RAMONES - April 23, 1976 - U.S. Rank : 111
First a quote: "Most of the members had been in various bands since the late 1960s. Johnny and Tommy had both been in a high school garage band circa 1966-67 known as the Tangerine Puppets, and Joey was in the short-lived early 1970s glam rock band Sniper." Nice.
This is the one that started it all. Let me say this: I like this record. A lot. I listen to "I Don't Wanna Go Down to the Basement," among others all the time even today. The thing about this record though, is that it's a paradox lesson in appreciation. Everyone should hear this record. But NOT everyone should love it. It's so good, you want to keep it for yourself, and yourself alone. You don't want to hear "Blitzkrieg Bop" at basketball games or on cell-phone commercials. You don't want to hear U2's tribute cover of "Beat on the Brat" (trust me you don't). So in a way, these songs grow sour by proxy of how they have been appropriated by the media and our pop culture. This has mainly come into play in the past, I don't know, 20 years, when people all of a sudden, as a whole, realized that the Ramones were REALLY good. So they just stick to the hits, the ones they can sink their claws in most easily. And they make cellphone commercials and all sorts of non-sense with these poor songs. The tragically ironic thing about all of this accolade is the fact that this "success" never came to the Ramones when they were really hungry for it. Within less than 10 years of breaking up in 1996, when the Ramones would finally get loads of praise for their past efforts, three of the four original Ramones were dead. Sure, the success came to them eventually, but not when they were young. It came when they were old, sick, and nearly forgotten. But whether we forget the Ramones or not, in the future, our grand children will know "Blitzkrieg Bop." Whether that's a good thing, or not, I don't know.
It's so hard for me to contextualize this album. How do I view it? As it is, or through the lens of what pop culture has robbed from it, seeing it as sullied by culture's greedy fingers. It seems tramped upon. It doesn't feel like a part of me. Still, it isn't all bad: that scene in "Royal Tenenbaums" when they played "Judy is a Punk" and you see Gywneth Paltrow make out with some topless lady totally rocked my world in 2001. It took the Ramones aesthetic and appreciated it; it didn't parade it. Sadly this is not the case with "Blitzkrieg Bop" and "Beat on the Brat," as I don't listen to the first two songs hardly ever on purpose. They're just too used. "Judy is a Punk" I still enjoy but not as much as I should. I was never a gigantic fan of "I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend" (a band I was in in high school, we tried to cover it, but never got around to it; "fools!" I say) but it's good enough and is also notable for setting up the Ramones absurd fascination with 60s pop. It also is the direct sonic template of "My My Kind of Girl," a song that's on their seventh record "Subterranean Jungle." It's amazing how much the Ramones ripped off their older material over the years. But at-least they stole from themselves!
"Chainsaw" is amazing by virtue of, if nothing else, how Joey Ramones pronounces "massacre." Now comes the best of the best: I am totally batshit obsessed with "Now I Wanna Sniff Some Glue" all the way to "Havana Affair." Mine own ears have never heard such great flow of moments in modern music. Sure "Loudmouth" is mysogynistic and repetitive, and the least glamorous of the four, but the others? The best mini EP section of a record that had no EPs. It's such strong material. It's punk. It's fun. You can hear the basslines. You can hear the rock. It's catchy. This is amazing music. I will forever remember these songs.
Things come to a screeching halt on "Listen to My Heart." Yes, it's on the first album, so it sounds great, but this is probably one of my least favorite Ramones songs. Dare I say the first boring Ramones song? It's a precursor for something that went on to mar their career with an unabated zeal: generic love songs.
"53rd and 3rd" is amazing, especially how Dee Dee really did turn tricks to score drugs. Art imitating life and all that. And this was in the early days! You get bad drug problems later in life, not from the get go. But that was the Ramones for you. This track also features cool background vox and Dee Dee's first vocal line ever (which is best kept to a short phrase about pulling out a knife). "Let's Dance" is great, and I always wonder what this version would have been like in "Animal House" despite it's unforgivable lack of cool keyboards. They come in at the end, but they sound lame and forced. "I Don't Wanna Walk Around With You" has never really grabbed me in any particular way (although it is good) but, and tell me if I am reaching here, maybe that's the point? Total indifference. Man, I need to try that on a girl sometime. "What's wrong dear? Wanna go to Waterloo?" ---- "I don't wanna walk around with you."
I am a super lover of the last track "Today Your Love, Tomorrow the World." This is a total lame memory but when I first got this record in 2001 I played this song on my bass for like 2 hours. It's so absurdly easy to play, like all Ramones songs, but something about this song really gets me. The bassline is so punchy -- it almost has a post-punk feel to it. It's very fluid, dark, and bouncy --- ahead of its time for sure. This coupled with the line "Nazi Schnazi" (a phrase I used as my own in 2005 when I first called my roommate's cat "Betsey Schmetsey") makes this song one of the Ramones most overlooked gems. The Ramones never topped anything this massively on target in terms of both punk and art , but at-least we have this song to admire.
B-Sides: Demos of "I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend" and "Judy is a Punk" are nothing special. The "I Don't Care" demo is bizarre, as it just boggles me that the Ramones would sit on a song like this for three years! It appears later on "Rocket to Russia" and is one of my favorites. Next, and this is very important for the Ramones aesthetic, "I Can't Be," an unused demo, is one of my favorite Ramones songs ever. Seriously. The demo, and especially the B side demo, was a weird realm for the Ramones. Unlike every one else who has every made music, the Ramones' demoed B sides and A sides actually often ended up sounding BETTER than their A sides. This is true for their first few records mainly. For some reason, the grungyness of the it all being thrown together only helps the Ramones get their point across that much better. Sure Dee Dee's bass sounds like shit, but that's good! That's the point! It also has the pentultimate couplet, "Now you say you wanna live with me/1-2-3 you wanna have a family." I used to think only Jackson 5 could write such hits through the incorporation of numbers in their song lyrics, but I was wrong. Demos of "Now I Wanna Sniff Some Glue" and "I Don't Wanna be Learned/Tamed" are both really great and really fast. Like "I Can't Be" they prosper from the bad sound quality. The demo for "You Should Never Have Opened that Door" is good but nothing special, thus proving that the "demos always rule" rule for the Ramones is not made of iron ore. This song actually sounds better polished, as that form suits the songs mode, late 60s power-pop, much better. As will be seen, once the Ramones got away from writing songs that are better suited to be rough both sonically and thematically, the demo becomes lesson vital to their craft.
Grade: 10 (if "Blitzkrieg Bop" wasn't everywhere)/9 (with the actual media saturation included)
Best for: sitting on the bus, with headphones, figuring out how the Ramones did audio for the first time; not wanting to go to work; at night; loud party, but only like three.
Join me next time for RAMONES MANIA: Pt. 2 (LEAVE HOME)!!!
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