She hit her marks every time- they are the quintessential performers- they just never fucked up a set. If any new kid wants to emulate a punk band, this is the one I (as a geriatric punk) recommend. Much loved by all in the punk scene, and always maintained their artistic integrity. Much love for this band and these people.
"Maintained their artistic integrity??" Are you for real? They bitched and complained they didn't make enough money and on their fifth album changed the tone of the music to make it more accessible to the mainstream. They're a bunch of money grubbers, and you're a poseur.
AndrewsA-F-B21 X are "Money grubbers?" LMAO. I know graphic designers who sit on their ass on a computer all day who make more money a year than all of X combined. What do you expect X to do? Perform for McDonald's wages? Ain't Love Grand wasn't very successful anyway. I doubt any of my friends who are only into mainstream music have ever even heard of it...or the band itself.
AndrewsA-F-B21 I will agree that much of Ain't Love Grand suffers from inferior mainstream 80's style production, but if it's considered a "sellout" it didn't work because it's currently probably their least popular studio album. And the songs still range from decent to great. It's not like they tried to turn Exene into Madonna or Cyndi Lauper or something.
X: pound for pound one of the best rock bands in any genre. Respect to Letterman too, he always had interesting musical guests in his NBC days and took chances other late-night talk hosts wouldn't have taken.
A good buddy of mine, both of us high school freshmen in the town of Podunk, Washington. He produces a tape recorder and tells me I have to listen to it. The Clash, Clampdown. I’d never heard anything like it. Warms my heart to see young kids these days with black jackets emblazoned with vintage punk bands.
Billy Zoom, making it look effortless. Saw them last night in Ventura with the Blasters, damn good show, a great vibe from the crowd, and a great mix of people in the crowd. Older punks turned parents, young high school punks coming to see the legend that is X, great fun.
That's so cool. I'd love to see X with The Blasters. I saw X when Dave Alvin was in the group , The Knitters and , recently , The Flesheaters with half of X and 2/3rds of The Blasters. I saw a young couple with their little girl at an X show , once. It looked like she was screaming and crying. Turned out , she was going "THE WORLD'S A MESS , IT'S IN MY KIIIIIIIIIIIIIISS !!!!".
Saw X in 1983 at the Roxy. What a fucking band. Exene dominating at her mike stand all night, just stealing the stage song after song. John Doe kicking ass, so intense, banging out the beats on his bass and taking total charge on his vocals. DJ just whaling away on his drums. And Billy Zoom - just calm, smiling away, such a cool cat - meanwhile throwing down some of the most kick-ass licks ever. We're in the front moshing it, girls grabbing guys, guys grabbing girls - what a night
That one punk band who were actual musicians - with real star quality. Billy Zoom is without question the most talented and educated guitarist in the history of punk, and what a stance! He said he didn't want to be one of those guitarists who pose as if everything is so hard. It wasn't hard for him so he made it look easy for the audience's benefit. John and Exene have their own thing going on the harmonies, a sound that absolutely can't be imitated. X had it all. Only problem is nobody bought their records. Well, me and a few hundred thousand others, but not enough to elevate them to the height they deserved. IMHO, X should be mentioned in the same context as Sex Pistols, Ramones, Damned, and Clash. Legends.
To Nick Danger....I like your idea in theory..but maybe it wasn't like that in reality...X WERE great. But people DIDN'T buy "100s of thousands of their records" in 1981. They lived in squats and squalor in a bad time in LA.... and worked hard for gigs in 1978.. And it's really easy to wear a leather jacket, strum a chord or two...and solo with three notes !! (Elvis Presley...The Sex Pistols...The Clash !) I'm happy that you like X ! (Look up Black Flag.....)
@@markrago5024 *hypothetical* also some more great early punk bands the Saints, the MC5, radio birdman, the Adverts, Death, Bad brains, fugazi, television (more post punk) and the Adolescents.
