In 1981 I could drive a standard transmission without grinding the gears. I wailed on any car I could get my hands on. I would leave school go to NY hang out in clubs and return to school the next day and no one knew the difference. Flying under the radar was a skill i had perfected. its not that I was a juvenile delinquent, on the contrary I was pretty nice. But I was places I shouldn't have been at that age and I saw things no kid my age should – but hell I ended up just fine right?That summer was the summer of "Wild Gift". John Doe was a poster boy for all I loved. I was obsessed with the 50s and he appeared the typical gear head greaser. I had an insane thing for boys with gapped teeth, so add that to the mix and I was putty. Problem was I adored Exene. She was the quintessential punk girl. Smart, fun, bitchy and absolutely beautiful- and Johns wife. What a beautiful couple…
Going to shows at the time proved a challenge and it would take few years for me to see them live. I idol worshiped for years before finally meeting John but I did. Took even longer for me to speak with Exene, which I did just a year ago when I interviewed her for rock nyc.
'Wild Gift", brought X to the sordid mainstream. I'm not going to say they were mainstream but I will say we finally got them in our club sound systems. How I love Exenes yell, side by side with Johns twang to this day it is magical.
"Once Over Twice" he said ok so long. This is a perfect example of the bands harmony. Girl lyrics with a kick of testosterone. You cannot sit still to this- or you have no pulse. Billy Zoom is zooming like boss here.
I'm glad they give him a little solo. I often forget him in the shadow of my heroes.
"I play too hard when I oughta go to sleep' and 'some people give me the creeps' were my rally cries. "We're Desperate" had the best lyrics and my notebooks were covered in these quotes "its kiss or kill'. yeah, get used to it. This is DJ Bonebrakes tune. Drumming like a mad dog. Real live old school punk rock that hasn't aged a minute. FUCK this song is amazing. "my whole fucking life is a wreck'
"Adult Books", well then Mr Doe, hello. He whines like a post coital dream. I had no idea who Jackie Suzanne was didn't care this song was sexy and the lyrics had nothing to do with it.'no no nooooooooooooo, YES' A rockabilly snack The fade out on this makes me hollah back.
"Universal Corner' "like a womaaaaaaaaaaan' The almost mainstream sound of this makes me wonder if it could have been an actual rock hit. John Cougar esque. If we cut out my darling Exene would it have played better to middle America? But see no- John wouldn't cut her out. She made the sound and took it from just another rock band to a punk band. They should thank her, I do.
"I'm Coming Over" was the song that I screamed into phones whenever I was headed to someones house. Its sorta funny now as it would rise in pitch. I was dear friends with a drummer of a rockband who would just hang up right after I said "I'm", knowing what was coming. He was sort of a jerk now that I think about it but he was also always stoned so imagine if he wasn't. I want Exene to come over and listen to records with me.. even now! Nice fast punk rock fun in a minute 15.
"It's Who You Know", yup even to this day. This IS a standard rock song that's just a bit fast. Does vocals nice and deep " I just wanna say I met you", I love the 50s inspired beat. If this were 30 seconds longer it would be one of my top 10 songs of all time, it ends lamely. It needed a bigger finale.
"In This House That I Call Home", sometime X decided to get too deep. I'm not sure why but they stray a bit from simple punk and try to get a bit deep. No harm now but it made me not dig this one as much as I could. The story telling got in the way of the music. Great chorus though, good luck deciphering the lyrics on the verses though. Doe was a slurring fool.
"Some Other Time" YES! what a yummy bass in this. Now here is a song with great lyrics. "the night before the world ends- we can draw the line some other time'. She sounds so beautiful. Sorta the same sleepy tone John uses. "I'll make no mistakes and I'll behave', ahhhh how I adore her. I think they may have been in over their head with the political bit- but its ok they were adorable.
"White Girl", mind if I go a bit fan girl. When I first saw them do this live I nearly fainted there was a insane hip gyration on guitar that the fellas did. Yowza. Johns growl was literally breathtaking. Listening now- its actually a really powerful story.. But then it didn't matter if they were singing the ingredients to prune Danish, it was freakin hot.
"Beyond in Back" was well described by Exene in 'The Decline of Western Civilization', its sad in a beautiful way, but most of her stuff is. Like death photos without the spooky 'shut up and smoke' is a great line 'this is no place to be to be addicted to another place' rockabilly guitars with that insane Bonebreak drum makes this drunken slur of a tune danceable. Listen to this in headphones and dig John getting all sexy at about 1:39.
"Back 2 The Base" sucks so bad that at a minute and a half long its too long. Jesus Christ what the hell were they on? The Tone alone gives me a migraine. Yeah…..no.
"When Our Love Passed Out On The Couch" is the best song title of all time. Keep in mind that the two singers are actually married and the song becomes rather interesting. What is more interesting is that its the male singing. You'd think it would be the female line. What's up with that? "you're faithful and I'm hateful"
"Year 1" Surf tune! I LOVE this song. Its like being on Hullabaloo. I usually hate the sound of beat clapping but this simply works. Its like a cut scene from West Side Story something. Exene owns this song like the Goddess she is. What a rousing end to a fucking fantastic album
The album "Los Angeles" is actually my favorite X album. it was recently honored with its own tour and that's how I got the opp to interview Ms Cervanka. "Wild Gift" followed it like a bridesmaid. A bit more in the shadow but plotting something bigger. X were one of the most influential bands of all time to me. From the way I looked at that time to the way I behaved to the risks I took and the toes I stepped on, X were a guiding force to a very young and very brave Hel. Its hard to imagine that at 45 I still consider Exene a soul sister and gushed like an idiot when we spoke. As for John, he has aged well and left me with great memories and fabulous sounds. Billy Zoom actually commented back to us on this site years ago when we reported his illness (to which he is much better, amen!!) and as for DJ–wells kid you need to come out from behind that kit so we can get to know you better.