The Punch Line

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.

Related Topics:
Punk - Alternative - The Minutemen - SST Records

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

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".

Related Topics:
Mike Watt - George Hurley - Speech

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

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.

Related Topics:
General George A. Custer's - Sitting Bull - Battle of the Little Bighorn

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Another track on the album, the instrumental "Song For El Salvador", reflects D. Boon's support of the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front in El Salvador. (Boon was a member of the NGO Committee in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador, or CISPES)

Related Topics:
Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front - El Salvador - NGO - Committee in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Even though the group's name was a patrotic 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 jointly issued by Posh Boy and SST in 1981.

Related Topics:
My First Bells - Post-Mersh Vol. 1 - Rodney On The ROQ - Posh Boy Records

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~