Ducks Battle Satan

Besides introducing me to Ryoji Ikeda, Miles also shares a love of one of the greatest records of all time. Thanks for the review Miles! (If you want to review something for ducksbattlesatan drop me a line at noiseisnice@gmail.com – only rule is – nothing lame)

Double Nickels on the Dime is pretty damn perfect. Odds are you’ve heard of this by now but if you haven’t heard this behemoth of an album you really owe it to yourself to go out and get it. With this Double Nickels, Minutemen produced one of the most ingenious, creative, and charming rock albums of the 80s. The album is sprawling too, covering way more styles and subjects than most punk bands would. I know a lot of people who were intimidated by the amount of songs on this. It varies by a couple tracks depending on which version you get, it’s always a little shocking at first, but always brilliant. It’s unbelievable, 44 songs in 70 minutes, but what’s even more amazing is that there really is almost no filler on this album. I can’t think of a single moment on this album where I felt a song sucked, they all kick ass. In a movement that got pretty stagnant in the 80s, Minutemen are a punk band that is incredibly versatile. “Anxious Mo-Fo” immediately shows this, the jazziness of bass lines, to the bluesy guitar solo at the end are unique for a punk band, and these traits shine throughout the entire album. It would be stupid to try and describe all of the songs on this album, but they’re all awesome. There’s a great sense of humor throughout the whole album that keeps it enjoyable throughout, and it helps make some of the more serious moments on the album feel that much more powerful. The shift from the amazing “Viet Nam” into the gentle Spanish guitar of “Cohesion” is completely unexpected, but it works somehow. Get this album if you don’t, and if you have it think about the last time you gave it a spin, check it out again. This is the kind of album where your favorite song changes every time you hear it, and with so many damn songs you’re going to find new things to love after countless plays.

These have all been my favorite song off Double Nickels at one point or another; I think everybody who listens to this album accumulates a list.

Dr. Wu

Corona

Don’t Look Now

Viet Nam

You Need the Glory

West Germany

This entry was posted on December 27, 2009 at 11:42 pm and is filed under Minutemen, Music with tags hardcore, Minutemen, Music. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.