June 16th - 3 Storm in my house - 3 Martin's story - 3 Dr. wu - 4 The world according to nouns - 3 Love dance - 3 Three car jam - na

This is why I am here. To listen to something I have never heard before. Very solid and different throughout. I have can hear so many indie and alternative bands that have heard something in this band and added it to their own songs. 8.25/10 Top song Cohesion

Early progenitors of math rock. I liked it more than I expected to.

Now this is what a double album should be! They cover such a variety of styles but still keep their own unique sound. Crazy how much they can do as a trio.

"This punk album is too long" is not something I expected to ever say.

An album I’ve come across before on my post punk journey. Vibes of Fugazi which is a ok with me. Far too many songs. Should’ve condensed it to 30/40min and it would be a really good album. Bonus points for jackass theme ☠️

Grand stuff, some pretty songs here. If anything its a bit long. I do like the jackass theme too

4.5 real good album! Never heard of them before but will check out more of their albums. This album definitely needs a few listens. Only downfall is that it's just a little to long.

Equal parts Funk and Mania. Great Musicianship. Too accomplished to be Punk, too early for Grunge. Got Stranglers, Pixies and Fugazi vibes Really liked it. 4.5

Bit long

A great bunch of songs. It goes on a bit long. Great musicians. D Boon was lost too early.

no

A punk album on this list that I didn't mind listening through might be a first. Not something I would listen to daily still. The songs are fine and the beats are good but nothing really stands put in terms of quality or catchiness. The intro of Corona is instantly recognizable for people of the right age though.

Personally, I think that album was much longer than it was worth, and not part really stood out much other than those jackass notes. 2/5

no me gusta

Meh, medio raro pero buena batería

Great punk rock. Jackass theme corona

fun and fast and just dudes

It was alright.

i might have to return to this

It’s ok. It’s far too long though.

Too often I like punk music, but not the singer. Some interesting drum lines, cool bass grooves, but the vocals just fell flat.

Would this be a spiritual successor to Wire’s Pink Flag. Mike Watt’s bass here is the standout, but the rest of the group also has their moments to shine. Just excellent from front to back. No song outstays its welcome, but none really feel cut off or too short. Just jam packed with great ideas.

It was long. Most of the tracks did not stand out to me.

Saw this influenced groups like RHCP It did catch my ear initially but it’s a 2.6

There’s a lot going on here, maybe too much. 𝘋𝘰𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘕𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘭𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘋𝘪𝘮𝘦 moves quickly from one short track to the next, but over time it starts to feel a bit overwhelming. The variety is there, but it doesn’t always translate into something memorable. It ends up feeling longer than it is, and it doesn’t really hold my attention all the way through.

If you don't like Minutemen, then you're wrong

Arguably the coolest and most talented punk band ever. They was weird, and did their own thing, which was completely awesome. Great musicians. Tons of energy. Creative and unique compositions. Seamless fusions of different styles. D. Boon, you will always be missed!

Interesting, great bass lines. Cool thing about this album is that, if you don't see anything or know anything about the Minutemen, it would be hard to pin what decade is their music from. They sound funky, they sound rock, they sound grunge... it's quite an experience.

It's as if Charlie MacKenzie from So I Married An Axe Murderer was the lead "singer" for Pixies. 3.5*

Amazing!

Good, way too long.

yet another American punk rock album, I've had too many of these recently. 45 tracks in 81 minutes. I'm having a listen but it's all a bit mundane so far.

Favorite Song: Viet Nam

Can't believe I waited so long to listen to this

Double Nickels on the Dime beeindruckt vor allem als Ideenexplosion: kurze, kantige Songs, politischer Biss, Humor, Spielfreude. Gleichzeitig merke ich aber, dass mich die Überlänge und die vielen Mini‑Skizzen emotional nicht durchgehend mitnehmen. Vieles wirkt eher wie Notizen eines genialen Bandsprints als wie Songs, die sich wirklich festsetzen.

Great musicians and.variety. Happy to be exposed to this. Didn't love the vocals or vocal melodies.

Not really my thing ig

This album has the simultaneous issue of being too long whilst also being too short.

