Product Details

• Format: Color, Dolby, NTSC, Subtitled
• Language: English (Unknown)
• Subtitles: English, French
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 2
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Plexifilm
• DVD Release Date: June 27, 2006
• Run Time: 91 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000FKO40W
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #111,603 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• Learn more about "We Jam Econo - The Story of the Minutemen" on IMDb

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Chances are if Alt-Rock changed your life in the 1990s you have the 1980s band The Minutemen to thank. And for those of you who missed out when The Minutemen were at the top of their game, you're in luck. We Jam Econo - The Story of the Minutemen is the long-awaited documentary of this wildly eclectic, seminal indie punk band. San Pedro High School graduates and long time friends D. Boon (guitar), Mike Watt (bass), and George Hurley (drums) formed The Minutemen in 1980 in the wake of the late seventies punk explosion. The Minutemen's trademark sound was a unique blend of punk, funk, classic rock riffs, mexicali rhythms and jazz beats sprinkled with a healthy dose of left wing politics and angst. These genres were often blended together into the same song and played in rapid fire bursts clocking in at one to two minutes tops. Their relentless touring and recording helped The Minutemen build a solid underground following while winning praises of music critics everywhere. After releasing their magnum opus Double Nickels On the Dime (1984) and opening for REM in 1985, the Minutemen were quickly rising to the top of the American Underground/College Rock heap. It looked as though super stardom may have been on the horizon for the boys from San Pedro. Sadly, the ride would be cut short when front man D. Boon died in a car crash on December 22, 1985. Culled from hours of home video footage, live concert footage and new interviews with Mike Watt and George Hurley, We Jam Econo chronicles the band from their early teen years, the band's roots in the 1980s Southern California hardcore scene, right up to the tragic death of front man D. Boon. We Jam Econo also includes loads of interviews from fellow musicians that read like a "who's who" list of the 1980s punk/ hardcore scene including the guys from Black Flag, X's John Doe, Minor Threat/ Fugazi's Ian MacKaye, Hüsker Dü's Greg Norton and Grant Hart, Flea from the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Dead Kennedys' Jello Biafra, Dinosaur Jr.'s J. Mascis, Sonic Youth's Thurston Moore and Lee Ranaldo, among many other admirers. The extras on this DVD include deleted scenes and extended interviews, their music videos and a complete band interview from 1985. By far the best extra on this set are the three complete live Minutemen performances from 1980, 1984, and 1985. --Rob Bracco

Product Description

WE JAM ECONO - THE STORY OF THE MINUTEMEN is the acclaimed feature-length documentary on the too-brief life of one of the most revered, intriguing, and inspired American bands ever. At the heart of their story is the immeasurable personal and musical bond between bassist Mike Watt and singer and guiatrist D. Boon. Childhood friends, their unbridled creativity and political views were the foundation of this groundbreaking band which refused to be categorized as Punk.

The film weaves together personal tales from Watt and drummer George Hurley with archival interview footage of the band and rare live performances. New interviews with over 50 musicians, artists, journalists, and friends help tell the Minutemen story, from their humble beginnings in the harbor town of San Pedro, California, to the tragic 1985 death of D. Boon in a highway accident in the Arizona desert.

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 29 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A fine effort, eclipsed only by the brilliance of its subject September 6, 2006

By Paul Romano

Format:DVD

I really like these DVDs, and highly recommend them to both fans of the Minutemen and those curious about these acknowledged pathbreakers in punk/indie music.

To be sure, a number of the criticisms noted by other reviewers are on the mark. For example, there are possibly too many commenters; a large number pop up for one relatively un-illuminating comment (e.g., how great a drummer Hurley is, how funny a dancer Boon was, etc.). It would have been nice to have more sustained commentary from fewer commenters, but that's not a major fault.

And I'll agree that this isn't a highly polished effort, like the Clash documentary WESTWAY TO THE WORLD, or the Pistols documentary THE FILTH & THE FURY, but then I somehow don't think that would be appropriate for the Minutemen. These were working men, not art students. Fashion wasn't real big on their list of concerns; passion was.

