We Jam Econo: The Story of the Minutemen

Irwin is clearly a true believer when it comes to The Minutemen and he's assembled several other true believers to offer testimony about their greatness for a movie that will likely only be of interest to other true believers. I'm in that number, so it worked dandy for me. Apart from that, the film does offer an interesting glimpse of an era in music when a little passion, a friendship with the local music shop proprietor and a stack of photocopied handbills was enough to make a sizable dent.

The Minutemen were the greatest punk band of all-time, and this film will show you exactly why. Has enough insightful interviews, wild performances and raw econo energy to satisfy the devoted and to convert those that didn't already know. The performance of "History Lesson Part II" at the end nearly had me in tears.

The most important band ever

a film for the fans. i love mike watt

One gripe I had was that it seems to assume you already know quite a bit about the interviewees and their relationship to the band. Probably a nono, considering The Minutemen are fairly obscure. Might not win many converts, but anyone going into it already liking The Minutemen will find plenty to enjoy. The concert footage is great because the incredibly short song lengths means you're getting a lot more bang for your buck than you would with other band biographies.

I thought it was interesting, but I dunno how interesting someone who didn't care about the Minuteman would find it.

I like the Minutemen, but not that much. Still a fairly thorough and sometimes entertaining documentary.