The Politics of Time
Encyclopedia
The Politics of Time is the seventh overall release, third album-length release, and first compilation by American hardcore punk
Hardcore punk
Hardcore punk is an underground music genre that originated in the late 1970s, following the mainstream success of punk rock. Hardcore is generally faster, thicker, and heavier than earlier punk rock. The origin of the term "hardcore punk" is uncertain. The Vancouver-based band D.O.A...

 band the Minutemen.

Released in between their Buzz or Howl Under the Influence of Heat
Buzz or Howl Under the Influence of Heat
Buzz or Howl Under the Influence of Heat is the sixth overall release from American hardcore punk band Minutemen.-History of the EP:...

12" EP and Double Nickels on the Dime
Double Nickels on the Dime
Double Nickels on the Dime is the third studio album by American punk trio Minutemen, released on the Californian independent record label SST Records in 1984...

double album on their own New Alliance Records
New Alliance Records
New Alliance Records was the record label founded by The Minutemen's D. Boon and Mike Watt and longtime friend and associate Martin Tamburovich after the example of Black Flag's SST Records...

 label, the album compiles seven tracks meant for a non-SST
SST Records
SST Records is an American independent record label formed in 1978 in Long Beach, California by musician Greg Ginn. The company was initially called Solid State Transmitters through which Ginn sold electronics equipment...

 Minutemen studio album that never materialized, a variety of live tracks of varying recording quality (most done with ordinary cassette machines), and a recording by the Minutemen's predecessor band The Reactionaries
The Reactionaries (band)
The Reactionaries were a punk rock band formed in San Pedro, California in 1978. The band's continual members were lead vocalist Martin Tamburovich, guitarist D. Boon, bassist Mike Watt, and drummer George Hurley. The Reactionaries existed for most of 1978 and 1979, practicing regularly but rarely...

.

Part of the sleeve note on the back cover facetiously asks listeners to "note the quality of the recording" on the live version of "Fanatics" (from The Punch Line
The Punch Line
The Punch Line is the first 12-inch and third record release by influential American punk rock band Minutemen, and the fourth-ever release from SST Records. Less than half the length of most LPs, the total playing time for all eighteen songs is a mere fifteen minutes...

). While the recording is an almost undiscernable mess, the cut is apparently included for its historical importance as according to Henry Rollins
Henry Rollins
Henry Rollins is an American singer-songwriter, spoken word artist, writer, comedian, publisher, actor, and radio DJ....

 in his book Get In The Van
Get in the Van
Get in the Van is a memoir by singer, writer, and spoken word artist Henry Rollins first published in 1994 by Rollins' own company, 2.13.61 Publications. The book is composed of journal entries that Rollins kept while he was lead singer of the band Black Flag from 1981 to its breakup in 1986...

, on this night at the end of the song, D. Boon
D. Boon
d. Boon born Dennes Dale Boon, was an American singer, songwriter and guitarist. Active between 1978, when he joined The Reactionaries, and 1985, when he was killed in a van accident, Boon was best known as the guitarist and vocalist of the Californian punk rock trio Minutemen.-Youth:Dennes Boon...

 had jumped into the audience with his guitar on, hollering the title word of the song while "knock[ing] those skinheads [in the audience] over like bowling pin
Bowling pin
Bowling pins are the target of the bowling ball in various bowling games including tenpins, five-pins, duckpins, and candlepins. In the US, pin specifications for standard tenpins are set by the United States Bowling Congress. Pins are 4.75 inches wide at their widest point and tall...

s".

Also of note is a live recording of "Futurism Restated", which had earlier appeared on the 7" EP Bean-Spill. The version that appears on this album contains a full extra verse of lyrics not found in the other version (although the lyrics are almost completely undiscernable and the album lacks a lyric sheet.)

The Politics of Time would later end up as a song title on Double Nickels on the Dime.

SST Records
SST Records
SST Records is an American independent record label formed in 1978 in Long Beach, California by musician Greg Ginn. The company was initially called Solid State Transmitters through which Ginn sold electronics equipment...

