This song was released in 1985 from their album Ain’t Love Grand. They had made a change in the producer spot. They replaced former Doors keyboard player Ray Manzarek with Michael Wagner. Manzarek had produced all of their albums up to this point. The band wanted a more accessible sound.
X was formed in Los Angeles in 1977 and comprised of founding members singer John Doe, guitarist Billy Zoom, drummer D.J. Bonebrake, and singer Exene Cervenka. With their first album in 1981, their album Los Angeles was critically praised and considered a great one of that period.
The band was founded by Doe (real name John Nommensen Duchac) and Zoom. Soon Doe would bring his girlfriend Exene Cervenka to band practice, she was a poet and the band liked her work so she joined permanently. When trying to think of a name…Doe looked around the band members and focused on Exene Cervenka. Her unusual first name was shortened to X…Exene to X…
After Manzarek saw them live…he really connected to the lyrics. He was instantly struck by the lyrics to X’s song Johny Hit And Run Paulene: ‘He got a sterilized hypo, to shoot a sex machine drug/He got 24 hours, to shoot Paulene between the legs.’ Manzarek thought to himself…those are not lyrics…those are poetry.
The song peaked at #27 on the Billboard Mainstream Charts and the album Ain’t Love Grand peaked at #89 on the Billboard Album Charts in 1985.
Tensions were rising in the band and Zoom left and would be replaced for a bit by Dave Alvin of The Blasters. X announced they were breaking up in 1998 but would do a last tour. They did a farewell tour with Zoom back on guitar.
They reunited and from 2004 onward, X has continued to perform frequently around North America.
Billy Zoom: “I think it’s the best songs we’ve ever done, and the best-produced record, and the best-engineered, and the best-sounding record we’ve made. It’s the first one I’m really happy with. The others were always kind of hit-and-miss.” Doe said, “Sonically, it’s designed to fit into radio airplay. We’re waving a typical… somewhat typical sounding carrot under radio listeners’ noses. Then they’ve got the opportunity to see that there’s more going on.
Burning House Of Love
Drive by my house late at night
You can see from the freeway above
No silhouette, but a light left on
Burning there for love
Burning there for love
Smoke is rising from the fire
Coming out my back door
I’m inside, sound asleep
Cigarette on the floor
Burning there for love
Burning there for love
Well, I can still remember
A couple of years ago
When the smoke and flame called my name
It was a burning house of love
Yeah, a burning house of love
A burning house of love
Burning house of love
Burning house of love
Oh, I can still remember
A couple of years ago
When the smoke and flame called my name
Was a burning house of love
Yeah, a burning house of love
A burning house of love
The rusty nail over our front door
Is where I hung our tears in the rain
I threw that horseshoe into the weeds
I’ll see what luck can bring
I’ll see what luck can bring
Now, you’re in your bed and I’m in mine
On either side of town
I think I might take a ride
And burn your love house down
Like a burning house of love
Burning house of love
I can still remember
A couple of years ago
When the smoke and flame called my name
Was a burning house of love
Yeah, a burning house of love
A burning house of love
Burning house of love
Burning house of love
Burning house of love
Burning house of love
…
PowerPop... An Eclectic Collection of Pop Culture 
Micheal Wagner has produced a ton of hard rock/metal bands over the years so this is an interesting move on X’s part.
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I knew I heard his name before Deke….I think with Stryper or someone like that…how I remembered that I don’t know.
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Praise The Lord!
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LOL…Yea man…they were never my thing….must have been a magazine article in Circus or RS….or Creem.
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I met John Doe last year and he’s a cool dude. I’d stick to “Los Angeles” though if I was a noob to this band.
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I wrote a very long post about X titled X is for X.
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I wish I would have ran across that last night…I saw a Doe interview and that is what he said…but it probably depends on who is telling it.
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I fell in love with this band the first time I heard The Hungry Wolf… Been a big fan for the last 40 years! One of a kind!
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Next time I’m going to the debut album… I don’t know a lot about them but I’ve loved what I’ve heard. Glad you liked it.