And it's true; D.Boon's death is not dwelt upon at length. I think it would have been at a minimum redundant to do so, and possibly in bad taste. I think the filmmakers handle it with a deft and light touch that does not in any diminish the impact. For anyone who knows the band, of course, D.Boon's death hangs over the preceeding years of the story anyway. You dread getting to that inevitable part of the story. The filmmakers do not invite you to wallow in emotions; they allow you to breathe. I appreciate not being treated like a Spielberg fan.

I cannot fathom the reviewer who felt that Mike Watt was unemotional; I had the distinct impression that he was on the verge of tears at least three times in the segments that appear in the main documentary. My heart went out to him and George all over again, just the way it did when I first heard about D.Boon's death all those years ago.

Overall, I think the documentary succeeds in its basic aims - to tell the story of the band, to try to get across what made them so special out of all the bands in the American punk milieu, to explore the personal, social, & historical contexts out of which the band members (esp. Boon & Watt) emerged, and to show the extraordinary power of the band live.

You come away from the documentary (which is only the main draw to this generous package) understanding how these guys were able to achieve so much, including writing one of the greatest love songs I've ever heard, albeit not a romantic or erotic one ("History Lesson Pt. 2"). You will appreciate anew their extraordinary musicianship, their work ethic, and their down-to-earth approachability. I vividly remember chatting with them after an incendiary gig they played with Husker Du, Meat Puppets, Saccharine Trust, & Swa in San Jose in '84 - they were truly interested in talking to their fans).

The extras are great - the 3 videos are great to have, and the footage of the 3 live shows is just precious beyond words. I saw the Minutemen live 5 or 6 times from 1980 to 1984 and they were always at least good. They poured everything they had out on the stage - I think it was something like a moral obligation for them to do that for their audiences.

Buy this and be reminded of what can be achieved by 3 lowly 'corndogs', and how simple it can be to be decent, human, humane, dedicated, and fearless. I miss them. RIP D.Boon, and long life and best wishes, Mike & George.

17 of 19 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars You're Not Eskimo: Better Than Dylan January 7, 2007

By danger ex machina

Format:DVD

Mister Director, this is better than Dylan to me. What, with all these brats buzzing around like insects in their Misfits and Clash t-shirts straight from Hot Topic (forget that they've never even listened to 'em), somebody has to wisen em up. Sit down and listen to Papa Mike for a while, kid. Punk was (and IS) never about clothes. Watt serves as the anchor for the film, mostly from the driver's seat of his van, waxing off on everything from clay wheels to Richard Meltzer along the way. George Hurley is a given, but everyone from Chuck Dukowski to Spot to Thurston Moore to the members of The Urinals/100 Flowers add their own take on the Minutemen story to the mix. And a fine pot of gumbo it is. But wait, there's more! The three videos are worth the price of admission alone. See Ronnie Raygun drop his payload on our boys in "This Ain't No Picnic". Check out D. Boon munching on a pineapple as the "King of the Hill" while a crowd literally fights for his table scraps. The coup-de-gracie is the wholesale destruction visited upon SST's old office in "Ack Ack Ack Ack", 3 Stooges style. The entire Bard interview intercut throughout the film is presented in its entirety, complete with a snarky interviewer and the band goofing off between takes. Something like twenty deleted scenes, and three full shows on the second disc round out a rare five star package that's actually worth the three hours at my crummy job to pay for it. Like Watt says, you can't help when you're born...some before, some during, some after. But you can let some of those after people borrow "We Jam Econo" or that Screamers DVD Target put out, and maybe, just maybe, a few of em will start their own band, paint their own picture, or write their own book. No sense complaining if you aren't willing to do something else instead, y'know.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best June 29, 2006

By George T. Parsons

Format:DVD

Certainly one of the best music films ever made with the incomparable central figure of D. Boon and his best friend, bandmate and bassist Mike Watt, and incredible drummer George Hurley. It does justice to these guys and that's saying A LOT. It's also a great glimpse into unadorned punk history.