X-Teens - Say It Isn't So & Western Eyes - 1984from the Dolphin Records lp "Love and Politics"
Okay I am making a plea right here and now. Someone reissue the X-Teens catalog now!!!! Falling somewhere between XTC and the B52's, mixing power pop with ska and just plain quirkiness the X-Teens were in my estimation as good as it gets.
from CMJ.com
Part of the early-'80s explosion of Southern power pop, the X-Teens emulated the quirky wit and geeky tension of new wavers like Elvis Costello, XTC, and Talking Heads. The group was formed in Durham, North Carolina, and featured guitarist/vocalist Robert Bittle, keyboardist/vocalist Todd Jones, bassist/vocalist Kitty Moses, and drummer Ned Robie. Their debut release was the Don Dixon-produced EP Big Boy's Dream, issued on the local Moonlight label in 1980. Local legends Dixon and Mitch Easter both worked on the band's self-titled first album, which was released on Dolphin in 1983, several years after it was originally completed. The follow-up, 1984's Love and Politic, was the band's biggest seller, even scoring a little MTV airplay with the single "Change Gotta Come." However, that taste of success led to internal tensions, and the X-Teens split up in 1985. Jones and Robie formed 4 Who Dared, while Bittle and Moses embarked on their own project; neither achieved the respectable underground profile of their former vehicle.
note: anyone have any of the 4 Who Dared stuff or what Kitty and Robert after the X-Teens?
Band Members:
Kitty Moses - Bass
Robert Bittle - Guitars
Ned Robie - Drums
Todd Jones - Keyboards
5 comments:
I've some vinyl of the 4WD stuff. The whole record deal was a tough lesson, as it received no exposure.
I have some tunes (including "Urine Trouble" from the 4WD sessions) on my website at www.toddejones.com/jukebox.html
-Todd
I have several X-teen records on vinyl and saw them several times. They were great!
Todd,
We want more 4 Who Dared. Urine Trouble is a great song.
Michale,
I'd chip in my LP of 4 Who Dared's "Kids with Dynamite"... Any chance there's any recording out there of Kitty Moses' offshoot, Land of Giants?
Here's my new CD: www.cdbaby.com/cd/toddjones22
Sample: www.toddejones.com/songs/GossamerHeart.mp3
And I'm producing fellow X-teen Robert Bittle's new CD, Sugareen, due out late summer, early fall 2013.
Yes, our kids are all growing up and moving out, so we are becoming ancient, graying rock gods again.
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