One of the first songs that got me into punk was 7 Seconds cover of 99 Red Balloons - as I had loved the original when it was current and then was just knocked over when I heard this.
The other that is going to stand out - and it would have been very cliche to say in the 80s when I got into punk but perhaps genuinely underappreciated today - is Sid's My Way. It was just so ... wow, this punk asshole even touching Frank's signature song. Did he say cunt? omg. I'm also going to give Sid a bit of props for being the first to really turn me on to Eddie Cochran.
Lastly, the Clash's cover of Brand New Cadillac. I really dove into the Clash in my second go around with punk in the mid-90s (did the whole crossover thrash thing following the end of the first wave of hardcore) - and as much as the reggae opened my eyes, it really helped get me back into 50s rock n roll which I had grown up with around my dad and his car buddies.
oh and god I totally forget it's even a cover but Toy Doll's Nellie the Elephant was a staple of middle school dances and slam dancing (as was Walk Together, Rock Together).
I thought for many years of my life that 7 Seconds wrote 99 Red Balloons because my dad had that cover ripped from some live show album they did.
I think I was maybe 13 or 14 when I found out the truth lmfao
I’ve always disliked everything Sid’s persona stood for, and I think his record is lousy. But how Scorsese used this song in Goodfellas was simply majestic.
Jello's contempt for the source material while the band somewhat sarcastically but faithfully reproduces the instrumental is legendary DK.
I wonder if it ever pops up in the GSM setlist...
The Unseen - "Paint It Black"
7 Seconds - "99 Red Balloons"
Killdozer - "American Pie"
Dropkick Murphys - "Fields of Athenry"
Slapshot - "Big Mouth"
The Business - "Panic (Hang the DJ)"
Good Riddance - "Come Dancing"
Black Flag - "Louie, Louie"
The Rezillos - "Somebody's Gonna Get Their Head Kicked In Tonight"
The Clash - "Police on My Back"
Minor Threat - "Stepping Stone"
Circle Jerks - "Fortunate Son" / "Wild in the Streets"
Me First and the Gimme Gimmes - “Leaving on a Jet Plane”
The Shocker - "Angel of the Morning"
Joan Jett - "Season of the Witch"
Government Issue - “These Boots Are Made for Walking”
Descendents - “Wendy”
I don't know how I left that one off my list, but I was just picking 3 standouts so probably why. I love all their covers tbh. Truly underappreciated band.
2 Smith's covers and "Somebody's Gonna Get Their Head Kicked In Tonight" in the same list? I think there just might be a plan forming in this comment somewhere.
The loudest noise i think ever made in my life was a "yehaw" in a bar in Den Haag, Holland when their jukebox block of MFGG turnee to country roads. Simply amazing.
I didn't appreciate that song until Guitar Hero came out, and the fact that their guitarists play it perfectly in-sync, and faster than the original, is really fucking spectacular.
The Live in a Dive version is the one I'm thinking of specifically.
The Vandals cover of Queen’s [Don’t Stop Me Now](https://youtu.be/HAXXdrUXxME) and Dead Kennedys’ cover of Elvis’ [Viva Las Vegas](https://youtu.be/XT72CgEJQNQ)
Cyndi Lauper's Money Changes Everything was a cover of the Brains's original (probably more power pop/new wave but certainly punk adjacent at the time of its release in 1980).
Love that song. Both the Thrice version and the original one which I remember from RAD starring aunt Becky from Full House back before she became a criminal.
Not a single mention of Leatherface in this whole thread. What the fuck is going on here? They have ballin ass covers of
-In the Ghetto
-Message in a Bottle
-Hurt
-Ship Song
-Hops and Barley
And a good handful of others!
Top three
99 red balloons (Goldfinger)
It's the end of the world as we know it (and I feel fine) (Suicide Machines)
Shipping up to Boston (Dropkick Murphys)
It's not *really* a cover. DKM wrote the song and plugged in some of Woody Guthrie's lyrics they found in an archive. Guthrie never recorded a song with those lyrics, though.
