Los Angeles punk icons X shared a new music video for “Goodbye Year, Goodbye” now that it’s the last month of 2020. The song was released on their comeback album, Alphabetland, in April. It’s X’s first record in 35 years with their original lineup. Their previous album had been 1993’s Hey Zeus!, which was missing guitarist Billy Zoom.
The guitar is very present in “Goodbye Year, Goodbye,” a high-energy punk rock anthem with lyrics that resonate more now that it’s seen how 2020 has turned out, “Goodbye year, goodbye/Please don’t make us cry/So long year, so long/We’ll sing you out with a song.”
Tiny Concerts artistic director Keith Ross produced the music video. The band was animated in Ross’ trademark style of near-stick figure caricatures. Ross animates the figures like they’re playing songs live in the videos, “I like to think of Tiny Concert as a ‘venue’ where all my favorite bands come to play,” he explained. “It’s an animated place where performances are reimagined in my scribbly illustration style. Tiny Concert has brought me even closer to the music I love. And as a lifelong fan, being able to work with X to create this music video and celebrate their new album was a very personal achievement for me.”
Ross had previously done a video for X’s classic track “Los Angeles” for its 40th Anniversary, around the time that Alphabetland came out. The group was impressed enough that bassist John Doe asked him to do this new official video as well.
40th Anniversary vinyls of Los Angeles are currently available for on X’s Bandcamp. Vocalist Exene Cervenka also contributed a track to Hands Off!, a female empowerment benefit compilation released in October.
X also teamed up with menswear designer John Varvatos for some exclusive winter 2020 merch options, available on Varvatos’ online store and in-person at any local stores. The design is a black-on-black X logo on all the clothing variations.