BCB 100 - X

geoffcowgill · Postby **geoffcowgill** » 05 Jul 2006, 17:06

A little something special, weren't they? Favorite album is most definitely Wild Gift, maybe my favorite 'punk' album outside of the Clash. Favorite song is a bit more difficult. "The World's A Mess...", "4th of July", "We're Desperate", "Blue Spark"...there's plenty of great stuff. Even though it's not all that typical sounding for them, I think "Adult Books" might be the one. "He just goes for that special girl who says 'Nooooooo'"

Favorite Album - Wild Gift

Favorite Song - "Adult Books"

Bungo the Mungo · Postby **Bungo the Mungo** » 05 Jul 2006, 17:32

How the fuck did they get in the 100?!

Jeff K · Postby **Jeff K** » 05 Jul 2006, 17:53

Pop Pup wrote:How the fuck did they get in the 100?!

Maybe because they're good?

Album: Wild Gift

Song: White Girl

Bungo the Mungo · Postby **Bungo the Mungo** » 05 Jul 2006, 18:12

Jeff K wrote:
Pop Pup wrote:How the fuck did they get in the 100?!

Maybe because they're good?

One of the 100 best acts ever? No way!

Charlie O. · Postby **Charlie O.** » 05 Jul 2006, 18:16

Way!

Album: Under The Big Black Sun (just barely beating Wild Gift)

Song: "How I (Learned My Lesson" (just barely beating most of the other songs on the album)

toomanyhatz · Postby **toomanyhatz** » 05 Jul 2006, 18:25

Actually, I agree they're not one of the 100 best acts ever. But sentimentally I'm glad they're here. I'm from LA. They were the first "punk rock" act I liked (at the time- I was a teenager & didn't like punk rock- it was due to the Doors connection).

Album - Los Angeles (still the best- and Manzarek's great on it, too!)

Song - White Girl

Davey the Fat Boy · Postby **Davey the Fat Boy** » 05 Jul 2006, 19:07

Pop Pup wrote:
Jeff K wrote:
Pop Pup wrote:How the fuck did they get in the 100?!

Maybe because they're good?

One of the 100 best acts ever? No way!

Well it apears to me that the BCB 100 has nothing to do with the "100 best acts ever" - otherwise ats like Ray Charles, Roy Orbison, Dusty Springfield, Harry Nilsson, Howlin' Wolf, Merle Haggard and Randy Newman would be in and Pulp, Pavement, Radiohead, the Stone Roses and others would be out. As I understand it, the BC 100 is a list reflecting the (arguably questionable) taste of this community as a whole.

In my mind X is better than at least 10 acts on the list.

Album: Los Angeles

Song: 4th of July

Penk! · Postby **Penk!** » 05 Jul 2006, 19:51

Davey The Fat Boy wrote:
Pop Pup wrote:
Jeff K wrote:
Pop Pup wrote:How the fuck did they get in the 100?!

Maybe because they're good?

One of the 100 best acts ever? No way!

Well it apears to me that the BCB 100 has nothing to do with the "100 best acts ever" - otherwise ats like Ray Charles, Roy Orbison, Dusty Springfield, Harry Nilsson, Howlin' Wolf, Merle Haggard and Randy Newman would be in and Pulp, Pavement, Radiohead, the Stone Roses and others would be out. As I understand it, the BC 100 is a list reflecting the (arguably questionable) taste of this community as a whole.

In my mind X is better than at least 10 acts on the list.

Album: Los Angeles

Song: 4th of July

I'd contest that Pulp and Radiohead both fully deserve places on a list of the 100 best artists of all time, and Pavement and the Stone Roses wouldn't be too far off either.
But I'm not sure that X even deserve a place on a list of the 100 most popular bands on BCB. I'm not commenting on their quality, I've never heard them and might like them, but there are plenty of groups more widely-liked on the board that weren't on the list.

Penk! · Postby **Penk!** » 05 Jul 2006, 20:08

The Giraffe wrote:
Penk wrote:But I'm not sure that X even deserve a place on a list of the 100 most popular bands on BCB. I'm not commenting on their quality, I've never heard them and might like them, but there are plenty of groups more widely-liked on the board that weren't on the list.

it's one for the americans, this thread, isn't it?

i suppose if we can have some of those acts that davey questioned then they can have X but they mean zip to people in the UK, outside hardcore fans like jumper k.

i mean, they might actually be fantastic - i really don't know.

But do Pulp or Radiohead have the same status in the US as X do over here? And do X have the same status in the US as Pulp and Radiohead do over here? Or anywhere, in fact?

Jeff K · Postby **Jeff K** » 05 Jul 2006, 20:11

Penk wrote:But do Pulp or Radiohead have the same status in the US as X do over here? And do X have the same status in the US as Pulp and Radiohead do over here? Or anywhere, in fact?

I'll have to refresh your young mind, Penk. Radiohead broke here in the US before the UK. Pulp was semi-popular but not massive.

