Song of the Day 3/30: The Damned, “Smash It Up”

I don’t know whether to dedicate this one to Elon Musk or the protesters who are taking out their fury on his Tesla dealerships. It’s the signature song by the Damned, the most melodic and musically accomplished of the first wave of British punk bands. It was listed as “Smash It Up (Part II)” on their 1979 album “Machine Gun Etiquette.” The slower instrumental intro (Part I) was intended as a tribute to Marc Bolan of T Rex, who died in a car wreck in 1977.

A cover by the Offspring appeared in the 1995 film “Batman Forever.”