I’m not a big cover song lover. Unless it’s Florida based New Found Glory doing the covering.
Now entering their tenth year together as a band, this five piece pop-punk powerhouse are often considered some of the forefathers of the genre. Their infectious energy, accessibility, and dedicated touring garnered them a rabid following in the late 90s and early 00s. If it weren’t for New Found Glory, it is a distinct possibility that bands like Cartel, Fall Out Boy, and Taking Back Sunday wouldn’t be nearly so popular today. But more about those bands later.
It was 1999 when I first heard the track “Hit or Miss” off of the album Nothing Gold Can Stay. I listened to it over and over again and knew that I was hearing something special. Jordan Pundik’s vocals were different than anything else I had heard out there at the time - more nasally, filled with hopeless optimism yet sparked with angsty teenage boy abandon, and just more fun. Set that to fast paced drums, catchy hooks, and lyrics from Chad Gilbert like “The needle on my record player has been wearing thin,” and “Remember the time we realized ‘Thriller’ was our favorite song” and I was hooked.
Signing with small indie label Drive-Thru Records was a smart move for New Found Glory and despite a move to Geffen in later years, they still enjoy a strong relationship with the label. Perhaps it was founded on the success of their self-titled album, released in September of 2000. With a re-recording of “Hit or Miss,” the stand-out track “Dressed to Kill,” and my personal favorite NFG song, “Eyesore,” the album was eaten up by hungry fans and eventually went gold in 2003. Since then they’ve had two more gold albums (Sticks and Stones and Catalyst), a new release in 2006, and three headlining stints on the Vans Warped Tour.
But one of their more memorable turns came the same year that New Found Glory was released. Six months before that album dropped, Drive-Thru released a seven song EP titled From the Screen to Your Stereo. It featured covers of songs all pulled from movies, including the perpetual fan favorite “The Glory of Love,” from The Karate Kid Part II.
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