If'n
Encyclopedia
If'n is the second album by the American
alternative rock
band Firehose, released in 1987.
The sound on the album is less incendiary than Ragin', Full On
, moving away from the harder-edged Minutemen
style to a mellower, funk-driven, humorous, "good-time rock'n'roll" direction (one the Minutemen had themselves explored on the EP Project Mersh
). The songs are also more stylistically consistent - where the previous album featured material from various sources (including Kira Roessler
), If'n is more centered on Mike Watt
's writing, showing a band that has gelled and found its own identity apart from Watt and Hurley's previous (and more well-known) band Minutemen
. Many of the songs would remain crowd favorites for years to come ("Making the Freeway", "From One Cums One", and the humorous "Me & You, Remembering"). The album also features the group's first "heavy" song, "Thunder Child".
The album name is a reference to an episode of the television show Bewitched
, which features a song called "If'n". From IMDB:
Season 4, Episode 21: Hippie, Hippie, Hooray (Original Air Date: 1 February 1968). Serena has gone hippie and ends up on the front page of the newspaper and Darrin has to explain to the Tates about her identical cousin. After hurting Serena's feelings, Darrin can't provide proof of his story. Samantha also sings the "If'n" song, with lyrics "If'n if'n if'n - yeah yeah yeah!"
The left side of the album cover features a picture of Hüsker Dü
, Minutemen
's former SST
labelmates.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
alternative rock
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
band Firehose, released in 1987.
The sound on the album is less incendiary than Ragin', Full On
Ragin', Full On
Ragin', Full-On is the debut album by the American alternative rock band Firehose. It was released after the breakup of the influential punk rock band Minutemen due to the death of guitarist D...
, moving away from the harder-edged 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...
style to a mellower, funk-driven, humorous, "good-time rock'n'roll" direction (one the Minutemen had themselves explored on the EP Project Mersh
Project Mersh
Project: Mersh is the penultimate release from the American punk rock trio Minutemen before D. Boon's death later that year in an auto accident.The cover art is a painting by D...
). The songs are also more stylistically consistent - where the previous album featured material from various sources (including Kira Roessler
Kira Roessler
Kira Roessler is an American bass guitarist, singer and Emmy award-winning dialogue editor. She is best known for her membership in the punk rock group Black Flag.-Biography:...
), If'n is more centered on 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...
's writing, showing a band that has gelled and found its own identity apart from Watt and Hurley's previous (and more well-known) band Minutemen
Minutemen
Minutemen were members of teams of select men from the American colonial partisan militia during the American Revolutionary War. They provided a highly mobile, rapidly deployed force that allowed the colonies to respond immediately to war threats, hence the name.The minutemen were among the first...
. Many of the songs would remain crowd favorites for years to come ("Making the Freeway", "From One Cums One", and the humorous "Me & You, Remembering"). The album also features the group's first "heavy" song, "Thunder Child".
The album name is a reference to an episode of the television show Bewitched
Bewitched
Bewitched is an American situation comedy originally broadcast for eight seasons on ABC from 1964 to 1972, starring Elizabeth Montgomery, Dick York and Dick Sargent , Agnes Moorehead, and David White. The show is about a witch who marries a mortal and tries to lead the life of a typical suburban...
, which features a song called "If'n". From IMDB:
Season 4, Episode 21: Hippie, Hippie, Hooray (Original Air Date: 1 February 1968). Serena has gone hippie and ends up on the front page of the newspaper and Darrin has to explain to the Tates about her identical cousin. After hurting Serena's feelings, Darrin can't provide proof of his story. Samantha also sings the "If'n" song, with lyrics "If'n if'n if'n - yeah yeah yeah!"
The left side of the album cover features a picture of 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....
, 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...
's former SST
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...
labelmates.
Track listing
- "Sometimes"
- "Hear Me"
- "Honey, Please"
- "Backroads"
- "From One Cums One"
- "Making the Freeway"
- "Anger"
- "For the SingerMichael StipeJohn Michael Stipe is an American singer and lyricist. He was the lead vocalist of the alternative rock band R.E.M.Stipe is noted and occasionally parodied for the "mumbling" style of his early career as well as his social and political activism. He was in charge of R.E.M.'s visual image; often...
of R.E.M." - "Operation Solitare"
- "Windmilling"
- "Me & You, Remembering"
- "In Memory of Elizabeth Cotton" (See Elizabeth CottenElizabeth CottenElizabeth "Libba" Cotten was an American blues and folk musician, singer, and songwriter.A self-taught left-handed guitarist, Cotten developed her own original style. Her approach involved using a right-handed guitar , not re-strung for left-handed playing, essentially, holding a right-handed...
) - "Soon"
- "Thunder Child"