Double Nickels on the Dime
Encyclopedia
Double Nickels on the Dime is the third studio album
by American punk
trio Minutemen
, released on the California
n independent record label
SST Records
in 1984. A double album
containing forty-five songs, Double Nickels on the Dime combines elements of punk rock, funk, country
, spoken word
and jazz
, and references a variety of themes, from the Vietnam War
and racism in America, to working class
experience and linguistics.
Minutemen had originally recorded an album's worth of material in November 1983 with producer Ethan James
, but after hearing Hüsker Dü
's Zen Arcade
, decided to write and record more material in April 1984. After recording the new material, the band members each selected songs for different sides of the double album, with the fourth side named "Chaff". Several songs on Double Nickels on the Dime were outsourced to or inspired by contemporaries, such as Black Flag
's Henry Rollins
and Jack Brewer of Saccharine Trust
.
Double Nickels on the Dime is seen not only as Minutemen's crowning achievement, but, as critic Mark Deming notes, "one of the very best American rock albums of the 1980s." The album now appears on many professional lists of the all-time best rock albums, including Rolling Stone' s 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.
and bassist Mike Watt
, both from San Pedro, California, in 1980. After their previous band, The Reactionaries, disbanded in 1979, the pair continued to write new material and formed the band with drummer Frank Tonche
a year later. Minutemen signed to the California
n independent record label
SST Records
following their second gig. George Hurley
, the former drummer of The Reactionaries, replaced Tonche as drummer soon afterwards. The Minutemen were noted in the California punk scene for a philosophy of "jamming econo"; a sense of thriftiness reflected in their touring and presentation. They soon released numerous recordings through SST and their own label, New Alliance Records
, while touring with hardcore punk
bands like Black Flag
and Hüsker Dü
.
In January 1983, Minutemen were asked by ex-Blue Cheer
keyboardist and local producer Ethan James
to contribute a song to Radio Tokyo Tapes, a compilation named after the Californian studio where James worked. The band agreed and contributed three songs to the compilation, with James recording them all for free. These three songs, and another five recorded in May 1983 for a total of $50, were included in their 1983 EP
Buzz or Howl Under the Influence of Heat
. The band had recorded solely with SST engineer Spot
prior to the recordings. However, they were so impressed by the sessions that they enlisted James to record their next full-length album; Watt later commented: "Ethan, although not knowing us much, tapped right in." After their European tour in mid-1983 with Black Flag, Minutemen entered Radio Tokyo Studios in November to record their next studio album.
double album Zen Arcade
(1984), which had been recorded a month earlier, Minutemen decided to write more material. Watt later commented: "It wasn't really a competition even. When I wrote 'Take that Hüskers!" in [the album's liner notes] it was acknowledging that they gave us the idea to make a double album." Unlike Hüsker Dü
's Zen Arcade, Minutemen did not have a unifying concept, but soon decided that the record's concept would be their cars.
The band wrote almost two dozen more songs for a second recording session with James in April 1984. Double Nickels on the Dime was then mixed on a single eight-track in one night by James and cost $1,100 to record. Several songs on the album were recorded elsewhere; a studio-recorded cover of Creedence Clearwater Revival
's "Don't Look Now" was replaced with a live version of the song, and according to Watt, "Love Dance" was written at Ian MacKaye
's Dischord House
.
For sequencing, the band decided that each band member would be allocated a side of the record, an arrangement inspired by Pink Floyd
's 1969 double album Ummagumma
. The band drew straws to select songs; Hurley won the draw and decided to pick his solo track "You Need the Glory", followed by Boon and Watt. The fourth side of the record was named "Side Chaff
", an admission that the songs present were the leftover songs.
, others, including "One Reporter's Opinion" and "This Ain't No Picnic", are more inspired by punk rock and funk. As with their previous material, Minutemen ignored conventional song structures and chose to experiment with rhythm, texture and dynamics. Most of the songs are brief; only one , "Mr. Robot's Holy Orders" is longer than three minutes.
Watt favored complex and abstract lyrical themes, exemplified by songs such as "The Glory Of Man" and "My Heart and the Real World". Influenced by James Joyce
's novel Ulysses
(the subject of "June 16th") and the stream of consciousness literary technique
in general, Watt's lyrics were often complex and philosophical. On "Take 5, D.", Boon felt that the lyrics were "too spacey". Watt agreed to rewrite the song, adding: "There ain't nothing going to be more real." He found a new set of lyrics: a note from a friend's landlady about a shower.
Double Nickels on the Dime contained several inside jokes that were missed by the band's audience. Watt later remarked: "No one knew what the fuck we were talking about. We'd explain it to people and they'd say, 'I don't get it, what's so funny about that?' And we couldn't tell them because it was our whole angle on the rock & roll, our worldview on the music scene."
song "I Can't Drive 55
," a protest against the federally-imposed speed limit of 55 miles per hour on all U.S. highways. Minutemen decided that driving fast "wasn't terribly defiant"; Watt later commented that "the big rebellion thing was writing your own fuckin' songs and trying to come up with your own story, your own picture, your own book, whatever. So he can't drive 55, because that was the national speed limit? Okay, we'll drive 55, but we'll make crazy music."
The band illustrated the theme on the cover of Double Nickels on the Dime, which depicts Watt driving his Volkswagen Beetle
at exactly 55 miles per hour ("double nickels" in trucker slang) on the dime (as in precisely [or alternatively: Watt is driving on Highway 10, which is sometimes called "The Dime" in trucker slang] ). "The title means fifty-five miles per hour on the button, like we were Johnny Conservative." Dirk Vandenberg, the band's "buddy/contributor," took photos from the backseat as Watt drove under the sign to San Pedro, the band's home town; it took three circuits of the highway and two days of photography before Minutemen were happy with the cover. Vandenberg later commented on the cover art: "There were three elements that Mike [Watt] wanted in the photo: a natural kind of glint in his eyes reflected in the rearview mirror, the speedometer pinned exactly at 55mph, and, of course, the San Pedro sign guiding us home". However, when the cover was presented to SST, "someone botched the cropping for the print and cut off the end of the word Pedro."
released Double Nickels on the Dime on double vinyl in July 1984. SST delayed the release of Zen Arcade
by Hüsker Dü
so that both albums could be released simultaneously. After the release of Double Nickels on the Dime, Minutemen toured almost constantly to promote the record. One 1984 tour saw the band playing 57 dates in 63 days. The album sold fifteen thousand copies during 1984, a respectable amount for a band on an independent record label. As of 2008, Double Nickels on the Dime remains Minutemen's best-selling record.
