Minutemen (band)

The Minutemen were a punk rock band from San Pedro, California near Los Angeles. They recorded in the late 1970s and early 1980s until the untimely death of singer/guitarist D. Boon in December 1985. Influenced heavily by Wire and The Urinals, all of their early songs were less than a minute long. Hence, they adopted the name "Minutemen."

Greg Ginn of Black Flag and SST Records produced their first 45" EP, Paranoid Time, which solidified their eclectic style. They were known for hybridizing punk rock with forms of jazz, funk, and blues in novel ways, perhaps best exemplified on 1984's double-album, Double Nickels on the Dime, which included over 50 songs. They diverged dramatically from the hardcore punk orthodoxy of the 1980s with their inventive songwriting and their penchant for playing covers of "classic rock" like Creedence Clearwater Revival and Blue Oyster Cult without irony.

Lyrically, D. Boon and Mike Watt tended toward poetic rants often embued with leftist politics. On Double Nickels, they co-wrote some songs with others, notably Henry Rollins, Chuck Dukowski, and Joe Baiza. Surviving members Mike Watt (bass) and George Hurley (drums) played in Firehose and have done solo projects since.

Discography (all on SST Records except where noted)

LPs

• The Punch Line (1981)

• What Makes A Man Start Fires? (1982)

• The Politics of Time (New Alliance 1984)

• Double Nickels on the Dime (1984)

• Three-Way Tie for Last ( 1985)

• Ballot Result (1986)

45s/EPs

• Paranoid Time (1980)

• Bean-Spill (Thermidor 1982)

• Joy (198x)

• Buzz or Howl Under the Influence of Heat (1983)

• Tour-Spiel (Reflex 1984)

• Project: Mersh (1985)

• Minuteflag (1985) (collaboration with members of Black Flag)

Music videos

• "This Ain't No Picnic" (from Double Nickels on the Dime, 1984)

See Minutemen for information on U.S. Revolutionary War militia members.