1: X (America)
X w… Read Full Bio ↴There are at least 8 artists called "X".
1: X (America)
X were far from the first punk rock band in Los Angeles, and they weren't the first to achieve some level of nationwide recognition, but in a very real way, they were the ones who put the L.A. punk scene on the map. X were the first L.A. punk band to be taken seriously by the rock press on both coasts, and at a time when many wondered how punk could thrive in the land of all that was mellow, X played music that was as raw, passionate, and powerful as anything coming out of New York, London, or any other major city. X's melding of punk's speed and ferocity with the sounds of rockabilly, blues, country, and other roots music styles would prove to be wildly influential in the years that followed, as were the off-kilter harmonies of John Doe and Exene Cervenka. And while they never enjoyed the commercial breakthrough that many believed was their due, X were massively popular in their home town and could successfully headline large outdoor venues like the Greek Theater, proving there was an audience for punk in the City of the Angels. Their first two independently released albums -- 1980's Los Angeles and 1981's Wild Gift -- were critical favorites and sold remarkably well by small-label standards, helping establish Slash Records as a major independent label as well as defining the group's unique approach. The band moved up to a major label, Elektra Records, with their unique sound and integrity intact on 1982's superb Under the Big Black Sun. After Zoom left the band, they soldiered on with new guitarist Tony Gilkyson on 1987's underrated See How We Are, but most of their fans remained loyal to the original lineup, and they remained a popular live attraction after reuniting with Zoom in 1998. Those fans would have to wait until 2020 for a new studio album from X, when Alphabetland was released to immediate and widespread acclaim.
X was formed by bassist, vocalist, and songwriter John Doe (born John Nommensen Duchac), who moved to Los Angeles in 1976. Born and raised in Baltimore, where he'd played in a number of forgotten bar bands, Doe had discovered punk rock after hearing Patti Smith's Horses and was eager to form a band in his new home town. Through a newspaper ad, Doe met Billy Zoom (born Ty Kindell), a gifted guitarist originally from Savannah, Illinois who had been playing rockabilly, blues, and R&B in L.A. for years, and had backed Gene Vincent during the rockabilly icon's last shows. Like Doe, Zoom had discovered the Ramones and wanted to play music that was fast, loud, and honest, and they began jamming together. Shortly before meeting Zoom, Doe had met Exene Cervenka (aka Christine Cervenkova) who, like Doe, had recently arrived in Los Angeles (in her case from Tampa, Florida) and was interested in poetry. Doe and Cervenka were attending the same poetry workshop, and bonded over their shared tastes in literature. Doe and Cervenka started dating, and when he read one of her pieces and thought it had the makings of a good song, he asked her permission to sing it in the band he was forming with Zoom. Cervenka said she'd prefer to sing it herself, and before long, she was rehearsing with Doe and Zoom, with her enthusiasm compensating for her lack of musical experience. Naming themselves X, the new band went through a handful of drummers after making their debut at a house party in 1977; their original drummer was a guy named Mick Basher, and reportedly, K.K. Barrett of the Screamers and Nicky Beat of the Weirdos sat in with them on occasion, but when Doe saw the Eyes performing at The Masque, L.A.'s first punk club, he saw their drummer was just what he and Zoom had been looking for: someone whose style was smart but simple, and who hit a big snare drum really hard. That drummer was D.J. Bonebrake, and he played his first gig with X in February 1978.
It didn't take long for X to make a name for themselves on the L.A. punk scene, and later the same year, the group recorded their first single, "Adult Books" b/w "We're Desperate," released by the seminal West Coast punk label Dangerhouse Records. The single sold well, and X's song "Los Angeles" appeared on the label's sampler LP Yes L.A., but the band was unhappy with Dangerhouse's business practices, and opted to record their first full-length album for Slash Records, an offshoot of the key L.A. punk 'zine. X had also won a valuable ally in Ray Manzarek, former keyboard player with the Doors; Manzarek was impressed with X's bold music and literate songs, as well as their open admiration of his former group (they had taken to covering "Soul Kitchen" on-stage). Manzarek played keys at a few X gigs and offered to produce their first album. Recorded on a slim budget of $10,000, Los Angeles was released in April 1980, and immediately received rave reviews from punk fanzines and the big-league music press; it was an immediate success in the band's home town, and as word spread nationwide, the album sold over 50,000 copies, an impressive sum for an independent punk album. Along with steady touring, fans outside of California were seeing X thanks to the documentary The Decline of Western Civilization, which focused on the L.A. punk community and gave the group a healthy amount of admiring screen time. 1980 also marked the year Doe and Cervenka became man and wife, with their relationship informing the lyrics to many of their songs.
