Remember the early 2000s, when pop punk and emo music dominated the music industry’s spotlight? Bands like Blink-182 and New Found Glory, both staples of the genre, were number one or two on MTV’s Total Request Live—TRL was everything to us old idiots—practically every week for a while there.
It was a fleeting time that we took for granted. Bands were filling “Punk Goes Pop” compilations, where bands would do pop punk versions of corny pop tunes we grew up on. I remember Blink-182 specifically had a version of the Billy Idol song “Dancing With Myself,” from the 1997 compilation “Before You Were Punk,” that was a blast. Scrappy versions of overly polished pop songs can be a lot of fun, but what of the converse to that? Maybe something like Puddles Pity Party doing a lounge, retro version of a Blink-182 song? Well, we don’t have to use our imaginations too much, seeing as we have a live version of them covering Blink’s “All The Small Things” on the Postmodern Jukebox YouTube channel that will give you pause and maybe even a little chuckle at the absurdity of how nice and smooth their take is.
“All The Small Things” was the second single from Blink’s third album, entitled “Enema of the State,” which was arguably the album that launched them into worldwide stardom. Though the band had some charting success with their second album, “Dude Ranch,” Enema brought them to the masses, much to the chagrin of the typical “punk” fan who thinks selling out is an offense worse than death.
“Enema of the State” marked a turning point for the band as well. They recruited drummer Travis Barker after their original drummer, Scott Raynor, left, and they started working with producer Jerry Finn, who was a legendary punk producer who helped create albums like Green Day’s “Dookie” and Rancid’s “…And Out Come The Wolves.” He practically wrote the handbook on the 1990s pop punk sound, once again to the chagrin of those dastardly “death before commercial success” punk fans and critics.
The album sold over 15 million copies, helping the band become one of the world’s biggest rock bands at the turn of the millennium. It’s considered by many to be one of the quintessential pop punk albums of all time, creating a sound that bands reference and are influenced by to this day.
“All the Small Things” was the second single and the first sung by Tom DeLonge to become a hit. It debuted at 89 and peaked at 6 on the Billboard Hot 100—still the band’s highest charting song. The song stands out as one of the most straightforward, “poppy” tracks on the album, so its success isn’t surprising. Tom said they recorded it last because it was so simple and uninteresting, but when they heard the final version, they knew they had something special, and it would be huge.
Nearly twenty years later, sad clown singer and performance artist, Puddles the clown, decided to do his own version of the bubblegum love song. Puddles is known for his old-timey, sad clown get-up and baritone, deep singing voice, as well as his somewhat silly, yet artfully performed, retro versions of contemporary popular songs.
This version is Puddles to a T. His band dresses like it’s the 1920s in a speakeasy, where patrons sip bootleg hooch as jazz standards play. The group includes a piano player, drummer, guitarist, stand-up bassist, and backup singers, all supporting Puddles, who sits center stage in a full old-timey, sad clown get-up. It’s a cheeky and charming visual paired with a smooth, entertaining performance—slick as room-temp butter.
The band lays out a mellow, simplistic instrumental for Puddles to ride along on top of and express his somewhat melancholic, dramatic, and dynamic vocals. There are subtle build-ups here and there that elevate the simple song to a more refined rendition. Puddles transitions from a seated, low drone to a standing, huge belting finale, becoming increasingly animated and loud before an abrupt ending, where he frumps back down pouting, while his band gathers themselves, turns out the lights, and leaves him alone to sulk on the stage.
It’s really a silly performance to watch, but if it were played on the radio independently, I’d be struck by how tasteful and well-done the version is. Seeing this gives me the urge to do a Puddles deep dive and to also maybe throw on the original goofball video for “All the Small Things.” It’s a win-win situation.