"Firestarter," The Prodigy

Once upon a time, electronica was going to be the next big thing in the U.S. The Prodigy’s Keith Flint was the genre’s poster child, landing the cover of Rolling Stone back when that actually meant something.

“Firestarter” would become The Prodigy’s signature song stateside and a number one hit in its native UK. A lot of controversy surrounded the song at the time –  “A scary-looking man is telling kids to start fires!  He looks so mean in those tunnels! Hide the children!” 


Looking back at it now, it all looks rather tame.  I mean, it might as well be a Disney movie in comparison to the group's later video for “Smack My Bitch Up.  Flint does what he does best – hyping everyone up for the music – wearing the type of outfit and piercings that were edgy at the time but rather mainstream today. 

Electronica, of course, never managed to become the next great thing in music that critics had predicted (or perhaps hoped for) – yet The Prodigy has kept on going.  The group recently released its first live album and movie, World’s on Fire, which features its largest concert to date.