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Yes, the band. I love them. I know they've just played some shows in the US...anyone see them? I read that John Doe has been taking bit parts in cop shows. Has it come to this?

― Nordicskillz (Nordicskillz), Wednesday, 15 January 2003 22:39 (10 years ago) Permalink

Plus the Raveonettes album sounds like Fisher Price "my first X album". Cute.

― Nordicskillz (Nordicskillz), Wednesday, 15 January 2003 22:40 (10 years ago) Permalink

dude, you don't even know about John Doe's acting career. He's in one of those hellish '80s videos for '60s songs. He kills a prostitute to the tune of the Doors' "LA Woman."

Still, nothing he's done is as insane as Henry Rollins' car wreckin' hostin' job.

― Anthony Miccio (Anthony Miccio), Wednesday, 15 January 2003 22:46 (10 years ago) Permalink

I liked John Doe in Great Balls of Fire. He was underused in that.

― Jody Beth Rosen (Jody Beth Rosen), Wednesday, 15 January 2003 22:48 (10 years ago) Permalink

I'd love to see that. I was watching Henry Rollins in Heat just the other day. Ouch.

― Nordicskillz (Nordicskillz), Wednesday, 15 January 2003 22:48 (10 years ago) Permalink

Henry gives the best performance in Johnny Mnemonic by default because he wears thick glasses, plays a doctor, gets to yell "If you're not expected then you're not invited - SO FUCK OFF!" and something like "yeah, when I last saw him he was...FUCKIN' YOUR MAMA!" or something. And then Dolph Lundregen crucifies him and stabs in the face. The last shot of henry is the knife's POV of Henry screaming.

― Anthony Miccio (Anthony Miccio), Wednesday, 15 January 2003 22:51 (10 years ago) Permalink

Unless Billy Zoom is back in the band, it doesn't mean shit.

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Wednesday, 15 January 2003 22:52 (10 years ago) Permalink

Henry Rollins in Heat

*looks around impatiently for Dan Perry*

― Jody Beth Rosen (Jody Beth Rosen), Wednesday, 15 January 2003 22:53 (10 years ago) Permalink

John Doe is also in "Boogie Nights".

I love X, one of the best L.A. bands ever.

― Spencer Chow (spencermfi), Wednesday, 15 January 2003 23:29 (10 years ago) Permalink

Billy Zoom's played with them on their last couple reunion tours. The hatchet is long buried, methinks. But I haven't seen them live in years...

― Shakey Mo Collier, Wednesday, 15 January 2003 23:33 (10 years ago) Permalink

John Doe is in many films; he's still quite handsome. I've seen X a few times; great, great band.

― Sean (Sean), Thursday, 16 January 2003 00:21 (10 years ago) Permalink

I'm not touching "Henry Rollins in Heat".

― Dan Perry (Dan Perry), Thursday, 16 January 2003 00:46 (10 years ago) Permalink

Dan's a smart man.

I, too, have seen X many times and enjoyed every minute of their shows. It's good to see that they've gotten back together, though i have to confess that i've not seen 'em since 1987 and haven't heard any of their new material (assuming they have some.) Personally, i think they peaked with _Los Angeles_/_Wild Gift_, but continued to put out great albums up to and including _See How We Are_, though there was a lot of change over that time period.

-Matt, who still thinks that Billy Zoom is one of the coolest guitarists on the planet.

― Matt Maxwell (Matt M.), Thursday, 16 January 2003 01:36 (10 years ago) Permalink

I'm not touching "Henry Rollins in Heat".

He'll be disappointed to hear that.

― Jody Beth Rosen (Jody Beth Rosen), Thursday, 16 January 2003 01:40 (10 years ago) Permalink

But does his dick resemble a soup can or not?

― Mr Noodles (Mr Noodles), Thursday, 16 January 2003 02:01 (10 years ago) Permalink

full of cream of chicken?

― electric sound of jim (electricsound), Thursday, 16 January 2003 02:50 (10 years ago) Permalink

Half of it's red, and half of it's white.