No singles were released to promote Double Nickels on the Dime, but two videos, "This Ain't No Picnic
" and "Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love
" (a cover of a song by Van Halen
, which the aforementioned Hagar would eventually join), were released as "flyers". Made for $440 by a University of California, Los Angeles
graduate, Anthony Johnson, "This Ain't No Picnic" was Minutemen's first video and was later nominated for an MTV award. The video for "This Ain't No Picnic" features the band playing amidst rubble as a fighter plane "piloted" by Ronald Reagan
, edited from public domain footage, fires at them. The video of "Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love", released by SST as a promotional video, was a 40-second recording of a live performance.
In August 1987, Watt and producer Vitus Matare remastered Double Nickels on the Dime for a CD release. To ensure that the CD would be compatible with all players, they omitted all car jams, except Boon's, and three songs: "Mr. Robot's Holy Orders", "Ain't Talkin' 'bout Love
" and "Little Man With A Gun In His Hand." Watt commented later that the remix was a "nightmare" and "totally worse than the Ethan James mix." Watt reverted to the original mix for a 1989 CD release of Double Nickels on the Dime, but did not include the previously omitted songs. In a January 2006 interview, Watt announced his intention to discuss a remastered full Double Nickels on the Dime CD release with SST owner Greg Ginn
.
gave Double Nickels on the Dime an A- rating, describing Boon as a "somewhat limited singer" but "a hell of a reader, with a guitar that rhymes", and remarking "this is poetry-with-jazz as it always should have been." Christgau later said that he underrated the album on its original release. Double Nickels on the Dime placed at number 14 in the publication's end of year Pazz & Jop
critics' poll. Reviewing the album in February 1985, Rolling Stone
' s David Fricke
awarded the album three and a half stars, and also praised Boon's technique, stating: "The telegraphic stutter and almost scientific angularity of singer-guitarist D. Boon's chordings and breakneck solos heighten the jazzier tangents he dares to take," but that "Double Nickels on the Dime' s best moments go far too quickly."
Later reviews have also been positive: Allmusic's Mark Deming described Double Nickels on the Dime as a "quantum leap into greatness" for Minutemen, describing the album as "full of striking moments that cohere into a truly remarkable whole" and awarding a maximum five stars. Journalist Michael Azerrad
, profiling Minutemen in his book Our Band Could Be Your Life
(titled after a lyric from the "History Lesson — Part II"), named Double Nickels on the Dime as "one of the greatest achievements of the indie era" and described it as a "Whitman's sampler of left-wing politics, moving autobiographical vignettes, and twisted Beefheartian twang". Several publications have raised their rating of the album in the years since its release; Rolling Stone re-reviewed Double Nickels on the Dime for the 2004 Album Guide
and gave it its classic rating, a maximum five stars.
Although not commercially successful upon its release, Double Nickels on the Dime marked the point where many punk bands began to ignore the stylistic limitations of the hardcore
scene. According to American Hardcore: A Tribal History
author Steven Blush
, Double Nickels on the Dime was, along with Zen Arcade
, "either the pinnacle or downfall of the pure hardcore scene." Watt later commented that Double Nickels on the Dime was the "best album I ever played on."
Side Mike
Side George
Side Chaff
Studio album
A studio album is an album made up of tracks recorded in the controlled environment of a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or...
by American punk
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
trio Minutemen
Minutemen (band)
Minutemen were an American hardcore punk band formed in San Pedro, California in 1980. Composed of guitarist D. Boon, bassist Mike Watt and drummer George Hurley, Minutemen recorded four albums and eight EPs before Boon's death in an automobile accident in December 1985...
, released on the California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
n independent record label
Independent record label
An independent record label is a record label operating without the funding of or outside the organizations of the major record labels. A great number of bands and musical acts begin on independent labels.-Overview:...
SST Records
SST Records
SST Records is an American independent record label formed in 1978 in Long Beach, California by musician Greg Ginn. The company was initially called Solid State Transmitters through which Ginn sold electronics equipment...
in 1984. A double album
Double album
A double album is an audio album which spans two units of the primary medium in which it is sold, typically records and compact discs....
containing forty-five songs, Double Nickels on the Dime combines elements of punk rock, funk, country
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
, spoken word
Spoken word
Spoken word is a form of poetry that often uses alliterated prose or verse and occasionally uses metered verse to express social commentary. Traditionally it is in the first person, is from the poet’s point of view and is themed in current events....
and jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
, and references a variety of themes, from the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
and racism in America, to working class
Working class
Working class is a term used in the social sciences and in ordinary conversation to describe those employed in lower tier jobs , often extending to those in unemployment or otherwise possessing below-average incomes...
experience and linguistics.
Minutemen had originally recorded an album's worth of material in November 1983 with producer Ethan James
Ethan James (producer)
Ethan James was a musician, record producer, and recording engineer best known for his work on the Minutemen's seminal album Double Nickels on the Dime. He also produced and engineered albums for such acts as Black Flag, The Bangles, Rain Parade, Dos, and many others...
, but after hearing Hüsker Dü
Hüsker Dü
Hüsker Dü was an American rock band formed in Saint Paul, Minnesota in 1979. The band's continual members were guitarist Bob Mould, bassist Greg Norton, and drummer Grant Hart....
