Oregon daily emerald., April 22, 2004, Page 8, Image 8

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X's 'Los Angeles'
is uniquely punk
Members of LA-based X
have been defining punk
for themselves since 1980
By Aaron Shakra
Pulse Editor
This review will risk making gener
alizations and raise two critiques of
punk music: 1) It isn't particularly
melodic and 2) The instrumentation
is rather staid.
I Iowever, you can't hold any of this
against X, one of Los Angeles' seminal
punk
of The Doors, who produced and
played on X's 1980 debut album and
gave the group the unorthodox kick
needed to distinguish itself from the
outset.
Given the group's geographical lo
cation, it should come as no surprise
that the album is called "Los Angeles."
Everyone in the group is talented
in their own right; it would be silly to
give all the credit to Manzarek. Al
though, it is often hard to determine
this with punk music's emphasis on
simple chord progressions. X is con
figured in the classic power trio for
mation, with D.J. Bonebrake on
FORGOTTEN
ALBUMS
bands. En
ter Ray
Manzarek,
best known
as organist
drums, John Doe on bass and vocals,
and Billy Zoom on guitar. However,
the exception to this format is the
group's lead singer, Exene Cervenka,
whose voice is representative of the
band's sound.
Most of the songs are short, but is
n't that the essence of a lot of punk?
Most amusing is the band's cover of
The Doors' "Soul Kitchen," which is
at first almost unrecognizable from
the original version largely because of
the fast-paced tempo. I must have
heard the song two or three times be
fore I realized what it was.
"Nausea" is a highlight among nine
tracks. The repetition of the lyrics
"Nausea / bloody red eyes go to nau
sea / nausea / bloody red eyes go to
sleep" may not look like much in
print, but of course, with lyrics, how
the words are said often takes on as
much importance as what is said. In
tention counts.
The 2001 remaster of "Los Ange
les" includes five bonus tracks, in
cluding a tune called "Adult Books,"
which proves that the band was
more diverse than the "punk" genre
label would indicate. Also notable
are critic Kristine McKenna's liner
notes, which describe the music
scene X arose from and provide brief
character sketches of the performers.
Contact the Pulse editor
at aaronshakra@dailyemerald.com.
Clapton's CD pays
homage to legend
‘Me and Mr. Johnson' acts
as a modern interpretation
of a ‘30s blues artist’s music
By Natasha Chilingerian
Pulse Reporter
Eric Clapton has finally paid trib
ute to the man he calls "the keystone
of his musical foundation." That
man is 1930s blues artist Robert
Johnson, and in a new album enti
tled "Me and Mr. Johnson" Clapton
pours his creative energy into unit
ing their souls.
Robert
Johnson's
dark history
makes him
a worthy
blues artist.
He spent most of his life searching
for his real father and experienced
the death of his 16-year-old wife
while she was giving birth. The baby
did not survive. His life ended tragi
cally when he was poisoned in 1938
REVIEW
Courtesy
by his girlfriend's angry husband.
Nevertheless, his music has inspired
such musical greats as Clapton, who
said that Johnson "was only singing
for himself."
Clapton, a guitar genius who has
turned out such songs as "1 Shot the
Sheriff" (originally written by Bob
Marley and The Wailers) and "Layla,"
is a deserving blues player himself. I Ie
endured drug and alcohol addiction,
a difficult love triangle between late
Turn to CLAPTON, page 11
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