, after buying New Alliance from Mike Watt
Mike Watt
Michael David Watt is an American bassist, singer and songwriter.He is best known for co-founding the rock bands Minutemen, dos, and Firehose; , he is also the bassist for the reunited Stooges and a member of the art rock/jazz/punk/improv group Banyan as well as many other post-Minutemen...

 and Martin Tamburovich
Martin Tamburovich
Martin Tamburovich was the co-founder of New Alliance Records and vocalist for the short-lived Punk/New Wave band The Reactionaries. Tamburovich, along with his San Pedro High School classmates D. Boon, Mike Watt, and George Hurley, formed the band in 1978; they disbanded a year later...

 in 1987, reissued The Politics of Time on SST in 1987 on vinyl and cassette, as part of the Post-Mersh Vol. 3
Post-Mersh Vol. 3
Post Mersh 3 is the 1989 compilation release by the punk band the Minutemen. It contains the EP's Paranoid Time , Bean-Spill , and Tour-Spiel , the 1981 Joy single, and The Politics of Time .- Track listing :...

CD in 1989, and as its own CD in 1991.

Side one

  1. Base King – 1:12 (Boon/Watt)
  2. Working Men are Pissed – 1:17 (Watt)
  3. I Shook Hands – 0:58 (Watt)
  4. Below the Belt – 0:56 (Hurley/Watt)
  5. Shit You Hear at Parties – 1:06 (Boon/Watt)
  6. The Big Lounge Scene – 1:23 (Watt)
  7. Maternal Rite – 1:13 (Boon)
    • These seven tracks recorded November 1981 at Casbah Studio, Fullerton, CA
      Fullerton, California
      Fullerton is a city located in northern Orange County, California. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 135,161.It was founded in 1887 by George and Edward Amerige and named for George H. Fullerton, who secured the land on behalf of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway...

      . Remixed July 1983 by Ethan James
      Ethan James (producer)
      Ethan James was a musician, record producer, and recording engineer best known for his work on the Minutemen's seminal album Double Nickels on the Dime. He also produced and engineered albums for such acts as Black Flag, The Bangles, Rain Parade, Dos, and many others...

  8. Tune for Wind God – 3:05 (Baiza/Boon/Hurley/Watt)
    • Recorded April 24, 1983 at a dried riverbed in the Mojave Desert
      Mojave Desert
      The Mojave Desert occupies a significant portion of southeastern California and smaller parts of central California, southern Nevada, southwestern Utah and northwestern Arizona, in the United States...

       near Victorville, CA
      Victorville, California
      Victorville is a city located in the Victor Valley of southwestern San Bernardino County, California. According to the U.S. Census Bureau's 2010 census, the city had a population of 115,903, up from 64,030 at the 2000 census.-Geography and climate:...

       by Bruce Licher.
  9. Party With Me Punker – 0:54 (Watt)
    • Recorded July 12, 1983 at the Minutemen's practice place in Long Beach, CA
      Long Beach, California
      Long Beach is a city situated in Los Angeles County in Southern California, on the Pacific coast of the United States. The city is the 36th-largest city in the nation and the seventh-largest in California. As of 2010, its population was 462,257...

       by Richard Derrick
      Richard Derrick
      Richard Derrick was born in Torrance, California in 1961, and is a lifelong resident of nearby San Pedro. He began playing music at an early age, starting with piano at age four, guitar at age ten, then learning both drums and bass guitar at 15...

       and James Ellis
  10. The Process – 1:17 (Boon/Watt)
  11. Joy Jam – 4:46 (Spot/Boon/Hurley/Watt)
    • These two tracks recorded live November 27, 1982 at KPFK
      KPFK
      KPFK is a listener-sponsored radio station based in North Hollywood, California, United States, which serves the Greater Los Angeles Area, and also streams 24 hours a day via the Internet...

       in Studio City, CA by Andrea 'Enthal.

Side two

  1. Tony Gets Wasted in Pedro – 2:10 (Lazaroff/Watt)
    • Recorded January 1979 in the shed behind George Hurley
      George Hurley
      George Hurley is a drummer noted for his work with The Minutemen and fIREHOSE.Even though he went to the same high school as D. Boon and Mike Watt he did not meet them until around 1978. That same year, Hurley formed The Reactionaries with Boon, Watt, and Martin Tamburovich...

      's house as The Reactionaries
      The Reactionaries (band)
      The Reactionaries were a punk rock band formed in San Pedro, California in 1978. The band's continual members were lead vocalist Martin Tamburovich, guitarist D. Boon, bassist Mike Watt, and drummer George Hurley. The Reactionaries existed for most of 1978 and 1979, practicing regularly but rarely...

