How aware were X of The Rezillos?

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Been on a big X kick, and, listening to a song like "Breathless," I wonder how much - if any - influence The Rezillos had on the band? Compare "Breathless" with The Rezillos' "It Gets Me" or the harmonies on "I Must Not Think Bad Thoughts" with "Destination Venus." Might be pure coincidence, as I've never seen the bands linked, but does anyone else hear some pretty strong similarities?

― More Fun (Roger Fidelity), Tuesday, 23 January 2007 14:22 (eighteen years ago)

I don't know that much about X, but I'm quite sure all the brit punk was played remorselessly..

If Nirvana could cite Squeeze, for example, ....

― mark grout (mark grout), Tuesday, 23 January 2007 14:24 (eighteen years ago)

Well, unlike minutemen, Flesh Eaters, D.O.A., Big Boys and Black Flag, the Rezillos weren't name-dropped in the aforementioned "I Must Not Think Bad Thoughts", for what that's worth.

Are Rezillos the band that performed "Where's Captain Kirk?" in Urgh! A Music War?

― M. Agony Von Bontee (M. Agony Von Bontee), Tuesday, 23 January 2007 15:32 (eighteen years ago)

no... that was spizz energi/athletico spizz 80 or something, wasn't it?

― GOD PUNCH TO HAWKWIND (yournullfame), Tuesday, 23 January 2007 15:41 (eighteen years ago)

Agony:

The point of name-dropping all those bands in "I Must Not Think Bad Thoughts" is that they're all American bands. So, it ain't too surprising that they don't mention the Rezillos.

"I hear that radio is finally gonna play new music, you know, the
British invasion."
But what about the Minutemen, Flesh Eaters, DOA, Big Boys and Black Flag?
Will the last American band to get played on the radio, please bring the Flag?
Please bring the flag!

Always seemed like rah-rah bullshit to me...

― french for cane break (Pye Poudre), Tuesday, 23 January 2007 15:49 (eighteen years ago)

Agreed. An unfortunate misstep in an otherwise amazing song

― Taladega (Roger Fidelity), Tuesday, 23 January 2007 16:39 (eighteen years ago)

Disagree -- Exene was completely free-associating, so bitchery is allowed. Plus, y'know, SPANDAU BALLET.

― Haikunym (Haikunym), Tuesday, 23 January 2007 16:44 (eighteen years ago)

Flesheaters are so amazing.

In the small world of early Cal punk, it seems hard to believe that X COULDN'T have heard/gone to seen the rezillos.

― M@tt He1g3s0n: oh u mad cuz im stylin on u (Matt Helgeson), Tuesday, 23 January 2007 16:52 (eighteen years ago)

x-post

Yeah, it was just a dumb smartarse reply-for-the-sake-of-replying answer on my part. I know nothing about the Rezillos. (Which is obvious: thanks G.P.T.Hawkwind.) And yeah, that X lyric definitely rang a little truer back in '83.

― M. Agony Von Bontee (M. Agony Von Bontee), Tuesday, 23 January 2007 16:56 (eighteen years ago)

Ya oughta hear the Rezillos, man. They rule. "Top of the Pops?" "Somebody's Gonna Get Their Head Kicked In Tonight?" Killer.

― Roger Fidelity (Roger Fidelity), Tuesday, 23 January 2007 16:59 (eighteen years ago)

Yeah, the Rezillos are extremely great. There's a CD that has just about everything on it if you're into going that route.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Tuesday, 23 January 2007 17:05 (eighteen years ago)

You know, of course, that's a Fleetwood Mac song, right?

― mark grout (mark grout), Tuesday, 23 January 2007 17:13 (eighteen years ago)

I do, yes. I rather assume Roger does as well.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Tuesday, 23 January 2007 17:14 (eighteen years ago)

That's one of those 'surprising' ones (except I had the orig single before the rez did it) that goes along with "the HitchHikers Guide theme is by The Eagles".

― mark grout (mark grout), Tuesday, 23 January 2007 17:17 (eighteen years ago)

Yes, of course, but "Glad All Over" is a cover too and boy that one outdoes the original as far as I'm concerned

― Roger Fidelity (Roger Fidelity), Tuesday, 23 January 2007 19:13 (eighteen years ago)

And the 'oi! oi! oi!' in that song is ALL Rezillos, baby.

― Roger Fidelity (Roger Fidelity), Tuesday, 23 January 2007 19:16 (eighteen years ago)

Um, yeah, Rezillos. I've heard of them mainly because of Jo Callis. You remember him -- guitarist dude who ended up in the Human League. You know, the second lineup. The one that existed during the years when the Human League's contemporaries were Spandau Ballet, et al. Yeah. Jo Callis.

― Phoenix Dancing (krushsister), Wednesday, 24 January 2007 03:54 (eighteen years ago)

Always seemed like rah-rah bullshit to me...
Nah, that's one of the great things about that lyric--how the sputterings of a wracked brain can be as disturbed by CIA death squads as there not being enough guitar on the radio. It reminds me of Lennon returning his Member of the British Empire medal:

"I am returning this MBE in protest against Britain's involvement in the Nigeria-Biafra thing, against our support of America in Vietnam, and against 'Cold Turkey' slipping down the charts. With love, John Lennon of Bag."

― Hideous Lump (Hideous Lump), Wednesday, 24 January 2007 04:45 (eighteen years ago)

xpost.

Callis is a fucking hero. End of story.

