Billy Idol was God for a minute, and this was that minute.
This is from the film D.O.A., which came out in 1978. I saw it probably a year later, at a theater in Philly called the T.L.A. on South St. Of all the things in that movie, Generation X doing "Kiss Me Deadly" was the knockout punch, and it was soon after encountering this clip and in some ways because of it that I decided to forsake my ambitions to be Norman Blake and instead go electric and devote myself to punk rock.
I usually don't go back in time when I hear records I encountered when I was younger. Music is bigger to me than that and I've always felt that way. But this song always makes me think about being sixteen in Center City and hanging out with Eddie and Bryan and Kurt and all of y'all. In all fairness, as songs go, it holds up with the best of the Jam or any of the other greats of the period.
So here, ladies and gentlemen, "Kiss Me Deadly" by Generation X.
