Me First and the Gimme Gimmes

Me First and the Gimme Gimmes, a cover band/punk supergroup that features members of NOFX, Foo Fighters and Lagwagon, transcends its novelty status to achieve something valuable and, above all else, fun. On its third album, the band skewers '60s radio classics in a loving, irreverent fashion, with a nod to the punk roots of the musicians involved. "Sloop John B" becomes a Ramones tribute when the group recontextualizes it, pairing the Beach Boys' lyrics with the musical backdrop from the Ramones' "Lobotomy." Other punk classics fit into '60s originals; the intro to the hippie anthem "San Francisco" contains an homage to Bad Religion's "Stranger Than Fiction." It's a brilliant strategy, paying tribute to punk's long and rich tradition while acknowledging the rock that preceded that genre's birth.