Review Summary: Shoddily produced 1980 debut EP from the San Pedro progenitors of "Science Rock."
Though Minutemen would eventually claim corn dogs, if the band could be compared to anything throughout their tragically short career it would probably be something a little less, well, hearty. The Minutemen played music that was sparse, politically charged and lightning fast. If that description makes them sound like every other neighborhood punk band you’ve ever known, I guess I could start the review by saying this: they’re not, though they probably wouldn’t want you to think much higher of them.
A trio of regular Joe’s from San Pedro, California, all three Minutemen were proud of their working class upbringing and, in a word, modest. Their debut EP (recorded and released by Greg Ginn and his SST Records) exemplifies these ethics to a T, and does so in less than 7 minutes.
While the “neighborhood punk band” might approach politics from an “I’m pissed off and I want change” point of view, lyricists Mike Watt and D. Boon make their opinions known in ways that are both more astute and more relatable at the same time. “I try to talk to girls, [but] I keep thinking of World War III” shouts Boon over characteristically speedy bass and drums in Watt-penned album closer Paranoid Chant. On Joe McCarthy’s Ghost, one of the band members can even be heard proposing “You just sing 'Joe McCarthy', want to do that?” before the song’s drum intro begins. Following the intro, Watt blasts into one of the EP’s most acrobatic bass lines, a finger-shredding number if there ever was one, while Boon rattles off some biting anti-war commentary. Just don’t get up for a snack, or you might miss it.
Though, the Minutemen’s sound on Paranoid Time isn’t quite the force it would soon become, it does hint at some interesting influences. The vocals, more tuneless shouts of anguish than anything, are a far cry from Black Flag’s Henry Rollins and his hardcore bark or even the earnestly juvenile sneer of Milo Auckerman (whose band, Descendents, would release their acclaimed debut on Minutemen’s label, New Alliance.) And the music (outside of exhausting tempos anyway) hardly echoes these acts either, though Watt has an ally in ferocious bass playing with Descendents’ Tony Lombardo. That said, the band’s sound is fairly comparable to English post-punk group Wire, who seem to share the band’s love for short tunes and thrashy guitar. George Hurley, who up until this point was shafted by this review, is also quite the drummer. This is evidenced especially well on the all instrumental, Sickles and Hammers, where he breaks out of the hardcore tradition of 1-2 beats and does a lightning fast cymbal dance underneath Boon’s chiming guitar chords and Watt’s powerful bass riff. On other songs it’s impressive just to hear him stay in time, but he’s just about absent Watt’s poignant Definitions, one of the best tracks on the album.
So, while Paranoid Time isn’t exactly the masterpiece some later Minutemen albums would be, it’s definitely a truly distinctive first effort. All the elements are there, so to speak. So get some quality headphones to block out the sounds of The Lightning Teenage Threat Squadron, or whatever the name of that ***ty hardcore band down the street is, and rejoice that some people, in another time, in another place, made music like this that was smart, original and, above all, good.
-Joe.