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Sounds more radio-friendly than I would have guessed from what my perception of them is. But that is limited because it seems like the Toronto alt rock scene was far, far fonder of the British punk scene bands than American one. I don’t remember ever hearing them on air up there though I did see their records in stores.
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Much of their stuff does…more than I thought because they are known as a punk band…really good stuff and this song sounded familiar to me…I do think I heard it back then.
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just looked it up and it was #71 on year at KROQ in LA, obviously at least got noticed here.
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For sure Dave I think you’re right on, I don’t recall them getting airplay in Canada.
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That’s a cool song. This is a band I need to check out more, I’ve always known about them but never really sat and explored their stuff much.
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You and me both…I just started really diving into them….they have some good music….I like their debut album a lot.
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I don’t know if I’ve heard Ain’t Love Grand. I kind of prefer the frenetic early stuff, but good song.
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I’m getting into them more now. I really like what I’ve heard from the debut album and John Doe’s solo music.
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Funny coincidence you covered X. I have a scheduled post for Wednesday about a Dave Alvin song that’s on the one X album he recorded with them!
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I love the July 4 song they did
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Me too!😎
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BTW, amid my excitement about Dave Alvin, I cheerfully forgot to mention that X song is pretty good. I only knew about them because of that Alvin song, and I’m otherwise all new to their music!
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Yea….I’m going to check out their debut album more….everyone says that is the best one…whether it is I don’t know….but I like what I’ve heard.
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Great line in there about ‘throw that horseshoe out in the weeds/ see what love can bring-‘ that works so well in the song.
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It does…they are a band that I’ve really liked what I’ve heard.
Sorry for the delay…I was changing the alternator on my car….these wonderful parts…I just bought the alternator in April 2022
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No worries- i just changed a back tail light that was on the blink (Hey, I wouldn’t mind if it was an indicator bulb😉 ) since mid last year.
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I want gauges again…no lights.
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I really like this cut.
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I do also….I’ve been listening to them this weekend.
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I connected the dots from the Blasters to Los Lobos to X and a bunch more of those Cali bands.
I’m still riding the Cooder train which includes most of these people you’ve posted the last couple days. My kind of music Max. (I threw in some Grin and Nils)
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I remembered you talking about John Doe and I had it bookmarked from a while back…I love this.
When I heard that guitar…I had no clue who was playing it…it figured it was Cooder.
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You saw that “live” cut I posted on Doe. He’s good. Lots of music in that guy. He has the country bone.
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Yes I did and I went back and watched it again last night on Letterman. I started to watch a lot of him solo
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Him, Alvin, Russel and an other guy, Peter Case are tied to each other. There’s more in that group also. You have some good listening in store.
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Peter Case….I’ll have to check him out.
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He was part of that tribute album all these guys did of Merle’s song. He has some good stuff.
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I’m a big fan, from the early 80s. I love their cover of the Jerry Lee Lewis song Breathless. And I think their cover of Wild Thing is the best version of the many. Hot band.
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Oh yes….I remember their cover of Wild Thing in Major League I believe the movie. I need to hear their cover of Breathless…I just wrote that up the other day but haven’t posted it yet….I’ll include the X version as well.
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Cool.
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That’s one scorching set of lyrics! I like the tune and know of X and John Doe but couldn’t have told you a single song from X.
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They are worth checking out Randy.
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My kids and I love their Farm Aid performance of this track. The mannerisms of Exene Cervenka and her ‘out of key’ singing is peculiarly resonating.
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Even though I moved to Los Angeles in January 1981, I know next to nothing about X’s music. Back then, I listened to mostly top 40 radio, which played everything from Blondie, the Go-Gos and the Police to Tom Petty, Steely Dan, Stevie Nicks and Daryl Hall & John Oates, but I can’t say I ever heard any song by X. “Burning House of Love” is pretty good, and should have been a bigger hit.
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I remember this one but not a great deal of their other music…their other music is really good.
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