Mike Watt and associated punkish thoughts

Mike's post about getting over some music and growing appreciation for previously dismissed works jarred my brain. For one, I used to like Pearl Jam. I know that is not a revelation but it really ended up being the antithesis of my tastes not too far after they debuted in 1991 or so. But still, that video of Alive with the alternate guitar solo at the end can still give me tingles - I do not fall out of love easily.

PJ seems to be a theme lately, Charley used a nice track to go with his post on a petition for a presidential debate in NOLA. You all should sign it, not that either one is likely to agree to it, with the issue of race being the 700lb. Gorilla in the room of both campaigns. You can read my comment there, but basically the State Department has adopted the UN guiding principals on internal displacement as an aspirational guide to providing assistance to persons displaced within their own borders due to disasters. (As opposed to being an international refugee that crossed an international border). However the federal government does not recognize the right to return domestically. Can you imagine that three years after the storm people are still being reunited with loved ones? That people who rent (low incomers) have been given no meaningful assistance in returning despite many being from generations of New Orleaneans. Anyhow it was a breach of federal levees, and while the sovereign only gives you permission to sue when it suits Him (it?!), but as the people, we can demand that recovery be a right and not a discretional activity. So anyhow, this was not supposed to be a Katrina/law schooling post...

So to the musical point, I remembered a collaborative effort centered around Mike Watt from several years back. I was too young and lacked the resources to be informed about The Minutemen. In fact I am still totally ignorant about them, and there is a real lack of 'Minutemen posts":http://mog.com/music/Minutemen here on MOG. but what I knew at the time was that there was this really rocking single with Eddie Vedder singing a bunch of very dismissive verses about the 70's in general. This was right up my alley. I think the hippie movement, if it can be called that, really lost the point pretty early on. I sometimes think someone will have to explain it to me, wait, no please don't. I am sure that it was commodified and that the true free spirits are still out there (or here on MOG).

So this album is pretty damn interesting. I have been listeneing to it a ton over the past two days. While there is a lot of self-referential cult of personality stuff going on around Watt and his bass guitar, there are some great tunes from an ensemble cast that includes mostly old california punkers, seattle grungers, the beastie boys (?), sonic youth, Nels Cline (now with Wilco) and more. Great revisit. Perhaps I have not outgrown Pearl Jam and co., I just don't like their early 90's albums. Mostly originals, but there is a cover of Tuff Gnarl with a violin freak out to go along with Thurston and Lee, and a version of Maggot Brain with J. Mascis on lead and Bernie Worrel on the B3.

So this track has Vedder on vox, Dave and Krist from Nirvana on kit and organ(?), Gary Lee Connor (Screaming Trees) on guitar, and Carla Bozulich on vox. Naturally Watt is on Bass.

Comments about the Minutemen/Watt, punk rock that I don't know about, Katrina, the problem with hippies, and all other comers will be entertained. Have a great friday!