NOISE

You guys are co-headlining with Henry Rollins. Did X ever share a bill with Black Flag in the early days of the LA punk scene?

No, their audience and our audience would not have co-existed. The girls on the hard-core scene were so violent and so against anything that wasn’t what they wanted in their fascist little minds to be punk-rock that I hardly got to see Black Flag myself. I'd go see them in San Francisco or some place like that, but I never could go to those hard-core shows [in LA] 'cause those girls were just too violent towards me. But Henry is definitely an old friend, and we did share some reading bills. I hold him in very high regard.

There's a pretty even divide between fans who think Los Angeles is X's seminal album, and those who consider Wild Gift its masterstroke. Where do you come down?

I think my favorite is probably Under the Big Black Sun, but I think of those first three records as one piece, one body of work, because we were playing all those songs live at the same time and the recording process with [producer] Ray [Manzarek] was really similar each time. He'd been in the studio a bunch and we didn't have a lot of experience making records, so he really pushed us along. We had real bad engineering in LA, so the production wasn't as good as, like, the Sex Pistols record or the records out of New York. And it was hard to find people that weren't only doing Van Halen and bands like that, so Ray had to negotiate with engineers and navigate us through to get what we wanted. But looking back at those records now they're really, really good.

From Johnny Cash to Sonic Youth, plenty of married couples have played in bands together, but not many divorcees have. What has it been like being in X with ex-husband John Doe since your 1985 split?

Of course, it was strange, it still is, but we're like soulmates. Our children were born on the same day, my son on the same day as his daughter, in the same hospital. John and I share a real connection that's stronger than marriage and stronger than the band, I think. We've kind of revolved around each other since the day we met, so I can't imagine life without him. We just work together, play off each other, really well. It just seems like a really natural relationship to have. It's not a romantic relationship, but we definitely love each other.

Agent Orange was a chemical weapon used during the Vietnam War. Agent Orange is a band from California that combines surf-rock with punk. Which has caused more harm over the years?

1. Agent Orange in Vietnam sickened some U.S. veterans and caused horrific birth defects in generations of Vietnamese, largely ignored by the media and the U.S. government.

Agent Orange in California’s surf-punk style has been ignored by many generations of American punks in favor of bands like Thrice.

Caused more harm: Agent Orange, Vietnam.

2. Agent Orange in California led some deviant youths into a cataclysmic series of drug abuse and alcoholism.

Agent Orange in Vietnam caused trouble in the Washington political scene, leading some politicians to drink heavily.

Caused more harm: Agent Orange, California—hey, don’t most politicians drink anyway?

Caused more harm overall: Your call!

If you think Carlos Santana went soft when he hooked up with Rob Thomas on Supernatural, try 1974's Borboletta. Considering we've gone more than three decades without a must-have Santana album, here's a refresher on the early essentials:

1. "Treat" (Live at the Fillmore 1968)

Greg Rolie's piano intro reminds us the band actually had other members.

2. "Fried Neckbones and Some Home Fries" (The San Mateo Sessions 1969)

3. "Soul Sacrifice" (Woodstock, 1969)

Track down the video footage, too, if only to witness Bill Graham's real-time reaction.

4. "Jingo" (Santana, 1969)

5. "Incident at Nashabur" (Abraxas, 1970)

6. "Samba Pa Ti" (Abraxas, 1970)

Many a tableside flamenco guitarist has wilted from the emotional intensity of the original.

7. "Jungle Strut" (Santana III, 1971)

8. "In a Silent Way" (Fillmore: The Last Days, 1972)

9. "All the Love of the Universe" (Caravanserai, 1972)

10. "Every Step of the Way" (Lotus, 1973)

Carlos channels Bitches Brew for this howling Japanese concert.

Merrill Nesker's sexed-up lyrics might have had shock value once, but three albums down the road the Canadian vamp's rhymes about soregasms and slippery dicks sound as fifth-grade as the elementary electro beats they're set upon. Truly worthless.

TRANSITION


GET THERE (2.5 stars)

Generic but occasionally catchy pop-punk produced by Mike Herrera of MxPx. "Carolina" could be a radio single, but only if programmers run out of music by the band's mentors.