Anyone who can stand spread eagle with a crazy grin on his face and play guitar like that has to be the coolest person to ever live - he is BILLY ZOOM! Exene looks awsome in this one as well! X forever!
Not enough can be said about this Great, Great American band. Opportunities to strut there stuff on Letterman etc were so well deserved. 2 songs! Wow, I used to watch letterman back in the day and I dont remember anyone ever getting 2 songs. I found that Letterman could always single out the true genius from the posers when he introduced artists. Even if he diddnt know that much about them I could always tell he had alot of respect for the real artists like X.
It's been way too many years but sometime back in the '80s, I got to see them at a place called the Harvest Moon Saloon in Atlanta. They put on their usual good show and then did FIVE encores. I remember John Doe coming out on the fifth encore and saying, "we played every song we knew. We thought that there would be a place on the tour that this might happen. And, this is it." It was a magical night.
91X in San Diego did. That's where I first heard X. Probably right when More Fun in the New World came out, but 91X also played the older stuff -- so when I was in high school I had as good a chance of hearing "White Girl", "Blue Spark", "Dancing With Tears In My Eyes" or their fabulous, grinding cover of "Soul Kitchen" as I did of hearing "Breathless". And what's beautiful is that it all stands up, 25 years later. GOOD. SHIT. PERIOD.
Awesome. I never saw this before. It reminds me of all of those smoking X concerts I went to back in the '80s. (And they're still great live.) God, I wish I could play guitar even a tenth as good as Billy. *Sigh*
I saw X at Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo....aaaaagh those were the days. Danced til we couldn't breathe. so fun to be in the mosh pit.....had to remember to keep your mouth shut, i mean literally, or you could crack a toothe.
you have no idea. i got to tech for X at the CAt in S- Cruz multiple times. grew up in LA on them in fact. best f'in band ever. and Joh Doe...MMMMMMM amazing renaissance man. he could sing the f'in phonebook to me.
This show aired right after the movie "The Day After" on NBC way back in 1983 or 1984. Okay it was right after Carson. What a great night in American history. First Americans learned what the USSR had in mind for us (& our pets), then came some great music.
Good idea. If you were to CZcams an REM song, "Crush with Eyeliner", that the band performed on his show live, you can see him hold the album upside down.
THIS was Exene's physicaly healthiest and best LOOKING period here ( She'd kicked the booz and drugs and was still youthfull ). Ole Exene may not be much to look at today, but she can still rock the house down as a performer, and she also does great collage art and poetry. She's as active as ever creatively, an I still admire her greatly in that sense.
I sat a a table next to Excene at the House of Blues Anaheim before the show. She was having dinner with some guy that didnt like me asking for an autograph. She was very cool and nice about it. Excene and her band Original Sinners opened the show before X.
just saw them in Toronto a couple days ago...fucking awesome.. they played a bunch from the first couple albums....their hair was a bit greyer but they killed it... the audience was full of young punks going mental... good to see...
just saw them in SF, still awesome live...I love them and thank them for years of joy (hey Paul, like the All Day and All Night riff before the commercial break at the end)
great!!If you listen to the radio such tunes you might think that it is an underground tone but somewhere in the past these albums were the best in new rock music.
I saw John Doe with Dave Alvin, Country Dick Montana and Mojo Nixon when they formed The Pleasure Barons. Actually, I think John Doe was a tag-along, but he kicked ass. One of the best shows I have ever seen.
ohhhh i love this band so much! i’ve currently been so fixated on your phone’s off the hook but you’re not though that i’ve forgotten to check out their other music
Well holy shit..!!!...The base player is named,,, John Doe...if people don't know a couple of things about him I'll tell you,,he also has been in a couple of well know movies,,one for example was,,the one and only ,," Road House ",,with Patrick Swayze ,, He played a corrupt bar tender,,,,,,and two,," Pure Country " with the most famous country singer of all time,,George Strait,,, he was the drummer in George's band in the movie..check it out....a little " tid - bit" for you fans...
