The 500 - #287 - Los Angeles - X

I was inspired by a podcast called The 500 hosted by Los Angeles-based comedian Josh Adam Meyers. His goal, and mine, is to explore Rolling Stone Magazine's 2012 edition of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. 

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Album: #287

Album Title: Los Angeles

Artist: X

Genre: Punk

Recorded: Golden Sound Studios, Los Angeles, California

Released: April, 1980

My age at release: 14

How familiar was I with it before this week: Not at all

Is it on the 2020 list? Yes, dropping to #320 (33 places) since 2012

Song I am putting on my Spotify Playlist: Soul Kitchen

In January, 2022 I wrote about the second release by X, Wild Gift. It was the first time I had heard the music of this innovative and influential punk band from California. Los Angeles is the debut record from the four-piece ensemble comprising Exene (vocals), John Doe (vocals and bass), Billy Zoom (guitars) and DJ Bonebrake (drums).

X (l-r) Zoom, Bonebrake, Exene, Doe (1980)

Los Angeles is often overlooked as a significant center of punk rock music. The genre emerged from the garage scene in England and the United States, with London and New York being considered "ground zero" for the movement. However, Los Angeles has a rich history of punk rock and has produced many influential bands and musicians in the genre.

Punk rock originated in the 1970s as a reaction against mainstream music and culture, and Los Angeles was home to many of the early pioneers of the genre. Some of the most famous punk rock bands to come out of Los Angeles include Black Flag, The Germs and X. These bands were known for their raw, energetic sound and their rebellious attitude, which resonated with many young people at the time. The 1980s were a time of great change in Los Angeles, and the punk scene reflected the city's growing discontent with mainstream culture.

X on a rooftop above Los Angeles (early 80s)

The previous two paragraphs have intentionally been presented in a different font and colour because I did not write them. Instead, I leveraged the skills of an artificial intelligence program called Chat-GPT which was developed and released free to the public by Open AI (a non-profit, research organization in Silicon Valley). I simply provided a few prompts to a computer program and the writing was generated for me. I'll explain.

As I was mentally preparing to write this post, a friend (Rob Hodson who has guest blogged twice for me here) sent me an article from The Atlantic with the ominous title: The End Of High School English. In the article, veteran high school English teacher Daniel Herman posits that:

The arrival of OpenAI’s ChatGPT, a program that generates sophisticated text in response to any prompt you can imagine, may signal the end of writing assignments altogether—and maybe even the end of writing as a gatekeeper, a metric for intelligence, a teachable skill.

He goes on to provide examples, including: 

A playful, but sophisticated and emotional 600-word, college-admissions essay on how his "experience" volunteering at the local animal shelter prepared him for the academic rigour of Stanford.

The following is part of the AI’s response:

"In addition to cleaning, I also had the opportunity to interact with the animals. I was amazed at the transformation I saw in some of the pets who had been neglected or abused. With patience and care, they blossomed into playful and affectionate companions who were eager to give and receive love. I was also able to witness firsthand the process of selecting the right pet for the right family. Although it was bittersweet to see some animals leave the shelter, I knew that they were going to a loving home, and that was the best thing for them…"

The artificial intelligence "chat-bot" was able to provide, almost instantaneously, a convincing, grammatically-sound response to his query.

While I am still on the fence about this new technology supplanting the need for high school English classes, I was fascinated by the availability of this technology and thought I would put it to the test with my blog. The limitations were soon revealed.

Initially, I posed the question: "Why is Los Angeles, by the band X, a great record?" The bot responded with an apology:

I'm sorry, but I am not able to browse the internet or listen to music, so I am unable to answer that question. I am a large language model trained by OpenAI and my knowledge is limited to the text that I have been trained on, which ends in 2021. I do not have any information about the band X or their record "Los Angeles". Is there something else I can help you with?

After a few more prompts, I settled on: "Why is the Los Angeles punk scene in the 1980s important?" and "Tell me more about the Los Angeles punk scene". Both responses required a little editing on my part to make them fit smoothly into this blog and both are rather vanilla in scope and style. However, I can see the utility of this technology for a high-school student.

A picture I created using AI with the prompt of
 "show me a high school student writing an essay".

When I provided some common, Grade 12 prompts, such as, "explain the impact of Macbeth's vaulting ambition", or "discuss the themes in A Handmaid's Tale", Chat GPT quickly offered good quality, quotable content that would fit nicely into a sneaky teenager's essay.

