PRIDE OF PEDRO

If you were buying records in the 80s, and still had one toe in punk rock, it's almost guaranteed that you had a copy of the Minutemen's "Double Nickles On The Dime." The 1984 double LP was stylistically all over the place, and hardly punk sounding, but that was part of why it is a landmark album; because "Double Nickles" was where American punk rock really became more than just music, clothes and flicking cigarette butts. Everything about it, and the Minutemen, was about doing whatever you wanted, however you wanted, without fanfare. They were everyman, they were punk rock, and they were grunge before it became a genre. They had day jobs and were proud of their San Pedro roots, and their lack of "cool" is precisely what was cool about them. The Minutemen liberated punk rockers, freeing them from the pigeonholes they themselves had dug. They were a great fucking band.

Trailer for We Jam Econo, the Minutemen documentary

~ NOTE: ALL MEDIA IS HOSTED BY THE BLOGS & SITES NAMED BELOW ~

Music:

Minutemen - Fake Contest mp3 at Corndogs.org
Minutemen - The Anchor mp3 at Clumsy & Shy
Minutemen - Green River (live, '85) mp3 at Corndogs.org
Minutemen - Fortunate Son mp3 at Corndogs.org
Minutemen - I Felt Like A Gringo mp3 at Santa Cruz IndyMedia.org
Minutemen - Prelude mp3 at Corndogs.org
Minutemen - Ain't Talkin' 'bout Love mp3 at Corndogs.org
Minutemen - History Lesson Part II mp3 at What Does Not Change
Minutemen - Corona (live) mp3 at Corndogs.org
Minutemen - Do You Want New Wave or Do You Want the Truth? mp3 at Altered Zones
Mixes and live shows:
Minutemen - 30+ mp3s at CityPages
Minutemen - Just A Minute Men, (live cuts from 1984) 19 individual mp3s at Corndogs.org
Minutemen - 7 more live shows at Corndogs.org
Minutemen - Live set at KPFK (live 21 song set) (via Badongo) mp3 at Music For Maniacs (NOTE: Annoying pop-ups at Badongo. Set phasers on stun.)
Video:
Minutemen - We Jam Econo clip (with acoustic History Lesson Part II) at YouTube
Minutemen - Ain't Talkin' 'bout Love (live) at YouTube
Minutemen - Cut (live, 1984) at YouTube
Minutemen - King of the Hill video at YouTube
Minutemen - 2 Creedence covers, at a backyard party '85 at YouTube
We Jam Econo official site
Read:
Minutemen official site
Minutemen at Wikipedia
Corndogs.org - Incredibly comprehensive Mike Watt page
The Watt From Pedro Show - Mike Watt's Radio show
Mike Watt's Hoot Page