― Nate Patrin (Nate Patrin), Thursday, 16 January 2003 03:17 (10 years ago) Permalink

THAT'S QUITE ENOUGH.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Thursday, 16 January 2003 03:41 (10 years ago) Permalink

actually, me and the rest of the T-birds are snapping are fingers and going "wuzza wuzza wuzza...tell me more! tell me more!"

― Anthony Miccio (Anthony Miccio), Thursday, 16 January 2003 03:43 (10 years ago) Permalink

Saw X play a reunion show in Boston with Billy Zoom a couple of years ago. They were incredible. Probably the only show I've ever seen that peaked from beginning to end. And Billy Zoom has this aura around him that cannot be explained, because he just stands there with a silly grin on his face for two hours.

― Jim M (jmcgaw), Thursday, 16 January 2003 13:14 (10 years ago) Permalink

Who else but Nardwuar would ask:
Have you had problems with that, you know like people just trying to hassle you? Like, there's a new 'zine out called Stone Grass, and they talk about this girl from Washington, DC, that said she had sex with you and that your cock is shaped like a soup can. You know, another rumour, a 'soup can cock' for Henry Rollins.
Rollins: The Last girl I fucked in DC was this idiotic stripper chick who called herself "Aura". but I fucked her really good, so I don't know

― Mr Noodles (Mr Noodles), Thursday, 16 January 2003 16:37 (10 years ago) Permalink

A 1998 interview with Billy Zoom.

― Jody Beth Rosen (Jody Beth Rosen), Thursday, 16 January 2003 18:52 (10 years ago) Permalink

"I liked John Doe in Great Balls of Fire. He was underused in that. "

as opposed to D.Quaid's bobble-head, which was def. overused, to para-quote Linda Gail (the sister, not the child bride Myra Gale): "Jerry Lee is a lot of things, but goofy he ain't"

Otherwise John Doe with Ad-Rock in Roadside Prophets is best non-Alex Cox Alex Cox movie.

― Horace Mann (Horace Mann), Thursday, 16 January 2003 18:58 (10 years ago) Permalink

Thanks for the link Jody Beth. I heard Zoom went not just born again christian but white supremicist. Nice to the interviewer felt otherwise. But I wish Mr. Seigal went ahead and asked the question on his mind instead of writing:
"I would come to find that Zoom hates New Yawk City New Yorkers like a Klansman hates people of color. A curious bigotry to be sure, but a considerable one to Zoom. I briefly wondered if "New Yorker" isn't code for "Jew," but I decided that I was just being paranoid."

Wild Gift is the only album I kept, btw.

― Paula G., Thursday, 16 January 2003 19:12 (10 years ago) Permalink

... the australian X?

both of their albums are again available stateside.

― mosurock (mosurock), Thursday, 16 January 2003 19:34 (10 years ago) Permalink

just making sure people have seen _The Unheard Music_

― ron (ron), Thursday, 16 January 2003 20:57 (10 years ago) Permalink

the double cd of los angeles/wild gift might very well be my #1 DID, if i had such a thing

― ron (ron), Thursday, 16 January 2003 20:59 (10 years ago) Permalink

Billy Zoom's guitar shop is just a couple of miles down the street from home (the old place now). Terrific guy - I still need to take my old Ampeg amp over there to get a ground line installed.

My unconditional love for X is well documented. I've probably seem them at least a dozen times over the years.

― Chris Barrus (xibalba), Thursday, 16 January 2003 23:24 (10 years ago) Permalink

I hate them.

― Arthur (Arthur), Friday, 17 January 2003 04:22 (10 years ago) Permalink

They hate you too, Arthur.

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Friday, 17 January 2003 06:17 (10 years ago) Permalink

I know! Except DJ, he's a sweetheart.

― Arthur (Arthur), Friday, 17 January 2003 15:21 (10 years ago) Permalink

You hate them??? I find that hard to believe! I'm surprised, Arthur. How can you hate them? I mean not even dislike?

