Minutemen

Double Nickels on the Dime

Formed

January 1980, San Pedro, CA, United States

Disbanded

22 December 1985

Members

Mike Watt (bass, vocals), D. Boon (guitar, vocals), Frank Tonche (drums, 1980), George Hurley (drums, 1980-85)

Genres

Post-Hardcore, Post-Punk, Art Punk, Alternative Rock

Follow 15,939 followers

Discography

112

Credits 6 Filmography 2

Album

Showing all (5)

Issues

AverageAvg.

Ratings

Reviews

Ratings/Rev.

Title

Release Date

3.46

2,567

2,567
42

The Punch Line

1981

3.65

3,621

3,621
36

What Makes a Man Start Fires?

1983

3.09

706

706
8

The Politics of Time

1984

3.91

14,651

249

14,651
249

Double Nickels on the Dime

1984

3.14

1,127

1,127
21

3-Way Tie (For Last)

1985

Live Album

Showing all (3)

Issues

AverageAvg.

Ratings

Reviews

Ratings/Rev.

Title

Release Date

3.53

320

320
6

Ballot Result

1986

-
-

Flynn's Ocean 71 (Live Miami '84) [archival]

2021

2.49

5
-

Son of a Mother (Live San Francisco '81)

2023

EP

Showing all (8)

Issues

AverageAvg.

Ratings

Reviews

Ratings/Rev.

Title

Release Date

3.58

2,103

2,103
27

Paranoid Time

1980

3.58

903

903
16

Joy

1981

3.42

438

438
11

Bean-Spill E.P.

1982

3.80

2,446

2,446
35

Buzz or Howl Under the Influence of Heat

1983

2.85

171

171
6

Tour-Spiel EP [live]

1985

3.47

639

639
15

Project: Mersh

1985

2.88

47
-

Georgeless EP [live, archival]

1993

3.54

42
3

Minutemen / Saccharine Trust

2011 • Minutemen / Saccharine Trust

Single

Showing all (1)

Issues

AverageAvg.

Ratings

Reviews

Ratings/Rev.

Title

Release Date

3.23

28
-

Courage / What Is It? / Stories

1985

Music video

Showing all (4)

Issues

AverageAvg.

Ratings

Reviews

Ratings/Rev.

Title

Release Date

3.35

3
-

Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love

1984

4.83

5
-

This Ain't No Picnic

1984

5.00

1
-

Ack Ack Ack Ack

1985

4.52

8
1

King of the Hill

1985

Appears On

Showing 10 of 13 show all

Issues

AverageAvg.

Ratings

Reviews

Ratings/Rev.

Title

Release Date

3.15

66
4

Cracks in the Sidewalk

1980 • EP • Various Artists

3.37

55
3

Chunks

1981 • EP • Various Artists

3.38

22
2

Life Is Boring So Why Not Steal This Record

1983 • Album • Various Artists

3.87

7
-

The Tour [live]

1986 • Video • Various Artists

3.50

2
-

SST Video

1988 • Video • Various Artists

3.61

22
1

Our Band Could Be Your Life: A Tribute to D. Boon & the Minutemen

1996 • Album • Various Artists

3.15

65
7

Indie Rock Blues [remixes]

2005 • Album • Joe Beats

3.42

6
-

Go Mean!

2010 • DJ Mix • Buddy Peace

2.67

3
-

The 100 Best Albums of the 1980s Mix Part 4

2013 • DJ Mix • Chal Ravens

3.15

8
-

FACT 460

2014 • DJ Mix • Vessel

Show all 13 Appearances

Compilation

Showing all (5)

Issues

AverageAvg.

Ratings

Reviews

Ratings/Rev.

Title

Release Date

4.32

32
4

My First Bells

1983

3.92

252

252
5

Post-Mersh, Vol. 1

1987

3.84

201

201
3

Post-Mersh, Vol. 2

1988

3.75

183

183
6

Post-Mersh, Vol. 3

1988

3.85

100

100
3

Introducing the Minutemen

1998

V/A Compilation

Showing 11 of 31 show all

Issues

AverageAvg.

Ratings

Reviews

Ratings/Rev.

Title

Release Date

3.73

38
2

Rodney on the ROQ, Vol. 2

1981

3.70

36
3

American Youth Report

1982

3.83

85
8

The Blasting Concept

1983

3.71

30
2

We Got Power: Party or Go Home

1983

3.78

29
2

Rat Music for Rat People Vol. 2

1984

3.40

65
4

The Blasting Concept: Volume II

1986

3.35

30
3

Duck and Cover

1990

3.15

56
3

Jackass the Movie [motion picture soundtrack]

2002

4.10

689

689
24

Left of the Dial: Dispatches From the '80s Underground

2004

3.12

32
2

The Playlist - July 2006

2006

-
-

Hanukkah 2023: James’s Mix

2023

Show all 31 V/A Compilations

Bootleg / Unauthorized

Showing all (10)

Issues

AverageAvg.

Ratings

Reviews

Ratings/Rev.

