Brandon Geib
Guest Columnist
The Punk Goes… series of cover compilations has been running for quite some time now. However, as the series prepares for its fourteenth release we find the formula getting a bit stale. With and overabundance of Punk Goes Pop variations and the horror that was Punk Goes Crunk I think we are owed a good set of covers. We need something that is completely foreign to some of these bands to draw out some of their best musical interpretations.
Punk Goes Broadway! Now hear me out, this could be a masterpiece. The key is to match everything up correctly. Musicals have explored remarkably similar themes to punk rock through their works. It touches on anger, revolution, conservative bashing, loneliness, and depression. You could match bands to songs like they were made for each other. It would just be a matter of connecting the dots.
Picture Streetlight Manifesto speeding up and lacing, “Do You Hear the People Sing?” from Les Miserables, with alternating palm mutes, and some horn fanfares. Streetlight Manifesto proposes a variety of calls to action, similar to the previously mentioned song, through their discography and has the potential full band sound to really capture the orchestral elements of Les Miserables’ original score.
Try telling me that NoFX wouldn’t love getting to cover something from The Book of Mormon, such as “All-American Prophet.” NoFX is clearly a politics and humor-based band. You can match their tendencies almost exactly to that of the show South Park, whose creator is also responsible for The Book of Mormon. The differences don’t have to stop with wise cracking lyricism; The Book of Mormon has a definite rhythm section that could be drawn from to formulate a guitar-based song. Plus NoFX is known to throw in some horn flair occasionally as well, which would make the song perfect.
I think I would melt if I could hear Polar Bear Club belting a hard-edged cover of “Totally Fucked” from Spring Awakening. Spring Awakening already has a fairly rock based musical score to begin with. Add in pessimistic lyrics and Jimmy Stadt’s vocals will glide into place with ease and grace to complete a fantastic ode to having both the rock and the hard place collapse on top of you.
It would be a treasure trove of untouched songs. Plus it would be one of the most
unconventional cover compilations
that I have ever heard of, and I have to imagine that would attract attention from both old fans of the series and new fans that finally have an access point better than Katy Perry’s hit single number 12,483,872,342.
As long as it sounds nothing like Green Day’s “American Idiot” musical, we will be golden.