X
Is a post on LA’s X too pedestrian for the refined and esoteric tastes of the mp3 blogosphere? Fuck if I care. Los Angeles and Wild Gift are both staples in regular rotation at the homestead. I was hooked on the band the minute I heard their shit hot tracks from Decline of Western Civilization. Pure punk rock bliss - I was hypnotized by Billy Zoom and that odd, plastic smile. Anyhow, these early tracks are X at their best. The Adult Books/We’re Desperate 7″ was released on Dangerhouse in 1978. Both songs were later included on Wild Gift, but these are the definitive versions. The cover art is an absolute killer to boot. “Los Angeles” is from the one-sided Dangerhouse compilation Yes LA. All of these tracks are readily available in some form or another (Dangerhouse Volume 1, Dangerhouse Volume 2, Beyond and Back), but not all on the same release the last time I checked. For your convenience:
from their 1978 debut 7″
X - Adult Books.mp3
X - We’re Desperate.mp3
from 1979’s Yes LA compilation
X- Los Angeles.mp3
Notes:
> Is there a better source of amazing band and record info than Break My Face? No, their really isn’t. This page has all the info on Dangerhouse Records you’ve ever wanted to know.
> Nothing in common besides the name, an earlier post on Australia’s X
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those who say it is pedestrian are pedestrian, X is one of those bands, I continue to listen to since the first day I heard them and have never left the home without their music with me, just in case I needed a dose of X.
Pedestrian, hell no. I love love love X since I saw them singing I Am The Hungry Wolf on MTV back in the day. Billy Zoom is one creepy dude but he can wail on guitar. I was fortunate to see them in concert about 3 years ago with their original lineup at a little place in Lexington KY. It was a great and memorable show.
Billy Zoom owns X! There are a couple of pretty good interviews with Billy floating around, his musical history is interesting.
I still really dig early X, some of the later stuff lost me,I think the production was overly slick..
A few years back I went to see John Doe play at midwestern bar not really expecting much (in fact I traded the Uniform Choice shirt I was wearing for free passage for me and my friends to the doorman). I believe it was before the last X outing. Goddamn if that old man didn’t teach everyone how its done, he absolutely ripped. He came back for an encore and shredded through some X tunes (which was unexpected) topping it off with “Hungry Wolf” with Bonebrake in tow. If you get the chance, with or without X, go see ‘em.
x - los angeles is one of the first punk records i ever bought and still one of the best….and, the song “Los Angeles” is, I think, one of the best songs of all time, period.
Really good post, thank you - I hadn’t heard these versions before.
Wow. I feel kinda lame. A friend of mine played me some X like ten years ago…and I never pursued them. After hearing these tracks I’m definately gonna get off my ass and buy an album. Anyone have any suggestions for which album to start my journey?
Hey thanks for posting on X. I first started listening to them in college. I visted my freshman English 101 instructor during his office hours and he was rockin’ out on a walkman. I said, “hey, what are you listening to?” He said, “X”. I said, “never heard of ‘em”…to which he replied, “well you better start.”
He was right. X is one of the greatest and have opened up many new doors for me since.
I am probably a bit younger than the rest of these posters, and because of this, I have been listening to X for only a few years now. They are one of the first LA punk bands I discovered, after The Germs of course, and I have been in love with the La punk scene since discovering them. Thanks for the post. I only had the track from the Yes LA comp.