's Zen Arcade
Zen Arcade
Upon its release Zen Arcade received positive reviews in many mainstream publications, including NME, The New York Times and Rolling Stone. In his review for Rolling Stone, David Fricke described Zen Arcade as "the closest hardcore will ever get to an opera .....
, decided to write and record more material in April 1984. After recording the new material, the band members each selected songs for different sides of the double album, with the fourth side named "Chaff". Several songs on Double Nickels on the Dime were outsourced to or inspired by contemporaries, such as Black Flag
Black Flag (band)
Black Flag was an American punk rock band formed in 1976 in Hermosa Beach, California. The band was established by Greg Ginn, the guitarist, primary songwriter and sole continuous member through multiple personnel changes in the band...
's Henry Rollins
Henry Rollins
Henry Rollins is an American singer-songwriter, spoken word artist, writer, comedian, publisher, actor, and radio DJ....
and Jack Brewer of Saccharine Trust
Saccharine Trust
Saccharine Trust is a post-hardcore band from California that was started in 1980 by singer Jack Brewer and guitarist Joe Baiza.The band would frequently perform with SST labelmates Minutemen and Black Flag. Drummer Rob Holzman appeared on their 1981 debut Paganicons but left the band to play in...
.
Double Nickels on the Dime is seen not only as Minutemen's crowning achievement, but, as critic Mark Deming notes, "one of the very best American rock albums of the 1980s." The album now appears on many professional lists of the all-time best rock albums, including Rolling Stone
Background
Minutemen were formed by guitarist D. BoonD. Boon
d. Boon born Dennes Dale Boon, was an American singer, songwriter and guitarist. Active between 1978, when he joined The Reactionaries, and 1985, when he was killed in a van accident, Boon was best known as the guitarist and vocalist of the Californian punk rock trio Minutemen.-Youth:Dennes Boon...
and bassist Mike Watt
Mike Watt
Michael David Watt is an American bassist, singer and songwriter.He is best known for co-founding the rock bands Minutemen, dos, and Firehose; , he is also the bassist for the reunited Stooges and a member of the art rock/jazz/punk/improv group Banyan as well as many other post-Minutemen...
, both from San Pedro, California, in 1980. After their previous band, The Reactionaries, disbanded in 1979, the pair continued to write new material and formed the band with drummer Frank Tonche
Frank Tonche
Frank Tonche was the original drummer for The Minutemen.When the band was formed by D. Boon and Mike Watt after their first serious attempt at a band, The Reactionaries, fell apart, they had originally wanted their friend and fellow ex-Reactionaries drummer George Hurley to hold the drum seat, but...
a year later. Minutemen signed to the California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
n independent record label
Independent record label
An independent record label is a record label operating without the funding of or outside the organizations of the major record labels. A great number of bands and musical acts begin on independent labels.-Overview:...
SST Records
SST Records
SST Records is an American independent record label formed in 1978 in Long Beach, California by musician Greg Ginn. The company was initially called Solid State Transmitters through which Ginn sold electronics equipment...
following their second gig. George Hurley
George Hurley
George Hurley is a drummer noted for his work with The Minutemen and fIREHOSE.Even though he went to the same high school as D. Boon and Mike Watt he did not meet them until around 1978. That same year, Hurley formed The Reactionaries with Boon, Watt, and Martin Tamburovich...
, the former drummer of The Reactionaries, replaced Tonche as drummer soon afterwards. The Minutemen were noted in the California punk scene for a philosophy of "jamming econo"; a sense of thriftiness reflected in their touring and presentation. They soon released numerous recordings through SST and their own label, New Alliance Records
New Alliance Records
New Alliance Records was the record label founded by The Minutemen's D. Boon and Mike Watt and longtime friend and associate Martin Tamburovich after the example of Black Flag's SST Records...
, while touring with hardcore punk
Hardcore punk
Hardcore punk is an underground music genre that originated in the late 1970s, following the mainstream success of punk rock. Hardcore is generally faster, thicker, and heavier than earlier punk rock. The origin of the term "hardcore punk" is uncertain. The Vancouver-based band D.O.A...
bands like Black Flag
Black Flag (band)
Black Flag was an American punk rock band formed in 1976 in Hermosa Beach, California. The band was established by Greg Ginn, the guitarist, primary songwriter and sole continuous member through multiple personnel changes in the band...
and Hüsker Dü
Hüsker Dü
Hüsker Dü was an American rock band formed in Saint Paul, Minnesota in 1979. The band's continual members were guitarist Bob Mould, bassist Greg Norton, and drummer Grant Hart....
.
In January 1983, Minutemen were asked by ex-Blue Cheer
Blue Cheer
Blue Cheer was an American psychedelic blues-rock band that initially performed and recorded in the late 1960s and early 1970s and was sporadically active until 2009...
keyboardist and local producer Ethan James
Ethan James (producer)
Ethan James was a musician, record producer, and recording engineer best known for his work on the Minutemen's seminal album Double Nickels on the Dime. He also produced and engineered albums for such acts as Black Flag, The Bangles, Rain Parade, Dos, and many others...
to contribute a song to Radio Tokyo Tapes, a compilation named after the Californian studio where James worked. The band agreed and contributed three songs to the compilation, with James recording them all for free. These three songs, and another five recorded in May 1983 for a total of $50, were included in their 1983 EP
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
Buzz or Howl Under the Influence of Heat
Buzz or Howl Under the Influence of Heat
Buzz or Howl Under the Influence of Heat is the sixth overall release from American hardcore punk band Minutemen.-History of the EP:...
. The band had recorded solely with SST engineer Spot
Spot (producer)
SPOT, , was the house producer and engineer for the influential independent punk record label SST Records. He recorded, mixed, produced or co-produced for most of SST's pivotal acts between 1979 and 1985...
prior to the recordings. However, they were so impressed by the sessions that they enlisted James to record their next full-length album; Watt later commented: "Ethan, although not knowing us much, tapped right in." After their European tour in mid-1983 with Black Flag, Minutemen entered Radio Tokyo Studios in November to record their next studio album.