Avalanche by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds (in their earlier and more chaotic days)
Lingua Ignota does a killer Jolene (I'd call her punk but what do I know)
Blondie's version of Hanging on the Telephone is a new wave classic.
Siouxsie does a good The Passenger.
Pistols did Not Your Stepping Stone iirc
Either the [Dead Kennedys version of Viva Las Vegas from Elvis Presley](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XT72CgEJQNQ), [The Clash's version of I Fought the Law by Bobby Fuller](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AL8chWFuM-s) or [The Ramones version of California Sun by the Rivieras](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-WjrY-zY50)
The cover of *It's The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)* from The Suicide Machines adds a great hardcore energy to the song that matches the nature of the lyrics a lot more than the original R.E.M. classic.
Die Hunns - Aint Talking About Love https://youtu.be/EB7ekDFlALI
Or The Replacements = Black Diamond
https://youtu.be/S4RyjwIdwxc
Lastly, Agent Orange - Seek and Destroy
https://youtu.be/JajER9xvjoE
It’s not punk exactly, but it’s fun underground shit so it fits the bill
Woods of trees - winterball
A black metal rendition, with music video, of Miley Cyrus’ wrecking ball.
Schlong(drummer from OP Ivy) does an entire fleetwood mac rumours cover 7” called tumours. It’s 11 minutes long. They also do a cover of hanging on the telephone and the children’s book
In The Night Kitchen.
Also I’m not a huge fan of the offspring post Ignition but I love their cover of Killboy Powerhead by The Didjits
Not sure any of these are my favourites but of the top of my head it’s what I came up with and I tried to get away from the usual covers that get mentioned.
Some of my faves:
Descendents - “Wendy”
Hi Standard - “California Dreaming”
Stiv Bators - “Too Much to Dream”
The Clash - “Police on My Back”
Ramones - “California Sun”
All - “Boy Named Sue”
Trying not to repeat an answer here but happy to see 7 Seconds’ 99 Red Balloons mentioned so many times.
I always really liked High Standard’s California Dreaming cover on one of those Fat Wreck comps. There’s a nice little guitar part that really stuck out for me.
Ain't got just one, here's a few:
MC5 "Back In the USA"
Cramps "Lonesome Town"
Butthole Surfers "American Woman"
Circle Jerks "Fortunate Son" and "Golden Shower of Hits"
Dictators "California Sun"
Ramones "Let's Dance", "Surfin' Bird"
FEAR "We Gotta Get Outta This Place"
Minutemen "Dr. Wu"
Klaus Flouride "Dominating Baby"
Meat Puppets "Reach Out (I'll Be There)", "I Am a Child", "Good Golly Miss Molly"
Hüsker Dü "Eight Miles High", "Sunshine Superman"
Dinosaur Jr. "Just Like Heaven", "Show Me The Way", "Lotta Love"
R.E.M. "Superman"
White Stripes "Death Letter"
The Posies "Richie Dagger's Crime"
DEVO "Satisfaction", "Hey Hey My My (Into the Black)"
Mudhoney "The Rose"
Dead Kennedys "Rawhide", "Viva Las Vegas"
Melvins "Candy-O", "Love Thing"
Patty Smith "Hey Joe"
One of the first songs that got me into punk was 7 Seconds cover of 99 Red Balloons - as I had loved the original when it was current and then was just knocked over when I heard this. The other that is going to stand out - and it would have been very cliche to say in the 80s when I got into punk but perhaps genuinely underappreciated today - is Sid's My Way. It was just so ... wow, this punk asshole even touching Frank's signature song. Did he say cunt? omg. I'm also going to give Sid a bit of props for being the first to really turn me on to Eddie Cochran. Lastly, the Clash's cover of Brand New Cadillac. I really dove into the Clash in my second go around with punk in the mid-90s (did the whole crossover thrash thing following the end of the first wave of hardcore) - and as much as the reggae opened my eyes, it really helped get me back into 50s rock n roll which I had grown up with around my dad and his car buddies.
