eMusic Features

This Is Your Life: Mike Watt

By Douglas Wolk, eMusic Contributor

One of the treasures of American punk rock, Mike Watt has been pounding the bass since he played with Minutemen in the '80s. He's still touring and recording nonstop, with a seemingly infinite succession of bands and projects. He's also a great natural talker — or spieler, as he puts it in his one-man argot — and his idea of the relationship between recordings and performances is a bit different from a lot of rock… more »

01.05.12 Radio Program 0

eMusic’s Best of 2011

By eMusic Editorial Staff, eMusic Contributor

Want to get a snapshot of last year's best music? In our Best of 2011 radio station, you'll hear songs from the artists who provided our 2011 soundtrack. No matter what your taste -- indie rock, jazz, doom metal or avant-folk, you'll find it here in eMusic's Best of 2011 Radio. more »

They Say All Music Guide

For his first solo album, Mike Watt assembled a different band for each track, creating a veritable who’s who of post-punk and alternative rock — Eddie Vedder, Dave Grohl, Thurston Moore, J Mascis, Frank Black, Evan Dando, Dave Pirner, Henry Rollins, Flea, Lee Ranaldo, Mike D, and Pat Smear all appear, among others. Predictably, the sound is somewhat schizophrenic, but no more so than the average Minutemen album. Ball-Hog or Tugboat? is more polished than anything the Minutemen released, yet looser than fIREHOSE, filled with jazz-inflected breaks and sheer sonic freakouts, but dominated by a surprisingly large number of pop songs. On the power pop rush of “Piss-Bottle Man,” Dando sings with more emotion than on most Lemonheads records, and “Chinese Fire Drill” shows an effective folky side to Watt’s music. And Watt’s own vocals on “Big Train” are as big-hearted, sly, and funny as the album itself. – Stephen Thomas Erlewine