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.
The World's A Mess It's In My Kiss
X Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
and all things are untied
perhaps we're boiling over inside
they've been telling lies
who's been telling lies?
there are no angels
there are devils in many ways
take it like a man
the world's a mess it's in my kiss
the world's a mess it's in my kiss
the world's a mess it's in my kiss
the world's a mess it's in my kiss
you can't take it back
pull it out of the fire
pull it out in the bottom of the ninth
pull it out in chords of red-disease
drag on the system
drag on my head and body
there are some facts here
that refuse to escape
i could say it stronger
but it's too much trouble
i was wondering down at the bricks
hectic, isn't it?
down we go cradle and all
no one is united
and all things are untied
perhaps we're boiling over inside
they've been telling lies
who's been telling lies?
there are no angels
there are devils in many ways
take it like a man
the world's a mess it's in my kiss
the world's a mess it's in my kiss
the world's a mess it's in my kiss
the world's a mess it's in my kiss
go to hell, see if you like it
then come home with me
tomorrow night may be too late
both moons are full dirty night
dying like a lovely wife
goodbye my darling
how high the moon well i wish i was
The lyrics of X's song "The World's A Mess It's In My Kiss" offer a unique insight into the chaotic and confusing nature of the world we live in. The opening lines, "no one is united and all things are untied," suggest that despite the illusion of order and control that we try to impose on the world, everything is actually in a state of disarray and chaos. This is compounded by the line "perhaps we're boiling over inside," which implies that the confusion and turbulence of the world we see around us is a reflection of our own inner turmoil and confusion.
The following lines offer a scathing critique of those in power who continue to perpetuate lies and deceive us. The lines "they've been telling lies, who's been telling lies? there are no angels, there are devils in many ways, take it like a man," suggest that we should be skeptical of those who claim to have our best interests at heart, and that we should be prepared to confront the harsh realities of the world head-on, rather than burying our heads in the sand.
The refrain "the world's a mess it's in my kiss" is a powerful metaphor for the way in which our experience of the world is shaped by our own inner state of mind. The world may be chaotic and disordered, but our own experience of it is ultimately rooted in our perceptions and attitudes towards it. The song suggests that we should be prepared to confront the messiness and complexity of the world, and that we should approach it with courage, honesty, and a willingness to embrace the challenges and difficulties that it presents.
Line by Line Meaning
no one is united
People are not coming together or working towards common goals.
and all things are untied
Things are falling apart or becoming disconnected.
perhaps we're boiling over inside
Maybe we're reaching a breaking point and can no longer contain our frustration or anger.
they've been telling lies
Someone has been deceiving or not telling the truth.
who's been telling lies?
The artist wants to know who is responsible for the deceit.
there are no angels
No one is perfect or completely good.
there are devils in many ways
There are negative or evil forces at work in various forms or situations.
take it like a man
Be strong and face the situation with courage and fortitude, without complaining or showing weakness.
the world's a mess it's in my kiss
The current state of the world is chaotic and full of problems, as reflected in the artist's physical interaction (kiss) with the world.
you can't take it back
Once something is done or said, it cannot be undone or unsaid.
pull it out of the fire
Save something from a dangerous or irreversible situation.
pull it out in the bottom of the ninth
Save something at the very last possible moment, like in the final inning of a baseball game.
pull it out in chords of red-disease
Save something in a dramatic or intense manner, perhaps through great effort or sacrifice.
drag on the system
The current situation is causing a strain or dysfunction on the system or society as a whole.
drag on my head and body
The stress or anxiety of the situation is taking a physical and mental toll on the singer.
there are some facts here that refuse to escape
There are certain truths or realities that cannot be ignored or denied.
i could say it stronger but it's too much trouble
The artist could express themselves more forcefully or passionately, but doesn't want to deal with the effort or negative consequences of doing so.
i was wondering down at the bricks hectic, isn't it?
The singer was observing or contemplating a busy or stressful situation, and comments on the chaos of it all.
down we go cradle and all
We are all moving towards our inevitable end, like the nursery rhyme 'Rock-a-bye Baby.'
go to hell, see if you like it
The artist tells someone to experience hardship or punishment to see how they like it.
then come home with me
After experiencing difficulty, the artist invites the person to come back to a safe or comfortable place.
tomorrow night may be too late
There may not be another opportunity tomorrow or in the future, so action must be taken now.
both moons are full dirty night
The situation is particularly intense or chaotic, like a night with two full moons.
dying like a lovely wife
A metaphorical death or ending of something beautiful or cherished.
goodbye my darling
A farewell to someone or something beloved or valued.
how high the moon well i wish i was
The singer wishes they were in a better or more positive situation, as represented by the metaphorical 'height' of the moon.
Contributed by Victoria D. Suggest a correction in the comments below.