We Jam Econo

I watched a documentary on The Minutemen yesterday. It’s called “We Jam Econo” (2005) and it was really inspiring. The Minutemen was a progressive, socio-political hardcore punk band of sorts. They started in the late 70’s and tragically disbanded in 1985. I was never a fan, since I wasn’t really around when they were, but after seeing this film, I have a lot of respect for them.

The Minutemen influenced one of my all-time favourite bands, Fugazi, and I just find it so incredibly sad how music has changed over the years. Even in this country, things are drastically different to how they were in the good old punk days. Bands like The Minutemen and Fugazi had such depth to them. There was so much substance and thought and rawness and purity to their music and their beliefs. They played with conviction – D. Boon (guitarist/vocalist of The Minutemen) was a fatty, but he rocked out with all his heart and I idolize that.

The Minutemen

I hate the superficiality of the music business, especially today. Every second kid is in a band now, but they have nothing to say. Every live performance is a mimicking of a concert DVD. Urgh! I feel a rant coming so I’ll stop right there. All I’m saying is that The Minutemen were so different and innovative for their time, they were so “not in” that they literally got spat on at some “punk” shows, people were unplugging their mic cables, but they kept on playing. I find that ridiculously inspiring.

They played because they had to, and I can relate to that. They loved music, purely for their sincere passion for music, nothing else (no sense of belonging, no need for attention, no lazy “dream” to be a “star”). Because of that, they were committed to making it their own. They were by no means a “huge band” but they definitely weren’t a disposable/generic band. All the difference to me lies in that.

Here’s the trailer to the documentary: