6/14/2006
Obscure MP3 - Xex: Rome on $5 a Day
I'm always hunting hither and yon for obscure New Wave music from the original 80's era, and just when I think I've turned up every rock, something else wriggles out of the mildewy corner. A famous Google search turned up scant information, but from what I gathered the story runs like this: Xex were a band from South River, New Jersey, just south of Sayreville (the home of Jon Bon Jovi.) They formed in 1980, made up of a young woman and three or four fairly dainty young men, playing nutso synth-pop entirely on "electronic instruments -- synthesizers, arps, computers" without any record industry veneer whatsoever. Little evidence of their existence remains but a blurry live photo and an enthusiastic review in a college newspaper. They had one album titled group: xex that was rediscovered a few years back by a DJ at NY's famed KCMU while cleaning out the record shelves. This led to a very limited CD reissue on some obscure, tiny label and swiftly sank out of print again. I happened to accidentaly chance upon this track on a p2p network, now I'm obsessed with finding my very own copy. It's a real synth chestnut, totally oddball and messed up and sounding like a Jersey version of the B-52's meets The Normal. Worth noting is what sounds like some type of crazy prototype record scratching (but may be just a dying drum machine) which continually pop loudly into the mix, and the vaguely Communist lyrics. As usual, if anyone has any more info about this lost classic, let me know.
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