www.xtheband.com
the official website
The Unheard Music
SYNOPSIS
The
Los Angeles rock 'n' roll band X-- singer Exene Cervenka, bassist John Doe, guitarist
Billy Zoom, and drummer D.J. Bonebrake-- emerged from the punk ferment of 1977
with a fast, careening, intensely focused sound that perfectly caught the dark
undercurrents of the L.A. psyche.
The groups' depth and originality won
them praise of local and national critics, yet, years on, the indifference of
radio programmers and record buyers kept them
(to quote their song "The Unheard
Music") "locked out of the public eye."
Bill Morgan's film, which follows
the fortunes of X over a period of several years, views the band from geographical,
musical, political, commercial, and personal perspectives.
Using a variety
of footage ranging from home movies of Billy Zoom as a child to ancient newsreel
footage of Hollywood and TV commercials for the Ford Edsel, Morgan pursues a Burroughsian
cut-up technique which amplifies the band interviews, concert performances, and
recording studio footage so common to the genre.
Intimate glimpses of
the band are augmented by commentary by other voices, ranging from the pioneering
punk club owner Brendan Mullen to Los Angeles Times critic Robert Hilburn and
MCA Records executive Al Bergamo.
Ultimately, "The Unheard Music" isn't
just being about being a rock band--it's about being an American artist in an
industry that cares more about hit singles and chart positions that it does about
ideas and ideals.
It's a clever, wickedly funny, and potent study.
---Chris Morris From the program of the 1984 Los Angeles International
Film Expostion
"The
Unheard Music" is available on DVD