@@RRPounder Yes , and Border Radio , Slam Dance, and others , not to mention several dramatic appearances on TV. He did'nt treat the chance to get into acting like it was a blowoff.
Yeah, I'm 40 now and have been a fan since about 1982. I'm sure you knew about them a couple of years before me though from what it seems. I've met Billy Zoom a number of times but never the other band members.
He's been in several movies and TV shows. He had a great guest spot on a couple episodes of Canivale, and I believe his first movie role was a small part in Oliver Stone's "Salvador". John Doe FTW
It always restores my faith in humanity to hear stuff like that - even though I'll never get used to the idea of you and your peers looking at my era's music in the same way that I grew up revering The Kinks and The Byrds - ie feeling like I was born 15 years too late. For what it's worth, take it from me - it was mid-70's, working class, post - Watergate LA. We didn't feel especially blessed to be there while it was happening. I'm sure the same could be said for my older sister's boyfriends - who were busy grooving to "Roadhouse Blues' while they tried not to think too much about their draft numbers. I guess the grass is always greener somewhere else.
X is one of the most underappreciated bands. A truly GREAT band!!
A perfect band I’d argue. They’re definitely my favorite lol
Billy Zoom playing rockabilly and bluegrass licks that almost no one else can play, and smiling like a loon.
She hit her marks every time- they are the quintessential performers- they just never fucked up a set. If any new kid wants to emulate a punk band, this is the one I (as a geriatric punk) recommend. Much loved by all in the punk scene, and always maintained their artistic integrity. Much love for this band and these people.
I would respectfully add the Alley Cats to that list of bands to learn from, but X would be a little better.
*****
I agree.
"Maintained their artistic integrity??" Are you for real? They bitched and complained they didn't make enough money and on their fifth album changed the tone of the music to make it more accessible to the mainstream. They're a bunch of money grubbers, and you're a poseur.
AndrewsA-F-B21 X are "Money grubbers?" LMAO. I know graphic designers who sit on their ass on a computer all day who make more money a year than all of X combined. What do you expect X to do? Perform for McDonald's wages? Ain't Love Grand wasn't very successful anyway. I doubt any of my friends who are only into mainstream music have ever even heard of it...or the band itself.
AndrewsA-F-B21 I will agree that much of Ain't Love Grand suffers from inferior mainstream 80's style production, but if it's considered a "sellout" it didn't work because it's currently probably their least popular studio album. And the songs still range from decent to great. It's not like they tried to turn Exene into Madonna or Cyndi Lauper or something.
Thank you God for giving us X, the greatest band ever.
They are one of the all time greatest punk rock bands ever, God I love these people
The whole world loves a sad song that they don't have to sing.
Those two voices were created to harmonize together.
Letterman is awesome for having them on the show, great performances
99.9 % of the time Billy is smiling, the rest of it he kind of takes a quick look at his guitar, amazing.
X: pound for pound one of the best rock bands in any genre. Respect to Letterman too, he always had interesting musical guests in his NBC days and took chances other late-night talk hosts wouldn't have taken.
Member when that show came out Billy Zoom rocked 😀
A good buddy of mine, both of us high school freshmen in the town of Podunk, Washington. He produces a tape recorder and tells me I have to listen to it. The Clash, Clampdown. I’d never heard anything like it. Warms my heart to see young kids these days with black jackets emblazoned with vintage punk bands.
Always love how Zoom cranks out the killer riffs, and makes it look easy. On my list of top 10 list of rock guitarists.
On my list too. I am stoked that he is back in the band and he is cancer free. I'm seeing them tonight in Houston.
Billy said he wanted to make it look easy. He did and has!
Billy looks right at you and smiles…
Billy Zoom, making it look effortless. Saw them last night in Ventura with the Blasters, damn good show, a great vibe from the crowd, and a great mix of people in the crowd. Older punks turned parents, young high school punks coming to see the legend that is X, great fun.