Recording and production
Minutemen originally recorded an "album's worth of material" with James in November 1983 in Radio Tokyo Studios. However, after hearing labelmates Hüsker DüHüsker Dü
Hüsker Dü was an American rock band formed in Saint Paul, Minnesota in 1979. The band's continual members were guitarist Bob Mould, bassist Greg Norton, and drummer Grant Hart....
double album Zen Arcade
Zen Arcade
Upon its release Zen Arcade received positive reviews in many mainstream publications, including NME, The New York Times and Rolling Stone. In his review for Rolling Stone, David Fricke described Zen Arcade as "the closest hardcore will ever get to an opera .....
(1984), which had been recorded a month earlier, Minutemen decided to write more material. Watt later commented: "It wasn't really a competition even. When I wrote 'Take that Hüskers!" in [the album's liner notes] it was acknowledging that they gave us the idea to make a double album." Unlike Hüsker Dü
Hüsker Dü
Hüsker Dü was an American rock band formed in Saint Paul, Minnesota in 1979. The band's continual members were guitarist Bob Mould, bassist Greg Norton, and drummer Grant Hart....
's Zen Arcade, Minutemen did not have a unifying concept, but soon decided that the record's concept would be their cars.
The band wrote almost two dozen more songs for a second recording session with James in April 1984. Double Nickels on the Dime was then mixed on a single eight-track in one night by James and cost $1,100 to record. Several songs on the album were recorded elsewhere; a studio-recorded cover of Creedence Clearwater Revival
Creedence Clearwater Revival
Creedence Clearwater Revival was an American rock band that gained popularity in the late 1960s and early 1970s with a number of successful singles drawn from various albums....
's "Don't Look Now" was replaced with a live version of the song, and according to Watt, "Love Dance" was written at Ian MacKaye
Ian MacKaye
Ian Thomas Garner MacKaye is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, musician, label owner, and producer. Active since 1979, MacKaye is best known for being the frontman of the influential hardcore punk bands Minor Threat and The Teen Idles, the post-hardcore bands Embrace and Fugazi, as well...
's Dischord House
Dischord Records
Dischord Records is a Washington, D.C.-based independent record label specializing in the independent punk music of the D.C.-area music scene. The label is co-owned by Ian MacKaye and Jeff Nelson, who founded Dischord in 1980 to release Minor Disturbance by The Teen Idles...
.
For sequencing, the band decided that each band member would be allocated a side of the record, an arrangement inspired by Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd were an English rock band that achieved worldwide success with their progressive and psychedelic rock music. Their work is marked by the use of philosophical lyrics, sonic experimentation, innovative album art, and elaborate live shows. Pink Floyd are one of the most commercially...
's 1969 double album Ummagumma
Ummagumma
Ummagumma is a double album by English progressive rock band Pink Floyd, released in 1969 by Harvest and EMI in the United Kingdom and Harvest and Capitol in the United States...
. The band drew straws to select songs; Hurley won the draw and decided to pick his solo track "You Need the Glory", followed by Boon and Watt. The fourth side of the record was named "Side Chaff
Chaff
Chaff is the dry, scaly protective casings of the seeds of cereal grain, or similar fine, dry, scaly plant material such as scaly parts of flowers, or finely chopped straw...
", an admission that the songs present were the leftover songs.
Music
Double Nickels on the Dime features an eclectic mix of musical styles. While songs such as "Do You Want New Wave Or Do You Want The Truth?" and "Take 5, D." are a combination of spoken word and free jazzFree jazz
Free jazz is an approach to jazz music that was first developed in the 1950s and 1960s. Though the music produced by free jazz pioneers varied widely, the common feature was a dissatisfaction with the limitations of bebop, hard bop, and modal jazz, which had developed in the 1940s and 1950s...
, others, including "One Reporter's Opinion" and "This Ain't No Picnic", are more inspired by punk rock and funk. As with their previous material, Minutemen ignored conventional song structures and chose to experiment with rhythm, texture and dynamics. Most of the songs are brief; only one , "Mr. Robot's Holy Orders" is longer than three minutes.
Content
The songwriting styles of Boon and Watt on Double Nickels on the Dime contrasted. Boon tended to write the band's anthems, and often explored wider political issues. "This Ain't No Picnic", was an example of his approach. Exploring racism and the strife of the working class with both gravity and humor; he composed the song after his supervisor would not let him listen to jazz and soul music, claiming it was "nigger shit."Watt favored complex and abstract lyrical themes, exemplified by songs such as "The Glory Of Man" and "My Heart and the Real World". Influenced by James Joyce
James Joyce
James Augustine Aloysius Joyce was an Irish novelist and poet, considered to be one of the most influential writers in the modernist avant-garde of the early 20th century...
's novel Ulysses
Ulysses (novel)
Ulysses is a novel by the Irish author James Joyce. It was first serialised in parts in the American journal The Little Review from March 1918 to December 1920, and then published in its entirety by Sylvia Beach on 2 February 1922, in Paris. One of the most important works of Modernist literature,...
(the subject of "June 16th") and the stream of consciousness literary technique
Literary technique
A literary technique is any element or the entirety of elements a writer intentionally uses in the structure of their work...
in general, Watt's lyrics were often complex and philosophical. On "Take 5, D.", Boon felt that the lyrics were "too spacey". Watt agreed to rewrite the song, adding: "There ain't nothing going to be more real." He found a new set of lyrics: a note from a friend's landlady about a shower.
Double Nickels on the Dime contained several inside jokes that were missed by the band's audience. Watt later remarked: "No one knew what the fuck we were talking about. We'd explain it to people and they'd say, 'I don't get it, what's so funny about that?' And we couldn't tell them because it was our whole angle on the rock & roll, our worldview on the music scene."
