Earthly Connections

Writer-director James Merendino's film about two punk rockers living amid the strait-laced society of Salt Lake City features a soundtrack that includes all the usual suspects. Early punks the Stooges, starring a ripe and ready Iggy Pop, deliver their "1969" classic, and the Velvet Underground, starring a jaded Lou Reed, handle "Rock and Roll." Second-generation punks include Fear and, of course, the Ramones. As expected, several pretenders to the punk throne make an appearance: Generation X, with a young, eager Billy Idol, clotheshorse Adam Ant, and the Exploited. Rescuing things in prime form are the Dead Kennedys and the often overlooked Adolescents, a Southern California punk band who understood how to write 'em concise. Modern-day punks the Suicide Machine contribute Joe South's "I Never Promised You a Rose Garden" with typically cheeky flair. The Big Chill for '80s punks. --Rob O'Connor