2 posts tagged “x”
I wrote before about the Streetlight $20 Challenge by the Young Ones (self-described as 2 hookers and a blow job queen). I added another 3 albums and I'm still above the $10 mark.
The first purchase, clocking in at $3.95 is a CD release by X, with their first two albums, Los Angeles and Wild Gift.
Your Phone Is Off The Hook, But Your'e Not!
X ~ Los Angeles
I chose this opening track principally because for thousands of us, these opening chords and Exene's wailing and minor-key harmonies ushered something different, something that would not only influence, but infect music for decades to come. Besides, there has never been a cooler name for any band, anywhere. Never.
I was prepared to go with the better known title track of this album, as it's such a great story of disillusionment with L.A. This sentiment is paralleled in my wife's favorite song of all time - Midnight Train To Georgia. Same idea of failing in the 'big' pond, executed as differently as could be. Nobody cares enough to follow this one when she leaves.
The second purchase, at $1.95 is a compilation by the Isley Brothers, with the funk anthems "Fight The Power" and "It's Your Thing", worth the price of admission alone. Add to that the ultra smooth groove of "For The Love Of You" and you've struck gold for under 2 bucks. This is my third favorite "cruising an L.A. freeways late at night in my uncle's sweet Lincoln Mk.V" song...more on this later...
The Streetlight Challenge rolls on. Hop in, I still got more than $10 on this mofo.
Love Shack
The Knitters ~ Poor Little Critter In The Road
No, It's not the B-52s song. This is THE KNITTERS, baby. This So-Cal rockabilly-country band from the 80's has among its members Exene Cervenka, John Doe, Dave Alvin, D.J. Bonebrake and Billy Zoom. If those names sound familiar, good for you. Because we are talking about the legendary punk band X, recommissioned to raise rural hell.
LA in the early 80s was also home to a young singer/songwriter from Ohio, who was turned down in Nashville for being too country, too purist. Dwight Yoakam found a receptive audience in the punk clubs around LA. The songs were aggressive, but perfectly in tune with the "Bakersfield Sound" of the 50s-60s, exemplified by Buck Owens, Merle Haggard and the like. The Knitters personified this as well, just as purist, but with a little tongue in cheek. Punks don't care what it sounds like, as long as it's gen-you-wine DIY. The seeds of Cowpunk were planted (and fertilized).
So today I finally bit the bullet and asked Kristina to teach me how to knit. She's got mad knittin' skillz! It's supposed to be relaxing, but I'm so paranoid about dropping a stitch (as if I know what that means) that I got my ADD (disguised as perfectionism) ramped up to redline focus.
I'm generally more apt to occupy my hands under the hood of a car, or in today's case, tearing half a jungle out of the backyard. Purchasing my yarn and needles, made me especially ambitious with digging out stumps and the like. After that, I was ready to build a fire and cozy up next to Kiki and cast on, baby! What, pray tell, would inspire me to want to learn to knit?
TOTORO!
I am SOOOO wearing this thing everyday when it's finished.
