Song of the Day: 'Alphabetland' by X

Wow, talk about a fun surprise! It's unclear to me how this came to be, but X has reunited to record its first album since 1993's "Hey Zeus" -- and first album with the original Billy Zoom lineup since 1985’s "Ain’t Love Grand!" Despite chronic health problems and personality disorders -- Zoom is in remission from bladder cancer and vocalist Exene Cervenka has both multiple sclerosis and an incurable case of Alex Jones disease -- the legendary L.A. punks sound like they haven't lost a beat on the rollicking 30-minute blast from the past. The album is on the indie label Fat Possum available via Bandcamp HERE. It's coming to other platforms soon. Enjoy!

Album notes:

(Via Bandcamp)

The Los Angeles Times reports:

In early March, the four original members of X sat in the mixing room of an Eagle Rock recording studio recounting the how and why of “Alphabetland,” their first studio album as a quartet in 35 years.

Arranged in a semicircle on a couch and in a few chairs, John Doe, Exene Cervenka, Billy Zoom and D.J. Bonebrake were taking a break from a long day of mixing and overdubbing the 11 hard, fast and distorted new rock ’n' roll songs — the kind that first ignited the city on X’s 1980 debut album, “Los Angeles.”

“Exene and I talked about writing some songs five to seven years ago together, but we weren't sure where it would go,” Doe, 67, said of collaborating with his ex-wife and longtime writing partner. (The two were married from 1980 to 1985.) “We were doing other creative stuff, and whatever creative force you have goes into whatever's in place, right? Whether it’s building a car, making a garden or writing a song.”

Now an Austinite, Doe was wearing cowboy boots, blue jeans, a Western-style button-up shirt and a bolo tie. “So Exene and I just kind of got busy and said, 'OK, we've got a place to put it.'”

When Doe finished speaking, Cervenka, 64, who was lounging on her side of the couch with her eyes half-shut, lifted her head: “Actually, I've been writing X songs for 10 years, and finally everybody decided to make a record. That's the real story.”

"Alphabetland” arrived out of the blue on Wednesday. Landing months sooner than the band had originally planned, it was recorded with producer Rob Schnapf (Elliott Smith, Beck, Joyce Manor) during two sessions in the fall of 2018 and January 2020.

Doe's and Cervenka’s competing narratives on X's creative return mirror the call-and-response tension that has powered their work since “Los Angeles” came out. X was scheduled to play that Ray Manzarek-produced debut from start to finish for a 40th-anniversary celebration at the Wiltern on Saturday.

Instead, after teasing fans on their Facebook page with a photo of wrapped presents (wild gifts?), X surprise-released “Alphabetland” to Bandcamp through the indie label Fat Possum.

At just over 30 minutes long, its 11 hit-and-run songs are as driving, poetic and accomplished as anything X has ever done. The album will land on the other major music streaming platforms on May 1. The band hopes to tour behind the album in the fall.

Keep reading HERE.

Song of the Day: 'True Love' by X

My new neighbors at work love to chat the whole day long, so I decided to fire up my Spotify yesterday. One thing led to another, and I was in an X hole, remembering just how wonderful "More Fun in the New World" was. See the band at the Devil House at an all-ages show in 1983 was quite a thrill, especially when they did this quirky gem.

Song of the Day: 'Fourth of July' by X

Hey, baby -- it's the 4th of July!

Song of the Day: 'Go Baby Go' by John Doe, Featuring Debbie Harry

Download John Doe's "The Westerner" HERE.

The only thing more eXhilarating than discovering Debbie Harry sings on John Doe's new solo album  ... 

is finding her singing "Breathless" with X a few years ago at Roseland!

Punk Turns the Big 4-0

The Go-Go's in 1978

A lot of places are celebrating the 40th birthday of punk, a movement that definitely had an influence on my youth, albeit mostly by way of its more accessible cousin New Wave. New York magazine goes inside the less-covered Los Angeles scene of the Dead Boys, the Bags, X, the Go-Go's, the Germs et al. HERE.

Debbie Harry in 1977

A friend just asked me if Blondie was punk. I responded that the Ramones are considered the quintessential New York punks, and when you listen to their music they're awfully pop (like Blondie), too, so I think it's fair to say Blondie came out of the punk scene.

Exene Cervenka and John Doe of X in 1977

Meanwhile ...

The Wall Street Journal reports that a series of exhibitions and events in London will mark the 40th anniversary of the short-lived, take-no-prisoners genre that exploded onto the music scene in the 1970s / Read HERE.

The Clash

And The Guardian goes inside the British Library exhibit HERE.

 "Slash: A Punk Magazine From Los Angeles, 1977–80" is available HERE.