― everything (everything), Wednesday, 24 January 2007 06:10 (eighteen years ago)

i have always hoped that, coming from a rock band that was led by a bass player but had no rhythm section to speak of, there was some sense of irony or self-awareness in x's rants against "glitter disco synthesizer" and "all this noble savage drum drum drum" and, finally, the knittersy punchline "woody guthrie sang about b-e-e-t-s, not b-e-a-t-s." but i sense that no such irony exists, and that x really hated pop music.

i love x to death, but that has always made me sad.

― fact checking cuz (fcc), Wednesday, 24 January 2007 15:15 (eighteen years ago)

Hating pop was kinda fashionable back then. And hating anything English kinda went with the Americana-oriented CA punk thing (e.g., "We Don't Need the English" by the Bags).

So, I'd like to go with Hideous Lump's theory, but I just can't. If there's any kind of ironic self-awareness in play, it's not really trying to undercut the surface read.

― the new sincerity (Pye Poudre), Wednesday, 24 January 2007 15:30 (eighteen years ago)

coming from a rock band that was led by a bass player but had no rhythm section to speak of

???? DJ Bonebrake was a GREAT drummer wtf

― M@tt He1g3s0n: oh u mad cuz im stylin on u (Matt Helgeson), Wednesday, 24 January 2007 15:45 (eighteen years ago)

everything is right on re: "Callis is a fucking hero".

Sorry about the weirdly vague message, BTW. I just wanted to point out the futility of New Pop Hate when it comes to a band that apparently was influenced by another band with a member that ended up contributing majorly to the New Pop scene of the early '80s. But oh, I'm 25 years too late for this argument, aren't I?

― Phoenix Dancing (krushsister), Thursday, 25 January 2007 04:32 (eighteen years ago)

Go look up the origins of the phrase "Will the last American . . . please bring the flag" and you'll know irony and self-parody were absolutely intended.

― Colin Meeder (Mert), Thursday, 25 January 2007 11:43 (eighteen years ago)

Since Colin's rather cryptic post doesn't offer much direct illumination, lemme mention that "Will the last American leaving South Florida please bring the flag?" seems to have been a sem-popular bumper-sticker slogan in the early 80s. It apparently lives on as a meme in political circles. I don't remember it, but my awareness of immigration politics during that era was blunted by my awareness of boobs and Saturday morning cartoons.

All of which makes is painfully clear that I was wrong in the first place. John + Exene were almost certainly invoking this jingoistic catchphrase to poke fun at their own musical xenophobia, while indulging it at the same time. Doublethink. So, Hideous Lump was right, too, with the "the sputterings of a wracked brain" thing.

For once, I'm glad to stand corrected. I love X, and it's nice to wipe this small blot from that esteem. Plus, it's not even 7:00 am, and I've already learned a good deal about the political situation late 20th century Florida. So, thanks, Colin.

― the new sincerity (Pye Poudre), Thursday, 25 January 2007 14:22 (eighteen years ago)

duuuuude!

― Nathalie (stevie nixed), Thursday, 25 January 2007 14:38 (eighteen years ago)

x otm re: big boys, flesh eaters, black flag, minutemen and DOA being awesome, though!

― LO-NRG (teenagequiet), Thursday, 25 January 2007 14:43 (eighteen years ago)

I'm with factcheckingcuz here (and nothing against Bonebrake).

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Thursday, 25 January 2007 15:06 (eighteen years ago)

They got quite the media push around '82, Ray Manzerek declaring to the classic rock world that X were Doors reincarnated, the "Wild Thing" single getting pushed on AOR, etc. I think, to a great extent, X was bitter about not breaking through the mainstream. Ramones, too. There was a weird 20 months or so in American radio, roughly been "My Sharona" and "Rock the Casbah" when AOR flirted with punk, before shutting it out completely. I don't think there was much irony intended. The charm of early X is that they had this strange notion that in a nation hungry for more Johnny Cougar songs, there was going to be a mainstream audience for distorted rockabilly with off key harmonizing and boho-in-the-garret lyrics.

― bendy (bendy), Thursday, 25 January 2007 16:37 (eighteen years ago)

i'm pretty glad i've never heard an X album after Wild Gift. if you stop there, they are amazing.

Also, The Flesheaters and X are like THE SAME band except minus Exene and plus Chris D.

― M@tt He1g3s0n: oh u mad cuz im stylin on u (Matt Helgeson), Thursday, 25 January 2007 17:05 (eighteen years ago)

album 3 was great and album 4 was pretty damn good. after that would be a pretty good time to stop. except for the knitters album, which was also great, and which is like THE SAME band except minus billy zoom and plus part-time flesheater dave alvin and johnny ray bartel.

― fact checking cuz (fcc), Thursday, 25 January 2007 17:10 (eighteen years ago)

what was the other band dave alvin was famous for? i remember them being pretty decent roots rock

― M@tt He1g3s0n: oh u mad cuz im stylin on u (Matt Helgeson), Thursday, 25 January 2007 17:32 (eighteen years ago)

the blasters, and they were GREAT rockabilly/roots rock. now THAT was a band with a rhythm section.

― fact checking cuz (fcc), Thursday, 25 January 2007 17:35 (eighteen years ago)

yeah i heard them years ago, i should check them out again...don't remember it much to be honest, other than i liked it.

― M@tt He1g3s0n: oh u mad cuz im stylin on u (Matt Helgeson), Thursday, 25 January 2007 17:45 (eighteen years ago)

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