X's second album, Wild Gift, appeared in May 1981, a few months after the release of their single "White Girl." Also produced by Ray Manzarek, the critical reception for Wild Gift was just as enthusiastic as it was for Los Angeles; sales also matched those of the debut, and before long, X were not just L.A.'s most popular punk band, but one of the town's biggest bands period, and became the first unsigned rock band to headline L.A.'s Greek Theater. Major labels finally came calling, and X signed a deal with Elektra Records, which released Under the Big Black Sun in July 1982. Manzarek once again produced, and while the bigger recording budget resulted in a fuller sound, the group's approach was essentially the same, and while critics and fans were once again impressed with X's passionate music and street-level lyrics, radio still wasn't ready for them, and the album failed to sell significantly better than Los Angeles or Wild Gift, despite plenty of touring and occasional television appearances. The same fate befell 1983's More Fun in the New World, as the band continued to sit at the top of the heap in L.A. without making significant headway elsewhere.
In 1984, Doe, Cervenka, and Bonebrake released an album by their acoustic side project the Knitters, while X recorded a bombastic cover of the Troggs' "Wild Thing" which appeared on the soundtrack of the film Major League. The "Wild Thing" single was produced by Michael Wagener, who had worked with heavy metal bands such as Mötley Crüe and Dokken; Wagener returned to produce X's next album, 1984's Ain't Love Grand, and while one tune from the album, "Burning House of Love," earned steady MTV airplay, the album's more polished sound didn't favor the band, and both critics and fans were disappointed while radio programmers and mainstream audiences paid little attention. Disappointed with the band's failure to break through to a mass audience, Billy Zoom left X in 1985, and the divorce of Doe and Cervenka, who had wed in 1980, didn't help relations in the group. Dave Alvin, guitarist with the Blasters and a collaborator in the Knitters, was recruited to join the band, and while he was an ideal fit for X, by the time they completed the recording of 1987's See How We Are, he was offered a record deal as a solo act and opted to leave. Tony Gilkyson, formerly with Lone Justice, took part in the recording of See How We Are and became X's lead guitarist after the album was released. While the album was a strong piece of work, sales were disappointing, and after releasing Live at the Whisky A Go-Go in 1988, X quietly broke up.
After the band's breakup, Doe launched a solo career with the album Meet John Doe in 1990, and also pursued a career as an actor, appearing in a number of notable film and television projects. Exene Cervenka released her first solo LP, Old Wives' Tales, in 1989, and recorded both acoustic and rock music as a solo artist and with the bands the Original Sinners and Auntie Christ; Cervenka also wrote and published poetry, created visual art, and acted in the film Salvation, where she met actor Viggo Mortensen, whom she married in 1987 and divorced in 1997. Billy Zoom stayed out of the public eye, primarily working in his own shop fixing and modifying guitar amplifiers, while D.J. Bonebrake stayed busy working with a wide variety of musicians and playing with a pair of jazz combos, the Bonebrake Syncopators and Orchestra Superstring. In 1993, after the success of Nirvana's Nevermind had opened up radio to more adventurous sounds, X reunited with Tony Gilkyson on guitar and recorded the album Hey Zeus! Reaction to the album was polite but not enthusiastic, and after the release of 1995's Unclogged, a live album drawn from a series of acoustic shows, the group once again retired.
