Billy Idol

A week or two ago, entirely separate from any inkling that Billy Idol would potentially be coming to ACL, I was having a conversation with two friends about Billy Idol's videos.  We literally couldn't remember what he sang beyond "Dancin' With Myself" and "White Wedding."  One guy had to fire up the Internet on his phone to remember the name of the song with the racy music video of a teenager grinding all around an apartment.

Oh yeah, Rock the Cradle of Love, baby.  That song is terrible.  The video was amazing when I was 13 or whenever it came out, but the song is crap.  She spilled wine on her shirt!  And took it off!

Anyway, now that I pull the man up on Spotify, I'm ashamed that I forgot the other fun tunes the dude has in his catalog.  "Rebel Yell," "Mony Mony," "Eyes Without a Face," "Flesh for Fantasy," even "Hot in the City."  He started about 35 years ago, but still looks the same (tough, biker leather and omnipresent sneer) and sounds pretty much the same (sneering soft rock).  "Rebel Yell" is by far the best of the bunch.

Mo! Mo! Mo!

Speaking of sneering soft rock, he actually has a current (2014's King and Queens of the Underground) album out which you can go listen to on Spotify right now.  I mean, I don't encourage it, but I'm just telling you it is possible to do. You know that group of movies (Love Actually is the one that comes to mind first) where there is an aging pop star who pushes a come back?  This sounds like the joke album the cast puts together for the movie.  This album is truly godawful.  I have to imagine that the session musicians who joined him for it just sucked it up, turned on the drum machine and played their hyper-generic rock riffs, cashed their check, and hoped that no one noticed they were associated with the album.

Really, its too bad.  Because a greatest hits show would be pretty fun, but if he decides that he needs to play his new tunes, it'll kind of ruin the pleasure.  Oh man, the album is still playing as I write this, and just, wow, this is, no.  No.  Please.  Let's all hope for a greatest hits show.