Tracked in a matter of days at Radio City Music Hall in New York for the princely sum of $6,400 – absolutely nothing next to the cash being wheeled out for the rock giants of the day – it broke punk open. Their first album had been made in a short, sharp burst that translated into the buzzsaw energy of its short, sharp songs. Next to that record Leave Home is a far more authentic reach for mainstream acceptance built on the belief that, on their own scuzzy merits, Ramones songs were as melodically potent as anything swimming around in the upper reaches of the charts. The band would infamously give themselves over to pop on 198o’s End of the Century, enlisting primo arsehole Phil Spector – still at that point just the Wall Of Sound pioneer and not yet a convicted murderer – to buff their music to a shine.
But it doesn’t take into account the intent and execution.
Of course, that’s true on the surface-Ramones songs are Ramones songs. The list is based on a subjective selection made by me.Rolled out in January 1977, the LP was initially dismissed in some quarters as a good release that doubled down on a successful formula. Plucking just 10 songs out of their enormous catalog is definitely a challenge, but for now I’m just going to focus on the following ten. With all my respect, appreciation and love for their one-of-a-kind sound and enormous impact, I decided to prepare a list of 10 favorite Ramones songs. “The band’s first four albums set the blueprint for punk, especially American punk and hardcore, for the next two decades.” (Erlewine, Stephen Thomas, “The Ramones: Biography”) They also never stopped producing music and touring – their whole career was a concert, after concert, state after state, arena after arena… Until, they disbanded in 1996. Their music was so effective, powerful and durable. Their sound inspired artists such as Blonde, The Strokes, The Misfits, Nirvana, Arctic Monkeys and many many more. Their music and image marked the beginning of the 1970s and 80s punk rock movement in the USA, as well as in the UK and all over Europe.
Many people are unfamiliar with the immense influence Ramones had on the music scene and the rock musicians back in the day (believe me, they still do). They were simply rock ‘n’ roll! The oddness of their lyrics is what actually attracted me to Ramones – I mean, at some point you just get sick and tired of listening to music about love and you just want “to be sedated”. What I really liked about Ramones was the fact that they were not so strict anti-politics extremists, like Sex Pistols, for instance. Then, I fell for the whole concept and movement of punk rock – the style, the fashion, and of course the ideas behind it. At first, I fell for their music, their easy to sing-along lyrics, speedy guitar riffs and hard-edge melodies. Needless to say, Ramones are one of my favorite bands of all time. I remember my friends asking me why do I enjoy listening to this “noise” and how come all of their songs sound exactly the same…Probably, to many people they do, however to me, their songs, as well as their style, image and influence were (and still are) so different, so unique, so hardcore, so dangerous, so me… I started listening to Ramones when I was in high school and since then, they have been an inseparable part of my life. I present to you guys, the fathers of punk rock and the ultimate rockstars, without which the history of rock ‘n’ roll would have been completely different – the Ramones.