In 1998, to the surprise of many, the classic X lineup of Doe, Cervenka, Zoom, and Bonebrake reunited for a handful of shows in Los Angeles. The reunion shows were rapturously received by both fans and critics, and the band has staged periodic reunion tours ever since. A late-2004 stand at the Los Angeles House of Blues resulted in the live CD and DVD Live in Los Angeles, and X continue to perform despite Cervenka's announcement in 2009 that she had been diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis.
In January 2019, X announced that the original lineup had gone into the recording studio for the first time since they cut 1985's Ain't Love Grand. The band recorded five songs with producer Rob Schnapf, and the following October, the first track was released online. "Delta 88 Nightmare" was a new version of a song X had performed and demo'ed in the '80s but had never recorded in its final form. The song was also made available on a 7" vinyl single in November 2019, with "Cyrano de Berger’s Back," a tune Doe had written and recorded with the Flesh Eaters, appearing on the flipside. The group returned to the studio to cut more songs, including a handful of new compositions, and in April 2020, after X were forced to cancel touring plans due to the COVID-19 pandemic, they offered their fans a consolation prize in the form of Alphabetland, a ten-song album that recaptured the sound and spirit of their celebrated early recordings.
Biography by Mark Deming
There are other artists with the same name:
2: X (Australia)
The Australian band called X, formed in 1977 by Rose Tattoo bassist Ian Rilen and Steve Lucas. They initially called themselves Evil Rumours. Their debut LP Aspirations (recorded by the equally great Lobby Loyde) is a punk classic (and was later reissued in the US by the revered Amphetamine Reptile label). Search for it you will be glad you did. A couple of members passed away early in their career. Cathy Green became a permanent fixture on drums. They were being groomed for bigger things and their LP ...And More was to get a big push from the label (White) but there was "an incident" involving the label and although the album was released it was no longer a priority. Probably because of this the band has long periods of inactivity, but continue to play nearly 30 years later including May / June 2009 with legendary San Francisco punks Flipper. They have released many albums and have a great reputation for their live-shows! Sadly Ian Rilen passed away in late 2006 from cancer, but Kim Volkman has stepped up to the plate. Their 2nd LP At Home With You has been reissued on Aztec Music with a bonus live album. Their music has been covered by the New Bomb Turks and feedtime amongst others. The classic debut Aspirations has just been reissued by Aztec Music.
3: X (Japan)
Metal band from Japan, founded in 1982, X changed their name to X JAPAN in 1992-08, when HEATH joined the band. Releases until Jealousy / Say anything belong to X. Later releases belong to X JAPAN.
4. Czech punk band formed in 2003.
5. Bulgarian metal band
6. An alias of Australian DJ Deepforces
7. An alias of Terekke
8. X is Javon Johnson, an American hip-hop lyricist from Houston, TX.
Come Back To Me
X Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I'm always ready to accept you
Whenever you come
I miss you so please come back
Girl, I love you
오늘도 밤을 지새 널 생각해
퉁퉁 부은 내 두 눈에
맺힌 나의 눈물
하나하나가 날 슬프게 해
너를 보내고
한 순간도 웃을 수 없었어
날 원망했어
네가 떠나고
그 누구도 만날 수 없었어
네가 돌아올 것만 같았어
그대 내게 다시 돌아와줘
그때처럼 다시 사랑해줘
아무것도 바라지 않던 그때로
다시 돌아가고 싶어
그대 내게 다시
그대 내게 다시
그때처럼 다시
오늘 밤에 다시
그대 내게 다시 돌아와줘
눈을 뜨고 SNS를 확인해
너를 잊고 지운 사진엔
여전히 너와 내가 행복해 보여
실감이 나지 우리 사이
그때 조금만 더 안아줄 걸
사랑한단 말 아끼지 말 걸
더 나은 삶 바라지도 않아
네가 없는 세상 살고 싶지 않아
믿기 싫어서
아무것도 할 수가 없었어
널 기다렸어
잊기 싫어서
밤마다 난 잘 수도 없었어
내 생각에 전화 할까 봐서
그대 내게 다시 돌아와줘
그때처럼 다시 사랑해줘
아무것도 바라지 않던 그때로
다시 돌아가고 싶어
그대 내게 다시
Don't leave me baby
너 없는 하룬 매일이
너무 벅차 힘들어 외로움에 얽매이지
그대 내게 다시 처음부터 다시
나 돌아가 절대 놓지 않아 lady
Please love me again 다시 내게
돌아와 준다면 뭐든지 할게
You'll be my lady 저 멀리에
우리 함께 할 집 만들어 놓을게
무슨 말이라도 해봐
딱 한번만 믿어봐