Best parts of the album: 1. That drummer 2. That punk sound 3. Bad songs ended quickly Worst parts of the album: 1. Good songs ended quickly 2. Many songs were not great Thoughts: Cool album, I'd rather listen to London Calling.

I love punk music but this was so, so not for me. Spoken word ranting over garage band level music.

A 43 track punk album. My first thought was to give it a 1 and move on. I listened to the first few tracks and it was surprisingly good. Unfortunately, those first few tracks was one of two places where there were multiple good tracks in a row. There are a handful of good tracks, a handful of really bad tracks, and a whole lot of short punk tracks that are ok but all start to sound the same. Overall, it's not bad for punk. 3.5.

As a music lover born in 1984 it's been very disappointing to hear what came out that year. New wave synth pop and hair band metal aren't really my style. I loved this. Best album from my birth year, hands down. Also that little Jackass into on Corona; recognized that right away.

NOTE: Listening and rating to this on Apr 21 2026. Now for review. An incredibly funky post-punk album at places, but still with plenty of variety and other influences. Just recently discovered this band so happy I already heard this greate LP before, so this gives me more experience with it, rated 4.5 on RYM and strong 4 stars here. If they got all the best songs and squeezed downed the playtime it might have been even more.

Das crazy

My attention span didn’t last as long as this album. The beginning was decent; I liked the music, the drums and guitar were engaging. The vocals weren’t great but they were fine. I was cleaning the house while listening and somewhere around me scrubbing the toilet I realized I hadn’t been paying attention anymore and I didn’t care enough to go back and relisten.

I was actually digging the groovy guitar licks and quick-tempo’d drums playing off each other at the onset of this album. The punk vocals and spoken word didn’t really agree with me much but I was tolerating them for the first 7 or so songs. …The problem is there were 36 more f**kin songs!!! Halfway through this album all I could think about was the sketch comedy skit from In Living Color where Damon Wayans bum character would sing 7 seconds songs about any topic he could think of. This album was giving off the same vibes. It would have been better received by me if there were 30 less songs and the lyrics were more powerfully arranged.

Is this the best band we have never listened to before? Probably. Minutemen are punk royalty, but hard to have accessed outside of that world. With musical chops to convincingly switch between diverse styles from track to track, their tight instrumentals, especially the funky bass runs, and playful but connected lyrics unfurl with a skill that leaves me wanting more. This seminal album kept my feet moving while surprising my ears with each new track. It was great listen.

I needed to listen to this twice. I was busy while listening the first time and felt I missed a lot, and I was right....and wrong. Parts of this album absolutely jam, exactly what you expect from a great punk album. Killer drums, wicked bass, jarring guitar, and that punk rock snarky vocal. I didn't miss a thing on those songs. They rocked. What i missed was the greatness of the songs where the Minutemen clearly couldn't care less the about expectations of a punk rock album. Understated and nuanced, but not compromised. They still jammed, they didn't abandon the punk vibe, they instead showed us they can blow us away ....without blowing us away. Irreverent rhythms and minimalist composition cast a spotlight on their perspective by keeping the listener off balance. It's these songs that brought me back for a closer second listen. This was my introduction to the Minutemen. Extraordinarily talented musicians with the gumption to express themselves without concern of genre. Masterclass album.

Day 249 Definitely didn’t get boring but nothing really stayed around long enough to stick, will definitely give it a few more listens. Highlights Glory of me History Lesson pt 2

Surprisingly, more entertaining than I expected for a double album from a punk band. It really helped that they varied the styles, kept the tracks short, and were actually pretty talented musicians.

I hated every time I heard the spoken-word singing on this album - and there was 81 minutes of album.

One of the best punk albums I've heard - lots of energy, fantastic musicianship, with elements of funk and other influences

Jackass

I legitimately cheered at this reveal. Minutemen is one of the bands I’d go to see if I had a time machine.

It’s like the songs I make up about my wonderful dog.

(100/100)

Not sure what to make of this one. Felt he was yelling at me at times, other times it was more enjoyable. No stand outs, overall ok.

Best part of this album is me learning the origin of the Jackass theme.

Starts to grind at song 30

Solid evidence that "influential" and "important" doesn't have to mean "worth listening to." These dudes managed to start 43 songs but finish none.