#1. Generation X – “One Hundred Punks”

Before Billy Idol was Billy Idol, there was Generation X. Formed in London, England in November of 1976, the band played their first show a month later at The Roxy, becoming the first band to perform at that legendary venue. Idol and company would go on to release four studio albums and a handful of 7” and 12” singles. “One Hundred Punks” is the second track on their debut self-titled LP.
Generation X, perhaps due to the association with Idol’s later music (think “White Wedding”), seem to be considered by many as sort of punk-lite. I think this designation is unfair. While not as explosive or snotty as Sex Pistols, nor as eclectic and overtly political as The Clash, Generation X had what counts: catchy, well crafted pop songs about being young, bored, and pissed off.
What I like so much about this particular song is the visual imagery it provokes. I dare you to sing along to the chorus of “check out any wall/one hundred punks rule/one hundred punks rule” and not picture a throng of dirty, smarmy punks marching through the streets of London. Or, for that matter, the one hundred kids that crammed into the living room of a duplex apartment at the first house show you ever went to. Or the first punk rock record you ever ordered through the mail. Or the sunrise at the end of an all night drive. Or your hands covered in toner and gluestick residue. Or a first kiss.
Because what this song reminds me of are the times when you feel like a part of something bigger than yourself. Getting older and finding myself becoming more cynical, slightly crotchety, and often just downright dour, I realize that I need these kinds of  songs to convince me that I still have friends that are not complete assholes and that real change, both personal and political, is possible.
Am I being saccharine? Maybe. Am I reading way too much into this song? Definitely. But that’s what this is all about: assigning self-referential and specific, but earnest meanings to the songs that we grew up on; songs that made us who we are.

Addendum: I think it worthwhile to argue here that Generation X’s “One Hundred Punks” set an historical precedent for referencing numerically specific groupings of punks in the lyrics of songs.  For evidence, see Cleveland Bound Death Sentence’s “Not Zelique Glass” (“Six punks in a hundred dollar warehouse”), Pinhead Gunpowder’s “West Side Highway” (“There’s two hundred punks in the park and I’m one of them”), and my own former band Punkin Pie’s bitter anthem “Every Little Thing” (“One hundred punks and a fresh gallon of wine”). And that’s just off the top of my head.

Tags: Billy Idol, Generation X, One Hundred Punks, Sex Pistols, The Clash