그땐 우리 정말 행복했잖아
못한 추억이 많아서
사실 보고 싶어서
정말 아무것도 할 수 없는걸
알잖아
그대 내게 다시 돌아와줘
그때처럼 다시 사랑해줘
아무것도 바라지 않던 그때로
다시 돌아가고 싶어
그대 내게 다시
그대 내게 다시
그때처럼 다시
오늘 밤에 다시
그대 내게 다시 돌아와줘
The lyrics of X's song Come Back to Me is about a person who wants their lover to come back to them. They miss the love they had and reflect on their memories with regret, wishing they could go back in time to love again. Throughout the song, the artist stresses his love for his partner and how much he misses them. He thinks constantly about them and can't seem to forget them, as their absence causes him to feel lonely and helpless. The lyrics suggest a willingness to make amends and start over, showing the depth of the artist's love.
One significant theme presented in the song is regret. The artist reflects on the moments he failed to appreciate his lover, now realizing he may have taken their love for granted. Additionally, the lyrics also emphasize the importance of forgiveness and the desire to make amends. The artist desires to move past their mistakes and relive the love they once shared. Finally, the song explores the depth of love, portrayed in the emotions the artist expresses. He portrays the intensity of his emotions, desperate to have his lover back and start over again.
Line by Line Meaning
Give me a chance to explain
I'm asking you for a chance to clarify things between us.
I'm always ready to accept you
No matter how much time has passed, I am always ready to welcome you back with open arms.
Whenever you come
Whenever you feel ready to return, I will be here waiting for you.
I miss you so please come back
I miss you dearly and I hope you come back to me soon.
Girl, I love you
I want you to know that I am deeply in love with you.
Through the night, I think of you
I spend all night thinking about you.
In my swollen eyes
My eyes are puffy from crying so much.
Trapped inside my tears
My tears are a reminder of all the memories that I cannot forget.
Every single one of them makes me sad
Every memory that comes to mind makes me feel even more depressed.
Since I let you go
Ever since I said goodbye to you,
I couldn't smile for a moment
I have been unable to smile since you left me.
I blamed myself
I felt responsible for your departure.
When you left
After you left me,
I couldn't meet anyone
I was unable to be with anyone else.
I felt like you would come back
I had hope that you would return to me.
Come back to me, just like before
I want you to come back to me and love me like you used to.
Love me like you used to at that time
Love me like you did in the past.
To the time when we didn't want anything
To the time when we didn't need anything except each other.
I want to go back again
I want to go back to that time again.
Come back to me again
I'm imploring you to return to me and rekindle our love.
Come back to me again just like before
I want us to love each other again like we did before.
Through the night, I keep my eyes open and check my SNS
I cannot sleep at night and end up checking my social media for updates about you.
In the picture that I haven't deleted, I can still see us happy
The picture of us that I couldn't bring myself to delete reminds me of happier times.
I can feel it, our relationship
I can sense the presence of our relationship.
I wish I hugged you just a little bit longer back then
I regret not holding you tighter when we were together.
I should have cherished the words 'I love you'
I should have valued the times you said 'I love you.'
I don't want a better life
I don't need anything else in my life except you.
I don't want to live in a world without you
I cannot imagine living in a world without you.
I didn't believe it
I couldn't bring myself to believe that you had left me.
I couldn't do anything
I felt powerless and unable to do anything about our situation.
I waited for you
I sat by the phone waiting for you to call me.
I didn't want to forget you
I couldn't bring myself to forget about you.
I couldn't sleep at night
I suffered from insomnia because I couldn't stop thinking about you.
