9-1-06, 12:50 p.m.

A few months ago, I found myself engaged in a discussion with my 13 year old son about the music of Green Day, his favorite band. My teenaged son is of the opinion that Green Day is the epitome of all that is good and pure about music, and that they continue the essence of punk music in today's post-Nirvana world.

Now, I am not going to take issue with my son because I have been a music lover since I was a toddler. I also know that the music one enjoys is a matter of taste, and I think it's great that my son likes listening to music -- even when his opinions on these subject seem to come from the former planet-now-downsized, Pluto.

But I couldn't resist going to my music collection and taking out a CD that I originally owned as a long-playing vinyl record. (I have resolved never to buy music I've now purchased at least twice, even though it is now available for download -- but that's just an aside).

The disc I chose was 'Double Nickels On The Dime,' by the Minutemen, one of the seminal bands of the early post-punk/indie music era. My son had never heard of them. After being compelled by me to listen to all 42 songs (clocking in at a total of about 70 minutes) under pain of not enjoying anything from the local ice cream emporium for at least another week, my son pronounced that he found the music 'pretty cool.'

Those of us who appreciated the Minutemen, even though so many people who didn't follow the post-punk and independent ('indie') music scenes had no clue who they were, can take heart that a full-length movie about the band has just been issued on DVD.

'We Jam Econo -- The Story of the Minutemen' (Rocket Fuel Films) is a 90 minute documentary by director Tim Irwin. The second disc in the two-DVD set contains 62 songs from three live performances by the band. The documentary includes commentary from family and friends, as well as by a number of the Minutemen's musical contemporaries from bands like Black Flag and Sonic Youth, among others.

The Minutemen were three young men who grew up in San Pedro, California near Los Angeles. They chose their name as a rejection of the politics of the 1960's racist, paramilitary group of the same name. D. Boon was the band's guitarist and lead singer, joined by bassist/vocalist Mike Watt and drummer George Hurley. The title of the film reflects the Minutemen's ethos and slang: 'Econo' meant thrifty -- the Minutemen not only played music, they set up their own equipment at gigs. They didn't think it was appropriate for avowedly working class guys to profit off the labor of others. They drove to gigs in a van; they stayed at the homes of friends (or slept in the van) rather than staying in hotels.

Other terms used by the band included: 'Mersh' for commercial, and 'boorzh' for bourgeois. Minutemen guitarist D. Boon was openly anti-imperialist and a member of the Committee in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador (CISPES). Bassist Mike Watt was also politically to the left and would take issue with anything that smacked of simple sloganeering.

It was sometimes said that the name of the band came from the fact that many of their songs lasted more than one minute, something they had in common with hardcore punk band. But, as the film brings out, they felt that getting to the essence of the song was what was important rather than any self-indulgent noodling. The band did, indeed, jam econo.

Unlike many of their peers, the Minutemen did covers of songs as a form of reverence rather than mockery (their treatment of the Steely Dan song, 'Doctor Wu,' on the 'Double Nickels On The Dime' recording is one example). They also incorporated jazz and funk into their songs, although in a very speeded up manner.

One of the most refreshing elements of this documentary is its portrait of the three, unassuming young men who made up the band. There wasn't a rock star in the trio; they were musicians who, between 1980 and 1985, toured relentlessly. They made records in the middle of the night to avoid excessive studio costs. They were openly and unabashedly on the political left -- not as part of a pose, but because that was the way they felt about issues. The produced music they thought was good and had relevance, and they didn't sign with a major corporate label like many of their contemporaries.

Tragically, D. Boon was killed in a traffic accident in 1985. He was 27 years old; the same age as Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix and Kurt Cobain when they met their all-too-early deaths. The Minutemen were no more.

Prior to this DVD release, the Minutemen could only be discovered by their music which remains available on the indie, California-based SST label. They also merited a chapter in Michael Azerrad's book, 'Our Band Could Be Your Life' Scenes from the American Indie Underground 1981-1991 (Little, Brown). The book's title comes from a line in one of the Minutemen's songs.

This DVD fills a void and deserves viewing by anyone interested in the independent music scene of the early to mid 1980's. It also gives new life to the contributions of one of the most fascinating and important musical bands to emerge from that era.