Imagery
The album was named Double Nickels on the Dime as a reaction to the Sammy HagarSammy Hagar
Sam Roy "Sammy" Hagar , also known as The Red Rocker, is an American rock singer, guitarist, and songwriter. Also sings Country Music....
song "I Can't Drive 55
I Can't Drive 55
"I Can't Drive 55" was the lead single and first track from Sammy Hagar's eighth studio album VOA in 1984. Perpetuated by a very successful music video, it became a concert staple that continued throughout Sammy's tours as a member of Van Halen....
," a protest against the federally-imposed speed limit of 55 miles per hour on all U.S. highways. Minutemen decided that driving fast "wasn't terribly defiant"; Watt later commented that "the big rebellion thing was writing your own fuckin' songs and trying to come up with your own story, your own picture, your own book, whatever. So he can't drive 55, because that was the national speed limit? Okay, we'll drive 55, but we'll make crazy music."
The band illustrated the theme on the cover of Double Nickels on the Dime, which depicts Watt driving his Volkswagen Beetle
Volkswagen Beetle
The Volkswagen Type 1, widely known as the Volkswagen Beetle or Volkswagen Bug, is an economy car produced by the German auto maker Volkswagen from 1938 until 2003...
at exactly 55 miles per hour ("double nickels" in trucker slang) on the dime (as in precisely [or alternatively: Watt is driving on Highway 10, which is sometimes called "The Dime" in trucker slang] ). "The title means fifty-five miles per hour on the button, like we were Johnny Conservative." Dirk Vandenberg, the band's "buddy/contributor," took photos from the backseat as Watt drove under the sign to San Pedro, the band's home town; it took three circuits of the highway and two days of photography before Minutemen were happy with the cover. Vandenberg later commented on the cover art: "There were three elements that Mike [Watt] wanted in the photo: a natural kind of glint in his eyes reflected in the rearview mirror, the speedometer pinned exactly at 55mph, and, of course, the San Pedro sign guiding us home". However, when the cover was presented to SST, "someone botched the cropping for the print and cut off the end of the word Pedro."
Release
SST RecordsSST Records
SST Records is an American independent record label formed in 1978 in Long Beach, California by musician Greg Ginn. The company was initially called Solid State Transmitters through which Ginn sold electronics equipment...
released Double Nickels on the Dime on double vinyl in July 1984. SST delayed the release of Zen Arcade
Zen Arcade
Upon its release Zen Arcade received positive reviews in many mainstream publications, including NME, The New York Times and Rolling Stone. In his review for Rolling Stone, David Fricke described Zen Arcade as "the closest hardcore will ever get to an opera .....
by Hüsker Dü
Hüsker Dü
Hüsker Dü was an American rock band formed in Saint Paul, Minnesota in 1979. The band's continual members were guitarist Bob Mould, bassist Greg Norton, and drummer Grant Hart....
so that both albums could be released simultaneously. After the release of Double Nickels on the Dime, Minutemen toured almost constantly to promote the record. One 1984 tour saw the band playing 57 dates in 63 days. The album sold fifteen thousand copies during 1984, a respectable amount for a band on an independent record label. As of 2008, Double Nickels on the Dime remains Minutemen's best-selling record.
No singles were released to promote Double Nickels on the Dime, but two videos, "This Ain't No Picnic
This Ain't No Picnic
"This Ain't No Picnic" is a song by punk/alternative band Minutemen. It appears on their 1984 double album Double Nickels on the Dime, and was composed by their lead singer and guitarist D. Boon.-Background:...
" and "Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love
Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love
"Ain't Talkin' 'bout Love" is a song by Van Halen, from their 1978 eponymous debut album.When Eddie Van Halen originally wrote the song a year before the album was released, he did not consider it good enough to show his bandmates....
" (a cover of a song by Van Halen
Van Halen
Van Halen is an American hard rock band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1972. The band has enjoyed success since the release of its debut album, Van Halen, . As of 2007 Van Halen has sold 80 million albums worldwide and has had the most #1 hits on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart...
, which the aforementioned Hagar would eventually join), were released as "flyers". Made for $440 by a University of California, Los Angeles
University of California, Los Angeles
The University of California, Los Angeles is a public research university located in the Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, USA. It was founded in 1919 as the "Southern Branch" of the University of California and is the second oldest of the ten campuses...
graduate, Anthony Johnson, "This Ain't No Picnic" was Minutemen's first video and was later nominated for an MTV award. The video for "This Ain't No Picnic" features the band playing amidst rubble as a fighter plane "piloted" by Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
, edited from public domain footage, fires at them. The video of "Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love", released by SST as a promotional video, was a 40-second recording of a live performance.
In August 1987, Watt and producer Vitus Matare remastered Double Nickels on the Dime for a CD release. To ensure that the CD would be compatible with all players, they omitted all car jams, except Boon's, and three songs: "Mr. Robot's Holy Orders", "Ain't Talkin' 'bout Love
Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love
"Ain't Talkin' 'bout Love" is a song by Van Halen, from their 1978 eponymous debut album.When Eddie Van Halen originally wrote the song a year before the album was released, he did not consider it good enough to show his bandmates....
" and "Little Man With A Gun In His Hand." Watt commented later that the remix was a "nightmare" and "totally worse than the Ethan James mix." Watt reverted to the original mix for a 1989 CD release of Double Nickels on the Dime, but did not include the previously omitted songs. In a January 2006 interview, Watt announced his intention to discuss a remastered full Double Nickels on the Dime CD release with SST owner Greg Ginn
Greg Ginn
Gregory Regis Ginn is a guitarist, songwriter, and singer. He is best known for being the leader of and primary songwriter for the hardcore punk band Black Flag, which he founded and led from 1976 to 1986....
.
