The Punch Line
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The Punch Line is the first full-length album and third record release by influential punk/alternative trio The Minutemen, and the fourth-ever release from SST Records. To the average listener, "album" may be a minor misnomer as the total playing time for all eighteen songs is a mere fifteen minutes even; however, the album proved to be 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 Martà 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 patriotic reference 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.
The 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.
The Punch Line also appears on the My First Bells cassette and the Post-Mersh Vol. 1 CD. The opening track, "Search", represented The 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.
Track listing
Side one
- Search (0:51) (Hurley, Watt)
- Tension (1:18) (Tamburovich, 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. Boon - guitar and vocals
- Mike Watt - bass and vocals
- George Hurley - drums, lead vocal in the middle of "Ruins"
Other personnel
- Spot - record producer, recording engineer
Artwork
- D. Boon - front cover
- George Hurley - back cover
| The Minutemen |
|---|
| D. Boon | Mike Watt | George Hurley |
| Discography |
| Albums: The Punch Line | What Makes a Man Start Fires? | Double Nickels on the Dime | 3-Way Tie (For Last) | Ballot Result |
| Extended plays: Paranoid Time | Joy | Bean-Spill | Buzz or Howl Under the Influence of Heat | Tour-Spiel | Project: Mersh | Georgeless E.P. |
| Compilations: The Politics of Time | My First Bells | Post-Mersh Vol. 1 | Post-Mersh Vol. 2 | Post-Mersh Vol. 3 | Introducing the Minutemen |
| Other releases: Minuteflag | D. Boon and Friends |
| Bootlegs: ...just a Minute Men | Jam "Schtik" To Do For Gigs | | Acoustic Blowout | Live At Flynn's Ocean 71 |
| Related articles |
| The Reactionaries | New Alliance Records | Martin Tamburovich | George Hurley and Mike Watt |
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