― Sean (Sean), Friday, 17 January 2003 15:57 (10 years ago) Permalink

Their awful vocals, their edgy sub-Bukowski Beyond Baroque poetry workshop lyrics, Exene's crochety old punk granny routine, the way all my friends worship them. They always seemed so square compared to their '77-era peers. I hated them in the 70s, I hated them in the 80s, I hated them in the 90s and I hate them now.

OK, I don't really hate them, they have a couple of classic songs. It's more their attitude and their place in the Hilburnesque LA Rock Pantheon. They're my #1 "I Just Don't Get It" band.

― Arthur (Arthur), Friday, 17 January 2003 16:16 (10 years ago) Permalink

I still love X. It's nice to still love at least on of the punk bands I listened to and sang along with in junior high. I don't think they were terribly innovative, just good. I think their first three albums are very good to great. "More Fun in the New World" had some good tracks on it (esp. "I Must Not Think Bad Thoughts"), but the overall sound is lacking. I give them credit for not simply trying to repeat their earlier style. Unfortunately, I still prefer the early music a lot more.

A lot of their songs really bounce and roll along quite nicely. Great hooks for a band that fell outside the circle of commerical success.

― Rockist Scientist, Friday, 17 January 2003 17:03 (10 years ago) Permalink

"Exene's crochety old punk granny routine"

Have to say, I agree with Arthur on that.....I hate that shit too.

Still, Billy Zoom is one damn cool motherfucker.

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Friday, 17 January 2003 17:14 (10 years ago) Permalink

I didn't get them either until I saw X: The Unheard Music, which for some reason has never come out on video (much less DVD). There's a contender for our City Pages documentary festival (the curator brought the TAMI Show to Minneapolis last time for the first time in 20 years). Anyone know about this documentary and what became of it?

― Pete Scholtes, Saturday, 18 January 2003 05:33 (10 years ago) Permalink

this is embarassing but when I was a kid I'd heard of them but I never actually botherd to buy any of their records until I read 'Less Than Zero' *ducks* the same applies to Elvis Costello *cowers* I was very, very young. Anyhow, the cd with 'Los Angeles' and 'Wild Gift' is on any top x00 cd list I'd ever make, though I do wish I could go back in time and keep Ray Manzarek the hell away from them.

― James Blount, Saturday, 18 January 2003 05:42 (10 years ago) Permalink

yes lets steal the tapes and remix0r them with no organ

― ron (ron), Saturday, 18 January 2003 07:24 (10 years ago) Permalink

The organ is the best part! You're all gay!

― Jody Beth Rosen (Jody Beth Rosen), Saturday, 18 January 2003 07:27 (10 years ago) Permalink

uh, dan p. ah fuck it

― ron (ron), Saturday, 18 January 2003 07:29 (10 years ago) Permalink

it's so cute with proper spelling :)

― ron (ron), Saturday, 18 January 2003 07:30 (10 years ago) Permalink

jody can have the leftover organ dub mix

― ron (ron), Saturday, 18 January 2003 07:31 (10 years ago) Permalink

Now playing on WJBR: http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&uid=2:39:18|AM&sql=Axpev97l7kr5t

;^p

― James Blount, Saturday, 18 January 2003 07:41 (10 years ago) Permalink

That's so heavy. Dude.

― Jody Beth Rosen (Jody Beth Rosen), Saturday, 18 January 2003 07:46 (10 years ago) Permalink

5 years pass...

Ugh...I sure didn't remember Ain't Love Grand being quite this "1985," if you know what I mean. Weird that "Love Shack" is a completely different song than the one The B-52's recorded 4 years later, but still sounds like a B-52's song.

― Johnny Fever, Monday, 15 December 2008 09:23 (4 years ago) Permalink

It's recorded two years later than Ain't Love Grand, but, wow, "4th of July" is such a great song (it graced a "Sopranos" episode a couple of years ago too).