So badass man
That's so cool. I'd love to see X with The Blasters. I saw X when Dave Alvin was in the group , The Knitters and , recently , The Flesheaters with half of X and 2/3rds of The Blasters. I saw a young couple with their little girl at an X show , once. It looked like she was screaming and crying. Turned out , she was going "THE WORLD'S A MESS , IT'S IN MY KIIIIIIIIIIIIIISS !!!!".
WITH THE BLASTERS??!!
Saw X in 1983 at the Roxy. What a fucking band. Exene dominating at her mike stand all night, just stealing the stage song after song. John Doe kicking ass, so intense, banging out the beats on his bass and taking total charge on his vocals. DJ just whaling away on his drums. And Billy Zoom - just calm, smiling away, such a cool cat - meanwhile throwing down some of the most kick-ass licks ever. We're in the front moshing it, girls grabbing guys, guys grabbing girls - what a night
The best band to perform on the Letterman Show!!
Under The Big Black Sun - 1982 has been one of my ten favorite rock albums ever made, for like forty years now.
Love isn’t too strong a word.
You leave me breathless!
Hands down one of my fave bands of all time. And they're still rockin' it hard.
That one punk band who were actual musicians - with real star quality. Billy Zoom is without question the most talented and educated guitarist in the history of punk, and what a stance! He said he didn't want to be one of those guitarists who pose as if everything is so hard. It wasn't hard for him so he made it look easy for the audience's benefit. John and Exene have their own thing going on the harmonies, a sound that absolutely can't be imitated. X had it all. Only problem is nobody bought their records. Well, me and a few hundred thousand others, but not enough to elevate them to the height they deserved. IMHO, X should be mentioned in the same context as Sex Pistols, Ramones, Damned, and Clash. Legends.
To Nick Danger....I like your idea in theory..but maybe it wasn't like that in reality...X WERE great. But people DIDN'T buy "100s of thousands of their records" in 1981. They lived in squats and squalor in a bad time in LA.... and worked hard for gigs in 1978.. And it's really easy to wear a leather jacket, strum a chord or two...and solo with three notes !! (Elvis Presley...The Sex Pistols...The Clash !) I'm happy that you like X ! (Look up Black Flag.....)
Nick Danger Completely agree with this... They were special!
Simon Lout Can't deny that Black Flag was awesome as well. Probably not as much commercial potential but just ridiculously fun!
Stooges and Iggy should be in that hypocritical conversation..
@@markrago5024 *hypothetical* also some more great early punk bands the Saints, the MC5, radio birdman, the Adverts, Death, Bad brains, fugazi, television (more post punk) and the Adolescents.
This'll be called folk music a hundred years from now.
Undoubtedly.
Thousands of working class citizens of LA have been calling it that since 1977 - myself included.
Rock Stance 101: Billy Zoom.
Saw them at the Whiskey a GoGo in Hollywood in 1980. What a great time to live in L.A.
prayers for Billy Zoom.
one of the best songs ever. john has an awesome voice
Anyone who can stand spread eagle with a crazy grin on his face and play guitar like that has to be the coolest person to ever live - he is BILLY ZOOM! Exene looks awsome in this one as well! X forever!
Not enough can be said about this Great, Great American band. Opportunities to strut there stuff on Letterman etc were so well deserved. 2 songs! Wow, I used to watch letterman back in the day and I dont remember anyone ever getting 2 songs. I found that Letterman could always single out the true genius from the posers when he introduced artists. Even if he diddnt know that much about them I could always tell he had alot of respect for the real artists like X.
Maybe the greatest rock band ever. I would put these guys up against any band anywhere anytime.
Can a guitar tone get any better? Sweet stuff.
Paul Nugent gretsch guitars have the best tone hands down
Especially for a live performance on 80s TV.
The clash in their first album is the best guitar tone ever
Billy Zoom is such a kool cat! I
That's some mighty fine rock & roll there. Long live X.
It's been way too many years but sometime back in the '80s, I got to see them at a place called the Harvest Moon Saloon in Atlanta. They put on their usual good show and then did FIVE encores. I remember John Doe coming out on the fifth encore and saying, "we played every song we knew. We thought that there would be a place on the tour that this might happen. And, this is it." It was a magical night.
