Day After Day #291: Against the '70s

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

Against the '70s (1995)

By the mid-'90s, Mike Watt was already entering his third act as a performer. In the early '80s, he was the bassist of legendary indie act the Minutemen. After the tragic death of Minutemen singer-guitarist D. Boon, Watt resurfaced with another great combo in fIREHOSE. But in 1994, fIREHOSE split up and Watt's marriage to former Black Flag bassist Kira Roessler was ending, so he needed to do something new.

Watt brought together about 50 of his friends from the indie rock scene to help him make his first solo album, Ball-Hog or Tugboat? The list of guests was impressive: Henry Rollins, Frank Black, Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic of Nirvana, Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam, Thurston Moore, Lee Ranaldo and Steve Shelley of Sonic Youth, J Mascis, Adam Horovitz, Dave Pirner of Soul Asylum, Mark Lanegan, Evan Dando and many more. The album was a combination of originals and covers, but it was all very much Watt.

There are many great songs on the album, but the standout for me is "Against the '70s," which features Vedder on lead vocals, albeit doing a pretty good Watt impression. Although Watt is a Baby Boomer himself, the song casts a skeptical eye at the influence that generation had on the younger generation (which at that time was Gen X).

"I asked him if he knew what time he had/He said he wasn't sure, maybe a quarter past/The kids of today should defend themselves against the '70s/I peered in his eyes as we stood in line just to have a look/But the pages I found looked like an unbound coloring book. The kids of today should defend themselves against the '70s/The kids of today should defend themselves against the '70s/It's not reality/It's just someone else's sentimentality/It won't work for you."

Indeed, ever since those early days of the Minutemen, Watt and his cohorts rejected the traditional path to rock success, "jamming econo" by creating their own network of independent clubs and promoters to deal with and crashing on people's floors and couches. 

"Baby boomers selling you rumors of their history/Forcing youth away from the truth of what's real today/The kids of today should defend themselves against the '70s/Stadium minds with stadium lies gotta make you laugh/Garbage vendors against true defenders of the craft."

Musically, the song has an all-star cast: In addition to Vedder on vocals and guitar and Watt on bass, Grohl on drums, Gary Lee Connor of Screaming Trees on lead guitar, Novoselic on farfisa organ and Carla Bozulich on backing vocals. The song hit #21 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart.

At the time the album came out, Vedder was the biggest star in rock and was obviously a huge get for Watt, although he didn't view it that way. The song got plenty of play on alt-rock radio. And then Watt toured with a backing band that consisted of Vedder and a new group called the Foo Fighters. I saw Watt play in April 1995 at Avalon in Boston with opening acts Hovercraft (featuring Vedder's then-wife Beth Liebling and Vedder wearing a wig on drums) and Foo Fighters, who nobody had heard previously. Foo Fighters returned as headliners to the same venue few months later after their debut album had come out.

True to his nature, Watt didn't try to capitalize on the success of the album, instead pursuing various opportunities. He played with Porno for Pyros, the Stooges, Wylde Ratttz, Banyan, J Mascis and the Fog, and has also released solo albums. The last time I saw him live was in 2017 at Brighton Music Hall on a bill with Meat Puppets and Grant Hart and he was excellent as usual. Watt is the man.

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.

Completely Conspicuous 239: Solo Flights

I celebrate six big years of podcasting with part 1 of my conversation with guest Brian Salvatore as we discuss our favorite solo artists. Listen to the episode below or download it directly.

Show notes:
- Recorded via Skype
- Brian contends that Bob Mould's work in Sugar is better than Husker Du; Jay vehemently disagrees
- Jay: Elliott Smith went in a different direction after Heatmiser
- Are Josh Homme or Dave Grohl considered solo artists?
- Jay: Lennon and McCartney both made great albums on their own, but also some clunkers
- Jay: Michael Jackson became probably the biggest artist of all time
- Ozzy's early solo work was terrific
- The ridiculous story behind Sabbath's Born Again album
- Paul Simon's still going strong
- Phil Collins was huge in the '80s
- Brian: Mike Nesmith's early solo work was excellent
- Jay: Nick Cave forged a dark path after The Birthday Party
- Brian: Ryan Adams made a classic album and several good ones
- Mike Watt's soldiered on over the years
- Jay: Stephen Malkmus has been consistently good since Pavement
- Brian prefers the later Pavement albums
- Bonehead of the Week

Music:
Bob Mould - A Good Idea (live)
Ryan Adams - Shakedown on 9th Street (live)
Mike Watt - Against the '70s (live)
Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks - (Do Not Feed the) Oyster

Completely Conspicuous is available through the iTunes podcast directory. Subscribe and write a review!
The Bob Mould song is on the EP Live at the Bottom of the Hill. Download it for free (in exchange for your email address) from New.Official.fm.
The Ryan Adams song was recorded live at the Orpheum Theatre in Boston on 2/21/09. Download the song for free at Archive.org.
The Mike Watt song was recorded live at the Metro in Chicago on 5/6/95. Download the song for free at Archive.org.
The Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks song is from the album Pig Lib on Matador Records. Download the song for free at Epitonic.

The opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicuous is "Theme to Big F'in Pants" by Jay Breitling. Find out more about Senor Breitling at his fine music blog Clicky Clicky. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian; check out his site PodGeek.

Completely Conspicuous 160: Cold as Ice

This week on the podcast, it's another installment of Driving With Kumar as I discuss life during winter. Listen to the show in streaming audio or download it directly (right click and "save as").

Or you can listen to it here:



The show notes...

Topics:

- Already more snow in Boston area than entire last winter

- Temps dropping into single digits to subzero

- Tough running weather

- People like to complain about winter

- Lack of daylight leads to depression

- Why do people choose to live in cold-weather climates?

- In Washington state, I dealt with the occasional sandstorm

- Extreme weather in Texas

- Seasonal Affect Disorder

- Bad drivers + snow = A mess

- Fall is the perfect season

- Local media drives snow hysteria

- Bonehead of the Week (HT: The Smoking Gun)

Music:

Buffalo Tom - Guilty Girls

Mike Watt - Arrow-Pierced-Egg-Man

Mogwai - San Pedro

Tapes 'N Tapes - Badaboom

Completely Conspicuous is available through the iTunes podcast directory. Subscribe and write a review!

The show is sponsored by Budget, the country's premier car rental service with 900 locations. Go to Budget.com/CompCon and save 10% off any reservation or $30 off a weekly rental.

The Buffalo Tom song is on the forthcoming album Skins on Scrawny Records. Download the song for free (in exchange for your e-mail address) at Spin.

The Mike Watt song is on the album Hyphenated-Man on clenchedwrench Records. Download the song for free at Stereogum.

The Mogwai song is on the album Hardcore Will Never Die, but You Will on Sub Pop. Download the song for free at Stereogum.

The Tapes 'N Tapes song is on the album Outside on Ibid Records. Download the song for free at KEXP.

The opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicuous is "Theme to Big F'in Pants" by Jay Breitling. Find out more about Senor Breitling at his fine music blogs Clicky Clicky and Keeping Some Dark Secrets. Additional music used in the show is by Me and Boris the Bull, which is the brainchild of the mighty Mark Campbell. Thanks to Bob Durling for the album art; find out more about his photography at his blog. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian.

Completely Conspicuous is a Tan God Production. Word.