― Alfred, Lord Sotosyn, Monday, 15 December 2008 13:25 (4 years ago) Permalink

The demo version of 4th Of July from the 2cd Beyond and Back comp is even better. A little less slick and eighties-afied.

― kornrulez6969, Monday, 15 December 2008 17:28 (4 years ago) Permalink

Ha! I was listening to "Los Angeles" the other day and was struck by how much it reminded me of the B-52s. Not sure if that's a good thing...

Still, I enjoy X in small doses, but have never loved them. I'd like to see what they are like in concert because I've heard nothing but good things. Maybe another reunion tour will happen.

― Moodles, Monday, 15 December 2008 18:03 (4 years ago) Permalink

When the fuck is ATP gonna invite them to do Los Angeles in its entirety, as I've been dreaming about for some reason

― Whiney G. Weingarten, Monday, 15 December 2008 19:46 (4 years ago) Permalink

the B-52s were a big obnoxious convertible jalopy tootin down a dirty back road, and x were some kind of erratic used datsun swerving dangerously, going slow in the fast lane and fast in the slow

― Tracer Hand, Monday, 15 December 2008 20:07 (4 years ago) Permalink

Exene's new solo material is great!

― Someone Still Loves You Evan and Jaron (Tape Store), Monday, 15 December 2008 21:04 (4 years ago) Permalink

5 months pass...

For some reason I always assumed I wouldn't like this band. Turns out I was wrong.

― congratulations (n/a), Friday, 22 May 2009 15:07 (3 years ago) Permalink

what album are you listening to?

― Bud Huxtable (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Friday, 22 May 2009 15:08 (3 years ago) Permalink

They should have had a better career than they did. But Wild Gift is an alltime great record.

I wish they stayed together and did more roots rock like 4th of July.

― kornrulez6969, Friday, 22 May 2009 15:18 (3 years ago) Permalink

"More Fun in the New World" right now, also recently dl'ed "Los Angeles." I guess I had kind of mixed them up in my head with the Cramps and so thought they were kitschier/jokier and more rockabilly than they actually are.

― congratulations (n/a), Friday, 22 May 2009 15:19 (3 years ago) Permalink

The movie "X: The Unheard Music" is great at capturing both the band and the early-mid 80s world that produced them. I knew Zoom had played with Gene Vincent, but I didn't know Bonebreak could tap out Lionel Hampton riffs on the vibes.

― bendy, Friday, 22 May 2009 15:24 (3 years ago) Permalink

I watched this recently and enjoyed it a lot, although I wish there were more extensive live clips.

I like how committed they were (are?) to their personal brands - they were truly living the rockabilly life.

One thing I was wondering about when watching this: was the character of Izzy from the Love & Rockets comics inspired by Exene? Definitely some very strong resemblances both in looks and personality.

― Moodles, Friday, 22 May 2009 15:51 (3 years ago) Permalink

I'm in love with Exene's new record.

― Banvil! The Story of Banvil (Tape Store), Friday, 22 May 2009 16:33 (3 years ago) Permalink

― Banvil! The Story of Banvil (Tape Store), Friday, 22 May 2009 16:41 (3 years ago) Permalink

:-/:

Exene Cervenka, the high priestess of the Southern California punk and alternative music scene for three decades, has been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, the singer for X and the Knitters revealed in a statement issued today.
Cervenka said she underwent tests “after some months of not feeling 100% healthy” and was told she had the inflammatory disease of the central nervous system.
“Although this is obviously unfortunate news,” Cervenka’s statement said, “I am choosing to see the positive in it. I, and X as a band, have supported the Sweet Relief charity since the mid-1990’s; the irony of this is not lost on any of us. Sweet Relief was started as an aide to uninsured artists by musician Victoria Williams when she herself was diagnosed with MS in 1992.”
“While this diagnosis will most certainly mean some changes for me, personally, it will not affect my commitments to the current X U.S. tour, nor will it affect my solo album that is slated for release this fall,” she said.
People with MS can lose control of functions that pass through the brain or spinal cord, but how it affects each person varies widely.
“My focus will certainly be on maintaining my health,” Cervenka, 53, said. “Many people remain strong and continue to live their lives as productively as they had before an MS diagnosis, and I plan to be one of those people.”
In April at the Stagecoach country music festival in Indio, where she sang with the Knitters, Cervenka said backstage that she had been trying to reduce her travel time and time away from her home in Missouri by concentrating performances in short bursts. The Stagecoach set came on the same weekend of a duo performance she gave at the Getty Center in Malibu with her longtime partner in X and the Knitters, John Doe.
“I fly out, do a few shows, see everybody I want to see,” she said, “and then I go home again.”

