334 - X - Wild Gift

One of the best things about listening to all of the albums on the Rolling Stone Top 500 Albums is that groups that I've known by reputation or a few songs get an opportunity to completely alter how I feel about them. I was mostly familiar with X via their 1993 release, Hey Zeus!, with an occasional snip of earlier songs in punk documentaries, mix tapes, or radio. I found the rockabilly aspect to be okay, but preferred the punk/rockabilly blend done by The Cramps. The vocal harmonies between John and Exene seemed to be mostly grating to me.

Wild Gift sounds less like rockabilly with a punk twist and more of a melding of attitudes between those two genres. The music fits more into the punk category but differs greatly from the hardcore scene growing around the band in L.A. at the time and many other bands stamped with the punk label. Other than the rockabilly aspect, the other thing that stands out about the band are the vocals with John and Exene and how they "harmonize." This isn't the kind of vocal chemistry that Brian Wilson brought to The Beach Boys. The two voices resonate around each other and never quite unite in tone. It can probably rub some listeners the wrong way (and it did on other songs/albums I had heard), but I really enjoyed how it worked on Wild Gift.

Songs I knew I liked: None

Songs I didn't know but now like: "It's Who You Know," "White Girl," "Year 1," and I really, really love "Adult Books." It reminds me of some of the tracks by Birmingham's Teen Getaway. I love it so much that I went to eMusic and bought it for my collection.

Songs I can go the rest of my life without hearing again: Although I anticipated having songs in this category before I started, there aren't any songs I would automatically skip over when I listen to the album again.

Finding Unity Within Diversity

Whether we're talking national politics or inter-personal relationships, I do worry quite a bit about how fractured we can be on various scales of "society" when it comes to voicing and supporting our choices/opinions and the effort we place on understanding others' choices/opinions. That is a big enough concern, let alone going the next step of actually taking the time and effort to compromise and come to some sort of agreement on things. It is so easy (and lazy) to isolate ourselves in our own world where we surround ourselves only by like-minded people. Is it within our collective ability to think outside of our own opinions and put forth the brainpower and communication necessary to find common points and overcome the differences so we can get along together?

I just keep noticing so many instances lately where those that disagree or dislike something instantly choose the isolating or aggressive (reporting to police, personal attacking, PR/political ploys) option in a situation rather than working with the person of a differing stance to come to a mutual agreement or understanding. I'm tired of seeing people paint those that disagree with them as evil or stupid. I can tolerate people of opposing positions a lot better than I can people that are intolerable.