• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Essential Mike Watt tracks?

#2
ok as far as the minutemen, double nickels on the dime is a must. i have ifn and a live one from firehose and thou they are good for me they don't compare to the minutemen disk i listed.
so i am not going to recomend any.
i say pickup double nickels and go from there.

also mikes solo disk contemplating the engine room is good but a lot different from his other work.

check out www.allmusic.com
for more info

good luck
 
#3
Check out Firehose's "Raging Full On" album. Some great and essential Mike Watt stuff on this album. The second track, I can never remember the name of, after Brave Captian, is unbelieveable. This will introduce you to MIke Watt in full glory.
 
#4
_Double Nickels on the Dime_ is the categorical answer for the Minutemen. Answers differ on fIREHOSE. My favorite is _Ragin' Full On_. Then he only has two solo CDs, _Ballhog or Tugboat_ and _Contemplating the Engine Room_, both of which you may as well get. Ballhog has a bajillion famous guests; the Engine Room is an opera but awesome nonetheless.

If you're looking for individual songs to napsterize before you buy, some memorable bass work appears on:
"Brave Captain"
"The Candle and the Flame"
"Big Train"

He always, or nearly always, is in a bass-guitar-drums trio, and typically the guitar plays fairly thin and high stuff, so he gets to just go to town.

He's on tour more or less constantly, and I would highly recommend catching the show. http://www.hootpage.com for details.
 
#5
double nickels on the dime is the one to have, lots of bass on that cd. i also have the minutemens album 3 way tie (for last) which i recomend, that has some quality stuff that sounds a little different from double nickels on the dime. the minutemen are one of my all time favorite bands, any of their cds would do in my opinion.
 
#6
Embellisher,
Right on, brother! You are about to enter a magical world of amazing bass playing and quirky songwriting. Any day I listen to a Minutemen or fIREHOSE CD is instantly a good day!
As the others said, the Minutemen's "Double Nickels on the Dime" is absolutely essential. It's one of my "desert island" CDs, as well as a treasure trove of unreal bass. My favorite tracks here are "One Reporter's Opinion", "God Bows to Math" and especially "The Glory of Man", but the whole thing is great.
As far as fIREHOSE, there really isn't a bad one. I'd get them all! But, if I had to strip it down to the essentials.. "Ragin', Full On", "If'n", and "Flyin' the Flannel" would be my choices.
I'd also get his solo album "Contemplating the Engine Room." His first one, "Ballhog or Tugboat?" is good, but I like "Contemplating.." much better. It reminds me of a fIREHOSE album.
Watt has also done some side stuff.. a band called Dos that he was in with his ex-wife, who once played bass for Black Flag. It's some pretty cool bass duet stuff. He also did a one-off CD with a group called Bootstrappers, which included Elliot Sharp, who's really out there!
Have fun with all this stuff, the bass playing will really turn your ears around!
 
#14
Ditto on all that, Double Nickels is the place to start. For kicks at some point, I would check out two early minutmen faves of mine, "The Punch Line" and "What Makes a Man Start Fires?". The interesting thing about these and other early Minutemen albums is that Watt plays with a pick on 'em, which he hasn't done since until his current tour with J. Mascis....
 
#15
Oh I totally forgot - another Mike Watt tangent would be Banyan, which is Stephen Perkins (the drummer from Jane's Addiction), Watt, and a rotating assemblage of players. Its free form stuff, and was originally conceived as the concept of everyone listening to Stravinsky's "Rites of Spring" on headphones and jamming along with it. I don't think that's what they do now, but it gives you an idea of how out there it is. This is one of those things to check out only after you hear all the essentials listed above...
 
#19
Sort of related, but I saw Watt with J. Mascis a few weeks ago, and damn if Watt doesn't continue to blow my mind. To me, he is the embodiment of everything a great bass player should be. He plays melodic, interesting parts, while holding down the low end. It was really cool seeing him play with Mascis too. They did a few Dinosaur songs in addition to the stuff of Mascis'snew record plus four Stooges songs (I Gotta Right, TV Eye, I Wanna Be Your Dog, and one other I can't remember). Best show I've seen in months.
 
#20
Sort of related, but I saw Watt with J. Mascis a few weeks ago, and damn if Watt doesn't continue to blow my mind. To me, he is the embodiment of everything a great bass player should be. He plays melodic, interesting parts, while holding down the low end. It was really cool seeing him play with Mascis too. They did a few Dinosaur songs in addition to the stuff of Mascis'snew record plus four Stooges songs (I Gotta Right, TV Eye, I Wanna Be Your Dog, and Down on the Street). Best show I've seen in months.
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back