― Ned Raggett, Tuesday, 2 June 2009 19:28 (3 years ago) Permalink

11 months pass...

goddamn I love this band. I know this isn't saying anything new but John Doe + Exene is like my favorite vocal harmony combo

― congratulations (n/a), Thursday, 6 May 2010 15:10 (3 years ago) Permalink

I spent a whole summer listening to Wild Gift, wishing I had the sort of relationship that would have inspired these songs.

― cool and remote like dancing girls (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 6 May 2010 15:11 (3 years ago) Permalink

X!!!! Whatta band! One of the best live acts I ever saw, especially w/ Billy Zoom. The first three records were flawless, and they were all very good. Yeah - tons o' love.

― ImprovSpirit, Friday, 7 May 2010 17:53 (3 years ago) Permalink

3 months pass...

Recently watched The Decline of Western Civilization for the first time: I had dug this band before (esp. "We're Desperate" and "Adult Books") but now I can't seem to get enough of them. Definitely one of the greatest bands of all time.

― demons a. real (Drugs A. Money), Monday, 9 August 2010 19:26 (2 years ago) Permalink

Def go an watch The Unheard Music. It's a doc on X and no one else. VERY GOOD!

― Johnny Fever, Monday, 9 August 2010 19:29 (2 years ago) Permalink

Definitely one of the greatest bands of all time.

co-sign

― surfboard dudes get wiped out, totally, Monday, 9 August 2010 19:31 (2 years ago) Permalink

8 months pass...

man I was just thinkin about this band and I start seeing what they're up to an I guess Exene had to cancel a tour 'cause her MS got brutal on her. Feel so bad about the Knoxville show, what could be more terrifying than to have your body just quit on you onstage.

A Message from Exene - 4/8/11

as you probably know by now, i was diagnosed with ms. i have been doing relatively well. i thought i could handle sxsw in austin, and a short solo tour. however, i got sick in austin during sx, it is a hard event even under the best of circumstances. it didn't seem that hot to me, but heat is very bad for those of us with ms. i started feeling bad almost as soon as i started playing on wednesday and by sunday night, i had a terrible headache and couldn't get out of bed. i didn't feel any better by wednesday so i called my neurologist and got a prescription for steroids. i started to improve a little and thought i'd be okay to start my southwest southeast tour on the following friday. in retrospect, i should have called off the tour then and there. but i didn't want to cancel. kevin seconds, who was on the tour with me, met me in austin, and we played our first show. but i wasn't getting better.in knoxville tn, a week later, i was fatigued and having a hard time functioning. when i took the stage that night, i was surprised to discover that my right hand and arm were not responding to my commands, and i couldn't play guitar. i apologized to the audience, talked alot, and sang acapella. because i had driven ten hours from new orleans, i hoped it was just fatigue from gripping the steering wheel so long. but i knew the tour was over. the next morning, after i called my booking agent and gave her the news, i sat down with kevin seconds and explained to him that i was too sick to continue, and would only be going as far as memphis. i apologized. my friend flew into memphis and drove me home, where i am now. i wouldn't have made it as far as i did without the help of my friends and the kindness of fans strangers along the way. i am not an invincible road warrior anymore. the easiest part of touring is the hour on stage. the driving and staying with friends and finding hotels and advancing the shows and hauling around merch and guitars is the hard part. i've never cancelled a tour before but it is more important for me to regain my health than continue. i never know when my ms will strike, and this was certainly bad timing for an attack. my apologies to the clubs, the fans, my label, and mr. seconds for this unfortunate event. ~Exene~

― five gone cats from Boston (underrated aerosmith bootlegs I have owned), Thursday, 5 May 2011 02:49 (2 years ago) Permalink

I had heard about some health problems but man oh man that's awful news. Crossed fingers and best wishes.

