Hi-STANDARD Cover Songs: 20 Tracks and Their Originals

By Namu Punk Rock — updated October 18, 2026

I love Hi-STANDARD’s own songs, but their covers kept giving me another reason to dig through their records. A Motown single, a Japanese anime theme, a Black Sabbath ballad: I wanted to know where those songs came from, and which Hi-STANDARD releases I needed to look for.

For listeners outside Japan, that second question can be surprisingly complicated. Hi-STANDARD reached an international punk audience through Fat Wreck Chords, but the Japanese and overseas editions of their records do not always have the same tracks.

This guide covers 20 songs recorded by Hi-STANDARD, grouped by release, with their original artists, song histories and relevant edition differences. It includes the 2025 cover of “Book of Revelation,” the Snuff tribute EP and the bloodthirsty butchers tribute compilation. Ken Yokoyama’s live rendition of “Lovin’ You” appears separately as a bonus. “Crows” and “Crows Caw Loudly” count as one underlying song; whether the two releases contain the same recording remains unverified.

I’m a Japanese music blogger, and this is an expanded English edition of my original Japanese article. The list follows that article’s scope; it is not a claim to document every cover or brief quotation the band has ever played live.

Hi-STANDARD cover songs at a glance

The release column gives the main places discussed below, rather than every reissue or compilation appearance. Dates and track numbers in the individual entries refer to the specified editions.

Song	Original artist / source	Hi-STANDARD release
1. Book of Revelation	The Mr. T Experience	Screaming Newborn Baby
2. My Girl	The Temptations	The Gift
3. Bridge Over Troubled Water	Simon & Garfunkel	The Gift
4. I Get Around	The Beach Boys	Vintage & New, Gift Shits
5. You Can’t Hurry Love	The Supremes	Vintage & New, Gift Shits
6. Money Changes Everything	The Brains	Vintage & New, Gift Shits; earlier 7-inch
7. Happy Xmas (War Is Over)	John & Yoko / The Plastic Ono Band	Vintage & New, Gift Shits; WIZO splits
8. My First Kiss	Anshin Papa: “Hajimete no Chū”	Love Is a Battlefield
9. Can’t Help Falling in Love	Elvis Presley	Love Is a Battlefield
10. Green Acres	TV theme by Vic Mizzy	Making the Road
11. Changes	Black Sabbath	Making the Road
12. Crows / Crows Caw Loudly	bloodthirsty butchers: “Karasu”	Making the Road (US); We Love Butchers
13. Have You Ever Seen the Rain	Creedence Clearwater Revival	Angry Fist
14. Gotta Pull Myself Together	The Nolans	Angry Fist
15. Pink Panther Theme	Henry Mancini	Angry Fist (hidden track); London Nite 2
16. The Kids Are Alright	The Who	The Kids Are Alright; Angry Fist (US)
17. Since You Been Gone	Russ Ballard	Growing Up
18. Saturday Night	Bay City Rollers	Growing Up
19. California Dreamin’	The Mamas & the Papas; earlier recording by Barry McGuire	Growing Up (Japan); California Dreamin’ 7-inch
20. Now You Don’t Remember	Snuff	Somehow It Don’t Bother Me… A Tribute to Snuff 2

For “Money Changes Everything” and “Since You Been Gone,” the familiar versions by Cyndi Lauper and Rainbow are themselves covers. The distinctions matter, so I explain them below. The original “Happy Xmas” recording also features the Harlem Community Choir.

Screaming Newborn Baby (2025)

Hi-STANDARD’s six-track EP, also described as a mini-album, was released in Japan on November 26, 2025. PIZZA OF DEATH’s release page identifies track 5 as a cover.

1. “Book of Revelation”

Original artist: The Mr. T Experience
Hi-STANDARD release: Screaming Newborn Baby, track 5

The original opens The Mr. T Experience’s Milk Milk Lemonade (1992), as listed in the band’s archival discography. It connects Hi-STANDARD’s recent work with the California pop-punk records their listeners may already know.

This was not simply a song the band discovered for the new EP. In PIZZA OF DEATH’s 2025 interview, Akihiro Namba recalls playing it with drummer Akira Tsuneoka in the 1990s. The idea resurfaced when Ken Yokoyama played it in the studio.

The title refers to the biblical Book of Revelation, but that does not make the lyric a retelling of scripture. In Dr. Frank’s own commentary on the song, the revelation comes from reading a girlfriend’s diary: a private disaster on an apocalyptic scale.

Overseas release note: PIZZA OF DEATH announced a Fat Wreck Chords edition for October 23, 2026. The Japanese edition was released in 2025.

The Gift (2017)

The Japanese edition of The Gift was released on October 4, 2017. Its two covers draw on quite different voices in American popular music.