I was afraid to call you in case you didn't answer
I was scared to call you because I didn't want you to hang up on me.
Don't leave me baby
Please don't leave me, my love.
Every day without you is difficult and overwhelming
I struggle with loneliness every single day without you.
Please come back to me from the very beginning
Please come back to me as if we're starting our relationship anew.
I will never let you go, lady
I promise to never let you go again, my dear.
If you come back to me, I'll do anything for you
If you come back to me, I'll do anything to make you happy.
You will always be my lady
You will always be my love, now and forever.
I'll build us a home where we can be together
I will create a space for us where we can be happy and together.
Say anything to me
Please say whatever is on your mind.
Just believe me this one time
Please trust me this once.
Back then, we were truly happy
We were truly happy during our time together.
Despite the bad memories, I miss you
Despite the negative experiences, I still miss you.
There's truly nothing I can do
I am truly powerless in this situation.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Peermusic Publishing, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Mayfly 2, Mayfly 3, Chang Hyun Lee, Dong Yeoul Kim, Hyeong Jun Jeon, Jong Myeong Kim, Joo Suk Oh, Su Il No, Sung Joon Lee
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@kirstendieker6792
Exene's grief is palpable in this song. Her talent as a poet shines as she conveys her experience of pain in imagery of the simple and mundane. Having a beloved sister myself, I truly felt gutted each time I heard this song. And over the years I felt so very sorry for Exene's loss.
Then the unthinkable happened...my sweet "little" sister Jenny took her life the week after Thanksgiving last year. I clearly remember having these lyrics running through my head, silently singing "our Daddy breaks down at the funeral home" to myself as I watched my aging father struggle to reach across my sister's casket to kiss her good-bye. I'm not wishing to be morbid in sharing this, but actually celebrating the way talented song writers, and in my case, Exene in particular, help us navigate life's trials by sharing their own.
I once had the great luck of getting to thank Exene in person for her impact on me. The best way to succinctly express it was to say, "I just want to let you know that I'm still alive because of your words," hoping that she wouldn't regard me as some kind of nut-job drama-queen. Without missing a beat she responded by saying, "Well I'M still alive because YOU'RE still alive because of my words!" I was blown away by her gracious generosity and especially the idea that I could in some small way help sustain her as she and X's music have sustained me over the years.
It took me until just now, a year after my tragic loss, to be able to listen to this song again. But I trust that if Exene could survive the loss of her beloved sister, I can too. She continues to save me with her words.
@SpiralEyeZombie
I had the chance to meet her a couple times and tell her about n.y very ill sister. She really cared. Her poetry, voice, passion will never be matched
@TheRealCaptainFreedom
Billy Zoom’s riffs seem to mock Exene’s loss in that jocular Stephen King way.
@TheRealCaptainFreedom
Then that 🎷
@DailyBrusher
Kirsten, you've brought tears to my eyes, with your generous disclosure, and your ability to convey so much in words. I lost my "little" brother some years ago... I'm more and more able to live my life, but his death is always "right there," always with me, like a scar or a tattoo. The pain fades, but without going away... and the fact of his absence is an unfading constant.
The first time I met Exene, I decided to let that "teenager inside" come to the fore... I wanted to gush over her, because she is every bit as great a rock star as any you want to pick... I jumped up and down a bit, and was incoherent in my speech, until she told me, "It's ok! It's ok!" She didn't shrink, or put me down in any way. She was right there!
@elmoblatch9787
Very sorry for your loss, Kirsten. Great art can help us navigate this life. We're in this together. I saw X in July 2023 and they played this song with heart and feeling.
@tammystoa3946
You have been my idol since I was 12 years old and I love you and I still think of you today and I listen to your music everyday God bless you sweetheart!
@nettarathe1790
she sang this last night at the X/Squeeze concert in oakland with the same amount of mournfulness as she did 30+ years ago. i love this band!
@tammystoa3946
I am so sorry for your loss QUEEN XENE...💋🎶🙏
@kylefranklin644
Such a beautiful song gets me all choked up everytime.. Real.punk rock rite here...musical genius