Song of the Day: 'Los Angeles' by X

It's a shame I hate Exene Cervenka's guts now, for being a Victoria Jackson wannabe. (Yeah, those families in Santa Barbara are faking their grief over having their loved ones slaughtered to try to curtail your Second Amendment rights, girl.) But since I'm in the City of Angels and this is the title track of one of the greatest albums ever, I won't hold it against her bandmates, whom I can only hope aren't as sick as she is.

Song of the Day: '4th of July' by Dave Alvin and John Doe

Always pick X's "4th of July" for my Independence Day Song of the Day -- but was thrilled to find this rare recording of John Doe singing it with the Blasters' Dave Alvin, who actually penned the modern classic that was included on the one X album he was a member for. 

Enjoy, baby. It's the "Fourth of July"!

P.S. You can hear the original (much fast) demo from "See How We Are" here

Time to Boycott (E)X(ene)?

X to play first four albums in full in July shows at the Roxy

THIS would be the greatest thing ever, but now that Exene Cervenka's right-wing bullshit has taken a particularly ugly turn -- she's claming the Santa Barabra massacre is a hoax arranged by gun-control advocates -- I suggest no one go to these shows at all. And speaking of hoaxes: I'm starting to think the idea that Viggo Mortensen fucked this crazy bitch is hoax, too.

She Had to Leave Los Angeles Orange County

Exene Cervenka is having a garage an estate sale this weekend in Santa Ana(!). The singer, most famous for her work in the seminal L.A. punk band X, says she is moving to Austin, Texas, and doesn't want to drag all her stuff along with her. Rolling Stone has all the crazy details HERE.

UPDATE: Oh, I somehow missed this part. I follow her on Twitter and she's one of those people like my mom who won't come out and say they're a Republican, but then they make these vague-but-crazy statements that make you say ... wait a minute here. Well, now she's coming out with it!

"The other reason I'm moving, if the creek don't rise, is that when I moved to California in 1976, Jerry Brown was governor. It was barefoot hippie girls, Hell's Angels on the Sunset Strip, East L.A. lowriders, the ocean and nature. It was this fabulous incredible place about freedom. Now when I think about California, I think of a liberal oppressive police state and regulations and taxes and fees. I'd rather go someplace and have my own little place out on the edge of town. I'm a country girl at heart. It makes me happy when I see people in Texas open-carrying. It makes me feel safe. I'm not even a gun owner, but I'd like to see a gun rack in every pickup truck, like my boyfriend had when I was fifteen years old in Florida. An armed society is a polite society."

Sounds like she'd fit in in any city in Texas EXCEPT Austin.

Song of the Day: 'Fourth of July' by X

The Independence Day anthem that should have been, by the seminal L.A. punk band X. They're touring with Blondie this fall -- how can I resist?

Blondie: X Marks the Spot

If you had told me back at Rhodes Junior High in 1980 that I would be a position to start skipping events with Debbie Harry and Blondie involved, I'd have ripped you to shreds. But their touring machine is obviously a well-oiled -- read: money-making -- one, so you can understand why I don't need to go see them every other day. Hitting the road with the New Cars didn't smell good either, so when I heard yet another U.S. tour had been announced, I was prepared to take a(nother) pass. (Once you've seen the "Parallel Lines" 30th anniversary show -- and another since it -- you're kind of set for five years or so.) 

But with news that X -- my favorite punk band of all time, who I've only seen in '83 and '09  -- will be on the bill with the Blondies, I suddenly started to howl like a hungry wolf again. Blondie is reportedly trying out a bunch of new material, while X is drumming up excitement for their deluxe vinyl box set due out this fall, which features the band’s first four classic albums, plus a special booklet featuring a forward their former producer, the late Ray Manzarek of the Doors. The complete list of tour dates is HERE.

And speaking of the past, came across this 1977 photo of Deb with Patti Smith. I had always heard there was no love lost between the two -- Patti is rumored to have told Debbie that "CBGB's wasn't big enough for the both of us" -- but then Patti's book about the era didn't even mention Deb in passing. Perhaps this was a dig unto itself, or maybe this photo means they really got along just fine ...

Song of the Day: 'Silver Wings' by the Knitters

X is so great that it's easy to forget how brilliant the spinoff Knitters album, "Poor Little Critter on the Side of the Road," was. 

 

Song of the Day: '4th of July' by X

This song is pure fireworks, from X's album "See How We Are" back in 1987.

Hey, Baby! It's the Fourth of July

Here's wishing everyone a very happy Fourth of July! As is tradition, I post my favorite Independence Day song, X's "Fourth of July," the Dave Alvin-penned tale of heartache and redemption. In the past, the only version I could find on YouTube was a live solo performance by frontman John Doe. This year I'm happy to see someone has added the original, whose impact is far more haunting thanks to Exene Cervenka's haunting harmonies. Watch it below or listen to the holiday classic HERE.

