Day After Day #119: This Ain't No Picnic

Day After Day is an ambitious attempt to write about a song every day in 2024 (starting on Jan. 4).

This Ain't No Picnic (1984)

The original image of rock 'n roll was that of rebellion, the raised middle finger, sticking it to The Man. But as the decades wore on, rock grew more corporate, which is not surprising. But every so often, an artist or a movement would come along and shake things up. The '80s were a time of big, glossy pop and arena rock, but in San Pedro, California, a band called Minutemen were doing their part, playing what they felt like and not worrying about what anyone else thought.

Formed in 1980 by guitarist/vocalist D. Boon and bassist/vocalist Mike Watt, who had been playing together for several years and added drummer George Hurley. The band leaned into their eclectic interests, playing a mix of hardcore punk, funk, jazz and whatever else they wanted. Their first gig was opening for Black Flag and they eventually signed to SST, but they didn't sound like anybody else.

Minutemen took their DIY "We jam econo" work ethic seriously, forging their own way by touring relentlessly and remaining steadfastly anti-image. Their third album, 1984's Double Nickels on the Dime, was the perfect distillation of the band's philosophy: it was a 45-song double album with music written by all three members that explored many different themes: working class struggles, racism, war, the band's history. It's a sprawling affair that was named as a reaction to Sammy Hagar's song "I Can't Drive 55," which protested the national speed limit at the time.

The band thought the song wasn't exactly a huge form of rebellion. "The big rebellion thing was writing your own fuckin' songs and trying to come up with your own story, your own picture, your own book, whatever. So he can't drive 55, because that was the national speed limit? Okay, we'll drive 55, but we'll make crazy music," Watt said in an interview.

"This Ain't No Picnic" was written by Boon, inspired by his experience working in an auto parts store but being told by his racist boss that he couldn't listen to a jazz and soul station on the store's radio. 

"Working on the edge, losing my self-respect/For a man who presides over me/The principles of his creed/Punch in, punch out, eight hours, five days a week/Sweat, pain and agony, on Friday I'll get paid/This ain't no picnic."

The video for the song intercuts footage of the band performing with clips from a Ronald Reagan war movie; Reagan's flying a bomber and firing on the band as it's playing. The video was nominated for an MTV video award.

Musically, the song speeds along, with Boon's chugging guitar and Watt's pummeling bass pushing the pace.

"Hey mister, don't look down on me for what I believe/I got my bills and the rent, I should go pitch a tent/But our land isn't free/So I'll work my youth away in the place of a machine/I refuse to be a slave/This ain't no picnic."

Minutemen were one of the 13 indie bands featured in Michael Azerrad's seminal 2001 book Our Band Could Be Your Life, which took its title from the band's song "History Lesson - Part II." 

The band released two more albums after Double Nickels before Boon was killed in a van accident in December 1985. Minutemen were no more and Watt needed some convincing before he started playing music again. He and Hurley formed Firehose in 1986 with Minutemen fan Ed Crawford; the band was active until 1994. Watt has remained busy since then, releasing solo albums (including 1995's epic Ball-Hog or Tugboat) and playing with the Stooges, Porno for Pyros and J Mascis and the Fog.

The legacy of Minutemen lives on, thanks to Azerrad's book and the excellent 2005 documentary We Jam Econo. I've seen Watt play a few times, including on his 1995 tour for the Ball-Hog album when he had a new band called Foo Fighters open for him and serve as his backing band.