''Project: Mersh'' is the final

extended play An extended play record, usually referred to as an EP, is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record.

, or EP release from the American punk rock trio

Minutemen Minutemen were members of the organized New England colonial militia companies trained in weaponry, tactics, and military strategies during the American Revolutionary War. They were known for being ready at a minute's notice, hence the name. Mi ...

. It is their penultimate release, before

D. Boon Dennes Dale Boon (April 1, 1958 – December 22, 1985) was an American musician, best known as the guitarist, singer and songwriter of the punk rock trio Minutemen. He was born on April 1, 1958 in San Pedro, California, and formed the Minuteme ...

's death later that year in an auto accident.

Background

The cover art is a painting by D. Boon depicting a meeting of three exhausted record label executives in which one of them says "I got it! We'll have them write hit songs!" ''Project: Mersh'' was a sarcastic and ironic attempt at a commercial (or "mersh") recording rather than their "econo" method. Though, as bassist

Mike Watt Michael David Watt (born December 20, 1957) is an American bassist, vocalist and songwriter. Watt co-founded and played bass guitar for the rock bands Minutemen (1980–1985), Dos (1985–present), and Firehose (1986–1994). He began a solo ...

pointed out in a 1985 Bard College interview, "It's only mersh because we said it was mersh, it only sold about half as much as our art record ''

Double Nickels on the Dime ''Double Nickels on the Dime'' is the third album by American punk trio Minutemen, released on the California independent record label SST Records in 1984. A double album containing 45 songs, ''Double Nickels on the Dime'' combines elements of p ...

''." All six songs surpass the two-minute mark ("More Spiel" is nearly six minutes long) and incorporate verses, choruses, hooks, and fade outs, in contrast to nearly all the band's previous recordings. Crane, who provided backing vocals and played the trumpet on ''

Buzz or Howl Under the Influence of Heat ''Buzz or Howl Under the Influence of Heat'' is the sixth overall release (fourth extended play, or EP, release and their first 12-inch EP) from American hardcore punk band Minutemen. It was released by SST Records in 1983. It is noted for featur ...

'', returned to lend his voice and instrumentals to the album. The album even utilizes a synthesizer, which was played by Ethan James who produced their previous album ''

''. The album also features a cover of Steppenwolf's "Hey Lawdy Mama."

Track listing

;Side one #"The Cheerleaders" (

) – 3:52 #"King of the Hill" (Boon) – 3:24 #"Hey Lawdy Mama" – 3:37 (

Larry Byrom Steppenwolf was an American-Canadian rock band that was prominent from 1968 to 1972. The group was formed in late 1967 in Los Angeles by lead singer John Kay, keyboardist Goldy McJohn, and drummer Jerry Edmonton, all formerly of the Canadian b ...

Jerry Edmonton Gerald Michael Edmonton (born Gerald McCrohan, October 24, 1946 – November 28, 1993) was a Canadian-American musician who was the drummer, and secondary lead vocalist for the rock band Steppenwolf. Early life and career Edmonton was born in ...

& John Kay of Steppenwolf) ;Side two #

"Take Our Test" (

) – 2:44 #"Tour-Spiel" (Watt) – 2:45 #"More Spiel" (Watt) – 5:52

Personnel

;The Minutemen *

–

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

singing Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

George Hurley George Hurley (born September 4, 1958) is a drummer noted for his work with Minutemen and fIREHOSE. Music career Early years Originally from the East Coast, Hurley and his family moved to San Pedro, California, when he was six years old. ...

–

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

sound effect A sound effect (or audio effect) is an artificially created or enhanced sound, or sound process used to emphasize artistic or other content of films, television shows, live performance, animation, video games, music, or other media. Traditi ...

s, wood block *

–

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are use ...

acoustic guitar An acoustic guitar is a musical instrument in the string family. When a string is plucked its vibration is transmitted from the bridge, resonating throughout the top of the guitar. It is also transmitted to the side and back of the instrument, ...

, speech ;Additional musicians *Crane –

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...

, backing vocals * Ethan James –

synthesizer A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and ...

, backing vocals

Charts

References

{{Authority control 1985 EPs Minutemen (band) albums SST Records EPs Concept albums