If you’ve ever felt like it takes absolutely no talent to get a song on the radio these days, then you can probably imagine how little talent it takes for some nobody punk band to cover a recent pop song. Though the musical quality of pop songs can be argued, “Punk Goes Pop, Vol. 3” seems to lose everything good about them.

After her successful release of the “Merry Christmas” album in 1994, Mariah Carey has donned the Santa suit again with her most recent album. The disc features four original songs, an “extra-festive” re-release of “All I Want for Christmas is You,” and eight covers of Christmas classics.

Cadenza recently caught up with bassist Chris Aiken of the legendary punk band Strung Out before their show at the Firebird on Sept. 24. After months on the road in support of their newest album, “Agents of the Underground,” Aiken had some insights on the band’s longevity, their most memorable shows and their inclusion on the next installment of “Guitar Hero”.