― Ned Raggett, Thursday, 5 May 2011 03:05 (2 years ago) Permalink

^^^This. Been really obsessing over the X lately. Spending pretty pennies on the now OOP Elektra remasters.

Dig the dude crushing on Exene in this clip:

― Handjobs for a sport (C. Grisso/McCain), Thursday, 5 May 2011 09:40 (2 years ago) Permalink

5 months pass...

Anyone else been catching them on this "play 'Los Angeles'" tour?? Saw 'em on Wednesday, and it was godlike. True childhood heroes of mine, onstage right in front of me, totally ripping it up. Exene looked and sounded great -- I know abt the health issues, and I truly hope she wasn't just hiding any pain in the interest of the performance, but she really did look ok. What a band

― Stormy Davis, Sunday, 9 October 2011 02:55 (1 year ago) Permalink

Wished I saw the local gig but had a conflict. Sounds great

― curmudgeon, Sunday, 9 October 2011 03:35 (1 year ago) Permalink

I've seen them a couple times since their reunited in ... '96? '98? And they've always killed it. What a tight band.

― Josh in Chicago, Sunday, 9 October 2011 13:42 (1 year ago) Permalink

5 months pass...

"X"-tra "X"-tra: i'm listening to x for the first time right now. these guys rule.

― desk calendar white out (Matt P), Friday, 23 March 2012 21:26 (1 year ago) Permalink

you bet! what album?

― konybrony (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Friday, 23 March 2012 21:26 (1 year ago) Permalink

los angeles. goin reverse chrono on the spotify

― desk calendar white out (Matt P), Friday, 23 March 2012 21:28 (1 year ago) Permalink

err regular chrono duh

― desk calendar white out (Matt P), Friday, 23 March 2012 21:29 (1 year ago) Permalink

this was fun. thanks e veryone for tuning in.

― desk calendar white out (Matt P), Friday, 23 March 2012 23:37 (1 year ago) Permalink

Wild Gift rulez!!!!

― kornrulez6969, Friday, 23 March 2012 23:39 (1 year ago) Permalink

Spent most of last week listening to Under the Big Black Sun.

― Exile in lolville (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Friday, 23 March 2012 23:42 (1 year ago) Permalink

Live at the Whiskey is my favorite album of theirs...I dunno why but I've listened to that so many times that the regular studio album tracks feel kinda flat now.

but looooooooooooooove X.

― Peppermint Patty Hearst (VegemiteGrrl), Saturday, 24 March 2012 00:00 (1 year ago) Permalink

Sometimes I feel bad but the song ”los angeles” is so great but it's racist

― konybrony (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Saturday, 24 March 2012 00:01 (1 year ago) Permalink

Spent most of last week listening to Under the Big Black Sun.

^^That was me a few weeks prior.

If any of you haven't already, check out that Bandstand interview I posted upthread.

― Mike Love Costume Jewelry on Etsy (C. Grisso/McCain), Saturday, 24 March 2012 00:05 (1 year ago) Permalink

I highly recommend the widely available Cat's Cradle 1982-07-23 live boot, they just kill it on track after track.

― Flat Of NAGLs (sleeve), Saturday, 24 March 2012 00:18 (1 year ago) Permalink

"Sometimes I feel bad but the song ”los angeles” is so great but it's racist"

If it makes you feel any better, the song is written from the point of view of real person (someone Exene knew from Florida) who is not John or Exene. The reporting is neutral, but I get the vibe that the song does not approve.

