Artist Mike Watt & The Missing Men

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Mike Watt & The Missing Men

Erstwhile member of The Minutemen, ecstatic bassist for Firehose, studio dude for Kelly Clarkson, beloved member of just about any cool punk tribe that’ll have him—Mike Watt is one of those old lifer heroes that everybody has to respect. His work on the bass—or “thud staff,” as he so gamely calls it—is formidable to be sure. But it’s the energy and sincerity in everything he does that makes it all go down so excitedly. Following the heady themes set by his past two solo works—1997’s Contemplating The Engine Room was a semi-autobiography set at sea; 2004’s The Secondman’s Middle Stand responds to his life-threatening illness—the 30 tracks on Hyphenated-Man—released last year in Japan and recently released everywhere else—play like journal scrawls of cryptic, personal retrospection.

Updated 04/14/2011