Customer Reviews

Punk Goes Pop

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(16)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

In my punk/rock circle, this CD has been highly anticipated. I finally got it on Tuesday, and it's pretty good.

Some songs on the CD are unbelieveable. The Starting Line cover of J.Lo's "I'm Real" is probably one of the best punk covers I have ever heard. The Starting Line has been one of my favorite bands since the Sunday Drive days, and now I have more of a reason to like them. The Rufio cover of Madonna's "Like A Prayer" is also pretty tight. They are really musically talented, especially the guitar work. The Knockout cover of Destiny's Child's "Survivor" has an amazing guitar intro and carries the song. Other highlights include Yellowcard's rendition of Michelle Branch's "Everywhere," Fake ID's cover of O-Town's "All or Nothing," and Thrice covering Real Life's "Send Me an Angel."

However, this CD does have some pretty [bad] songs on it. Some songs that I had high hopes for turned out to not live up to what I hoped they would be. Stretch Arm Strong's version of Pink's "Get This Party Started" is one example. Same goes with Slick Shoes's cover of Mandy Moore's "Candy." The Britney Spears covers are pretty bad too ("Sometimes" by Reach the Sky and "...Baby One More Time" by Nicotine).

This CD also features some covers that sound way too close to the original, not really adding any punk edge. This is most notable in the Element 101 cover of Nelly Furtado's "I'm Like A Bird" and sadly Further Seems Forever's cover of the Nsync hit "Bye Bye Bye."

The other songs are pretty mediocre or not stand-out enough. But anyway, the CD's not half bad. Check it out. The songs by Starting Line and Rufio are definately worth a listen.

James M. Gullard<...

In this delightful collection from Fearless Records, overplayed pop hits get makeovers by punk artists. As unpromising as that might sound, the results are often charming, sometimes cheesy, but always amusing. Whether you loved or hated these anthems to begin with, you'd have to be the world's biggest critic if you didn't find yourself humming along once in a while with this album.

Probably every person who listens has a different opinion of the best songs, but treatments I personally find irresistable include the hardcore remake of Pink's "Get This Party Started" by Stretch Armstrong, Yellowcard's energetic version of "Everywhere" originally by Michelle Branch, an unforgettable punk take on Destiny's Child's "Survivor" by Knockout, and a campy rendition of Mandy Moore's first hit, "Candy," by pop-punk outfit Slick Shoes. And don't miss the irreverent "Like a Prayer," done by Rufio, which blows Madonna's original performance away.

A few songs sound frighteningly close to the original versions, proving that even punk rock stars listen to the radio. Examples include Element 101 on "I'm Like A Bird" (Nelly Furtado), Further Seems Forever with "Bye Bye Bye" ('N Sync, for anyone who lives in a snow cave in Antarctica), and Dynamite Boy performing "I Want It That Way" (Backstreet Boys). That last song is improved by an electric guitar solo that lasts nearly 40 seconds in the middle of the song, but vocally it sounds pretty similar to BSB Nick Carter and Brian Littrell.

Several performances make up for their lack in artistry and musical value by simply skewering pop culture and perhaps setting out to sound even more ridiculous than the actual songs and artists they're covering. Britney Spears and O-Town are both victims of this musical satire, and rightly so since they're probably the most manufactured icons on the market.

For punk fans, this diverse album is definitely worth adding to your collection. For pop fans, think of it as a whole new world that you have to hear to believe. And for everyone else, this CD is just too much fun to miss. So pick up "Punk Goes Pop." You won't be putting it down any time soon.

damn you stuck up hardcore punk-rocker asswicks..who friggin cares if it's not "PUNK" enough and half the bands on there aren't PUNK-ROCK HARCORE!..what are they supposed to name the album then? "Pop-Punk bands that have ruined "hardcore punk" turn pop, but they're already pop, so this album title is an oxymoron" wtf..people, just enjoy the damn music or don't listen to what you refer to as "not punk enough for your hardcore asses" music. Personally, i think you harcore punkers care more about your punk image, than the preps caring about how trendy they are..GET OVER IT..it's just music..sorry, i had to vent..
On another note, this album has some of the best covers i've listened to..Everywhere by Yellowcard is by far the best, I'm Real by The Starting Line, Get The Party Started by Stretch Arm Strong, Survivor by Knockout are stand outs..some of the Britney covers are a bit sloppy..and i wouldn't say the "I'm Like A Bird" cover is "good"...but all in all, this is a must for people who enjoy covers...hope this helps..

