New Music to Me- The Punch Line- Minutemen

 Listening to this so closely to their initial EP makes it abundantly clear that the musicianship and the recording techniques improved DRASTICALLY for the band from 1980 to 1981.

There's a focus on the first track, and they craft a solid opener in 53 seconds.

Musicality in such a tight space is impressive.

I'm not paying attention to the lyrics... which I think is missing a big point if not THE point of their music.

The Struggle... intro is great. Ya... not a fan of the vocal... the lower pitched one, which I think is Mike Watt...?

It's very jazzy, which begs the question... could a more catchy and mainstream band succeed within such a constrained timeframe of songs? Repetition is such a big part of developing the hook.

There's a very slam poetry feel to the songs. Music and lyrics punctuating each other.

History Lesson is the most memorable track IMO.

18 songs, 15 minutes. Hot damn that is a SPRINT.

7.5/10

New Music to Me- Paranoid Time- Minutemen

 It's rough. It's fast. It's poetic.

7 songs. 6 minutes.

For such a short work of music, it's impact is lasting.

Is it my bag? Kind of? I'm not the biggest fan of the vocals, but they fit the vibe.

It's taken me longer to write this than it did to listen to the EP...

7.1/10

New Music To Me: Damaged- Black Flag

 What a rush this must have been in 1981. 

Songs that impacted me on the first spin:

TV Party aka "Get off your damn couch and stop consuming and do some real shit".

Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie- the vocals sans instruments to begin and end the song are (chef's kiss).

Depression... those first guitar chords feel so somber. 

Life of Pain- It feels like the album builds to this point. Henry sounds so desperate but hopeful but angry but concerned.

Annnnnnd... googling Black Flag today shows how far they've come... or, you could argue, how far they've fallen. But that's a topic for another post  

8.5/10