Who was on guitar? I saw them there in 85 when Billy had quit and Dave Alvin joined
I see X for the 6th time 5 days from today, 08/29/16 in Petamula,Ca!
LMAO at the 57 dislikes. Totally tight live TV performance by X in their prime.
Tom Chipman Unfortunately many of the dislikes on any widely viewed video are just bots.
Just saw them at the OC fair last week. They sounded as good as ever. They had the place rockin'. It was awsome.
just discovered this band. Alot of people say "music sucks these days" and often they are right, but so does this.
91X in San Diego did. That's where I first heard X. Probably right when More Fun in the New World came out, but 91X also played the older stuff -- so when I was in high school I had as good a chance of hearing "White Girl", "Blue Spark", "Dancing With Tears In My Eyes" or their fabulous, grinding cover of "Soul Kitchen" as I did of hearing "Breathless". And what's beautiful is that it all stands up, 25 years later. GOOD. SHIT. PERIOD.
I miss listening to this record so much...Great driving music! Love to see them live again...I live 4 X !!!!!
Awesome. I never saw this before. It reminds me of all of those smoking X concerts I went to back in the '80s. (And they're still great live.)
God, I wish I could play guitar even a tenth as good as Billy. *Sigh*
the best thing ever that has come out of LA.
I love this band..
My heart goes out to friends and family of Exene, I wish Exene a full recovery but we know MS is serious. Exene, please be well.
I saw X at Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo....aaaaagh those were the days. Danced til we couldn't breathe. so fun to be in the mosh pit.....had to remember to keep your mouth shut, i mean literally, or you could crack a toothe.
i haven't seen X in So LOOONNGGG!!!!
i miss them!!!
1987 saw X open for Warren Zevon in Providence. To this day, one of the best shows I ever saw.
X is just good kick ass rock and roll .
you have no idea. i got to tech for X at the CAt in S- Cruz multiple times. grew up in LA on them in fact. best f'in band ever. and Joh Doe...MMMMMMM amazing renaissance man. he could sing the f'in phonebook to me.
X is so awsome. Exene is such a good singer.
You guys were and still are awesome!
This show aired right after the movie "The Day After" on NBC way back in 1983 or 1984. Okay it was right after Carson. What a great night in American history. First Americans learned what the USSR had in mind for us (& our pets), then came some great music.
Simply brilliant...! Americana at its best...! Happy 4th of July everyone.....!
Not their best song, but they are one of the best bands EVER! No question!
Lady Gaga is really innovated....
X is a really great band. This video is fun, they look like they're having a.... MORE FUN!
Thx for posting...
Happy birthday, Exene! 💘
letterman is old & dirty.
x is still rockin'!
Billy's so puuuurty!......John too!
Thank u so much 4 posting. I was like 6 (?) when this aired. This band means so much to me.
This was my first X album...stayed up late on a school night to watch this!
almost 40 years seeing and listening to these people. Amazing
I love how right before they play, Letterman checks the album cover to make sure he got it right
Good idea. If you were to CZcams an REM song, "Crush with Eyeliner", that the band performed on his show live, you can see him hold the album upside down.
greatness.
THIS was Exene's physicaly healthiest and best LOOKING period here ( She'd kicked the booz and drugs and was still youthfull ).
Ole Exene may not be much to look at today, but she can still rock the house down as a performer, and she also does great collage art and poetry. She's as active as ever creatively, an I still admire her greatly in that sense.
Im an X fan for ever, but Ive never heard this song though, sounded really good, Come to Salt Lake City again.
Doe is playing with fingers!
BEAUTIFUL! :)
Classic as always!
I sat a a table next to Excene at the House of Blues Anaheim before the show. She was having dinner with some guy that didnt like me asking for an autograph. She was very cool and nice about it. Excene and her band Original Sinners opened the show before X.
Timeless Music.
