GREAT NAME -- GREAT BAND?
Depends on who you ask. I only heard a handful of songs and from what I heard I like them. There is something about the song Bondage that makes this band stand out. There is a sense of honesty in these lyrics and an urge of desperation.
In the film, "Sid and Nancy" this song is blaring in the background in a club. I really have no idea if Spex ever played in the same line up as the Sex Pistols. They probably did but there is no hint of honesty in its origin. Rotten himself said a lot of things you see in that film never happened. I do admire when the Pistols set the story straight in the film, The Filth and the Fury.
But what about X Ray Spex? What was THEIR story? They were definately there when all hell broke loose thats for damn sure. Kid singer Poly Styrene got the ball rolling by placing an ad in NME magazine that read.... 'YOUNG PUNX WHO WANT TO STICK IT TOGETHER'. The band members joined as a result and after just 6 sessions they were playing at the Roxy. Whats even more amazing is that they made a cut on the famous, "LIVE AT THE ROXY"... that album had the address printed right on the album cover. The inside sleeve shows a very sleepy eyed pre-heroin Sid Vicious sitting at a table near the bar.
"ROXY" is great for another reason. If you crank up the volume really loud like I do you can hear conversations inside the crowded room. You can actually hear someone say, "ISN'T THAT SID VICIOUS OVER THERE?".
Styrene became a Hindu after many nights of hedonistic living. Many of those kids from the original London scene died from drugs. The ones that didn't went bloody bonkers teetering on the edge of sanity. Something significant did happen near the end of the punk scene that was well documented in books and in the film, "24 Hour Party People".... a flying saucer appeared over south London. For some reason that event made some of these people re-evaluate their lives and ditch the punk scene forever..... you can read about its effect in the book by Jon Savage, LONDONS DREAMING.
The Poly shown in the film Sid and Nancy is in her late 20's and is a blonde. The real Poly is just a kid with really distinctive teeth. She was a dynamo. There is something sinister about the band too because as you can see -- these kids really mean what they say. They snarl, they have concrete and simple sentence structure. But the most interesting thing about this band is that they are articulate..... but just enough. Overall they are quite reckless in appearance. Compared to the cleaned up New Wave bands this band comes off a bit rough.
Some would say there is a reason to fear them. They were for real, This was no put on.
Record company dollars didn't matter to them. This was the real deal and for that reason they should be feared. They didn't care about acceptance or rejection. And that is how all good art is created. They spit in the face of society and challenge what should be expected.
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Ted Cantu is the creator of http://www.beautyloungestore.com he has contributed to several blogs and podcasts such as…..http://911copywriters.podomatic.com. He served as a top rated art director for Interactive Web Marketing groups in Chicago and New York City.
Depends on who you ask. I only heard a handful of songs and from what I heard I like them. There is something about the song Bondage that makes this band stand out. There is a sense of honesty in these lyrics and an urge of desperation.
In the film, "Sid and Nancy" this song is blaring in the background in a club. I really have no idea if Spex ever played in the same line up as the Sex Pistols. They probably did but there is no hint of honesty in its origin. Rotten himself said a lot of things you see in that film never happened. I do admire when the Pistols set the story straight in the film, The Filth and the Fury.
But what about X Ray Spex? What was THEIR story? They were definately there when all hell broke loose thats for damn sure. Kid singer Poly Styrene got the ball rolling by placing an ad in NME magazine that read.... 'YOUNG PUNX WHO WANT TO STICK IT TOGETHER'. The band members joined as a result and after just 6 sessions they were playing at the Roxy. Whats even more amazing is that they made a cut on the famous, "LIVE AT THE ROXY"... that album had the address printed right on the album cover. The inside sleeve shows a very sleepy eyed pre-heroin Sid Vicious sitting at a table near the bar.
"ROXY" is great for another reason. If you crank up the volume really loud like I do you can hear conversations inside the crowded room. You can actually hear someone say, "ISN'T THAT SID VICIOUS OVER THERE?".
Styrene became a Hindu after many nights of hedonistic living. Many of those kids from the original London scene died from drugs. The ones that didn't went bloody bonkers teetering on the edge of sanity. Something significant did happen near the end of the punk scene that was well documented in books and in the film, "24 Hour Party People".... a flying saucer appeared over south London. For some reason that event made some of these people re-evaluate their lives and ditch the punk scene forever..... you can read about its effect in the book by Jon Savage, LONDONS DREAMING.
The Poly shown in the film Sid and Nancy is in her late 20's and is a blonde. The real Poly is just a kid with really distinctive teeth. She was a dynamo. There is something sinister about the band too because as you can see -- these kids really mean what they say. They snarl, they have concrete and simple sentence structure. But the most interesting thing about this band is that they are articulate..... but just enough. Overall they are quite reckless in appearance. Compared to the cleaned up New Wave bands this band comes off a bit rough.
Some would say there is a reason to fear them. They were for real, This was no put on.
Record company dollars didn't matter to them. This was the real deal and for that reason they should be feared. They didn't care about acceptance or rejection. And that is how all good art is created. They spit in the face of society and challenge what should be expected.
------------------------------------
Ted Cantu is the creator of http://www.beautyloungestore.com he has contributed to several blogs and podcasts such as…..http://911copywriters.podomatic.com. He served as a top rated art director for Interactive Web Marketing groups in Chicago and New York City.
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