The intergalactic shock-rock overlords of GWAR set their sights on Barbie with a new cover of 2023’s Ryan Gosling-sung summer anthem “I’m Just Ken”. The band’s reworked “We’re Just GWAR” served as the official relaunch for The A.V. Club‘s A.V. Undercover series, marking the first installment in seven years.
GWAR is no stranger to the A.V. Club studios, having performed some of the most beloved “A.V. Undercover” renderings including Kansas‘ “Carry On My Wayward Son“, Billy Ocean‘s “Get Out Of My Dreams, And Into My Car“, Pet Shop Boys‘ “West End Girls“, and Cyndi Lauper‘s “She Bop“. Frontman Blöthar the Berserker is well aware of his band’s legacy on the series, confidently roaring ahead of the cover, “Time to dominate, again!”
As for what inspired the band to pick the hit song from the cultural touchstone of summer 2023, Blöthar remarked, “Well, you know, I’d love to say that it’s our long love affair with musical theater. But unfortunately, it’s my prurient interest in Ryan Gosling. Had my eye on him since the Mickey Mouse Club. I can’t go close to Ryan, but I feel close to him.” (Consequence may have also played a part in the cover. The media blog asked for this specific pairing in a post on X, to which A.V. Club responded, “We’re down if @gwar is.”)
Related: Teenage GWAR Fan Dressed As Oderus Urungus To Pick Up School Report Card [Videos/Photos]
GWAR’s version of “I’m Just Ken” aligns more closely with a “Weird” Al Yankovic parody than a faithful cover. From the very beginning when Blöthar sings, “It doesn’t matter what we do / We’re still the band that spews / Too gross, too much for most / F–ck you!” it’s clear GWAR is playing this song on GWAR’s terms. From decrying boring metal bands to presenting a Barbie hair styling head as if they decapitated it during deep-space combat, playtime is over in the band’s send-up of the ’80s-style power ballad, proclaiming, “We’re just GWAR / We are shock rock superstars / Yes we are clowns and we exist / To take a piss on sacrosanctity.”
Check out GWAR’s cover of “I’m Just Ken” below, kicking off season 9 of A.V. Undercover. A.V. Club readers and staff have assembled a 25-song list of tunes they’d like to see covered for the series. Once a band covers a song, it gets crossed off the list until the last band is left to cover the last song. Read more about the series here. GWAR will go out to conquer venues across the country on The Stoned Age Tour this fall. Find tickets and a full list of tour dates on the band’s website.
GWAR — “I’m Just Ken” (Mark Ronson, Andrew Wyatt)
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