The Ramones provided a psychological safety zone for a generation of misfits who intrinsically knew that conformity was neither a valid goal nor a viable option. They provided a haven not just as a gathering place for outcasts, but a beautiful celebration of the power of eccentricity.
American Horror – Speedy Ortiz – This is a quirked out angular wall of guitars broken into from outside by Sadie Dupuis’s off melody singing, and this time at least it works great -like Best Cast meets Pavement, and also not too much like either – B+
“Anarchy in the U.K.,” The Sex Pistols. In November of ’76, a sea change occurred in the U.K. music scene as Johnny Rotten introduced himself as an anti-Christ/anarchist. While Rotten was declaring his goal to destroy passersby, the multi-tracked guitar of Steve Jones roared in violent agreement with the sentiment.
“This year the theme is more obvious than in all the years prior. Being that The Ramones were born in 1974, this year we’ll be celebrating not only the birthday of Jeff Hyman, we’ll be celebrating the birth of Joey Ramone, as well.”
Inspiration can come at odd times. On one of my recent trips to Rock NYC Headquarters, Helen Bach and I got into a wee bit of legal trouble. It’s a long story that started with us…um…borrowing all of the money in the petty cash fund
The Ramones boiled down everything they loved about rock ‘n’ roll to its essence – this is a band that had major fights about whether they could put a guitar solo on a song. The basic punk rock chord structures are now ubiquitous in modern rock, but this was music that was deemed both offensive and dangerous
Let’s Dance – The Ramones – Just for all of you who were left with a bad taste in their mouth after the “CBGB” debacle, here is a reminded how everything is Ramones – A
