The cover-version spectrum: Reframing the relationship between imitation and transformation in pop-punk cover-versions

‘Covering’ previously recorded tracks is a central aspect of popular music. Despite an abundance of examples, discourse related to cover-version tracks is limited and includes questionable application of dichotomizing terminology (‘cover’, ‘version’) that can cause problems for interpreting the cover-version genre and diminish the nuanced approaches taken by artists who produce cover-versions. Examining recordings from the Punk Goes… album series reveals many examples that go beyond the either–or cover/version dichotomy generally presented in musicology. As such, this article has three main aims: to investigate the ways in which Punk Goes… tracks innovatively move between the poles of cover and version, thus requiring a new analytical framework; to explore the connection between imitation and transformation to the ascription of cover and version; and to move beyond prior musicological scholarship that emphasizes formal elements and composer intention. This article presents a reclassification of the terms ‘cover’ and ‘version’ as extreme poles of a ‘cover-version spectrum’ dependent on the listener’s interpretation of the performative character. Analyses challenge assumptions that equate musical phrases with fixed musical meanings, suggesting instead that the interpreted manner of performance is more significant than syntactical concerns. This provides a structure for clearer examination of cover-versions and supports the view that semiotic methods are a vital tool in the analysis of recorded popular music.