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The Minutemen "I Felt Like A Gringo" & "History Lesson, Part 2"from We Jam Econo: The Story of the Minutemen

Friday, August 18, 2006

The Minutemen documentary We Jam Econo is composed, for the most part, of two elements: testimonials to the band’s greatness from all manner of punk legend, and archival live performances that allowed me to see the band move around on stage for the first time. I got to see D.Boon’s manic big-guy pogoing, Watt’s stoicism and flannel shirts buttoned to the neck, and Hurley’s Keith Moon-isms and occasional surfro haircut. And yeah the music was pretty great too, but I have to admit that it was well worth the price of admission just to see them. Well, I don’t have the ability to rip video from a DVD, so you’ll have to settle for audio. But it’s worth it. The best clips by a significant distance (and those that are the most enjoyable with only sound) are the two semi-professionally recorded acoustic ones, only labeled as “Hollywood 1985,” that feature the three sitting in a circle on the floor of a studio. The first clip of the two I’ve ripped for your listening pleasure, highlights D. Boon’s deft jazz/folk guitar work on “I Felt Like A Gringo” (mp3), alternating between the quickly strummed verses and the ornamental breakdown figure that structures the song. But the opening line, “white boy guilt, that’s my problem,” is its most striking feature—from the beginning, it casts the song as a contrite confession, delivered with Boon’s head resting in his folded arms. He’s apologizing for doing what a lot of us wouldn’t admit to doing—getting drunk and acting less than enlightened toward those (the different ones) who we (the enlightened ones) should regard with something nearing reverence. But he’s not just apologizing, but also admitting that he’s apologizing for some bleeding-heart bullshit—it was a Mexican guy who ran a bar for Americans, after all. He wasn’t offended or anything; he laughed it off. And that’s the best part about this song—Boon’s not pissed at his cultural ignorance as much as at the fact that he feels like he should be pissed.

And then there’s “History Lesson, Part 2″ (mp3) from the same acoustic session, with the preceding monologue by Mike Watt, delivered while driving around San Pedro in an Econoline van, showing the filmmakers all of the important Minutemen landmarks. He outlines, better than anyone I’ve ever heard, what ye olde “DIY” means, breaking through the bullshit of its false contextualizations and semiotic muddying over the years: “There comes a period when you’re gonna have to come out and do things, y’know, become your own person, y’know, pick your own friends, your own guys you wanna, y’know, build dreams with and stuff. Big change in my life, meeting D. Boon.” Note that there’s not a single reference to the ills of corporate influence or a type of distortion pedal or any of that stuff. All that shit comes later, man. It’s about there being no separation between friendships and music, and the fact that saying that is cheesy as hell. Boon and Watt admit to being “fucking corndogs,” and that’s why you can hear Watt laugh here after Boon sings about “me and Mike just playing these here guitars.”

We Jam Econo: The Story of the Minutemen is available on DVD, and you can buy it here.

“I Felt Like A Gringo” is available in its original form on Buzz or Howl Under the Influence of Heat, which can be purchased here.
“History Lesson, Pt. 2″ is available in its original form on Double Nickels on the Dime, which can be purchased here.

(photo credit)

7 Comments

  • 8/18/06 @ 12:36 pm Mike T says:

    Oh, how I love the Minutemen.

    One of the probably six or seven bands that I wouldn’t have been exposed to for quite some time, likely, had it not been for your class.

    *sighsreminiscingly*

  • 8/18/06 @ 1:32 pm sonicdeath99 says:

    mike watt remains the most true punk spirit i’ve ever encountered. the man is as genuine as the flannel he wears. i’ve interviewed him twice in my life, and both times he was gracious, completely honest and almost impossible to shut up. one of the highlights of my life was being mentioned in his tour diaries.

    “we jam econo” is great. buy it now!

  • 8/18/06 @ 2:28 pm Eric Grubbs says:

    Watching this documentary was a great reminder of what punk is as an idea versus punk as a defined style. In other words, the story of the Minutemen is still as fresh today as it was back in the ’80s.

  • 8/19/06 @ 11:15 pm irving longface says:

    how’s the david rees write up? i like that guy!

  • 8/20/06 @ 8:52 pm heather says:

    This is an absolutely awesome post. Yay for the Minutemen!

  • 8/21/06 @ 9:42 am Anonymous says:

    thank you, thank you, thank you

    -satisfied ‘75

  • 8/21/06 @ 7:24 pm putty says:

    mike watt is amazing. he’s posting on his MOG page (http://mog.com/mike__watt). it’s pretty great. he talks about playing bass with the stooges and it shows that Coltrane is his top artist of this month, etc.

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