― Three Word Username, Saturday, 24 March 2012 07:45 (1 year ago) Permalink

oops I meant the 1982-07-23 show from Clutch Cargo, Detroit.

― Flat Of NAGLs (sleeve), Saturday, 24 March 2012 19:00 (1 year ago) Permalink

goddamn I love this band. I know this isn't saying anything new but John Doe + Exene is like my favorite vocal harmony combo.

Oh god yes.

"Some people give me the creeps!"

― collardio gelatinous, Saturday, 24 March 2012 20:27 (1 year ago) Permalink

It was better before, before they voted for whatshisname
This was supposed to be the new wooooooorld

― Peppermint Patty Hearst (VegemiteGrrl), Saturday, 24 March 2012 22:49 (1 year ago) Permalink

10 months pass...

listening to live at the Whiskey, falling in love with them all over again
so great

i have a renewed crush on DJ Bonebrake

― set the controls for the heart of the sun (VegemiteGrrl), Tuesday, 29 January 2013 22:16 (3 months ago) Permalink

For me those first couple X albums make virtually the only rock music as good (or almost as good) as salsa for driving around to.

― _Rudipherous_, Tuesday, 29 January 2013 22:27 (3 months ago) Permalink

when I first met Mr Veg we roadtripped from SF to LA listening to the Whisky album and it still sounds like the grapevine on I-5 to me

― set the controls for the heart of the sun (VegemiteGrrl), Tuesday, 29 January 2013 22:31 (3 months ago) Permalink

Seen this band so many times and in so many configurations I've lost count.

Anyway, you know what's a lot better than the Live At The Whisky album (which I basically disown on the basis that Billy Zoom isn't involved) is that FM broadcast of them playing in Boston with a two guitar lineup (Dave Alvin lead, Tony rhythm I think). Highlights include Exene dominating the meanest cover of Positively 4th Street you'll ever hear - forget the studio version happened - and a brilliant medley of Devil Doll and Long White Cadillac. And they take away all that hair metal sheen from the Ain't Love Grand songs.

As a complete X junkie, here's a few recommendations/preferences:
-Don't have the lineage, but an FM broadcast of a NY show from 83. My Father's Place maybe? Features a version of True Love Pt. 2 that is just beyond demented. The mix on that bootleg is perfect. Giant guitar and bass, and unlike some of the other FM stuff circulating from the era, Exene's very lucid and pissed off.

-Wild Gift has a horrid mix that makes everything sound like it's coming out of my grandpa's radio. Find bootlegs and live albums instead. Particularly Live In Los Angeles, from the reunion tour. Definitive versions of the Wild Gift-era songs.

-Go to dime or whatever and find the Winters 2009 bootleg of The Knitters. That band is its own thing live. Dave Alvin's way louder than on record and he's given a lot of leeway to take some mean solos. Very fond of how he's given about two minutes at the end of New World to turn it into the Battle Hymn of the Republic. And Walkin' Cane live is just something else. Highlight is their fantastic cover of "Wreck On The Highway," as yet unreleased.

-Also, seek out their medley of Wild Side of Life/Honky Tonk Angels and the fiddle demo of Someone Like You. Classic, straight-faced Bakersfield country that sound like lost 45s. No proof they were recorded in 85 at all.

-Solo stuff. Exene: Alone In Arizona, Already In Love, Dirty Snow, Lonesome War. John: Hwy 5, Golden State, Lean Out Yr Window, Pressing On, Cottage In The Dale. (He also does a killer version of Ballad of a Thin Man if you can find that.)

― Everything You Like Sucks, Wednesday, 30 January 2013 02:51 (3 months ago) Permalink

I clearly remember this being the coolest thing I had ever seen:

― Spencer Chow, Wednesday, 30 January 2013 03:53 (3 months ago) Permalink

Yup. Was a regular on MTV.