2. “My Girl”

Original artist: The Temptations
Hi-STANDARD release: The Gift, track 6

Written by Smokey Robinson and Ronnie White, “My Girl” became the Temptations’ first No. 1 pop hit in 1965.

3. “Bridge Over Troubled Water”

Original artist: Simon & Garfunkel
Hi-STANDARD release: The Gift, track 13

The source is the title track of Simon & Garfunkel’s 1970 album, written by Paul Simon and originally sung by Art Garfunkel.

Vintage & New, Gift Shits (2016): the all-covers single

Released on December 7, 2016, Vintage & New, Gift Shits is a four-song single made entirely of covers. The first two were new recordings for the release; the last two bring earlier 7-inch material onto CD in remastered form.

That distinction is worth keeping clear: tracks 3 and 4 are remasters, not new performances recorded in 2016. Those two older selections are particular favorites of mine, which is part of this release’s appeal.

4. “I Get Around”

Original artist: The Beach Boys
Hi-STANDARD release: Vintage & New, Gift Shits, track 1

The Beach Boys released “I Get Around” in 1964 and included it on All Summer Long. It opens Hi-STANDARD’s single with a song whose group vocals are as recognizable as its lead melody.

5. “You Can’t Hurry Love”

Original artist: The Supremes
Hi-STANDARD release: Vintage & New, Gift Shits, track 2

The song comes from the Supremes’ 1966 Motown catalog and appears on The Supremes A’ Go-Go. Together with “I Get Around,” it gives the single’s two new recordings a distinctly 1960s pop focus.

6. “Money Changes Everything”

Original artist: The Brains
Songwriter: Tom Gray
Hi-STANDARD releases: I Don’t Need Trouble Because of….Money (1997); Vintage & New, Gift Shits, track 3

Cyndi Lauper made the song widely known through She’s So Unusual (1983), and Hi-STANDARD’s official page identifies her version. The song itself goes back to Tom Gray’s band the Brains, who released it as a single in 1978, before recording another version for their debut album.

Gray’s interview with INDY Week discusses both Brains recordings and Lauper’s cover. The useful distinction is the Brains as the original recording artist, and Lauper as the later performer named in Hi-STANDARD’s credits.

Hi-STANDARD’s Japanese discography dates the earlier 7-inch to January 21, 1997. The 2016 single contains a remaster of the older recording.

7. “Happy Xmas (War Is Over)”

Original artists: John & Yoko / The Plastic Ono Band with the Harlem Community Choir
Songwriters: John Lennon and Yoko Ono
Hi-STANDARD releases: War Is Over and Weihnachten Stinkt! (1997); Vintage & New, Gift Shits, track 4

The original 1971 single was a John-and-Yoko release, with the Plastic Ono Band and the Harlem Community Choir. Calling it simply a John Lennon song leaves out part of that credit.

Hi-STANDARD’s version appeared on releases shared with the German punk band WIZO: the Japanese War Is Over 7-inch, dated December 5, 1997, and the German Weihnachten Stinkt! CD, dated November 24, 1997. The older listings use variants such as “Happy Christmas” and “Happy X-Mas”; the 2016 track title is “Happy Xmas (War Is Over).”

Love Is a Battlefield (2000)

The four-track Japanese single came out on April 5, 2000. Fat Wreck Chords released the US edition on July 24, 2001, with the same four-song sequence.

8. “My First Kiss”

Original song: “Hajimete no Chū” (はじめてのチュウ; roughly “My First Kiss”)
Original artist: Anshin Papa, the recording persona of Toshiharu Jitsukawa
Songwriter: Toshiharu Jitsukawa
Hi-STANDARD release: Love Is a Battlefield, track 2

“My First Kiss” is Hi-STANDARD’s English-language version of a song associated with the Japanese children’s anime Kiteretsu Daihyakka. For readers unfamiliar with the series, this is the key connection: an anime theme with a deliberately high, processed vocal became a punk cover sung in English.

Anshin Papa is not a separate singer from the songwriter. In Jitsukawa’s account of the original recording, he explains that he sang it himself, recording at half tape speed to create the voice heard on playback. He also notes that the song was initially used as the show’s opening theme; it is also associated with its ending credits.

The adaptation goes beyond replacing Japanese words with English ones. Jitsukawa’s discussion of Hi-STANDARD’s version identifies changes to the vocal melody. That is a particularly useful perspective on this cover: the original composer listening closely to what the band changed.

9. “Can’t Help Falling in Love”

Original artist: Elvis Presley
Hi-STANDARD release: Love Is a Battlefield, track 4

Elvis recorded the song for Blue Hawaii in 1961. The credited songwriters are Hugo Peretti, Luigi Creatore and George David Weiss. On Hi-STANDARD’s release, it closes the record two tracks after “My First Kiss”: an American film song and a Japanese anime theme on the same four-track single.