      .
  2. Swing to the Right – 0:41 (Watt)
  3. ¡Raza Si! – 0:58 (Watt)
    • Recorded September 1980 in George Hurley's shed.
  4. Times – 0:45 (Watt)
  5. Badges  – 0:35 (Watt)
    • Demo recordings done by Mike Watt
      Mike Watt
      Michael David Watt is an American bassist, singer and songwriter.He is best known for co-founding the rock bands Minutemen, dos, and Firehose; , he is also the bassist for the reunited Stooges and a member of the art rock/jazz/punk/improv group Banyan as well as many other post-Minutemen...

       in his living room without D. Boon
      D. Boon
      d. Boon born Dennes Dale Boon, was an American singer, songwriter and guitarist. Active between 1978, when he joined The Reactionaries, and 1985, when he was killed in a van accident, Boon was best known as the guitarist and vocalist of the Californian punk rock trio Minutemen.-Youth:Dennes Boon...

       or George Hurley.
  6. Fodder – 0:42 (Boon/Watt)
  7. Futurism Restated – 1:30 (Joe Boon/Watt)
  8. Hollering – 0:58 (Watt)
  9. Suburban Dialectic – 0:42 (Watt)
  10. Contained – 0:57 (Hurley/Watt)
  11. On Trial – 0:39 (Watt)
  12. Spraycan Wars – 0:55 (Watt)
    • These seven songs recorded live December 26, 1980 at the Bla Bla Cafe in Studio City, CA by Joe Baiza
      Joe Baiza
      Joe Baiza is a punk rock and jazz guitarist whom Eugene Chadbourne cites as one of the most noteworthy guitarists to emerge from the Southern California punk rock milieu. Baiza is a founding member of the bands Saccharine Trust, Universal Congress Of, and The Mecolodiacs...

      .
  13. My Part – 1:35 (Boon)
    • Recorded live February 28, 1983 in Copenhagen, Denmark by Black Flag
      Black Flag (band)
      Black Flag was an American punk rock band formed in 1976 in Hermosa Beach, California. The band was established by Greg Ginn, the guitarist, primary songwriter and sole continuous member through multiple personnel changes in the band...

       roadie Mugger.
  14. Fanatics – 0:32 (Watt)
    • Recorded live March 4, 1983 in Brixton, England by The Soldier Dolls.
  15. Ack Ack Ack  – 0:41 (Talley-Jones/Johansen)
    • Recorded live March 1, 1983 in Arhus, Denmark
      Denmark
      Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...

       by Johnny Concrete. A cover of The Urinals song.
  16. The Big Blast for Youth – 1:20 (Tamburovich/Vandenberg/Boon/Hurley/Watt)
    • Recorded live September 24, 1983 at the Longshormen's Ball in Wilmington, CA.

Musical Personnel

  • D. Boon
    D. Boon
    d. Boon born Dennes Dale Boon, was an American singer, songwriter and guitarist. Active between 1978, when he joined The Reactionaries, and 1985, when he was killed in a van accident, Boon was best known as the guitarist and vocalist of the Californian punk rock trio Minutemen.-Youth:Dennes Boon...

     - vocals, guitar
  • Mike Watt
    Mike Watt
    Michael David Watt is an American bassist, singer and songwriter.He is best known for co-founding the rock bands Minutemen, dos, and Firehose; , he is also the bassist for the reunited Stooges and a member of the art rock/jazz/punk/improv group Banyan as well as many other post-Minutemen...

     - vocals, bass
  • George Hurley
    George Hurley
    George Hurley is a drummer noted for his work with The Minutemen and fIREHOSE.Even though he went to the same high school as D. Boon and Mike Watt he did not meet them until around 1978. That same year, Hurley formed The Reactionaries with Boon, Watt, and Martin Tamburovich...

     - drums
  • Joe Baiza
    Joe Baiza
    Joe Baiza is a punk rock and jazz guitarist whom Eugene Chadbourne cites as one of the most noteworthy guitarists to emerge from the Southern California punk rock milieu. Baiza is a founding member of the bands Saccharine Trust, Universal Congress Of, and The Mecolodiacs...

     - second guitar on "Tune For Wind God"
  • Spot
    Spot (producer)
    SPOT, , was the house producer and engineer for the influential independent punk record label SST Records. He recorded, mixed, produced or co-produced for most of SST's pivotal acts between 1979 and 1985...

     - clarinet on "Joy Jam"
  • Martin Tamburovich
    Martin Tamburovich
    Martin Tamburovich was the co-founder of New Alliance Records and vocalist for the short-lived Punk/New Wave band The Reactionaries. Tamburovich, along with his San Pedro High School classmates D. Boon, Mike Watt, and George Hurley, formed the band in 1978; they disbanded a year later...

     - lead vocals on "Tony Gets Wasted In Pedro", saxophone on "The Big Blast For Youth"
  • Dirk Vandenberg - trumpet on "The Big Blast For Youth"
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