Punk Ska Cover Versions that Will Blow Your Mind!

Is it just me or does every song sound better when it's been done in ska style? I love the ska. Don't care much for reggae, but I love the ska. It's so peppy in a not-bubblegum way and those horns just kill me. One of my favorite songs of all time is "What I Like Best About You" by the Special AKA. Do you know what the singer likes best about the guy he's addressing? His girlfriend! Gotta love that; gotta love the ska.

There are an amazing number of terrific ska cover versions of the songs you know and love or hate. And here's the thing about ska: even songs you hate sound good when done in this style. For instance, that atrocious song "Barbie Girl" by Aqua? MXPX does a ska version that actually turns it into something you would proud to play at maximum volume while stopped at a streetlight. But it's even better when a song you already like is redone in ska.

"Come on Eileen" Save Ferris.

This may be the best ska cover of all time. I mean the original is a classic, right, but can anybody really penetrate the Irish accent on the original to interpret the lyrics correctly? Save Ferris not only speeds "Come on Eileen" up and adds some incredible horns, but for the first time you will actually understand every single word in this terrific song.

"I Think I Love You" Less than Jake.

You know, the original Partridge Family version of this isn't bad. It's got a really nifty harpsichord solo in it-I think it's a harpsichord, anyway-and David Cassidy's somewhat off-center vocalizing lifts it out of its bubble-gum pop milieu. Even so, the original can't compare to the punk ska version issued by Less Than Jake. If you think a Partridge Family song is incapable of being cool, then you obviously haven't listed to Less than Jake cover "I Think I Love You."

"Boys Don't Cry" Reel Big Fish.