Minutemen

Double Nickels on the Dime (1984)

proletariat

A monument of greatness that can be matched only by a few albums, this one is a total masterpiece. The Minutemen are a genre jumping trio that sounds like a mixture of Gang of Four, Creedence Clearwater Revival, and hardcore punk. Their lyrics are mostly about political issues, but they talk about all kinds of things in their music. The lyrics are sometimes metaphorically obtuse and the majority of songs don't follow the verse-chorus-verse structure. D. Boon, the lead singer/guitarist has an everyman kind of voice that sounds sometimes like conversation and sometimes like histrionic screaming. These guys are the definition of punk: unique, imaginitive, and totally out there. This album is their finest statement clocking in at around 70 minutes or so, and having 43 songs, 5 or so that are covers. All in all this is an essential album, and if you want to know how to make music that's totally original, listen to these guys and see how it's done right.