The Punch Line
Encyclopedia
The Punch Line is the first 12-inch and third record release by influential American punk rock
band Minutemen
, and the fourth-ever release from SST Records
. Less than half the length of most LPs, the total playing time for all eighteen songs is a mere fifteen minutes. The album was an early milestone release for both the band and SST.
The Punch Line is also notable for being the only album to feature lead vocals from all three Minutemen. Bassist and primary songwriter Mike Watt
sings lead vocals on several tracks, including the opening track "Search", "Ruins", and the last three tracks of the album, "Gravity", "Warfare" and "Static", while drummer George Hurley
does a lead vocal (referred to on the album's back cover as "giv(ing) a speech") in the middle of "Ruins".
The title track makes fun of General George A. Custer's
death at the hands of Sitting Bull
during the Battle of the Little Bighorn
.
Another track on the album, the instrumental "Song For El Salvador", reflects D. Boon's support of the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front
in El Salvador
. (Boon was a member of the NGO
Committee in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador
, or CISPES).
Even though the group's name was a reference to their personal and political ideology and not a reflection of the average length of their songs, only two of the songs on The Punch Line pass the one-minute mark. Most average between thirty and forty-five seconds.
Minutemen, seeking to be as economical as possible in recording their first album, recorded The Punch Line during one late-night session (when studio time was the cheapest), recorded on previously used tape, and recorded the songs exactly in the order in which they appeared on the record. Overdubs were minimal if anything; Hurley's vocal on "Ruins" was actually cut during the basic track stages and picked up by the overhead drum mics.
Spot
revealed during his interview for the Minutemen documentary We Jam Econo
(preserved in the DVD's deleted scenes section) that the first pressing of the record was done with what he considered to be an inferior mastering job and set of stampers; he took possession of the stampers in order to prevent further pressings from being done, forcing a remaster that was used on all vinyl pressings since then.
The Punch Line also appears on the My First Bells
cassette and the Post-Mersh Vol. 1
CD. The opening track, "Search", represented Minutemen on the second Rodney on the ROQ compilation album on Posh Boy Records
, while four other songs, including the title track, were featured on the compilation cassette The Future Looks Bright Ahead, jointly issued by Posh Boy and SST in 1981.
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...
band 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...
, and the fourth-ever release from 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...
. Less than half the length of most LPs, the total playing time for all eighteen songs is a mere fifteen minutes. The album was an early milestone release for both the band and SST.
The Punch Line is also notable for being the only album to feature lead vocals from all three Minutemen. Bassist and primary songwriter 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...
sings lead vocals on several tracks, including the opening track "Search", "Ruins", and the last three tracks of the album, "Gravity", "Warfare" and "Static", while drummer 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...
does a lead vocal (referred to on the album's back cover as "giv(ing) a speech") in the middle of "Ruins".
The title track makes fun of General George A. Custer's
George Armstrong Custer
George Armstrong Custer was a United States Army officer and cavalry commander in the American Civil War and the Indian Wars. Raised in Michigan and Ohio, Custer was admitted to West Point in 1858, where he graduated last in his class...
death at the hands of Sitting Bull
Sitting Bull
Sitting Bull Sitting Bull Sitting Bull (Lakota: Tȟatȟáŋka Íyotake (in Standard Lakota Orthography), also nicknamed Slon-he or "Slow"; (c. 1831 – December 15, 1890) was a Hunkpapa Lakota Sioux holy man who led his people as a tribal chief during years of resistance to United States government policies...
during the Battle of the Little Bighorn
Battle of the Little Bighorn
The Battle of the Little Bighorn, also known as Custer's Last Stand and, by the Indians involved, as the Battle of the Greasy Grass, was an armed engagement between combined forces of Lakota, Northern Cheyenne and Arapaho people against the 7th Cavalry Regiment of the United States Army...
.