Making the Road: the Japanese edition (1999)

The Japanese edition of Making the Road was released on June 30, 1999. The following two covers also appear on the US edition, in the same positions.

10. “Green Acres”

Original source: The theme to the television sitcom Green Acres
Composer: Vic Mizzy
Hi-STANDARD release: Making the Road, track 10 in both editions

Written by Vic Mizzy, “Green Acres” is the theme song for the American sitcom of the same name, about a New York couple who move to a farm.

11. “Changes”

Original artist: Black Sabbath
Hi-STANDARD release: Making the Road, track 11 in both editions

Black Sabbath’s original is a keyboard-led ballad from Vol. 4 (1972). Hi-STANDARD turn it into a punk song. On Making the Road, it follows “Green Acres,” putting a television theme and a Black Sabbath song back to back.

Making the Road: the US edition, and We Love Butchers

The US edition of Making the Road followed on November 2, 1999, on Fat Wreck Chords (FAT599-2).

12. “Crows” / “Crows Caw Loudly”

Original artist: bloodthirsty butchers
Original song: “Karasu” (カラス; “crow”)
Hi-STANDARD releases: Making the Road (US), track 13, as “Crows”; We Love Butchers (Indie Version), track 2, as “Crows Caw Loudly”

“Crows” is Hi-STANDARD’s cover of bloodthirsty butchers’ “Karasu.” A 1999 review of Making the Road identified it as a butchers song at the time.

The tribute CD We Love Butchers (Indie Version) was released on June 18, 1999, by ZK Records / Less Than TV, with the catalog number ZIKS-095. Its second track is Hi-STANDARD’s “Crows Caw Loudly.”

I count these as one covered composition, following the Japanese article. I have not established whether the compilation and US album use the same recording, a different mix, or separate takes. The difference in their printed titles cannot settle that question.

What changed between the Japanese and US track lists?

Comparing the two official lists gives this result:

Track	Japanese edition	US edition
Green Acres	Track 10	Track 10
Changes	Track 11	Track 11
Crows	Not listed	Track 13
Lift Me Up Don’t Bring Me Down	Track 14	Not listed
Mosh Under the Rainbow	Track 17	Not listed

The official track lists contain 19 songs for the Japanese edition and 18 for the US edition. The US release includes “Crows” but leaves out two songs found on the Japanese album: “Lift Me Up Don’t Bring Me Down” and “Mosh Under the Rainbow.”

Angry Fist (1997)

Angry Fist appeared in Japan on May 14, 1997, and in the US on July 29, 1997. Its track order differs between editions. The US release also includes “The Kids Are Alright,” discussed separately below.

13. “Have You Ever Seen the Rain”

Original artist: Creedence Clearwater Revival
Hi-STANDARD release: Angry Fist, Japanese track 7 / US track 12

Written by John Fogerty, “Have You Ever Seen the Rain” appeared on CCR’s Pendulum in December 1970, followed by a single release in 1971.

14. “Gotta Pull Myself Together”

Original artist: The Nolans
Hi-STANDARD release: Angry Fist, Japanese track 11 / US track 8

The Nolans released “Gotta Pull Myself Together” as a pop single in 1980.

15. “Pink Panther Theme”

Original composer and recording artist: Henry Mancini
Hi-STANDARD releases: Angry Fist (hidden track); London Nite 2, track 16

Henry Mancini wrote the theme for Blake Edwards’ 1963 film The Pink Panther. Although many listeners associate the tune with the cartoon character, it originated in the film’s score.

The cover’s hidden-track status explains why it is missing from the numbered Angry Fist lists on Hi-STANDARD’s site. Lollipop’s October 1997 review of the Fat release explicitly mentions it as a hidden bonus. That confirms its presence on the edition reviewed, rather than on every subsequent format or reissue.

There is also an easily overlooked compilation appearance: London Nite 2, released on November 26, 1999 by Warner Indies Network (WINE-82018), lists “Pink Panther Theme” at track 16.

The Kids Are Alright (1996)

16. “The Kids Are Alright”

Original artist: The Who
Hi-STANDARD releases: The Kids Are Alright single, track 1; Angry Fist (US), track 7

The Who’s Pete Townshend song appeared on My Generation in 1965 and was issued as a UK single in 1966.

Hi-STANDARD released their three-track single through Toy’s Factory on September 1, 1996. The cover also appears on the US edition of Angry Fist (1997), but is absent from the Japanese edition’s track list.