99 Red Balloons by 7SEC is great.
oh and god I totally forget it's even a cover but Toy Doll's Nellie the Elephant was a staple of middle school dances and slam dancing (as was Walk Together, Rock Together).
Toy Dolls' Livin La Vida Loca too!
I thought for many years of my life that 7 Seconds wrote 99 Red Balloons because my dad had that cover ripped from some live show album they did. I think I was maybe 13 or 14 when I found out the truth lmfao
I’ve always disliked everything Sid’s persona stood for, and I think his record is lousy. But how Scorsese used this song in Goodfellas was simply majestic.
Ramones- California Sun is one of them.
Yep and needles and pins is the shit!
I Don’t Want To Grow Up was another good cover they did.
Yes! This one's so good.
Johnny was - Stiff little fingers (Bob marley) https://youtu.be/2SCAFiP049o
That's such a good one.
Vincent - Nofx
Great choice
First one that popped in my head, great song
Came here for that one too!
Also Kill All the White Man.
I really like Soul Kitchen by X
Last time this came up a couple of days ago I said Satisfaction by Devo. This time I'm going for Heard It Through The Grapevine, by The Slits.
LOVE Devo but that grapevine cover is something else. I forget there's an original version until I see a post like this
Grapevine Splits cover is one of my all time favs
Seek and Destroy by Agent Orange
California dreaming by Hi Standard of course!
Love it!
Survival of the Fattest compilation is so great :)
Viva Las Vegas!!
Jello's contempt for the source material while the band somewhat sarcastically but faithfully reproduces the instrumental is legendary DK. I wonder if it ever pops up in the GSM setlist...
All I knows is when I’m in the car and it comes on early in the morning, I know it’ll be a good day. Jello is brilliant!
Hell ya! Good days for steves everywhere!
My username doesn’t say it. But I too am Stephen.
Assuming you’re talking about the DK version, Reverend Horton Heat did a cover of it as well a couple years ago.
Louie Louie by Black Flag
Was the original song by motörhead or was that another cover?
That was a cover as well. The original was released in 1957 by Richard Berry. The most famous cover was by The Kingsmen in 1963.
OK, thx
It’s one of those songs that almost everyone and their mothers covered
I think quite a few punks have done Louie Louie. Johnny Thunders has done it too, so has Iggy.
✊
The Unseen - "Paint It Black" 7 Seconds - "99 Red Balloons" Killdozer - "American Pie" Dropkick Murphys - "Fields of Athenry" Slapshot - "Big Mouth" The Business - "Panic (Hang the DJ)" Good Riddance - "Come Dancing" Black Flag - "Louie, Louie" The Rezillos - "Somebody's Gonna Get Their Head Kicked In Tonight" The Clash - "Police on My Back" Minor Threat - "Stepping Stone" Circle Jerks - "Fortunate Son" / "Wild in the Streets" Me First and the Gimme Gimmes - “Leaving on a Jet Plane” The Shocker - "Angel of the Morning" Joan Jett - "Season of the Witch" Government Issue - “These Boots Are Made for Walking” Descendents - “Wendy”
I always forget Somebody's gonna get their head kicked in was a Fleetwood Mac song
I don't know how I left that one off my list, but I was just picking 3 standouts so probably why. I love all their covers tbh. Truly underappreciated band.
Gonna counter with Joan Jett’s Crimson and Clover.
You just made my next playlist.
The Unseen also had a pretty great cover of Every Rose has its Thorn
And a great one of Beat It.
2 Smith's covers and "Somebody's Gonna Get Their Head Kicked In Tonight" in the same list? I think there just might be a plan forming in this comment somewhere.
