Are we sensing a theme here tonight? Here’s X’s adrenalized cover of the Doors’ “Soul Kitchen” produced by the Doors’ Ray Manzarek. As much as I love the original by Jim Morrison and the gang, the accelerated punk remake by X is a true joy, especially with guitarist Billy Zoom’s slammin’ Chuck Berry licks amped up to Indy 500 speeds. From the 1980 album “Los Angeles.”
Live in the studio, here’s the band X with arguably their best and most famous song “White Girl” from their stellar 1981 album “Wild Gift” and album that placed #2 for the year (behind the Clash’s “Sandinista”) in the Village Voice Pazz and Jop poll for album of that year. In this clip, you’ll see producer Ray Manzarek of the Doors working the knobs and nodding his head. From the terrific documentary about X “The Unheard Music.” The song was later sampled in the Red Hot Chili Pepper’s song “Good Time Boys.”
Trivia note: Singer Exene Cervenka used to be married to Oscar-nominated actor Viggo Mortensen. In addition, singer / bassist John Doe has acted in a number of films over the years, most notably as Julianne Moore’s character’s ex-husband in “Boogie Nights.”
From the EP “Merry Xmas from X,” John, Exene, Billy, and DJ put their inimitable spin on a Christmas classic. I love the reference to their classic “Los Angeles” at the beginning.
X’s cover of the Jerry Lee Lewis classic, recorded for the much underrated 1983 Richard Gere-starring remake of Jean-Luc Godard’s film of the same name. If you’re skeptical, give it a shot. I think you’ll see where Tarantino got a lot of ideas.
A pre-“Joey” Concrete Blonde doing a very cool, more commercial version of the band X. Lots of aggressive guitars, lyrics about the sleazy side of Hollywood, and very rockin’! Just try not to hop around the room to this.
Dave's Strange World 