Growing Up (1995 in Japan; 1996 in the US)

The Japanese Growing Up came out on November 1, 1995. The Fat Wreck Chords edition followed on February 13, 1996. Once again, their contents differ.

17. “Since You Been Gone”

Original artist and songwriter: Russ Ballard
Famous later version: Rainbow
Hi-STANDARD release: Growing Up, Japanese track 4 / US track 11

Russ Ballard wrote and originally recorded “Since You Been Gone” for his album Winning (1976). Rainbow’s better-known version followed on Down to Earth in 1979.

18. “Saturday Night”

Original artist: Bay City Rollers
Hi-STANDARD release: Growing Up, Japanese track 8 / US track 5

This is the Bay City Rollers song. Its chant and straightforward pop hook make the connection easy to hear, even across the change in tempo and sound. It is one of the covers shared by both principal editions of Growing Up, although its position changes.

19. “California Dreamin’”

Best-known source artist: The Mamas & the Papas
Earlier recording: Barry McGuire, with the Mamas & the Papas on backing vocals
Songwriters: John Phillips and Michelle Phillips
Hi-STANDARD releases: Growing Up (Japan), track 9; California Dreamin’ 7-inch

The Mamas & the Papas made the song famous, but they first sang backing vocals on Barry McGuire’s recording. The instrumental backing from that session became the basis for their own version, with new vocals recorded over it.

For Hi-STANDARD collectors, the practical distinction is straightforward: “California Dreamin’” is on the Japanese Growing Up, but not on the US album’s official track list. Fat Wreck Chords issued it separately on the California Dreamin’ 7-inch, catalog number FAT536, listed by Hi-STANDARD as an August 26, 1996 release.

Somehow It Don’t Bother Me… A Tribute to Snuff 2 (1995)

20. “Now You Don’t Remember”

Original artist: Snuff
Hi-STANDARD release: Somehow It Don’t Bother Me… A Tribute to Snuff 2, “That Side,” track 1

Hi-STANDARD’s version appears on Somehow It Don’t Bother Me… A Tribute to Snuff 2, a 7-inch tribute compilation EP released by Snuffy Smile in April 1995. Its catalog number is snuff-012.

The original appears on Snuff’s debut album, Snuff Said. Hi-STANDARD’s online listing reverses “you” and “don’t” and misspells “remember.” If you are searching for the EP, use “Now You Don’t Remember” together with the catalog number snuff-012.

Bonus: Ken Yokoyama’s live cover of “Lovin’ You”

Original artist: Minnie Riperton
Original release: Perfect Angel (1974)
Performer discussed here: Ken Yokoyama, individually

My Japanese article also includes Ken Yokoyama singing and accompanying himself on Minnie Riperton’s “Lovin’ You.” Riperton’s original appears on Perfect Angel (1974).

SATANIC ENT.’s report of Hi-STANDARD’s December 14, 2017 show at Saitama Super Arena describes Yokoyama breaking into the song after “Starry Night.” It documents an impromptu moment without specifying whether he performed the song in full.

I have included this as a bonus about Yokoyama’s individual performance, separate from the 20 Hi-STANDARD cover songs above.

A note on rare recordings

The harder-to-find releases were part of what made me want to put this list together. I have not personally listened to the recordings on We Love Butchers or London Nite 2, so those entries rely on published track lists.

I count “Crows” and “Crows Caw Loudly” once because they cover the same bloodthirsty butchers song. Whether the releases contain the same performance, mix or master remains unconfirmed. I have also not established whether the London Nite 2 track uses the same master as the hidden recording on Angry Fist.

Hi-STANDARD’s connection with bloodthirsty butchers goes back to their first show at Koenji 20000V in October 1991, where the two bands shared the bill. The butchers also played AIR JAM 2000 at Chiba Marine Stadium, and their performance appears on the official AIRJAM2000 VIDEO.

Hi-STANDARD songs covered by other artists

Other artists have covered Hi-STANDARD’s own songs, too. I have collected examples in my separate article on artists who have covered Hi-STANDARD (in Japanese).

Where these covers lead

What keeps me interested is the distance between the sources: the Brains and the Supremes, an anime theme and a film score, Snuff and bloodthirsty butchers. Following those connections gives me more music to listen to, while comparing the releases explains why one listener’s Hi-STANDARD collection can look different from another’s.

If you are tracing a particular song, start with its original artist. If you are looking for Hi-STANDARD’s recording, check the edition as well as the album title. For this band, both parts of that search matter.

Sources and further reading

For release dates and track lists, see Hi-STANDARD’s official Japanese discography and overseas discography, along with PIZZA OF DEATH’s Screaming Newborn Baby release page. Links throughout this article lead to further information on the original songs, rare releases and live performances.

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Written by Namu Punk Rock