Project Mersh

Project: Mersh is the final extended play, or EP release from the American punk rock trio Minutemen. It is their penultimate release, before D. Boon's death later that year in an auto accident.[4]

Project: Mersh
EP by
The Minutemen
ReleasedApril 8, 1985
RecordedFebruary 1985
GenreAlternative rock, post-punk, experimental rock
Length22:14
LanguageEnglish
LabelSST (034)
ProducerJoe Carducci
The Minutemen chronology
Double Nickels on the Dime
(1984)		 Project: Mersh
(1985)		 3-Way Tie (For Last)
(1985)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[1]
Sputnikmusic[2]
Robert ChristgauB+[3]

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!"[2] Project: Mersh was a sarcastic and ironic attempt at a commercial (or "mersh") recording rather than their "econo" method.[5] Though, as bassist Mike Watt 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." All six songs surpass the two-minute mark ("More Spiel" is nearly six minutes long) and incorporate verses, choruses, hooks, and fade outs,[5] 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, 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 Double Nickels on the Dime.[6] The album also features a cover of Steppenwolf's "Hey Lawdy Mama."[7]

Track listing
Side one
  1. "The Cheerleaders" (D. Boon) – 3:52
  2. "King of the Hill" (Boon) – 3:24
  3. "Hey Lawdy Mama" – 3:37 (Larry Byrom, Jerry Edmonton & John Kay of Steppenwolf)
Side two
  1. "Take Our Test" (Mike Watt) – 2:44
  2. "Tour-Spiel" (Watt) – 2:45
  3. "More Spiel" (Watt) – 5:52

Personnel
The Minutemen
Additional musicians

Charts
Chart (1985) Peak
position
UK Indie Chart[8] 21
gollark: So `result2` (you can declare that in the loop by the way, and arguably should) will sometimes be nil.
gollark: There's not necessarily something in every slot.
gollark: no.
gollark: Who doesn't want to live in a glass/concrete cube?
gollark: You can totally build houses without wood.

References
  1. "Project: Mersh - Minutemen - Songs, Reviews, Credits - AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 26 November 2018.
  2. "Minutemen: Project Mersh". Sputnikmusic. March 5, 2017. Retrieved March 11, 2019.
  3. Christgau, Robert. "Minutemen: Project Mersh". Consumer Guide Album. Retrieved March 11, 2019.
  4. Bogdanov, Vladimir; Woodstra, Chris; Erlewine, Stephen Thomas (2002). All Music Guide to Rock: The Definitive Guide to Rock, Pop, and Soul. Hal Leonard. p. 741. ISBN 9780879306533.
  5. Rice, Barbara (1986). "The Minutemen". Truly Needy. 1 (10). Retrieved March 27, 2019.
  6. "Project: Mersh - Minutemen - Credits - AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 26 November 2018.
  7. Coley, Brian. "Minute by Minutemen". Archived from the original on February 19, 2006. Retrieved May 10, 2019.
  8. Lazell, Barry (1997). Indie Hits 1980-1989. Cherry Red Books. Archived from the original on June 6, 2011. Retrieved September 5, 2014.
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