 

State of Independence

Well, here we are again. And it's the Fourth of July. Hope everyone is having a great holiday weekend. I'm working both days -- and even had to fill in for someone on Friday. But I'm still looking forward to two big Wimbledon finals -- the all-American Battle of the Williamses today and the resurgent American Andy Roddick against Roger Federer on Sunday.

Now for the past few years I've done my best to turn the Dave Alvin song "4th of July" -- which X recorded for their "See How We Are" album back in '87 -- into the holiday anthem it was destined to be. X was great in concert last month but sadly did not perform it for me to film. You can, however, hear the band's singer/guitarist John Doe perform this bittersweet love song live in the clip below or click HERE to play original version.



While I stand by my assertion that it is the definitive Independence Day song, it does have some serious competition from Aimee Mann song of the same title, which somehow slipped my mind until earlier today. It's from the former 'Til Tuesday-er's debut solo album, 1993's "Whatever," and while I must say it's one of her finest, I do not recommend listening to it alone if there is a bottle of pills or a loaded gun in the house. (Then again, isn't that true of all of her song?) Watch her perform it below or listen to the original HERE.

Music Box: X

It was nearly two weeks ago, but I would be remiss not to mention just how fantastic the X show was at the 9:30 Club in Washington. From the opening chords of "In This House That I Call Home" to the final drum beat of "Because I Do," with my eyes closed I would have been hard-pressed to tell the difference between this show and the one other time I saw them -- at the Devil House in Tempe, Arizona, when they were promoting "More Fun in the New World" back in 1983. While they may look a little worse for the wear -- I think three of them are in their 50s and Billy Zoon is in his 60s! -- the sound was vintage X, led by Billy Zoom's trademark rockabilly guitar, and the plaintive harmonies of John Doe and Exene Cervenka -- the Stevie and Lindsey of punk rock. Unbeknownst to my brother Bill and me, the set list was decided by fans through an online poll. While we were bummed that we'd been victims of voter suppression, when all was said and done we both had to admit that the electorate had done us right. I could have gone home happy with just "Blue Spark" played over and over all night. And Bill had thought he was the only one who lived and died by "The Have Nots" (notice both songs are off "Under the Big Black Sun," which was our first X album, a review copy Bill brought home from his summer job at The Phoenix Gazette in 1982).

  The show happened the same week we got word that Exene was suffering from multiple sclerosis. The diagnosis was not mentioned that night, but if her performance was any indication -- and they rocked A LONG TIME -- she's still in fine shape. I won't be waiting another 26 years to see X again, on that you can be sure.

   

 An incomplete set list (sorry): 

"In This House That I Call Home" 

"We're Desperate" 

"Adult Books" 

"Under the Big Black Sun" 

"We're Having Much More Fun" 

"Sex and Dying in High Society" 

"Burning House of Love" 

"Some Other Time" 

"The Have Nots" 

"Universal Corner" 

"The World's a Mess (It's in My Kiss)" 

"Riding With Mary" 

"Johnny Hit and Run Pauline" 

"Los Angeles" 

"How I (Learned My Lesson)" 

"Motel Room in My Head" 

"Devil Doll" 

"Your Phone's Off the Hook (But You're Not)" 

"Blue Spark" 

"The New World" 

\"Hungry Wolf" 

"I Must Not Think Bad Thoughts" (acoustic) 

"White Girl" 

"Because I Do"

Read all Music Box posts HERE.

Music moment

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Get your own here.

Music Box: X

X "Under the Big Black Sun"

When I was a kid, music was my life. Olivia Newton-John, the Beatles and Simon and Garfunkel were my absolute favorites. But the summer of '82 was a turning point in my young life. My brother Bill came home from his internship at The Phoenix Gazette one night with a stack of promotional LPs he'd gotten and it introduced us to a whole new sound: The Cure's "Pornography," Siouxsie and the Banshees' "Juju" (with a bonus 7-inch of "Israel"), Gang of Four's "Songs of the Free," Wall of Voodoo's "Call of the West," Oingo Boingo's "Nothing to Fear," plus "Urgh! A Music War" with Klaus Nomi, XTC, the Fleshtones, Magazine and so on.

But the album that made the biggest impression on us -- along with my pal Greg -- was easily X's "Under the Big Black Sun." We'd never heard anything so cool as Billy Zoom's powerful rockabilly guitar licks, and John Doe and Exene Cervenka were like the punk Buckingham- Nicks: so great alone, but so much better together.

Although I later got and loved its predecessors, "Los Angeles" and "Wild Gift," "Under the Big Black Sun" is still my favorite for it's the one album that can truly make me feel like I'm 15-year-old Columbus, discovering the New Wave World.