X-rated musical excellence

X - The Unheard Music (musical out takes) - wideo
Musical outtakes from the movie

I stumbled across another gem on Netflix: "X: The Unheard Music," a 1985 documentary about the legendary LA country punkers. I listened to X quite a bit in my college days and the decade after -- and thankfully saw the original band live -- but their work had sadly fallen off my playlist. So, it was a thrill to go back in time with this documentary, which mixes live performances and music videos with interviews and other background on the band. Even a quarter century later, X's sound remains fresh and unique. 

It's a travesty X isn't in the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame because their first four albums rival any in rock history (that's Elvis Costello territory). Exene and John Doe weren't the greatest of singers but their syncopated interplay and intense lyrics were magical, grounded by blistering riffs from stylin' guitarist Billy Zoom and tom-heavy beatwork from D.J. Bonebrake. 

In addition to documentary's fine live performances, there are some great scenes with Zoom showing his chops on a clarinet and Bonebrake laying down some Lionel Hampton breaks on the vibraphone. X were fresh faced back in 1985 but very skilled for punkers of the day. 

Note for Bakersfield readers: X bassist/vocalist John Doe (known only to a few as John Nommensen Duchac) lives in Lockwood Valley, just south of Frazier Park. And if any of the songs in the attached video pique your interest, the band will be invading Buck Owen's Crystal Palace on Dec. 27. 

Update on Thursday, December 23, 2010 at 10:29 AM by Logan Molen

Found out today -- reading a story from The Californian's Matt Munoz -- that John Doe has moved to Oildale.

Very unexpected but cool. Imagine running into him on the streets?

'tis the season for "best of" lists

It's that time of the year. "Best of" 2010 lists started showing up around Thanksgiving and they'll only start to smother us from now on. 

Janelle Monae's debut is an invigorating mix of R&B, hip-hop, pop, rock, and moreHere's just a few worthy rundowns that I've stumbled across so far:

Paste Magazine's Top 50 Albums of 2010: Very eclectic mix topped by LCD Soundsystem. I was pleased to see Janelle Monae's stupendous debut, "The ArchAndroid" at No. 2. 

Pitchfork Media's Top Music Videos of 2010: As with all things Pitchfork, you probably haven't heard of half the bands in question. Not saying that's a bad thing ... just saying.

NPR's "All Songs Considered" "The Albums We Missed in 2010": Although "All Songs" tends to be a bit too acoustic for me, I like lists like this that help you uncover stuff that's flown under the radar. 

The New York Times "100 Notable Books of 2010": These folks can be way too snooty, but this year's list has some worthy mainstream picks, including "The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest." 

I'll add more sources as I find them. 

Update on Friday, December 24, 2010 at 10:32 PM by Logan Molen

And a few more: 

• NPR's "All Songs Considered" listeners picks for Top 25 albums. This is a fantastic 2-hour podcast of great music. Great for a road trip. 
• Pitchfork's "Top 50 Albums"
• Amazon.com's picks for 100 Best albums of 2010 (separate links for CDs and MP3s, which is cool) and the 100 Best-SELLING Albums of 2010
• NPR's "Best Music of 2010: The Complete List," picks from key staff
• And, more from NPR's "All Songs": The quartet of critics deliver their fun "Year in Music" show. Not as invigorating as last year's show but still worth a listen. 
• And All Songs' "Five Best Cover Songs of 2010"

There are many more, but really, this is enough. 

Update on Tuesday, January 11, 2011 at 9:28 PM by Logan Molen

Here's the list of all lists for 2010 froma  site called Fimoculous. It's an index of all kinds of crazy lists for pretty much everything you can imagine.

Great stuff.

Merle profile makes cut for best music writing of 2010

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A Rolling Stone profile of Bakersfield's Merle Haggard is among the stories collected in "Best Music Writing 2010," the latest in an excellent annual series that highlights the best in music journalism (I'm still working through the 2009 edition).

"Soundcheck" recently talked with Ann Powers, chief pop critic at the LA Times and editor of this year's volume, and Rolling Stone editor Jason Fine, author of the Haggard story. I'd link to the Haggard profile but I can't find it anywhere online. So, if you want to read it, you apparently have to buy it.

Continuing a trend in recent years is growing respect for independent bloggers and other alternative sources. A quick glance at the table of contents shows less than a dozen mainstream publications made the cut. Here's to diversity.