X: The Unheard Music

I own this video and have seen it a few times...I love X...they're one of the best live bands I've ever seen. That said, this is a video about a band that should have become extremely famous and wealthy, but didn't. They came at a bad time when punk was big, but not big in a way that anyone really made any money from it (before Green Day). But there aren't many documentaries about "unheard" bands, and not many about people as talented as the members of X.

I love X, I love seeing them live, but this movie added very little to the music. The band seems kind of halfhearted about doing the film, their stories are not that interesting. When they go out on tour trying to get their music heard, there's not a single foot of film from the tour; instead, there's a cutesy montage of postcards.

As for the live footage, a good portion of it is from a shoot made expressly for the film, and to judge by the credits, at least half the songs are either videos or lip- synched.

On the whole, the live X in Decline of Western Civilization is far more compelling than the whole of The Unheard Music.

A rock film, interspersing interviews and performances of X. Exene Cervenka, John Doe, Billy Zoom, DJ Bonebrake, 4 incredibly talented, extremely charismatic people who formed a rock band in LA that should have been the biggest band in the world. They're definitely the greatest. This film, one of the greatest rock movies ever made, is extremely well shot, but after its over you long for MORE.It doesn't capture the excitement of seeing X live, but if you're a fan, you'll love it. SEE also: Urgh!a Music War(l981).

I wasn't quite sure what this documentary was about before I watched it. Which is Surprising because the title says what its about. I had never heard of X. I did not know what I was missing. I am glad I learned what I was missing by not having heard of X. The music in this documentary is wonderful. Its so good I have watched X The unheard music multiple times. And sometimes I even watched certain scenes over and over again because I enjoyed the music in that scene so much. I think X The unheard music is right up there with searching for Sugar man. Those two documentary's might be the only two music documentary's I have seen. At the very least they are at the top of my list of music documentaries. Anyway I thought I learned about a fascinating band in X the Unheard music. I am glad I watched it.

It has been said that X was to Los Angeles what the Ramones were to New York. But X was far more brilliant. Their musicianship was superior and their songs were clever and intelligent in a fun way. When you mix super-coolness with excellence you really have something special. Otherwise stated, what happens when you mix punk rock with true musical and artistic genius? One of the biggest travesties of fate in music, was the fact that they did not become commonly known nationwide and did not have the opportunity to sell out the larger arenas. There is still time for many more to be introduced to them by obtaining their albums and having the opportunity to see them perform live. Their first two studio albums, Los Angeles and Wild Gift, were ranked by Rolling Stone magazine as being among the 500 greatest albums of all time, and 1981's Wild Gift was named "Record of the Year" by Rolling Stone, The Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, and Village Voice.