― dan selzer, Wednesday, 30 January 2013 07:31 (3 months ago) Permalink

pretty cool show this past saturday in santa ana, at a benefit for phil alvin: x and the knitters both on the bill, along with the blasters and los lobos. it was very very 1982, and i'm guessing a good number of people in the room were in fact there in 1982 if not earlier. lots of flannel shirts and white t-shirts. bummed that dave alvin didn't play with x. but he played with the blasters, which was much more important, obviously, and oh so great. knitters were endearingly sloppy (i've seen them a lot tighter) and jovial (and a bit too electric for my taste, which is to say dave alvin was really loud relative to everyone else). x stuck to the first four albums and avoided anything the knitters had just played. the knitters' "the new world" was about halfway between the knitters and x versions anyway. john and exene were hamming it up big-time. billy stood stage right, about 500 yards from the rest of the band. old people moshed. i thought exene sounded particuarly good, except when she joined the blasters for a duet of "jackson" and the soundman forgot to turn up her mic for the first half of the song. oops.

― fact checking cuz, Wednesday, 30 January 2013 07:44 (3 months ago) Permalink

Also, seek out their medley of Wild Side of Life/Honky Tonk Angels

yes! it's on the excellent "radio tokyo tapes vol. 3" comp if you can find it.

― fact checking cuz, Wednesday, 30 January 2013 07:45 (3 months ago) Permalink

Wild Gift has a horrid mix that makes everything sound like it's coming out of my grandpa's radio.
Really? I think it sounds great, like they're right in the room with you. Certainly an upgrade over Los Angeles.

― Jazzbo, Wednesday, 30 January 2013 12:37 (3 months ago) Permalink

I just had an X revival a few weeks ago after reading We Got the Neutron Bomb. I hadn't really given them much of a spin in about 5 years. They're such a great band, I have no idea why I was ignoring them.

― how's life, Wednesday, 30 January 2013 13:33 (3 months ago) Permalink

But it might have been Billy Zoom's hair.

― how's life, Wednesday, 30 January 2013 13:34 (3 months ago) Permalink

Sorry guy, you can't come out of my speakers today.

― how's life, Wednesday, 30 January 2013 13:38 (3 months ago) Permalink

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JzkNdOY03Q4

charisma

― that's real banjo bro (Hunt3r), Saturday, 2 February 2013 04:37 (3 months ago) Permalink

I was thinking today that Billy Zoom is the perfect guitarist for X, because he's such a conventional guy. Here's John/Exene doing their Bukowski-goes-to-hell-and-look-at-all-these-Bakersfield-country-45s-we-bought thing, and then over in this corner is Billy Zoom, seemingly oblivious to it all. Christian, blond, seemingly unaware of any guitarists who came to prominence after the death of Eddie Cochran. It's hilarious. I can't get enough of it.

Also, when I've taken pics at X shows, he's always noticed, and mugged for every shot I take with that fake smile. I just love him to death. He's both batshit and completely devoid of pretension.

― Everything You Like Sucks, Saturday, 2 February 2013 07:31 (3 months ago) Permalink

As for their other guitarists, well, Dave Alvin turns them into a roots-rock band that's not as ironic as you'd think, and Tony Gilkyson turns them into, well, an LA band in 1988.

― Everything You Like Sucks, Saturday, 2 February 2013 07:32 (3 months ago) Permalink

i like X so that means they suck?

― am0n, Saturday, 2 February 2013 07:37 (3 months ago) Permalink

otm

I was always convinced he had to be deranged or kicked in the head. But he fucking rules up there with that guitar, goddamn

― set the controls for the heart of the sun (VegemiteGrrl), Saturday, 2 February 2013 07:48 (3 months ago) Permalink

How is Exene doing these days?

Wish they'd play the UK, the last time they were supposed to play in London was 5 years ago and it was cancelled. It looks like they did play the UK last year supporting Pearl Jam but only in Manchester?

― Just noise and screaming and no musical value at all. (Colonel Poo), Saturday, 2 February 2013 09:44 (3 months ago) Permalink

Demo version of one of the great forgotten songs:

― Josh in Chicago, Sunday, 3 February 2013 14:08 (3 months ago) Permalink

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