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Avg: 4.5 (622 ratings)
- Date Released: January 1, 1984
- Genre: Rock/Pop
- Style: Hardcore
- Label: SST Records / The Orchard
A twisting path through breakneck punk-funkery
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We Say...
Forget whatever prog-induced nightmares the 43-song tracklist brings to mind -- Double Nickels on the Dime cuts a swaggering path through an hour's worth of breakneck punk-funkery. The Minutemen are known for doing a lot with a little, and for having done it first. Double Nickels finds the guys taking the less-is-more m.o. and dancing all over the musical map. The spirit is undoubtedly "punk" (scratched-out guitars, dime-store production, singer D. Boon's throat-y shouts), but the sprawling set allows for some adventurousness here. Check the faux Flamenco acoustic track "Cohesion," the noodle-y blues shuffle of "Love Dance" and the made-famous-by-Jackass twang-stomp of "Corona" for evidence of some inspired stretching out.
This slaphappy genre hopping wouldn't come off, of course, if they didn't have chops. Luckily the trio, led by rotund firebrand D. Boon (guitar/vocals), play with bluster and charm. The interplay of Boon's wild, spidery (and occasionally cacophonous) guitar with the locked-in, rubbery rhythm section (bassist Mike Watt and drummer George Hurley) set the blueprint for "funky" followers from Red Hot Chili Peppers to Fishbone to the Rapture. Of course, they couldn't replicate Boon's bristling strut.
Balancing a shouty, Reagan-era furor with a keen (and sometimes juvenile) sense of humor, Double Nickels is a definitive '80s political screed. Tracks with titles like "Political Song for Michael Jackson to Sing," "Do You Want New Wave or Do You Want the Truth?" and (hardy har) "The Roar of the Masses Could Be Farts," show how offhandedly Boon and co. could skewer politics and pop culture, and how steadfastly they refused to sit on the sidelines. -
They Say...
If What Makes a Man Start Fires? was a remarkable step forward from the Minutemen's promising debut album, The Punch Line, then Double Nickels on the Dime was a quantum leap into greatness, a sprawling 44-song set that was as impressive as it was ambitious. While punk rock was obviously the starting point for the Minutemen's musical journey (which they celebrated on the funny and moving "History Lesson Part II"), by this point the group seemed up for almost anything -- D. Boon's guitar work suggested the adventurous melodic sense of jazz tempered with the bite and concision of punk rock, while Mike Watt's full-bodied bass was the perfect foil for Boon's leads and drummer George Hurley possessed a snap and swing that would be the envy of nearly any band. In the course of Double Nickels on the Dime's four sides, the band tackles leftist punk ("Political Song for Michael Jackson to Sing"), Spanish guitar workouts ("Cohesion"), neo-Nortena polka ("Corona"), blues-based laments ("Jesus and Tequila"), avant-garde exercises ("Mr. Robot's Holy Orders"), and even a stripped-to-the-frame Van Halen cover ("Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love"). From start to finish, the Minutemen play and sing with an estimable intelligence and unshakable conviction, and the album is full of striking moments that cohere into a truly remarkable whole; all three members write with smarts, good humor, and an eye for the adventurous, and they hit pay dirt with startling frequency. And if Ethan James' production is a bit Spartan, it's also efficient, cleaner than their work with Spot, and captures the performances with clarity (and without intruding upon the band's ideas). Simply put, Double Nickels on the Dime was the finest album of the Minutemen's career, and one of the very best American rock albums of the 1980s.
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| 01. |  |
D.'s Car Jam / Anxious Mo-Fo |
1:19 |
|
| 02. | |
Theatre Is The Life Of You |
1:30 |
|
| 03. | |
Viet Nam |
1:27 |
|
| 04. | |
Cohesion |
1:55 |
|
| 05. | |
It's Expected I'm Gone |
2:04 |
|
| 06. | |
#1 Hit Song |
1:47 |
|
| 07. | |
Two Beads At The End |
1:52 |
|
| 08. | |
Do You Want New Wave Or Do You Want The Truth |
1:49 |
|
| 09. | |
Don't Look Now |
1:46 |
|
| 10. | |
Shit From An Old Notebook |
1:35 |
|
| 11. | |
Nature Without Man |
1:45 |
|
| 12. | |
One Reporters Opinion |
1:50 |
|
| 13. | |
Political Song For Michael Jackson To Sing |
1:33 |
|
| 14. | |
Maybe Partying Will Help |
1:56 |
|
| 15. | |
Toadies |
1:38 |
|
| 16. | |
Retreat |
2:01 |
|
| 17. | |
The Big Foist |
1:29 |
|
| 18. | |
God Bows To Math |
1:15 |
|
| 19. | |
Corona |
2:24 |
|
| 20. | |
The Glory Of Man |
2:55 |
|
| 21. | |
Take 5, D. |
1:40 |
|
| 22. | |
My Heart And The Real World |
1:05 |
|
| 23. | |
History Lesson Part 2 |
2:10 |
|
| 24. | |
You Need The Glory |
2:01 |
|
| 25. | |
The Roar Of The Masses Could Be Farts |
1:20 |
|
| 26. | |
West Germany |
1:48 |
|
| 27. | |
The Politics Of Time |
1:10 |
|
| 28. | |
Themselves |
1:17 |
|
| 29. | |
Please Don't Be Gentle With Me |
0:46 |
|
| 30. | |
Nothing Indeed |
1:21 |
|
| 31. | |
No Exchange |
1:50 |
|
| 32. | |
There Ain't Shit On T.V. Tonight |
1:34 |
|
| 33. | |
This Ain't No Picnic |
1:56 |
|
| 34. | |
Spillage |
1:51 |
|
| 35. | |
Untitled Song For Latin America |
2:03 |
|
| 36. | |
Jesus And Tequila |
2:52 |
|
| 37. | |
June 16th |
1:48 |
|
| 38. | |
Storm In My House |
1:57 |
|
| 39. | |
Martin's Story |
0:51 |
|
| 40. | |
Dr. Wu |
1:44 |
|
| 41. | |
The World According To Nouns |
2:05 |
|
| 42. | |
Love Dance |
2:00 |
|
| 43. |
Three Car Jam |
0:36 |
|
|
43 Total Tracks, 73:35 Total Length
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