Stickman-X-
//JonoPunk Goes Crunk
I have for a long time, appreciated punk covers but I was at first a little disappointed in Punk Goes Crunk, (Crunk standing for Crazy and Drunk) the latest in the Punk Goes… series.
Set Your Goals are hardly what I would call a punk band, and their cover of Put Yo Hood Up by Lil Jon, hardly constitutes a Punk Cover. I expected an album in the vain of other punk cover albums like Me First And The Gimme Gimmes, Have A Ball where the songs are covered and performed in the chosen bands unique punk style. Sadly this is not the case as most songs on this album do little to change the song from a rap to punk.
It was still a fantastic opening song all the same, but the first song was where the Crunk ended however. From there it degenerated into the common gangster rap that I so desperately try to avoid. The second track, I Got Your Money (Ol' Dirty Bastard) covered by Say Anything had nothing punk about it, I don’t think I even heard a guitar in the whole song, just the same beats as the original only with a skinny white boy’s vocals. Although the album improved a lot however, there was still no Crunk to be heard, simply more covers of hip/hop and rap. Forever The Sickest Kids were the first band on the album to turn a rap song into a true punk cover with their version of M.I.B by Will Smith which incorporated all that is best from both rap and punk, screaming choruses and slower funky verses.
The Devil Wears Prada and All Time Low did possibly the best covers on the whole album because they unlike many of the other bands, took a rap song’s lyrics and rewrote them into their own style. The Devil Wears Prada covered Still Fly by Big Tymers and transformed it into a fast post-hardcore piece with the traditional guttural screams and grungy guitar riffs. All Time Low took Umbrella by Rihanna and gave it their own powerpop/punk edge, setting them apart from the rest by being completely original.
Although I still find the album as a whole rather enjoyable, it is not however what it claims to be. With only one Crunk song on there, it is more a Punk Goes hip/hop. This does not mean that it was a bad album. It simply did not live up to what the title suggested. The second let down came when hardly any of the bands turned the song they chose to cover, into a punk song, most choosing to keep the familiar sound of the original song.
I would have dearly loved to see this same album done in a similar style to Less Than Jake’s, Greased in which they covered all of your favourite Grease songs in less than two minutes each, producing a fast, energetic and utterly enjoyable punk cover album. Sadly this does not seem to the way most of the albums in the Punk Goes….series are performed.
Set Your Goals are hardly what I would call a punk band, and their cover of Put Yo Hood Up by Lil Jon, hardly constitutes a Punk Cover. I expected an album in the vain of other punk cover albums like Me First And The Gimme Gimmes, Have A Ball where the songs are covered and performed in the chosen bands unique punk style. Sadly this is not the case as most songs on this album do little to change the song from a rap to punk.
The Devil Wears Prada and All Time Low did possibly the best covers on the whole album because they unlike many of the other bands, took a rap song’s lyrics and rewrote them into their own style. The Devil Wears Prada covered Still Fly by Big Tymers and transformed it into a fast post-hardcore piece with the traditional guttural screams and grungy guitar riffs. All Time Low took Umbrella by Rihanna and gave it their own powerpop/punk edge, setting them apart from the rest by being completely original.
I would have dearly loved to see this same album done in a similar style to Less Than Jake’s, Greased in which they covered all of your favourite Grease songs in less than two minutes each, producing a fast, energetic and utterly enjoyable punk cover album. Sadly this does not seem to the way most of the albums in the Punk Goes….series are performed.