Penk! · Postby **Penk!** » 05 Jul 2006, 20:15

Jeff K wrote:
Penk wrote:But do Pulp or Radiohead have the same status in the US as X do over here? And do X have the same status in the US as Pulp and Radiohead do over here? Or anywhere, in fact?

I'll have to refresh your young mind, Penk. Radiohead broke here in the US before the UK. Pulp was semi-popular but not massive.

How many records did X sell over there then? I think they sold four over here and one of those was because Jumper K lost his original copy.
How about critically? Are they generally rated all that highly?

Jeff K · Postby **Jeff K** » 05 Jul 2006, 20:17

Penk wrote:
Jeff K wrote:
Penk wrote:But do Pulp or Radiohead have the same status in the US as X do over here? And do X have the same status in the US as Pulp and Radiohead do over here? Or anywhere, in fact?

I'll have to refresh your young mind, Penk. Radiohead broke here in the US before the UK. Pulp was semi-popular but not massive.

How many records did X sell over there then? I think they sold four over here and one of those was because Jumper K lost his original copy.
How about critically? Are they generally rated all that highly?

X has some success at least compared to the other LA bands like the Blasters and the Gun Club but they never had hits. I would imagine they were selling around 200,000 LP's during their peak.

Bungo the Mungo · Postby **Bungo the Mungo** » 05 Jul 2006, 20:23

Look - it really doesn't matter at all and I'm interested to read about the band but having them in this representative list of 100 artists is like people discussing Martin Millar alongside Shakespeare, Milton, Dickens, Jane Austen, Hemingway and Capote. Or including Dick Van Dyke in a list that contains Spencer Tracy, Cary Grant, Jean Harlow, Gary Cooper, Al Pacino, Clint Eastwood, and Johnny Depp.

Jeff K · Postby **Jeff K** » 05 Jul 2006, 20:25

Pop Pup wrote:Look - it really doesn't matter at all and I'm interested to read about the band but having them in this representative list of 100 artists is like people discussing Martin Millar alongside Shakespeare, Milton, Dickens, Jane Austen, Hemingway and Capote. Or including Dick Van Dyke in a list that contains Spencer Tracy, Cary Grant, Jean Harlow, Gary Cooper, Al Pacino, Clint Eastwood, and Johnny Depp.

Calm down, John. It's only a message board :lol:

Davey the Fat Boy · Postby **Davey the Fat Boy** » 05 Jul 2006, 20:28

Jeff K wrote:
Penk wrote:
Jeff K wrote:
Penk wrote:But do Pulp or Radiohead have the same status in the US as X do over here? And do X have the same status in the US as Pulp and Radiohead do over here? Or anywhere, in fact?

I'll have to refresh your young mind, Penk. Radiohead broke here in the US before the UK. Pulp was semi-popular but not massive.

How many records did X sell over there then? I think they sold four over here and one of those was because Jumper K lost his original copy.
How about critically? Are they generally rated all that highly?

X has some success at least compared to the other LA bands like the Blasters and the Gun Club but they never had hits. I would imagine they were selling around 200,000 LP's during their peak.

But (to reference the old Velvet Underground cliche) - every one of those 200,000 bought a t-shirt.

Look - I can't be all that objective about X. I was in LA when they hit and came to know members of the band personally over the years. In my mind they are an important band. But I did not nominate them for the BCB 100. In truth I have no interest in at least 1/4 of the list. I'm a pretty old school guy, and it seems to me that when we get to the '80's, '90's and 00's we are often grading on a curve. I'll take the Lovin Spoonful over half of the BCB 100.

Davey the Fat Boy · Postby **Davey the Fat Boy** » 05 Jul 2006, 20:32

Pop Pup wrote:Or including Dick Van Dyke in a list that contains Spencer Tracy, Cary Grant, Jean Harlow, Gary Cooper, Al Pacino, Clint Eastwood, and Johnny Depp.

I'd argue that Dick Van Dyke belongs on that list every bit as much as Jean Harlow. He belongs on any short list of the movie's great musical comedy performers. 8-)

Jeff K · Postby **Jeff K** » 05 Jul 2006, 20:43

That settles it then. X are the Dick Van Dyke of rock n' roll.

Charlie O. · Postby **Charlie O.** » 05 Jul 2006, 22:03

Penk wrote:How about critically? Are they generally rated all that highly?

Hell, yes. Up 'til their fifth album (which did admittedly suck eggs, despite a few really good songs), they could do no wrong with the critics.

And everybody with more than a passing interest in non-mainstream rock music in the US in the early-mid '80s owned at least two of those first four albums, and got a friend to tape for them whatever they didn't have.

They were (and are) great live, too.

Charlie O. · Postby **Charlie O.** » 05 Jul 2006, 22:05

Jeff K wrote:... but they never had hits.

... he said, conveniently forgetting "Wild Thing"...

Jumper k · Postby **Jumper k** » 05 Jul 2006, 22:12

A truly great band who's inclusion on the list is more than merited if only for the fact it pisses off humourless Fall fans.
I'll take Los Angeles the lp and Johnny Hit And Run Pauline for the marvellous guitar work of the Zoomster.
Penks wrong actually, I bought all 4 copies sold over here.