X Versus X

This is not an article about Algebra. No coefficients are necessary as I describe the long delayed article about two bands with the same name. Wasn't there an American group called The Beat? No, The Beat was called The English Beat in America and The British Beat in Australia.

I Just Can't Stop It is a perfect album. That means every song is enjoyable. The Beatles invented perfect albums. Before them there were a couple singles and filler.

Some albums never were flipped over to hear Side Two. None of which has to do with X. I always enjoyed the Los Angeles based X. Los Angeles is a perfect album produced by Ray Manzarek.

There used to be so many musical options. I have never seen Urgh! A Music War. The soundtrack was enjoyed. Some of the showcased bands went on to big careers such as The Police, The Go-Go's and Devo. Others had their moment in the sun in this documentary.

It looks like I am setting up a tribute to IRS Records. Record labels were branding I could stand. It beats the modern music scene. Taylor Swift and nothing else.

I am at the point that Ed Sheeran is preferable. He continues to write songs and is not as annoying as Taylor Swift. To the matter at hand: learning there was an Australian band named X- it was time to seek them out.

The name is coincidental. Generation X is a different band as is King's X. Aspirations is an enjoyable album. It does not pack the wallop of Los Angeles. It doesn't have to.

Listening to enjoyable music is a contest everyone wins. There is a cover of Mother by John Lennon. Which Beatle had the best solo career? Sir Paul had the longest and still performs.

Before I make the next Call To Action that is ignored (I am to Calls To Action what Mary Richards was to dinner parties) this album was recorded in five hours. It sounds really good considering the speed of recording.

The dirty little secret of recording contracts is the money is for studio time. They might have taken that money and recorded a full disc in one day. Another unwritten idea is listening to Chinese Democracy by Guns N Roses.

Had they released it in 2001 there was an infrastructure where new songs could be played. By 2008- MTV was irrelevant, radio gave up; switching to "All Taylor Swift, All the Time" and what might have been a good album- Tower Records was gone by that point.

Another story, another article. Tower Records was good until it wasn't. It is enjoyable listening to songs from this era. Even if they are about drug use- they have a good beat and are easy to dance to.

When you have no friends you end up with an interesting record collection. They take up a lot of space and are worth it. My Elektra version of Los Angeles is worth at least twenty dollars.

So, all you who turned your noses up when I stuck with LP's- how little did you get reselling your CD's? My records and comics are like my articles. No one knows what I have, they feel I have too many and after I go to ancestry there will be a goldmine when the right people find them.

Seek out different bands. Not only did I support small businesses (did my dislike of Walmart originate with how they ran used record stores out of business?) it was fun trying out different bands. Neither band named X is played on the radio. Truly, it is The Unheard Music. That still applies. Good music can bring about communal experiences. It can also be your secret.