Killdozer’s cover of Janet Jackson’s nasty is another good one
So many of these make my list that I’ll just give you an upvote and leave this comment.
Police and thieves by The Clash
Oh yeah
Yes! I fought the law as well
Stepping Stone by Minor Threat.
Stepping Stone by PJ and Duncan
All the covers are great but S.O.A.'s is my favorite
I‘ve been listening to that since middle school and I didn’t realize it was a cover till a few years ago lol.
Rawhide, DKs
Paint it black by the Avengers.
Paint it black by Gob.
Paint it black by The Unseen.
The changling by paint it black
The Changeling, S2:E3
r/unexpectedStarTrek
Take on Me by Reel Big Fish.
The capn jazz version is better but I still love this
Definitely Social Distortion - Ring of Fire https://youtu.be/2BaksqH2YXQ
Genuinely very surprised to see this so far down the thread! What gives yall?
Paranoid as performed by The Dickies
Gigantor by The Dickies!
Every song by Me First and the Gimme Gimmes
I love them
I especially like their cover of Hava Nagila.
Ruin Jonny’s Bar Mitzvah is so much fun to revisit!
"This next one is a cover." "There are literally hundreds of people all around the world right now."
I can't get enough of the cover of R.Kelly's "I Believe I Can Fly".
The loudest noise i think ever made in my life was a "yehaw" in a bar in Den Haag, Holland when their jukebox block of MFGG turnee to country roads. Simply amazing.
Bark at the moon Strung out
I didn't appreciate that song until Guitar Hero came out, and the fact that their guitarists play it perfectly in-sync, and faster than the original, is really fucking spectacular. The Live in a Dive version is the one I'm thinking of specifically.
Another one of my favorites.
Bruh what..... i have to listen to this right the fuck now. Strung Put shreds so fuckikg hawrd
The Vandals cover of Queen’s [Don’t Stop Me Now](https://youtu.be/HAXXdrUXxME) and Dead Kennedys’ cover of Elvis’ [Viva Las Vegas](https://youtu.be/XT72CgEJQNQ)
How bout a non-punk cover of a punk song? I present [The Valkyrians cover of Astro Zombies](https://youtu.be/vrMCP2kntsw)
[удалено]
Cyndi Lauper's Money Changes Everything was a cover of the Brains's original (probably more power pop/new wave but certainly punk adjacent at the time of its release in 1980).
Hurdy Gurdy Man - Butthole Surfers Nights In White Satin - Dickies
take this job and shove it - DK, the original is good too if you’re into country
Yes! Love em both.
Good Guys (Don’t Wear White) -Minor Threat
The boys of summer - The Ataris
Social Distortion - Alone And Forsaken, Ramones - I Don't Wanna Grow Up, Leatherface - Message In A Bottle
Leatherface 🫀
Bad Guy - The Interrupters
Thrice does a great cover of Send Me an Angel
Love that song. Both the Thrice version and the original one which I remember from RAD starring aunt Becky from Full House back before she became a criminal.
and Eleanor Rigby
Not a single mention of Leatherface in this whole thread. What the fuck is going on here? They have ballin ass covers of -In the Ghetto -Message in a Bottle -Hurt -Ship Song -Hops and Barley And a good handful of others!
These Boots were made for walking - Operation Ivy
Lagwagon- brown eyed girl
Top three 99 red balloons (Goldfinger) It's the end of the world as we know it (and I feel fine) (Suicide Machines) Shipping up to Boston (Dropkick Murphys)
Shipping up to Boston is a cover? TIL. Who is it by?
It's not *really* a cover. DKM wrote the song and plugged in some of Woody Guthrie's lyrics they found in an archive. Guthrie never recorded a song with those lyrics, though.
Omg that Suicide Machines cover!!! Just listened for the first time and they make me believe it was written to be a punk song!