Another track on the album, the instrumental "Song For El Salvador", reflects D. Boon's support of the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front
Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front
The Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front is, since 1992, a left-wing political party in El Salvador and formerly a coalition of five revolutionary guerrilla organizations...
in El Salvador
El Salvador
El Salvador or simply Salvador is the smallest and the most densely populated country in Central America. The country's capital city and largest city is San Salvador; Santa Ana and San Miguel are also important cultural and commercial centers in the country and in all of Central America...
. (Boon was a member of the NGO
Non-governmental organization
A non-governmental organization is a legally constituted organization created by natural or legal persons that operates independently from any government. The term originated from the United Nations , and is normally used to refer to organizations that do not form part of the government and are...
Committee in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador
Committee in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador
The Committee in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador, based in Washington, D.C., is a national activist organization with chapters in various cities in the United States. CISPES supports the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front and the progressive social movement in El Salvador.CISPES...
, or CISPES).
Even though the group's name was a reference to their personal and political ideology and not a reflection of the average length of their songs, only two of the songs on The Punch Line pass the one-minute mark. Most average between thirty and forty-five seconds.
Minutemen, seeking to be as economical as possible in recording their first album, recorded The Punch Line during one late-night session (when studio time was the cheapest), recorded on previously used tape, and recorded the songs exactly in the order in which they appeared on the record. Overdubs were minimal if anything; Hurley's vocal on "Ruins" was actually cut during the basic track stages and picked up by the overhead drum mics.
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...
revealed during his interview for the Minutemen documentary We Jam Econo
We Jam Econo
We Jam Econo - The Story of the Minutemen, is a full-length documentary about the influential 1980s punk rock band Minutemen, created by director Tim Irwin and producer Keith Schieron in association with Rocket Fuel Films...
(preserved in the DVD's deleted scenes section) that the first pressing of the record was done with what he considered to be an inferior mastering job and set of stampers; he took possession of the stampers in order to prevent further pressings from being done, forcing a remaster that was used on all vinyl pressings since then.
The Punch Line also appears on the My First Bells
My First Bells
My First Bells is a compilation album from the American punk rock band Minutemen, released on SST Records in 1985....
cassette and the Post-Mersh Vol. 1
Post-Mersh Vol. 1
Post-Mersh, Vol. 1 is a compilation album by influential punk rock/alternative trio The Minutemen. It contains both The Punch Line and What Makes a Man Start Fires? respectively...
CD. The opening track, "Search", represented Minutemen on the second Rodney on the ROQ compilation album on Posh Boy Records
Posh Boy Records
Posh Boy Records was a Hollywood, California based record label owned by Robbie Fields, a high school substitute teacher and former copyboy at the L A Times who took an interest in the emerging punk rock scene in Orange County, California during the late 1970s...
, while four other songs, including the title track, were featured on the compilation cassette The Future Looks Bright Ahead, jointly issued by Posh Boy and SST in 1981.
Side one
- "Search" – 0:51 (Hurley, Watt)
- "Tension" – 1:18 (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) - "Games" – 1:01 (Boon, Watt)
- "Boiling" – 0:58 (Hurley, Watt)
- "Disguises" – 0:45 (Boon)
- "The Struggle" – 0:40 (Boon)
- "Monuments" – 0:48 (Hurley, Watt)
- "Ruins" – 0:49 (Hurley, Watt)
- "Issued" – 0:38 (Hurley, Watt)
Side two
- "The Punch Line" – 0:40 (Watt)
- "Song for El Salvador" – 0:31 (Boon)
- "History Lesson" – 0:37 (Boon)
- "Fanatics" – 0:30 (Watt)
- "No Parade" – 0:50 (Boon)
- "Straight Jacket" – 0:58 (Watt)
- "Gravity" – 0:55 (Hurley, Watt)
- "Warfare" – 0:54 (Hurley, Watt)
- "Static" – 0:50 (Boon, Watt)
Musical personnel
- 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...
- guitar and vocals - 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...
- bass and vocals - 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...
- drums, lead vocal in the middle of "Ruins"
Artwork
- 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...
- front cover - 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...
- back cover