Double Nickels on the Dime

It was many years later when I found out it wasn't actually a Minutemen original.

I like the jazzy version on Double Nickels, but to understand the essence of the song, I think we need to go back to the source material.

The local message in Dublin now, we've summed up in three words.

Check your privilege.

i've done at least one watt record too wow

yeah but yeah according to uh you know in our spreadsheet yeah there's not a minute man record uh you know in in the bunch so i am just going to recommend with a very lengthy uh build up to it the the sort of consensus the record double nickels on the dime um it's just so good.

And, you know, there's, there's so many songs.

Yes.

For those that don't know, uh, Sammy Hagar, I believe a pre Van Halen, Sammy Hagar released a song called I can't drive 55 because California had made the state speed limit.

55 miles an hour and he was too cool to do that and so the minute men record double nickels 55 on the dime the 10 one of the major interstates of california and so the image of on the album cover is of mike watt driving his car under the sign for the 10, doing 55 miles an hour on the speedometer.

So double nickels on the dime.

A very, very worthy album of inclusion here.

And I was just like, I'm going to drive.

And I got in there and I put in a Steely Dan album and I got on Kingston Pike and just drove as far as it.

I got all the way to, I think I got to like Sweetwater or something and then just turned around and drove back.

It was so much fun.

It's so much fun.

And then there's a lesser known song.

I mean, the Beach Boys have a whole, John and I were talking before we started, a whole album of car songs.

At least, if not more.

Welcome to the History of Punk Rock Podcast.

Today, we're unpacking the Minutemen's double LP Double Nickels on the Dime, a record that stretched punk's boundaries and cemented their DIY legacy.

Double Nickels on the Dime landed in '84 as a brutal double LP that stretched punk to the point of absurdity, packing more than 40 tracks into four vinyl sides while keeping each bite as short and punchy as a pop song, but with a hardcore bite.

The way the Minutemen tossed funk breaks, jazz riffs, country licks, folk intros, and outright political ranting into a single album is what makes it feel like the punk equivalent of a literary Ulysses, a stream of consciousness that refuses to be boxed into one genre.

Every track is a micro essay that runs from three seconds to two minutes with Boone's angular chords and Watt's slap-bass grooves colliding in ways you wouldn't expect until you sit down and hear the whole thing.

electrolytesare biting critiques of corporate consumerism and militarism.

The album doesn't shy away from social commentary, but instead weaves it through the music with humor and urgency.

They were clearly aware that their double LP would be a statement.

Their jamming econo doctrine meant they rehearsed relentlessly on a budget that was literally the price of coffee and tape while recording demos in basements that cost next to nothing.

By the time Double Nickels on the Dime rolled out in 1987, the album had become an underground epic despite no radio play or flashy production.

D-Boom died suddenly after an on-road crash that sent shockwaves through SST and the whole punk community.

Mike Watt later described his loss as both a personal blow and a catalyst to keep pushing forward, because he realized how fragile the scene was.

Mr. Pharmacist This is Marky Smith to me Our story could be their songs I'm his shelter child Our band is four track rock but i was kim deal ricky wilson back johnson richmond me and steve diner playing guitar so Man, I really like the Minutemen.

Well, I really like that album, Double Nickels on the Dime.

It's a classic.

It's an absolute stone cold classic.