Critical recognition
Upon its release, Double Nickels on the Dime received critical acclaim from a range of American critics; however as a regional independent record label, many of SST's releases did not attract attention from British music magazines. Village Voice critic Robert ChristgauRobert Christgau
Robert Christgau is an American essayist, music journalist, and self-proclaimed "Dean of American Rock Critics".One of the earliest professional rock critics, Christgau is known for his terse capsule reviews, published since 1969 in his Consumer Guide columns...
gave Double Nickels on the Dime an A- rating, describing Boon as a "somewhat limited singer" but "a hell of a reader, with a guitar that rhymes", and remarking "this is poetry-with-jazz as it always should have been." Christgau later said that he underrated the album on its original release. Double Nickels on the Dime placed at number 14 in the publication's end of year Pazz & Jop
Pazz & Jop
The Pazz & Jop critics' poll is a poll of music critics run by The Village Voice newspaper. It is compiled every year from the top ten lists of hundreds of music critics...
critics' poll. Reviewing the album in February 1985, Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
David Fricke
David Fricke is a senior editor at Rolling Stone magazine, where he writes predominantly on rock music. In the 1990s, he was managing editor before stepping down.-Background:David Fricke is a graduate of Muhlenberg College in Allentown, Pennsylvania...
awarded the album three and a half stars, and also praised Boon's technique, stating: "The telegraphic stutter and almost scientific angularity of singer-guitarist D. Boon's chordings and breakneck solos heighten the jazzier tangents he dares to take," but that "Double Nickels on the Dime
Later reviews have also been positive: Allmusic's Mark Deming described Double Nickels on the Dime as a "quantum leap into greatness" for Minutemen, describing the album as "full of striking moments that cohere into a truly remarkable whole" and awarding a maximum five stars. Journalist Michael Azerrad
Michael Azerrad
Michael Azerrad is an American author, journalist and musician. He grew up in the New York City area and received his BA degree from Columbia College in 1983...
, profiling Minutemen in his book Our Band Could Be Your Life
Our Band Could Be Your Life
Our Band Could Be Your Life: Scenes from the American Indie Underground, 1981-1991 is a book by Michael Azerrad. It chronicles the careers of several underground rock bands who, while finding little or no mainstream success, were hugely influential in establishing American alternative and indie...
(titled after a lyric from the "History Lesson — Part II"), named Double Nickels on the Dime as "one of the greatest achievements of the indie era" and described it as a "Whitman's sampler of left-wing politics, moving autobiographical vignettes, and twisted Beefheartian twang". Several publications have raised their rating of the album in the years since its release; Rolling Stone re-reviewed Double Nickels on the Dime for the 2004 Album Guide
Rolling Stone Album Guide
The Rolling Stone Album Guide, previously known as The Rolling Stone Record Guide, is a book that, along with its sister publication Rolling Stone magazine, contains professional reviews of popular music...
and gave it its classic rating, a maximum five stars.
Although not commercially successful upon its release, Double Nickels on the Dime marked the point where many punk bands began to ignore the stylistic limitations of the hardcore
Hardcore punk
Hardcore punk is an underground music genre that originated in the late 1970s, following the mainstream success of punk rock. Hardcore is generally faster, thicker, and heavier than earlier punk rock. The origin of the term "hardcore punk" is uncertain. The Vancouver-based band D.O.A...
scene. According to American Hardcore: A Tribal History
American Hardcore: A Tribal History
American Hardcore: A Tribal History is a book by Steven Blush detailing the history of the early hardcore punk music scene.The book was the basis of the documentary American Hardcore directed by Paul Rachman and written by Steven Blush....
author Steven Blush
Steven Blush
Steven Blush is an American author, publisher and promoter.His book American Hardcore: A Tribal History was released in 2001 through Feral House publishing. The film version, American Hardcore, was released September 22, 2006...
, Double Nickels on the Dime was, along with Zen Arcade
Zen Arcade
Upon its release Zen Arcade received positive reviews in many mainstream publications, including NME, The New York Times and Rolling Stone. In his review for Rolling Stone, David Fricke described Zen Arcade as "the closest hardcore will ever get to an opera .....
, "either the pinnacle or downfall of the pure hardcore scene." Watt later commented that Double Nickels on the Dime was the "best album I ever played on."
Accolades
The information regarding accolades attributed to Double Nickels on the Dime is adapted from AcclaimedMusic.net.| Publication | Country | Accolade | Year | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blender | U.S. | The 100 Greatest American Albums of All Time | 2002 | 83 |
| Pitchfork Pitchfork Media Pitchfork Media, usually known simply as Pitchfork or P4k, is a Chicago-based daily Internet publication established in 1995 that is devoted to music criticism and commentary, music news, and artist interviews. Its focus is on underground and independent music, especially indie rock... |
U.S. | Top 100 Albums of the 1980s | 2006 | 17 |
| Rolling Stone Rolling Stone Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J... |
U.S. | The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time | 2004 | 411 |
| Rolling Stone | U.S. | The Essential 200 Rock Records | * | |
- * designates unordered lists.
Original
Side D.- "Anxious Mo-Fo" (D. BoonD. Boond. Boon born Dennes Dale Boon, was an American singer, songwriter and guitarist. Active between 1978, when he joined The Reactionaries, and 1985, when he was killed in a van accident, Boon was best known as the guitarist and vocalist of the Californian punk rock trio Minutemen.-Youth:Dennes Boon...
, Mike WattMike WattMichael David Watt is an American bassist, singer and songwriter.He is best known for co-founding the rock bands Minutemen, dos, and Firehose; , he is also the bassist for the reunited Stooges and a member of the art rock/jazz/punk/improv group Banyan as well as many other post-Minutemen...
