It’s been a year full of (awfully) unexpected things, and so Jewish a cappella band Six13 decided to give us a (delightfully) surprising new parody this year. For Rosh Hashanah, the group went all pop punk on us with a take on Bowling for Soup’s 2004 hit “1985,” which just turned 20 this year, as the band wrote, “at the height of a punk pop revival.” Of course, the title is also perfect for this upcoming Hebrew year, 5785.
The group did, as per usual, an incredible job adapting the song (originally written by pop punk band SR-71) to fit the holiday, turning the slightly depressing lyrics about a middle-aged woman still living in the 80s into a joyful celebration of rituals, like making “Since Bruce Springsteen, Madonna/Way before Nirvana” into “On this Rosh Hashanah/Wish you shana tova.”
I’m honestly obsessed with this fever dream of a cover. Who would’ve thought that turning a pop punk song from a Wichita Falls, Texas band into a song about blowing the shofar, repentance and dipping apples in honey would work so well? Only Six13, and honestly, what a punk move. Wishing you all a year as sweet as this parody.
