•
Rating:
Imaginary Interview with Mike Watt, August 1983
-Hello, am I speaking with Mike Watt, the legendary bassist of the Minutemen?
-That's me. Who am I speaking with?
-I'm a DeReviewer. I'm writing about your latest album...
-"What Makes A Man Start Fires?"? Personally, I think it's our best record so far, mainly thanks to the incredible funky bass lines I've come up with!
-Certainly, the bass is the most noticeable instrument.
-I must give credit to the nimble, distortion-free jazz-funk guitar of my childhood friend D. Boon, especially in tracks like "Life As A Rehearsal" and "Fake Contest".
-Jazz-Funk? I thought this was a punk-rock record!
-It is, but it's extremely original, very different from the punk/hardcore scene here in Los Angeles. Our tracks are short and fast, even more than other bands, but they're fragmented, disconnected, and refer to a myriad of different genres, quoting or parodying them; it ranges from hardcore to traditional ballads, from blues-rock to funk.
-Indeed, even the first listen leaves you astonished.
-Yes, but wait until you hear the double LP coming out next year: "Double Nickels On The Dime"; compared to that, this will seem like just a taste. I'm sure it will become one of the greatest records of all time.
-I can't wait! Thank you for the interview and the modesty with which you've described your music.
-You're welcome. See you at some concert, we're always out playing
Tracklist Lyrics Samples and Videos
03 Fake Contest (01:43)
I'm making my case against a stack full of comics
Here comes the line...
I'm loaded with rocket fuel!
Industry Industry
We're tools for the industry
We're clothes in the laundry
Bleached of identity
You lie there naked
I lie here naked
Both on the pavement
Why are we different?
You lie there naked
I lie here naked
Both on the pavement
Why are we different?
12 Split Red (00:53)
Steel ring
Around a people
Ring of
Imperialism
Face of
Fascism
Split red
Stab-job
Split red
Stab-job
Another statistic
Brother against brother
Learn to kill one another
Back to the maps
Set a new course
Journey backward
15 The Tin Roof (01:08)
bouncing on the gap between connecting the tin roof
the paper mache
too many liars
are singing songs
17 This Road (01:24)
Framing like a box
Explaining now, explaining then
Like a bubble on a sheet in flames
Then to as dense as wet as cotton swabs
For a time, then dabble in
Formula
Return to explain
Conscience is a smokey
Get out of hand
Get pulled over, go
Back
Framing like a box
Explaining now, explaining then
Like a bubble on a sheet in flames
Then to as dense as wet as cotton swabs
Loading comments slowly
