"Punkrocker" is a song written and originally performed by the Swedish electronic/alternative group Teddybears. The song first appeared on their 2000 album ''Rock’n’Roll Highschool'', and was covered later that year by Caesar's Palace (later known as Caesars), a band which also includes Teddybears member

Joakim Åhlund Frans Joakim "Jocke" Åhlund (born 9 August 1970 in Stockholm, Sweden) is a Swedish musician, producer and music video director. He is the lead guitarist and lead singer of the band Caesars, and a member of the bands Teddybears, Smile and Les ...

. The song has been covered multiple times, with the best known version of the song internationally being a 2006 re-recording by Teddybears with featured American singer

Iggy Pop James Newell Osterberg Jr. (born April 21, 1947), known professionally as Iggy Pop, is an American singer, musician, songwriter and actor. Called the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Godfather of Punk", he was the vocalist and lyricist of ...

on lead vocals. This version of the song was a minor hit in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, and appeared in a

Cadillac The Cadillac Motor Car Division () is a division of the American automobile manufacturer General Motors (GM) that designs and builds luxury vehicles. Its major markets are the United States, Canada, and China. Cadillac models are distributed i ...

ad campaign in 2007.

Notable covers

It has been performed by *

Caesar's Palace Caesars Palace is a luxury hotel and casino in Paradise, Nevada, Paradise, Nevada, United States. The hotel is situated on the west side of the Las Vegas Strip between Bellagio (resort), Bellagio and The Mirage. It is one of Las Vegas's largest ...

on the album '' Cherry Kicks'' (2000) *

Teddybears STHLM Teddybears (formerly Teddybears STHLM) are a Swedish alternative rock band formed in 1991, known for mixing pop, rock, hip hop, electronica, reggae, punk, and many other genres. History Teddybears began as a grindcore group called Skull. As f ...

on the album '' Rock’n’Roll Highschool'' (2000) *

Thomas Rusiak Thomas Rusiak (; born Erik Thomas Sihlberg 8 November 1976) is a Swedish rapper, hip hop producer, musician and singer. Rusiak's father was the rather prominent Polish jazz saxophonist, Alfred Banasiak. Rusiak was initially a member of the Stockh ...

featuring

as "Hiphopper" on the album '' Magic Villa'' (2000) Though not a hip hop song itself, the song is a parody of the hip hop culture. *

Slagsmålsklubben Slagsmålsklubben (; often abbreviated as SMK) was a Swedish electronic music group from Norrköping, Östergötland. The group's name is a comically literal Swedish translation of the title of the novel and film ''Fight Club'' by Chuck Palah ...

as "Synthpopper" on the album '' Fest i valen - Edition'' (2001) *

Torgny Melins Torgny Melins is a dansband from Säffle, Sweden, scoring chart successes in Sweden by the mid-late 2000s. In 2006, the band played at the Hultsfred Festival, becoming first dansband since Sven-Ingvars in 1991 to do so. The band has also played at ...

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

dansband (; "dance band"), or in Norwegian and Danish, is a Swedish term for a band that plays ("dance band music"). ' is often danced to in pairs. Jitterbug and foxtrot music are often included in this category. The music is primarily inspired by ...

) as "Dansbander" on the album '' Dansbander'' (2006) also releasing it as a single the same year. * Teddybears featuring

on the album ''

Soft Machine Soft Machine are a British rock band from Canterbury formed in mid-1966 by Mike Ratledge (keyboards, 1966–1976), Robert Wyatt (drums, vocals, 1966–1971), Kevin Ayers (bass, guitar, vocals, 1966–1968) and Daevid Allen (guitar, 1966–196 ...

'' (2006). * Träd, Gräs och Stenar live since 2002 and on the album ''Homeless Cats'' (2009). * The Swedish radio show ''Rally'' as "Jag är Hiphop-Yngve, jojomen" (2000). * Snutjävel (a

punkband) as "Punksvin" CDS (2010) * Crazy & the Brains on the single '' Punk Rocker'' (2021).

In the media

The Teddybears' single, "Punkrocker" (featuring

), is featured in a

television commercial directed by Daniel Askill, titled 'Roll' and features a time-line of

automobiles, from the original 1902 Cadillac to the 2007

Cadillac XLR The Cadillac XLR is a front-engine, rear-drive, two passenger roadster manufactured and marketed by Cadillac from 2003 to 2009 across a single generation — and noted for its power retractable hardtop, Bulgari designed interior instruments ...

sports convertible. The song also appeared in the background of a scene of

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...

's Bionic Woman. Thomas Rusiak's version "Hiphopper" can be heard in

Kevin Smith Kevin Patrick Smith (born August 2, 1970) is an American filmmaker, actor, comedian, comic book writer, author, YouTuber, and podcaster. He came to prominence with the low-budget comedy buddy film ''Clerks'' (1994), which he wrote, directed, co ...

's 2001 film

Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back ''Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back'' is a 2001 American satirical stoner buddy comedy film written and directed by Kevin Smith, the fifth to be set in his View Askewniverse, a growing collection of characters and settings that developed out of hi ...

Music video

The music video portrays parts of

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

's skyline at nighttime. Everyone's (except Iggy Pop who is seen in a car) head is replaced with a

bear Bears are carnivoran mammals of the family Ursidae. They are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans. Although only eight species of bears are extant, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats throughout the Nor ...

(so is the

Statue of Liberty The Statue of Liberty (''Liberty Enlightening the World''; French: ''La Liberté éclairant le monde'') is a List of colossal sculpture in situ, colossal neoclassical sculpture on Liberty Island in New York Harbor in New York City, in the U ...

seen at the end.)

References

Teddybears (band) songs Iggy Pop songs Songs written by Klas Åhlund 2006 songs Songs written by Joakim Åhlund {{2000s-rock-song-stub