song ideas for covers!
 

so i joined a punk band recently and we talked the other night about possibly doing a cover or two. now, our originals (they already had a full set list of songs before i joined) basically, with the exception of a couple that are serious, are ridiculous. that's pretty much the concept of the band... just have fun, write songs that are pretty funny and pointless and entertaining.

now, i'd like to do a couple of covers and they agree with it... the question is, what songs? i want to do something that is beyond rediculous. like, the originals are pretty hard sounding, very crude at times, and the band has a very 'modern punk/bad ass' type of look.

so i was thinking 'hey, we could play one of our hardest songs and then bust into a cover of, oh, i don't know, barry manilow?'

are there any songs that would be completely out there that would be fun to cover? i don't really know much 'lounge' music or 'deep country', and also very little hip-hop and rap.

any suggestions?

B-52's - Planet Claire

I write the songs that make the whole world sing...

a medley of television theme songs or commercial jingles

Richard Marx - Sappy weepy annoying ballads (Hold on to the Night)
Madonna - Like a Virgin
Cyndi Lauper (girls just wanna have fun -- cover'd into Punk Rockers just wanna have fun)
John Denver (Leavin' on a Jet Plane, Thank God I'm a Country Boy, Sunshine on my Shoulders

i would do "like a virgin" because people will associate it with "moulin rouge" as much as with madonna. you could then do a dance number on stage. it'd be great to do. absolutely out of character, yes.

i would also think about covering the stooges' song "fun house"--it is not what you were asking about. i just want to hear someone cover it well.

Ok, so it's a stretch to call this music (it caught my eye in the ITunes store)

Britney Spears -- Ooops I did it again... :) or one of her other silly songs... (you have the legs to pull off a plaid skirt? :D (and we'd want pictures and the recording of it)

HH, pull out the disco. Stayin Alive!
Or Michael Jackson - I think Thriller is dying for a Punk interpretation.

Let's see: Belinda Carlisle - Mad About You. The Cranberries - Impossible Dreams. The Grateful Dead - Ripple, Box of Rain, Friend of the Devil. Johnny Cash - Ring of Fire, I Walk the Line. Toto - Africa, Roseanna. Skid Row - 18 and Life. Outfield - Your Love. Sid Viscious did My Way - so howsabout Luck be a Lady or New York New York. Something old and traditional like Blue Moon of Kentucky or Yellow Rose of Texas. Tom Jones - It's Not Unusual. Rush - Tom Sawyer. The theme song from the Fall Guy. Anything by Sarah Mclaughlin. Yes - Roundabout or Starship Troopers. Bob Marley - Three Little Birds. Dave Matthews Band - Crash into Me (Be a great one for the moshers.) Allman Brothers - Whippin' Post.

Just pick the most unlikely song you can think of and turn it punk. (Hell, if Jon Marc Davis can make Chop Suey a lounge tune, the reverse ought to be a breeze.)

No not rush, yes or allman brothers! Sorry....How about Lobo - I'd Love You To Want Me, or Neil Diamond - Mr. Bojangles? Those would sound ridiculously funny done punk.

Asta!!

Every Breath You Take-- The Police
La Bamba-- Los Lobos.
Peaches En Regalia--Frank Zappa

i would love to hear a punk cover of Mr Sandman by The Chordettes

So Into You - Atlanta Rhythm Section (long guitar solo)

Howsabout anything by Glenn Campbell. Gentle on My Mind and Wichita Lineman would be my choices, but Rhinestone Cowboy might be a real crowd pleaser.

Kermit the Frog - The Rainbow Connection or It's Not Easy Being Green (I can almost hear a couple of different arrangements of the Rainbow Connection. Either dive right into it hard, or try and do it straight and slow, and then bust out at the first refrain.)

Lilly the Pink!<blockquote>We'll drink a drink a drink
To Lily the Pink the Pink the Pink
The saviour of the human race
For she invented medicinal compound
Most efficacious in every case.

Mr. Frears
Had sticky-out ears
And it made him awful shy
And so they gave him medicinal compound
And now he's learning how to fly.

Brother Tony
Was notably bony
He would never eat his meals
And so they gave him medicinal compound
Now they move him round on wheels.

[Chorus]

Old Ebeneezer
Thought he was Julius Caesar
And so they put him in a Home
Where they gave him medicinal compound
And now he's Emperor of Rome.

Johnny Hammer
Had a terrible ss..ss..ss..ss..ss..ss..stammer
He could hardly s..s..say a word
And so they gave him medicinal compound
Now he's seen (but never 'eard)!

[Chorus]

Auntie Millie
Ran willy-nilly
When her legs, they did recede
And so they rubbed on medicinal compound
And now they call her Millipede.

Jennifer Eccles
Had terrible freckles
And the boys all called her names
But she changed with medicinal compound
And now he joins in all their games.

[Chorus]

Lily the Pink, she
Turned to drink, she
Filled up with paraffin inside
and despite her medicinal compound
Sadly Picca-Lily died.

Up to Heaven
Her soul ascended
All the church bells they did ring
She took with her medicinal compound
Hark the herald angels sing. </blockquote>There was a version put out by the Scaffolds in 1960 if you want to get the idea of the tune.

(I still think Whippin Post is a winner, or, if you're really skilled musicians, a punk version of Revival might be fantastic.)

the tom jones suggestion above (it's not unusual) is also great.
i would do it.
i would open my set with it.

I was always partial to a punk version of "Summer Lovin'" from Grease