Gawd I love these kids.
"Hot House", from More Fun in the New World, their fourth album. Each of those first four albums is greatness.
just saw them in Toronto a couple days ago...fucking awesome..
they played a bunch from the first couple albums....their hair was a bit greyer but they killed it...
the audience was full of young punks going mental...
good to see...
THIS IS THE BEST VID I HAVE EVER SEEN ON CZcams! ITS BEEN A LONG TIME SINCE I HAD THE CHANCE TO SEE X PERFORM. PERFECT!
This is just too fucking great! The world is a much better place with X playing music.
Outstanding guitar intro riff!!!!
just saw them in SF, still awesome live...I love them and thank them for years of joy (hey Paul, like the All Day and All Night riff before the commercial break at the end)
that was a great show!
great!!If you listen to the radio such tunes you might think that it is an underground tone but somewhere in the past these albums were the best in new rock music.
love this band
I like your channel
Ah, those impossible harmonies that cut daggers into your heart...
and the lets not forget DJ Bonebrake and his many talents on percussion...so many comments about Billy
Best band
This is real good! Thanks for putting this up!!
makes life worth living.
With all due respect to the Killer, that is probably the greatest recording of "Breathless" ever. Also, it is totally Punk.
ABSOLUTELY!
This is so good.
I saw John Doe with Dave Alvin, Country Dick Montana and Mojo Nixon when they formed The Pleasure Barons. Actually, I think John Doe was a tag-along, but he kicked ass. One of the best shows I have ever seen.
love Billy Zoom
ohhhh i love this band so much! i’ve currently been so fixated on your phone’s off the hook but you’re not though that i’ve forgotten to check out their other music
HEY MAN all those bands are fun, i loved oingo boingo AND the go go's AND x.
WOW. amazing amazing band
X totally rocks! come to Bellingham, Wa, please!
This is the greatest thing I've seen on CZcams EVER! And I'm a CZcams junky. I haven't seen or heard of them in years. GOD THEY KICKED ASS!
Well holy shit..!!!...The base player is named,,, John Doe...if people don't know a couple of things about him I'll tell you,,he also has been in a couple of well know movies,,one for example was,,the one and only ,," Road House ",,with Patrick Swayze ,, He played a corrupt bar tender,,,,,,and two,," Pure Country " with the most famous country singer of all time,,George Strait,,, he was the drummer in George's band in the movie..check it out....a little " tid - bit" for you fans...
He was in Great Balls Of Fire too.
Horsemanpro63 The best was Roadside Prophets imo.
Julianne Moore's ex husband in Boogie Nights too
@@RRPounder Yes , and Border Radio , Slam Dance, and others , not to mention several dramatic appearances on TV. He did'nt treat the chance to get into acting like it was a blowoff.
It's true-- they are one of the best bluegrass bands in the business!
Yeah, I'm 40 now and have been a fan since about 1982. I'm sure you knew about them a couple of years before me though from what it seems. I've met Billy Zoom a number of times but never the other band members.
He's been in several movies and TV shows. He had a great guest spot on a couple episodes of Canivale, and I believe his first movie role was a small part in Oliver Stone's "Salvador". John Doe FTW
good audio. thanks!
If Letterman likes X that's enough to get me to go out and see them then they come to town.
gonna see them on saturday at the Queen Mary, so fucking stoked for it.
This album came out the year after I was born, and is in my top five favorite albums ever.
Also, I have a chick crush on Exene.
It always restores my faith in humanity to hear stuff like that - even though I'll never get used to the idea of you and your peers looking at my era's music in the same way that I grew up revering The Kinks and The Byrds - ie feeling like I was born 15 years too late.
For what it's worth, take it from me - it was mid-70's, working class, post - Watergate LA. We didn't feel especially blessed to be there while it was happening. I'm sure the same could be said for my older sister's boyfriends - who were busy grooving to "Roadhouse Blues' while they tried not to think too much about their draft numbers.
I guess the grass is always greener somewhere else.