It’s not a James Gunn film without some killer needle drops, and Superman is the latest proof. From Noah and the Whale to Gunn’s own The Mighty Crabjoys, the movie’s soundtrack is a delight to listen to, but there is one particular song that has been inescapable ever since Superman came out, and that is “Punkrocker,” a collaboration between Swedish alternative group Teddybears and the legendary Iggy Pop. It plays at the very end, when Superman (David Corenswet) is back at the Fortress of Solitude, recovering from all the fighting he had to do. Gary (Alan Tudyk) suggests that he watch a video of his favorite memories with his parents — his Earth parents — as he rests.
As the scene ends and the credits roll, “Punkrocker” continues to play, and hasn’t stopped playing on most viewers’ playlists and social media, either. Almost every Superman edit or video essay online features the song in the background, and it’s easy to understand why. It’s a great song, and it resonates with the movie’s message that kindness is the real punk rock. What most people don’t know is that, before it was an anthem for kindness, “Punkrocker” had another, very different version, preaching different things in one of the defining comedies of the 2000s.
An Alternative Version of “Punkrocker” Was Once Featured in ‘Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back’
“Punkrocker” does sound familiar to Superman audiences who grew up in the 2000s, although it was hard to say exactly why upon hearing it. Now, we know: it’s because it was also featured in a classic of that era, 2001’s Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, although actually it’s an alternate version called “Hiphopper.” It plays when the title characters (played by Jason Mewes and Kevin Smith, respectively) arrive in Hollywood after crossing the whole country. This version is sung by Swedish rapper Thomas Rusiak and also performed by Teddybears (then known as Teddybears STHLM), and it’s actually pretty similar to its more famous sister song, from melody to lyrics, and they even share the same verse structure.
Just as “Punkrocker” fits Superman, “Hiphopper” fits Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back like a glove. In the lyrics, a young man boasts about how good he looks, how rich he is, and how he lives his life the way he wants to, badmouthing anyone who bears him and his friends any ill will. What he really wants is to hang out with his friends and smoke his pot without being bothered, making it pretty much the quintessential Jay and Silent Bob song, as well as the perfect one to illustrate the duo’s taking over of Hollywood, given its fast-paced, synth-based melody — a typical 2000s classic. The way the lyrics are laid out, however, they feel a lot more like a satire than an actual hip-hop song.
If that really is the case, then it works even more perfectly for Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, which is as much a fun road trip movie as a satire of the Hollywood industry. In the movie, Jay and Silent Bob are on a mission to get their royalties for Bluntman and Chronic, a superhero movie with characters based on them that’s being made without their permission. They get into all sorts of trouble on the way, and it all starts because they aren’t allowed to hang out in front of the convenience store back home in New Jersey anymore. Just like in the song, all they wanted was to peacefully do their thing (well, okay, not that peacefully), but couldn’t.
“Punkrocker” Has Had Many Versions Since Its Release in the Year 2000
As it turns out, then, “Punkrocker” has been around for quite a while — 25 years, to be precise. It was first released by Teddybears in the year 2000, as part of their third studio album, Rock ‘n’ Roll Highschool. Back then, it had different lyrics, but still closer to the Superman version than to “Hiphopper.” That album marked the band’s transition to a more synth-based sound rather than pop punk, and that version of “Punkrocker” feels like it balances those two approaches. That same year, guitarist Joakim Åhlund released a different version with his other band, Caesars (whom you might know from their hit “Jerk It Out”), then known as Caesars Palace. Still in 2000, Thomas Rusiak released his version, “Hiphopper,” as featured in Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back a year later.
It was only in 2006 that the version of “Punkrocker” featured in Superman would come out. Rechristened solely as Teddybears, the band released Soft Machine, an album made up almost entirely of re-recordings of songs from their previous albums, but with updated and more elaborate arrangements. In this version, Iggy Pop provides the vocals, with his trademark deep voice and flamboyant attitude. He is also given writing credits together with the band, which probably relates to how the lyrics differ from the original version and from “Hiphopper.” Finally, in 2007, “Punkrocker” was also featured in a Cadillac commercial, which is also why some people recognized the song when it played on Superman.
“Punkrocker” Has Gone Viral After ‘Superman,’ and for Good Reason
Now, with Superman putting it back in the spotlight more than ever before, “Punkrocker” has finally gotten the attention it deserves. The song has seen an increase of over 18,468% in streams in the US in the week after the film’s release, which shows just how powerful using the right song in the right scene can be. Few people have as sharp a feeling about these things as James Gunn, and he certainly picked “Punkrocker” not just because of its quality and catchiness, but also because it resonates deeply with the movie’s main thesis, that kindness is the real punk rock. It’s not only in the title, but also in the melody, an uplifting tune that can make anyone at least hum along with it, if not outright belt it out loud.
The movie’s thesis is laid out in a scene between Lois Lane (Rachel Brosnahan) and Superman, after the world has turned on him and even Krypto, the Superdog, has been kidnapped by Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult). Lois argues that they are very different, because she’s “a punk rock kid” who questions everything and everyone, while Superman trusts everyone, to which he answers: “Maybe that’s the real punk rock.” Both these approaches are very punk rock, really, but our current world openly devalues kindness, leading some people to even deem this movie “woke,” since the very concept of kindness has completely gone over their heads. Being kind to those close to you is easy, but to everyone, without asking for anything in return? That’s what it’s really about, and it’s very, very punk rock.
The lyrics in “Punkrocker” also establish a dialogue with this thesis, especially through verses like “I listen to the music with no fear, you can hear it too if you’re sincere.” They are not just inviting and optimistic, but also hopeful in the sense that they express that anyone can choose to be kind, all it takes is being honest with one’s self. It certainly helps to have an icon like Iggy Pop singing it, too — the inflection he puts on the words “punk rocker”? It takes an actual punk rocker to have this kind of artistic insight. “I always thought the track had soul,” he said recently about the song’s newfound success. “Superman is the best friend you could have.” We don’t dare disagree with Iggy Pop. Good friends are not only kind to us, but also introduce us to good music. It turns out Superman, Jay, and Silent Bob are great at both.
Superman is now playing in theaters everywhere. Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back is available to stream on Paramount+.
