Folk covers of punk classics

Boyhowdy sez, "The folk covers of Straight to Hell I compiled last year were so well-received by your readers, I thought you might also be interested in this week's entry, which compiles folk and acoustic covers of more songs from Punk's first and second waves. From banjo-tinged Stooges covers to countrified Blondie, singer-songwriter Bad Brains covers to smooth and ghostly Clash transformations, there's likely something here for everyone. Especially fun for uke-fans: a cover of Ramones classic I Wanna Be Sedated from Allo, Darlin'."

Don't miss the bluegrass "Lust for Life" and the king-hell sweet Japanese acoustic "Lost in the Supermarket."

All Folked Up: The Punk Rock Collection, Vol. 1 (folk covers of seminal first and second wave punk music)

• [scifijazznik]

  How about punk covers of folk classics? Squirrel Bait’s cover of Phil Ochs’ “Tape From California” is majestic.

  In case anyone needs evidence that punk is a direct descendant of folk, check out Woody Guthrie’s guitar.

  • [Cowicide]

    Ughh.. I vastly prefer Hüsker Dü’s “Eight Miles High” over this country banjo punk remake stuff (although I really did like Frank Turner’s Bad Brains “Pay to Cum” remake!)

    IOW, I prefer it going in the other direction without the banjos…

    Hüsker Dü’s “Eight Miles High”
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xBKyBlJ_JN8

    It’s just got more feeling for me… lots more feeling…

• [mokey]

  jeffrey lewis does a great folk re-imagining of some CRASS songs, called, appropriately enough, 12 crass songs. i’m surprised that wasn’t mentioned. CRASS is pretty much the definition of classic DIY punk.

• [Thac0]

  Thank you so much for posting this I love these. Punk and Folk are my favorite and its great to hear Some of my favorite punks songs from growing up like new again as folk songs! Punk and folk are both the peoples music; I don’t know why i haven’t thought of hunting this down before!

• [NoahRodenbeek]

  How does Hot Tuna’s version of “Bank Robber” get overlooked? Way to go finding the Indigo Girls track from the Clash Covers Volume 2 which is already on a punk covers compilation album.

• [boyhowdy]

  Thanks for all comments and suggestions, folks! Glad to see there’s plenty more acoustic/folk covers out there for a Vol. 2 sometime in the future…keep those suggestions coming!

  As for complaints about songs being “overlooked” or “easy to find” – no apologies here. I suspect none of us can claim to be comprehensive when compiling ongoing lists of “wonderful things”, nor can I claim to know in advance what others know or find familiar…I merely posted a few recent finds and favorites, and am happy to have the chance to celebrate the artists who reinvented them. I suspect there are people who are enjoying each track, as I did. And am sure that there’s more to come, as well.

• [Anonymous]

  that bad livers cover was totally badass! gotta give their other stuff a listen.

• [grimshaw]

  Here’s a link to the Agnostic Front original. The cover certainly transcends the “toughness” of the original:

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l12X-2jWrtU

  And a Bluegrass cover of Dead Kennedy’s “Too Drunk To Fuck” by Winnipeg’s D-Rangers:

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FCySqOkOAJQ

• [Enoch_Root]

  Am I the only one who thinks these are uniformly bad guttings of the originals? Am I crazy here? This is draining all of the vitality and replacing it with wimpy crooning. Especially bad is the desecration of Lost in the Supermarket. If I am the only counter opinion then let that make my NO all the more emphatic.

  • [Gilbert Wham]

    Nope, I reckon I’m with you there.

• [grimshaw]

  Also, for comparison purposes, Bad Brains Pay To Cum (best punk single ever?):

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QoQAZDdl4LY

• [roundabout]

  enoch_root, try broadening your horizons.

• [johnhoeffleur]

  I stick to the Misfits, and I give them a C&W tinge.

  Don’t Tell Danzig

• [cryptique]

  Not a folk cover, but if you haven’t heard The Posies’ version of “Richie Dagger’s Crime” by The Germs, it’s worth tracking down. They turn it into a ’60s pop song, and it’s brilliant.

• [bibulb]

  I’ll take the opposite stance – speaking as someone who deified the original London Calling since I first heard it (post-release, but pre-Combat Rock), I think that Petty Booka did a fine job.
  (Meanwhile, the Hamell on Trial track is remarkably faithful. Rocks.)

• [Anonymous]

  This compilation is desperately lacking any of the David Pajo Misfits covers.

• [Anonymous]

  There is a great, fun album by aide edmunson and the bad shepards, called (roughly) yan tan tetherer metherer , named after the old sheep counting rythme and the ramones counting in

  It has a version of ‘the model’ that has to be heard to be believed

• [the_real_dr_bob]

  I am a fan of The Bad Shepherds, fronted by Ade Edmondson who apparently accidently bought a mandolin one lunch time.

• [thequickbrownfox]

  Sara Lee played bass for the Indigo Girls through most of the 90′s.

  Ex-Gang of Four bass player, one of the most influential bass guitarists, along with Tina Weymouth from Talking Heads, in modern music.

• [snordalisk]

  The Los Angeles band Artichoke released an album that covered the entirety of “Never Mind The Bollocks Here’s the Sex Pistols”. It’s excellent. http://www.amazon.com/Never-bollocks-heres-Pistols-Artichoke/dp/B000LC5AQG

• [Boba Fett Diop]

  I quite like the cover of “Pay to Cum,” although I would argue that “Rise Above” by Black Flag is the best punk single ever (that, or “Ursula Finally has Tits” by the Queers).

  They should include something by Even in Blackouts, an acoustic project by Jughead from Screeching Weasel. They do pretty good covers of “Hey Suburbia” (by Screeching Weasel) and “Knowledge” (by Operation Ivy).

  • [grimshaw]

    “Hey Suburbia”‘s a great song! Going to look for Even in Blackouts…

• [Gnatz]

  That photo looks like someone I used to know named Sal Iva