Minutemen

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San Pedro, California, United States (1980 – 1985)

The Minutemen were a trio which formed in 1980 in San Pedro, California, United States. The band comprised guitarist/vocalist D Boon and his childhood friend, bassist/vocalist Mike Watt, along with a former high school classmate on drums, George Hurley.

The group played influenced punk rock music in the early 1980s never finding (or even seeking) much mainstream success, but influencing many subsequent musicians. The group ended when Boon died in an automobile accident in Arizona in December 1985.

Influences and Creativity

They were influenced heavily by bands such as Wire, Gang of Four, The Pop Group, The Urinals and also funk bands of the late ’60s and ’70s were an important influence. nearly all of their early songs had unusual structures and were less than a minute long — even later when the Minutemen’s music became slightly more conventional, their songs rarely passed the three-minute mark.

Boon and Watt split songwriting fairly evenly (and Hurley made many contributions as well), though Watt rarely sang, and Hurley even less so. Boon’s songs were typically more direct and progressively in nature, while Watt’s were often abstract, self-referential “spiels”. Lyrics and themes would thus often veer from surreal humor, as in “Bob Dylan Wrote Propaganda Songs” and “One Reporter’s Opinion”, to the frustrations of blue collar life in California, as in the enduring “This Ain’t No Picnic”.
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Top Albums

  • Double Nickels on the Dime
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  • What Makes a Man Start Fires?
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  • The Politics of Time
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  • The Punch Line
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Top Tracks

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  • nandosiol

    This Ain't No Picnic!

    21 days ago
  • Rise_Phoenix

    He is only a skeleton!

    23 days ago
  • courtjester555

    What could be romantic to Mike Watt?

    24 days ago
  • CambodianEaster

    Awesome band. Punk rock at it's finest

    27 days ago
  • metal_gimp

    Good stuff! Been meaning to check these guys out for a while... being reminded about them since I saw their Double Nickels on the Dime LP being stolen from John Cusack's record store in High Fidelity!

    last month
  • weedmanwwry

    but do you think they coul d do it sweatbloodtears??

    last month
  • sweatbloodtears

    to the guy saying about the tupac hologram shutup you're an idiot

    last month
  • SomethingFishy1

    In my humble opinion, greatest rock band ever.

    last month
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