The Offspring have put their own stamp on one of punk’s most indestructible songs, releasing a studio cover of the Ramones classic ‘I Wanna Be Sedated’.
The track has already been part of The Offspring’s recent live sets, but the band have now taken it into the studio and given fans a proper recorded version.
‘We’ve been playing this live on tour, so we thought we’d record a proper studio version for you,’ The Offspring said when announcing the release. ‘Listen to our cover of Ramones ‘I Wanna Be Sedated’ now.’
Originally released in 1978, ‘I Wanna Be Sedated’ appeared on the Ramones’ fourth studio album, Road to Ruin.
Nearly five decades later, it remains one of the band’s defining songs, and one of those rare punk tracks that has crossed generations without losing any of its twitchy, impatient appeal.
The Offspring ‘I Wanna Be Sedated’
The Offspring put their spin on a punk staple
For The Offspring, covering Ramones territory makes plenty of sense.
The Californian punk veterans have always carried the fingerprints of the bands that came before them, even as they pushed punk into much bigger rooms through the ‘90s and beyond.
Their version of ‘I Wanna Be Sedated’ does not try to completely dismantle the original (below), instead it leans into the same straight-ahead energy that made the song work in the first place, filtered through The Offspring’s own sharper, heavier production.
That approach suits the track, the original was never about technical fireworks, it was about repetition, momentum and that permanently irritated Ramones pulse.
The Offspring understand that language pretty well, the cover also gives the band another live ready song to throw into the set after road testing it in front of crowds before committing it to tape.
For a song that was built to hit quickly and get out before overstaying its welcome, ‘I Wanna Be Sedated’ has had a remarkably long life.
Now The Offspring have added another chapter to it, The Offspring’s version of ‘I Wanna Be Sedated’ is out now.
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