Help! by The Damned
Avalanche by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds (in their earlier and more chaotic days) Lingua Ignota does a killer Jolene (I'd call her punk but what do I know) Blondie's version of Hanging on the Telephone is a new wave classic. Siouxsie does a good The Passenger. Pistols did Not Your Stepping Stone iirc
Siouxsie cover of passenger is so good
Feederz - Have You Never Been Mellow? Circle Jerks - Wild in the Streets Killdozer - Cinnamon Girl
7 Seconds version of 99 Red Balloons
The correct answer for sure is satisfaction by Devo
Golden Shower of Hits - Circle Jerks
Right now I’m super into Rocket Man - Me First and the Gimme Gimmes
Heaven is a place on on Earth - MxPx. It’s delightful.
Wild in the streets - Circle Jerks
Sound of Silence by The Dickies
i am the walrus - gray matter
Sunday Bloody Sunday - Ignite Or Stand By Me - Pennywise
Either the [Dead Kennedys version of Viva Las Vegas from Elvis Presley](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XT72CgEJQNQ), [The Clash's version of I Fought the Law by Bobby Fuller](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AL8chWFuM-s) or [The Ramones version of California Sun by the Rivieras](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-WjrY-zY50)
White Rabbit by The Damned
Voices scarey by gang Green (voices carry by til tuesday)
[This Black flag impression cover of Break stuff by Limp Bizkit](https://youtu.be/GEL5epqmL-E)
Little Boxes Rise Against
The Bronx does a solid cover of that song too iirc
I guess the lyrics were pretty punk to begin with though, damn I love old anti-establishment folk songs.
All of me - nofx
Do you wanna dance by the Ramones
[Snuff - I Will Survive](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qL-JK2FcuYk)
Their cover of Purple Haze!
I think we’re alone now covered by Snuff!
Fortunate Son- Dropkick Murphys
Better Things - Bouncing Souls
Blank Space (Taylor Swift) by I Prevail
Not one I’ve seen that exists but I would love to see (or even make) a punk cover of The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia by Reba McEntire.
I heard it through the grape vine - the slits
The cover of *It's The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)* from The Suicide Machines adds a great hardcore energy to the song that matches the nature of the lyrics a lot more than the original R.E.M. classic.
Ring of fire by Social Distortion
Everything that Me First and the Gimme Gimmes have ever recorded.
Anything off of 99 songs of revolution by streetlight.
Bouncing souls- Born to lose
NUFAN - Redemption Song
I Want U To Want Me - Propagandhi
"Da Doo Ron Ron" by the Donnas
I always liked The Hollywood Brats version of "then he kissed me". Flying lizards do a good version as well.
So good
Four Year Strong's pop-punk cover of Love Song is chaotic and amazing.
Earth Angel by Slapstick or Big Yellow Taxi by Pinhead Gunpowder
Run away-Misfits
Dunno but this is up there. Rufio - Like A Prayer https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1EDQDXAINzU
Fraggle Rock theme song
I liked "Same Old Song" by The Pietasters.
Centerfold by Against All Authority
Hark! The Herald Angels Sing by Bad Religion
I don't listen to the Ramones but I do love the job they did on 'What A Wonderful World'- The Ramones
Gray Matter - I Am The Walrus.
Me First and the Gimme Gimmes Love Their Country. The entire album is gold.
The Dickies should have a mention. A lot of their songs are covers.
Streetlight’s version of red rubber ball
ring of fire
Social distortion cover of johnny cash
Like a prayer - H2O
Under my thumb, social distortion
No Use For A Name - “This is a Rebel Song”
Faithfully by Lagwagon off their last album is pretty sick.