The definition of the term "Punk" has different so many diferent meanings. What people need to tolerate is that there are several types of rock squeezed under the genre classified as "Punk". There is Hardcore, Old School, Skate, Emo, Ska and Power-Pop, plus other which I may have forgotten. Each of these types have their own group of punks who support them, and not all of them will tolerate any of the other punk music relatives. This is the case of "Punk Goes Pop". This is just a small part of Punk music, this record consists of just Emo, Power-Pop and Skate Punk, there isn't any Hardcore, Ska or Old School Punk in this package. However, they couldn't cram them all into one CD, there wouldn't be enough 'great' songs per listener, and people will complain there wasn't enough of this and that. So hardcore and ska had to go, and that is good, cause they are the kind of music that doesn't sell in the first place. In order to sell punk rock these days, punk/pop bands deliver the goods to get the job done, and they do that on this amazing record. I hope the message gets through to anyone who has intentions of complaining about the lack of hardcore. In the future, maybe someone will look into a "Hardcore Goes Pop" concept, but for now accept this CD for the moment. The only ones who give this CD a weak review are the ones who don't support this type of punk in the first place.

The Backstreet and Nsync remakes sound vocally identical to their originators, that's awful, but the grinding distortion and tough beats makes up for it. Both the pair of Madonna and Britney covers were done really good, they actually sound decent with punk vocals. The rendition of Mandy Moore's "Candy" was raw, and the version "Crush" was depressingly emo (which is good). The 2 standouts on this CD (as other reviewers agree) by far were Yellowcard's "Everywhere" and Knockout's "Survivor", 2 songs well worth the money. The closest thing to hardcore you will hear is S.A.S.'s cover of "Get This Party Started". The rest of this CD is okay, there are a few annoying tracks that shouldn't be here, but the majority is good. The best way to sum this CD up is, If you really enjoyed all of Blink 182 CD's (From Chesire to T.O.Y.P.&J.) you will have no problem with this CD. It's hard to believe it took until 2002 for someone to put out a CD like this in retail stores.

This CD features punk versions of (mostly) recent pop songs. In cases like this, there is often a tendency to play it for laughs, but fortunately the bands all play it straight here. Most of the songs here have good melodies to begin with, and they tend to work pretty well with ramped up punk versions. There are no really bad songs here, with some of them being very good. I would recommend this CD to pop punk fans. It should be noted that although this CD is listed as being out of print, it is available under the title "Pop Goes Punk 2". There is not actually a Volume 2, it is a mistake by this website.

This cd is a high class mix of punk bands playing pop songs. If you like punk and/or emo, then you'll love this cd! Sure, most of these songs aren't the fastest punk songs you'll ever hear, but they turn those annoying pop songs into beauties with guitars, drums, great singers, and heavy hitting bass guitars. This cd also helps destroy the stereotype that all punk songs, punk bands, and the people that listen to them are those that control hate and violence. This is what punk should be. Most of the bands that are featured on this cd are the innovation to the new age of punk. All songs are great, but there are some that stand out over the others (Yellowcard- "Everywhere", The Starting Line- "I'm Real", Stretch Arm Strong- "Get This Party Started", Showoff- "Borderline", Nicotine- "Baby One More Time"). I have had this cd for a while and I still listen to the whole thing through over and over again. I don't think it will ever get old! This is a must buy if you're a punk and/or emo fan!

Alright, the other reviews on here that have been posted basically have sumed this CD up pretty well, and I agree with most of what is said, such as Slick Shoes' version of "Candy"...That could possibly be one of the wosrt covers I have ever heard, and the cover of "...Baby One More Time" is quite horrible also. But the stand-outs on the CD to me were The Starting Line with "I'm Real", Rufio's verison of "Like A Prayer", and Noise Ratchet with "Crush", those are all songs I hate in their original verisons, but with the punk remixs to them, they sound bareable now. Also, even though Further Seems Forever's version of "Bye, Bye, Bye" basically sounded like the original version, but its still a great cover. Off the subject now, this post that said MxPx has a version of "Barbie Girl"...Sorry to tell you, but that cover was done by Homegrown...Not MxPx. So that's all I have to say now...Peace out. I hope I helped someone out!

this cd is very good. now you can listen all those pop songs you hate to love sung by your favorite punk artists. the starting line's "im real" is good, and Yellowcard do an awesome cover of "everywhere"

Here is a classic CD that could've been huge. Thanks to some of the bands showcased on here, I had high hopes. All in all, this disc delevers. Some of the more grounded bands such as Stretch Arm Strong, The Starting Line, Rufio and others do great jobs of their covers! The Yellowcard cover is great, as well as the Knockout cover. Some of the other bands like Element 101 don't really do much in the way of blow your skirt up, and the Nicotine guys lil' accent just gets annoying. Dynamite Boy, being such a fan, was dissapointing. But, all in all, give the CD awhile and it'll grow on you. If nothing else, get it for Rufio, SAS, Slick Shoes, Yellowcard, and the Starting Line among others! If your into Emo, you'll like this!

FYI : this is the same as the other "punk goes pop" album being advertised ... it's not a volume 2

This is an AWESOME compilation!!! Not only do I love punk and emo but my first love was pop (I know, it's embarrassing to admit)!!! I especially love Yellowcard's version of "Everywhere" by Michelle Branch and The Starting Line's version of "I'm Real" by J.Lo. And dare I admit, I even love Further Seems Forever's take on "Bye Bye Bye"!!! It's a really awesome album for anyone who equally loves hardcore and top 40!!! I thoroughly recommend it!!!