) – 1:19 - "Theatre Is the Life of You" (Boon, Watt) – 1:30
- "Viet Nam" (Boon) – 1:27
- "Cohesion" (Boon) – 1:55
- "It's Expected I'm Gone" (Watt) – 2:04
- "#1 Hit Song" (Boon, George HurleyGeorge HurleyGeorge Hurley is a drummer noted for his work with The Minutemen and fIREHOSE.Even though he went to the same high school as D. Boon and Mike Watt he did not meet them until around 1978. That same year, Hurley formed The Reactionaries with Boon, Watt, and Martin Tamburovich...
) – 1:47 - "Two Beads at the End" (Boon, Hurley) – 1:52
- "Do You Want New Wave or Do You Want the Truth?" (Watt) – 1:49
- "Don't Look Now" (John FogertyJohn FogertyJohn Cameron Fogerty is an American rock singer, songwriter, and guitarist, best known for his time with the swamp rock/roots rock band Creedence Clearwater Revival and as a #1 solo recording artist. Fogerty has a rare distinction of being named on Rolling Stone magazine's list of 100 Greatest...
) – 1:46 - "Shit from an Old Notebook" (Boon, Watt) – 1:35
- "Nature Without Man" (Chuck DukowskiChuck DukowskiChuck Dukowski is an American punk rock musician, best known as a founding member and bass player for Black Flag. Dukowski wrote some of Black Flag's most popular songs, including "My War," "What I See," "I've Heard It Before" and "Spray Paint." He left the band before the release of My War, and...
, Boon) – 1:45 - "One Reporter's Opinion" (Watt) – 1:50
Side Mike
- "Political Song for Michael Jackson to Sing" (Watt) – 1:33
- "Maybe Partying Will Help" (Boon, Watt) – 1:56
- "Toadies" (Watt) – 1:38
- "Retreat" (Watt) – 2:01
- "The Big Foist" (Watt) – 1:29
- "God Bows to Math" (Jack BrewerSaccharine TrustSaccharine Trust is a post-hardcore band from California that was started in 1980 by singer Jack Brewer and guitarist Joe Baiza.The band would frequently perform with SST labelmates Minutemen and Black Flag. Drummer Rob Holzman appeared on their 1981 debut Paganicons but left the band to play in...
, Watt) – 1:15 - "CoronaCorona (song)"Corona" is a song by American punk/alternative trio Minutemen from the album Double Nickels on the Dime, which was composed by the band's lead singer and guitarist D. Boon....
" (Boon) – 2:24 - "The Glory of Man" (Watt) – 2:55
- "Take 5, D." (Watt, Joe Baiza, John Rocknowski, Dirk Vandenberg) – 1:40
- "My Heart and the Real World" (Watt) – 1:05
- "History Lesson - Part IIHistory Lesson - Part IIHistory Lesson - Part II is a song from the 1984 album Double Nickels on the Dime by the American rock band Minutemen. The song is about the relationship of singer D...
" (Watt) – 2:10
Side George
- "You Need the Glory" (Hurley) – 2:01
- "The Roar of the Masses Could Be Farts" (Vandenberg, Watt) – 1:20
- "Mr. Robot's Holy Orders" (Hurley) – 3:05
- "West Germany" (Boon)– 1:48
- "The Politics of Time" (Watt) – 1:10
- "Themselves" (Boon) – 1:17
- "Please Don't Be Gentle with Me" (Jack Brewer, Mike Watt) – 0:46
- "Nothing Indeed" (Hurley, Watt) – 1:21
- "No Exchange" (Hurley, Watt) – 1:50
- "There Ain't Shit on T.V. Tonight" (Hurley, Watt) – 1:34
- "This Ain't No PicnicThis Ain't No Picnic"This Ain't No Picnic" is a song by punk/alternative band Minutemen. It appears on their 1984 double album Double Nickels on the Dime, and was composed by their lead singer and guitarist D. Boon.-Background:...
" (Boon) – 1:56 - "Spillage" (Watt) – 1:51
Side Chaff
- "Untitled Song for Latin America" (Boon) – 2:03
- "Jesus and Tequila" (Boon, Joe CarducciJoe CarducciJoe Carducci is an American writer, record producer, and former A&R executive, formerly most closely associated with the influential record label SST Records....
) – 2:52 - "June 16th" (Watt) – 1:48
- "Storm in My House" (Boon, Henry RollinsHenry RollinsHenry Rollins is an American singer-songwriter, spoken word artist, writer, comedian, publisher, actor, and radio DJ....
) – 1:57 - "Martin's Story" (Martin TamburovichMartin TamburovichMartin Tamburovich was the co-founder of New Alliance Records and vocalist for the short-lived Punk/New Wave band The Reactionaries. Tamburovich, along with his San Pedro High School classmates D. Boon, Mike Watt, and George Hurley, formed the band in 1978; they disbanded a year later...
, Watt) – 0:51 - "Ain't Talkin' 'bout LoveAin't Talkin' 'Bout Love"Ain't Talkin' 'bout Love" is a song by Van Halen, from their 1978 eponymous debut album.When Eddie Van Halen originally wrote the song a year before the album was released, he did not consider it good enough to show his bandmates....
" (Eddie Van HalenEddie Van HalenEdward Lodewijk "Eddie" Van Halen is a Dutch-American guitarist, keyboardist, songwriter and producer, best known as the lead guitarist and co-founder of the hard rock band Van Halen, inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame...
, Alex Van HalenAlex Van HalenAlexander Arthur "Alex" Van Halen is a Dutch-born American musician, best known as the drummer and co-founder of the hard rock band Van Halen. Originally, his brother Eddie had taken lessons for drums, while Alex practiced guitar...
, David Lee RothDavid Lee RothDavid Lee Roth is an American rock vocalist, songwriter, actor, author, and former radio personality. Roth was ranked nineteenth by Hit Parader on their list of the 100 Greatest Heavy Metal Singers of All Time....
, Michael AnthonyMichael AnthonyMichael Anthony Sobolewski , known professionally as Michael Anthony, is an American musician who is currently the bass player in the rock supergroup Chickenfoot...