Regarding my genuine experiences with Los Angeles, the debut album by X, I loved it. It was a terrific record to get me going in the morning when I played it between 8 and 9 a.m., before my students' arrival. It was also a powerful motivator later on as I burned calories on the elliptical.

It wasn't until I heard this week's episode of The 500 podcast, featuring comedian and writer Dana Gould, that I began to dig a little deeper into the lyrical content. Gould, best known for his writing on The Simpsons, called X a band with "the energy of the Ramones and the poetry of Bob Dylan".

One thing I learned while looking into the story of X is how the band, despite limited commercial success, is considered by critics as "one of the most influential bands of their era". X’s "raw energetic sound" is undeniable and their dark, biting lyrics seem to capture "the growing discontent" present in Los Angeles of 1980.

So, I'll concede. Chat GPT makes a good case, but not strong enough to supplant me as the writer of these weekly blogs...for now.

  

The 500 - #333 - Wild Gift - X

I was inspired by a podcast called The 500 hosted by Los Angeles-based comedian Josh Adam Meyers. His goal, and mine, is to explore Rolling Stone Magazine's 2012 edition of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. 

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Album: # 333

Album Title: Wild Gift

Artist: X

Genre: Punk

Recorded: Clover & Golden Sound Recording Studio, Los Angeles, CA

Released: May, 1981

My age at release: 15

How familiar was I with it before this week: Not at all

Is it on the 2020 list? No

Song I am putting on my Spotify Playlist: White Girl selected by my friend Albie Jasinski, a long-time fan of X.

In January, 1980, the California-based punk band X went to a studio to record their first record, Los Angeles. It was a massive critical success and sits, waiting for us, at position #287 on The 500 list. However, the group had so many quality songs ready for that recording session that most of them had to be put on hold. Those shelved recordings make up the bulk of  the band's second release, Wild Gift, which has also earned a spot on The 500.

With the exception of The Beatles, I am hard pressed to think of a band on The 500 that had so much exceptional material ready to record that had enough for another album. Additionally, much like The Beatles releases, Wild Gift, was met with critical acclaim.

X is regarded by many critics, including journalist Robert Hilburn, as "one of the most influential bands of their era". Despite their musical prowess, the group had limited commercial success but became a cult favourite. Indeed, I knew little about them before discovering this record on The 500.

X was formed in 1977 when bassist, vocalist and songwriter John Doe (born John Duchac) met guitarist Billy Zoom (born Stuart Kindell) in Los Angeles. The pair had independently put ads in a local music magazine searching for like-minded musicians. When they met to discuss a collaboration, Doe took along his poetry-writing girlfriend, Exene (born Christina Cervenka). She planned on penning lyrics for the band, but soon became the vocalist.

X in 1980 (l-r) Exene, Zoom, Doe & Bonebreak

The final recruit was the only native Californian – drummer D.J. (Donald James) Bonebrake.  Perhaps you, like me, assumed Bonebrake was also a pseudonym. After all, punk rockers are known for adopting peculiar stage names -- Sid Vicious, Johnny Rotten, all The Ramones or the aforementioned Doe, Exene and Zoom. With a name like D.J. Bonebrake, the drummer fit into the group perfectly.

D.J. Bonebrake (1980s)

However, Bonebrake is  D.J.'s legitimate birth name, with roots dating back to 17th century Switzerland. Despite variations in spelling over the years  (Pinebrech and Bonbright), there are many examples of the Bonebrake name throughout American history, including soldiers from the Civil War.

The Wikipedia entry for the album Wild Gift categorizes the genre as punk. However, that is a woefully narrow definition of the sounds on this terrific disc. Sure, there are some punk rock bangers on the  album, but the songs Adult Books and In This House That I Call Home are reminiscent of the art-rock, New Wave sounds of Talking Heads. By contrast, Some Other Time and Beyond and Back clearly have their roots in 1950s rockabilly.

X in concert 2016

Despite a lengthy hiatus, several side projects and some temporary line-up changes, the original band still performs today. In 2020, they released their first new material in 27 years, the critically well-received Alphabetland. A  tour planned to support the record was delayed by the Covid pandemic, but the group played a few dates in 2021. Fans hope a full tour is launched this year.

Alphabetland Album by X (2020)

We'll revisit X in about 46 weeks with their debut record, Los Angeles, an album endowed with so much material that it required a Wild Gift to bring it to completion.