Title

Release Date

3.75

3
-

Appears on: A Drink for Sue Ellen: USA-Hardcore Hits

1983 • Various Artists

1
-

...Just a Minute Men [live]

1985

3.50

2
-

Live at the Stone, San Francisco 1985 [live]

1985

4.23

7
-

Appears on: Hardcore: Punk Anderson's Favourites

1994 • Various Artists

4.50

1
-

Minutemen Live at RMS Queen Mary (All Tomorrow's Parties 2003) [live]

2003

3.84

6
1

Warfare: Mabuhay Gardens, San Francisco, 1981 [live]

2016

3.72

2
1

Short Sharp Shock (Live 1984) [live]

2019

4.31

4
1

11-30-85 WREK 91.1 FM Atlanta, GA [live]

3.98

16
2

Acoustic Blowout

3.63

8
-

Appears on: Mississippi Records Tape Series Vol. 16 - Afraid of the Dark ("Garage" Rock n’ Roll 1965-1981)

• Various Artists

Video

Showing all (2)

Issues

AverageAvg.

Ratings

Reviews

Ratings/Rev.

Title

Release Date

4.00

3
-

The Best of Flipside # 2

1994 • Minutemen / Minor Threat

4.26

157

157
7

We Jam Econo: The Story of Minutemen

2006

Additional release

Showing all (1)

Issues

AverageAvg.

Ratings

Reviews

Ratings/Rev.

Title

Release Date

3.81

24
1

From Double Nickels on the Dime (Wheels of Fortune) [sampler]

1984

Double Nickels on the Dime

Decibelle

"Minutemen were a band that absolutely took their name to heart. They would fill their songs )usually under two minutes) and releases with ideas and explore almost all of them to their fullest extent, a batting average higher than most complex and eclectic bands. It helped that not only were they firmly rooted in punk, but that the trio were highly attuned to each other. Mike Watt plays funk as if his life depends on it. George Hurley could have easily played in a 60s jazz group. And D. Boon filters funk, jazz, and power pop through a punk lens with a guitar tone not only clean enough to have every sound heard in clarity, but tough enough to knock you in the chest. From the opening sounds on Paranoid Time to when the band dissolved, they experimented with many styles and sounds, able to play funk, country, pop, and alt rock. They could make saxophones and goddamn recorders fit in right with their sound. And even with their heavy and still relevant political lyrics, they always managed to have fun with the music, sounding like children excited to play in a band for their fans. It's said that they made Double Nickels on the Dime a double album in response to Hüsker Dü's Zen Arcade, writing "Take that Hüskers!" in the linear notes; that sums them up well. "

RYM Rough Guide for Minutemen

(as suggested by ivank79)

(Poll adjudicator: troutmask)

ALL-TIME TOP FIVE:
1) History Lesson - Part II (from Double Nickels on the Dime)
2) Corona (from Double Nickels on the Dime)
3) Viet Nam (from Double Nickels on the Dime)
4) Cut (from Buzz or Howl Under the Influence of Heat)
5) = I Felt Like a Gringo (from Buzz or Howl Under the Influence of Heat) and Bob Dylan Wrote Propaganda Songs (from What Makes a Man Start Fires?)

RECOMMENDED ALBUM: DOUBLE NICKELS ON THE DIME

""Punk is whatever we made it to be!" - D. Boon

The Minutemen were the beating heart of the American underground in the first half of the '80s, and in their own way had as lasting an effect as their SST label-mates in Black Flag. They were a bridge between the hardcore pits and the burgeoning college rock airwaves, and their wide-open smiles and populist themes welcomed everyone even as their resolutely radical lyrics and musical ideas challenged all but the most avant-garde pockets of the DIY scene. Beyond the records though, it was the palpable love - for each other and for the thrill of discovery - between Mike Watt, D. Boon and George Hurley that made them legends." - klob

"Well, here's something interesting: a spiky, political post-punk band that actually sounds like they're enjoying themselves! While Minutemen were every bit as biting and incisive as bands like Gang of Four and The Pop Group, their music felt less heady and more casual. Unlike their sloppy hardcore compatriots, Minutemen were technically gifted; despite their guitarist's schlubby appearance and their DIY ethos, they possessed a near-psychic synergy that allowed them to fit their thistle-tight punk-funk grooves and twitchy jazz doodling into less than two minutes a song. How's that for jamming econo?" - Cosmiagramma

"They are easily my favorite punk-rock band of all time because they really could play! They easily filled a minute and a half with five minutes' worth of musical ideas Boon's muscular but quivering vocals is also essential. It can sound both harsh and harrowing. It made their unforgiving and jerky music so much more human and inviting." - stienib

(ANXIOUS MOFOS: schmidtt, jefgoi, gemini_cup, Cosmiagramma, floflo79, MicrophoneFiend, gwilikers6, isthismusic, Drummer1956, Lustrum, DarkIsMyDay, Decibelle, goatlipss, klob, stienib, hickorywind, jshopa, ShallowofDepth, troutmask)

LINK: POLL #1068 (September 2016)

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