“Weird Al” Yankovic and Osaka Popstar Releases Polka-Infused Cover of “Beat On The Brat” by the Ramones

“Weird Al” Yankovic has released a polka/rock cover of The Ramones classic “Beat on the Brat” for a new compilation album Dr. Demento Covered In Punk which is set to be released on January 12^th via Demented Punk Records. The song sees Yankovic take his twisted version of the lead vocal along with some nifty accordion playing. He is backed on the track by punk supergroup Osaka Popstar, which features John Cafiero on backing vocals, Dennis Diken (The Smithereens) on drums, Sal Maida (Roxy Music, Milk ‘n’ Cookies) on bass and (Dictators, Voluptuous Horror of Karen Black) on guitar.

The cover art for the song is inspired by Garbage Pale Kids and was created by none other than Garbage Pail Kids Neil Camera, known for his illustration work on Wacky Packages and Mars Attacks cards and sticker sets.

The album pays homage to the legendary radio icon Dr. Demento, who helped launch the career of Yankovic back in the late 70s. The Dr. Demento show became one of the most well-known radio shows for novelty, and parody music and this new album of covers is a fitting tribute. The record contains 30 never before released songs that are punked up versions of some of the most famous novelty songs form Dr. Demento along with new versions of renowned punk standards, such “Beat on the Brat.” The album will feature appearances from the likes of The Misfits, Joan Jett, and Fred Schneider of the B52s among others.

This is not the only cover the Yankovic has released in the past couple of days, as Adult Swim released a brand new version of the Squidbillies theme song, featuring Yankovic’s arrangement of the tune. This is to commemorate a new season of the acclaimed cartoon show about hillbilly squids living in rural Appalachia. Yankovic follows in a long line of famous musicians to cover the show’s theme song, as previous seasons have seen the likes of Ty Segall, Against Me!, Steve Earle, Bob Mould, Camper Van Beethoven, T-Pain, Band of Horses, Alabama Shakes, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Todd Rundgren, Dwight Yoakam, Father John Misty, and Kurt Vile among many others.

Yankovic has been busy in recent weeks, announcing a massive vinyl box set and announcing large North American tour set to kick off next year.

You can listen to the Squidbillies theme song and “Beat on the Brat” in the players below.