) – 0:40 - "Dr. Wu" (Walter BeckerWalter BeckerWalter Carl Becker is an American musician, songwriter and record producer. He is best known as the co-founder, guitarist, bassist and a co-writer of Steely Dan.-Career:...
, Donald FagenDonald FagenDonald Jay Fagen is an American musician and songwriter, best known as the co-founder, lead singer, and the principal songwriter of the rock band Steely Dan ....
) – 1:44 - "Little Man with a Gun in His Hand" (Chuck DukowskiChuck DukowskiChuck Dukowski is an American punk rock musician, best known as a founding member and bass player for Black Flag. Dukowski wrote some of Black Flag's most popular songs, including "My War," "What I See," "I've Heard It Before" and "Spray Paint." He left the band before the release of My War, and...
, Boon) – 2:53 - "The World According to Nouns" (Watt) – 2:05
- "Love Dance" (Boon) – 2:00
1987 CD
- "D.'s Car Jam"
- "Anxious Mo-Fo"
- "Theatre Is the Life of You"
- "Viet Nam"
- "Cohesion"
- "It's Expected I'm Gone"
- "
# 1 Hit Song" - "Two Beads at the End"
- "Do You Want New Wave or Do You Want the Truth?"
- "Shit from an Old Notebook"
- "Nature Without Man"
- "One Reporter's Opinion"
- "Mike's Car Jam"
- "Political Song for Michael Jackson to Sing"
- "Maybe Partying Will Help"
- "Toadies"
- "Retreat"
- "The Big Foist"
- "God Bows to Math"
- "Corona"
- "The Glory of Man"
- "Take 5, D."
- "My Heart and the Real World"
- "History Lesson — Part II"
- "George's Car Jam"
- "You Need the Glory"
- "The Roar of the Masses Could Be Farts"
- "West Germany"
- "The Politics of Time"
- "Themselves"
- "Please Don't Be Gentle With Me"
- "Nothing Indeed"
- "No Exchange"
- "There Ain't Shit on T.V. Tonight"
- "This Ain't No Picnic"
- "Spillage"
- "Three Car Jam"
- "Untitled Song for Latin America"
- "Jesus and Tequila"
- "June 16th"
- "Storm in My House"
- "Martin's Story"
- "The World According to Nouns"
- "Love Dance"
1989 CD
- "D.'s Car Jam"/"Anxious Mo-Fo"
- "Theatre Is the Life of You"
- "Viet Nam"
- "Cohesion"
- "It's Expected I'm Gone"
- "
# 1 Hit Song" - "Two Beads at the End"
- "Do You Want New Wave or Do You Want the Truth?"
- "Don't Look Now"
- "Shit from an Old Notebook"
- "Nature Without Man"
- "One Reporter's Opinion"
- "Political Song for Michael Jackson to Sing"
- "Maybe Partying Will Help"
- "Toadies"
- "Retreat"
- "The Big Foist"
- "God Bows to Math"
- "Corona"
- "The Glory of Man"
- "Take 5, D."
- "My Heart and the Real World"
- "History Lesson — Part II"
- "You Need the Glory"
- "The Roar of the Masses Could Be Farts"
- "West Germany"
- "The Politics of Time"
- "Themselves"
- "Please Don't Be Gentle With Me"
- "Nothing Indeed"
- "No Exchange"
- "There Ain't Shit on T.V. Tonight"
- "This Ain't No Picnic"
- "Spillage"
- "Untitled Song for Latin America"
- "Jesus and Tequila"
- "June 16th"
- "Storm in My House"
- "Martin's Story"
- "Dr. Wu"
- "The World According to Nouns"
- "Love Dance"
- "Three Car Jam"
Differences
To ensure that the CD version would be compatible with all players, the following tracks were omitted from all CD releases: "Mr. Robot's Holy Orders", "Ain't Talkin' 'bout Love" and "Little Man With A Gun In His Hand." Three of the "car jams" were also removed.Credits
All information taken from the 1989 CD release of Double Nickels on the Dime:- D. BoonD. Boond. Boon born Dennes Dale Boon, was an American singer, songwriter and guitarist. Active between 1978, when he joined The Reactionaries, and 1985, when he was killed in a van accident, Boon was best known as the guitarist and vocalist of the Californian punk rock trio Minutemen.-Youth:Dennes Boon...
– vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
, guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with... - Mike WattMike WattMichael David Watt is an American bassist, singer and songwriter.He is best known for co-founding the rock bands Minutemen, dos, and Firehose; , he is also the bassist for the reunited Stooges and a member of the art rock/jazz/punk/improv group Banyan as well as many other post-Minutemen...
– bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
(vocals on "Take 5, D.", "Dr. Wu", and "The Politics of Time") - George HurleyGeorge HurleyGeorge Hurley is a drummer noted for his work with The Minutemen and fIREHOSE.Even though he went to the same high school as D. Boon and Mike Watt he did not meet them until around 1978. That same year, Hurley formed The Reactionaries with Boon, Watt, and Martin Tamburovich...
– drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
, vocals - Joe BaizaJoe BaizaJoe Baiza is a punk rock and jazz guitarist whom Eugene Chadbourne cites as one of the most noteworthy guitarists to emerge from the Southern California punk rock milieu. Baiza is a founding member of the bands Saccharine Trust, Universal Congress Of, and The Mecolodiacs...
– guitar on "Take 5, D." - John Rocknowski – guitar on "Take 5, D."
- Dirk Vandenberg – guitar on "Take 5, D."
- Ethan JamesEthan James (producer)Ethan James was a musician, record producer, and recording engineer best known for his work on the Minutemen's seminal album Double Nickels on the Dime. He also produced and engineered albums for such acts as Black Flag, The Bangles, Rain Parade, Dos, and many others...
– producer and engineer
External links
- Double Nickels on the Dime at MyspaceMyspaceMyspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
(streamed copy where licensed)