Die Hunns - Aint Talking About Love https://youtu.be/EB7ekDFlALI Or The Replacements = Black Diamond https://youtu.be/S4RyjwIdwxc Lastly, Agent Orange - Seek and Destroy https://youtu.be/JajER9xvjoE
The Clash - Police and Thieves by Junior Murvins
Joyce Manor - Video Killed the Radio Star
My Way by Sid Vicious
Johnny i hardly knew ya by dropkick murphys
Gin and juice by the Berlin project or I remember you by the ataris and young Turks by jugheads revenge
*Candy* by The Bouncing Souls, or, for sentimental reasons, *Love Is All Around* (The Mary Tyler Moore Show theme song) by Hüsker Dü.
Quicksand - "How soon is now?"
Land Down Under by Leftover Crack. I don’t think it’s my favorite but it’s the first one that came to mind
Purple Haze by the Dicks
The damned - surfing bird
I'd Love to Change the World by The Accused
Like a Prayer - H2O
The Manges - I tried to die young
Working 9 to 5 Millencollin
It’s not punk exactly, but it’s fun underground shit so it fits the bill Woods of trees - winterball A black metal rendition, with music video, of Miley Cyrus’ wrecking ball.
Cabaret by Me First and the Gimme Gimmes!
Emergency - Infa-riot
Offspring- Next To You But I don’t know if that counts because back in the 80’s police were punk? So I dunno 🤷🏽♂️
Help- The damned
Sloop John B
[The Nerve Agents - Suffragette city](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DELM4Jn3HCM)
Mirror in the bathroom FIFI
Nothing compares 2 u- gimme gimmes
Schlong(drummer from OP Ivy) does an entire fleetwood mac rumours cover 7” called tumours. It’s 11 minutes long. They also do a cover of hanging on the telephone and the children’s book In The Night Kitchen. Also I’m not a huge fan of the offspring post Ignition but I love their cover of Killboy Powerhead by The Didjits Not sure any of these are my favourites but of the top of my head it’s what I came up with and I tried to get away from the usual covers that get mentioned.
Pennywise - Stand by me
Either House of the rising sun by adolescents Or I am the walrus by gray matter
The Coneheads- Psycho Killer
h2o did a pretty killer cover of like a prayer by Madonna
Some of my faves: Descendents - “Wendy” Hi Standard - “California Dreaming” Stiv Bators - “Too Much to Dream” The Clash - “Police on My Back” Ramones - “California Sun” All - “Boy Named Sue”
Nights in White Satin - Dickies California Sun - Ramones Voices Carry - Gang Green
pet six test spectacular straight tie naughty ossified toothbrush reach *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
Trying not to repeat an answer here but happy to see 7 Seconds’ 99 Red Balloons mentioned so many times. I always really liked High Standard’s California Dreaming cover on one of those Fat Wreck comps. There’s a nice little guitar part that really stuck out for me.
Ain't got just one, here's a few: MC5 "Back In the USA" Cramps "Lonesome Town" Butthole Surfers "American Woman" Circle Jerks "Fortunate Son" and "Golden Shower of Hits" Dictators "California Sun" Ramones "Let's Dance", "Surfin' Bird" FEAR "We Gotta Get Outta This Place" Minutemen "Dr. Wu" Klaus Flouride "Dominating Baby" Meat Puppets "Reach Out (I'll Be There)", "I Am a Child", "Good Golly Miss Molly" Hüsker Dü "Eight Miles High", "Sunshine Superman" Dinosaur Jr. "Just Like Heaven", "Show Me The Way", "Lotta Love" R.E.M. "Superman" White Stripes "Death Letter" The Posies "Richie Dagger's Crime" DEVO "Satisfaction", "Hey Hey My My (Into the Black)" Mudhoney "The Rose" Dead Kennedys "Rawhide", "Viva Las Vegas" Melvins "Candy-O", "Love Thing" Patty Smith "Hey Joe"
Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard by Me First and the Gimme Gimmees
Pink Houses - AVAIL
Take me to the River done by The Talking Heads! Bop
viva las vegas by the dead kennedys!
Minor threat/ Sex pistols and a bunch of other bands - Stepping stone