Paranoid Time

On the very first single from the seminal San Pedro trio, the Minutemen showed off admirable chops and a steadfast hardcore aesthetic, as well as the strong political stance that separated them from most of their hardcore brethren. In the ultra-concentrated style that characterized their early work, the band bashes out seven songs within the space of about seven minutes. PARANOID TIME hurtles along at a frantic pace. The opener "Validation," crystallizes the early Minutemen style: a scratchy guitar, shouted vocals, and a tight rhythm section adeptly executing a series of quick starts and stops. Before you know it, the song ends and "The Maze" charges in, with insistent bass and choppy guitar chords, and singer d. Boon railing against a target he would return to again and again: dishonest politicians. The ominous "Definitions" starts with Boon speaking over Mike Watt's bass, before bursting into a cathartic shouted chorus of "Tear up your dictionary!" The final four songs are loosely linked by themes of communism: the frantic instrumental "Hammer and Sickle," "Fascists," featuring Boon's caustic guitar work, "Joe McCarthy's Ghost," and the aptly named final diatribe, "Paranoid Chant."