From: sepstei1@cc.swarthmore.edu (stephen epstein)
Subject: Re: The return of "X"
Organization: swarthmore college
Date: Mon, 11 Jan 1993 20:05:28 GMT

In article <1993Jan11.185618.17131@zia.aoc.nrao.edu>, cflatter@nrao.edu
(Chris Flatters) writes:
> 
> In article QfINhPG00WBM42DK0Z@andrew.cmu.edu, Spencer J Hollis <sh4m+@andrew.cmu.edu> () writes:
> >"X" is back.
> >
> >If you're not familiar with them here is a quick synopsis of their history.
> >-in 1982 they released their second (and only available) album "under
> >the big black sun" to a very un appreciative crowd.  This album is so
> >far ahead of it's time that it is just coming into it's own now.  They
> >are a very un pop b52's ish sounding group that thrives off of shocking,
> >sometime jovial topics and rythems.
> >-after that album they dissapeared for quite some time.
> >-in december they played a gig with michael penn as the headline and
> >absolutely blew him off the stage by miving some new with some old
> >material.
> 
> X released a number of albums in the mid-to-late 1980s including "More
> Fun in the New World" (1985?) which got considerable airplay in the UK
> (where disk jockeys appeared to believe that the full name of the band
> was X-who-are-produced-by-Ray-Manzarek-of-the-Doors: I never heard the
> band mentioned without the produced-by tag).  At this time they did,
> indeed, sound rather like the B52's but had a somewhat more incisive edge
> to their lyrics.  Reportedly, they were well received at live concerts
> in the UK which was unusual for an LA "punk" band
> 
> "More Fun in the New World" was followed by "Ain't Love Grand" which
> was unbelievably bad and the subsequent apparent disappearance of the
> band (not that I was inclined to look for them any more).
> 
> Most, if not all, of their albums are still available on CD (other titles
> are "Los Angeles" and "Wild Gift").
> 
I guess these posts show I'm getting old. Wild Gift, their second album
(Under The Big Black Sun was third), is one of the best punk records
released in this country during the early '80's.  Highly recommended. I
don't think they were unappreciated-- they were a big critcal fave and even
got signed to a major label-- a much bigger deal for a punk band in those
days than now.  I never heard them likened to the B-52's at the time, but I
suppose that's a possible point of reference.  More often they were called
a punk Jefferson Airplane, because of the vocal interplay between John Doe
and Exene.  The Paper Tulips, latter-day imitators most closely resemble
their sound, but descriptions don't really do the trick;  X was a truly
original band in its heyday.

They were also absolutely brilliant live in their early days, putting on
some of the best live shows i've ever seen.  Billy Zoom used to play these
maniacal rockabilly/punk riffs while staring at the audience with an
incredibly stupid grin on his face the whole time, as Exene whirled herself
around the stage in a frenzy.  Great high-energy stuff.  Their first four
records (Los Angeles, Wild Gift, Under The Big Black Sun and More Fun in
the New World) are all worth picking up, although I agree they really slid
a long way downhill with Ain't Love Grand.

Stephen