Ramonologue
Ìý I read an
yesterday and had to keep reminding myself 'journalists make mistakes,
journalists make mistakes'. By doing so I am giving the benefit of the
doubt to the fifth Ramone, who comes across as someone re-writing the
history of the fab four. Describing "I Wanna Be Sedated" as their most
famous song isn't the worst crime in the world, but remember that
sometimes young people read these articles and we don't want to put
ideas into their heads. Not the idea that sedating is a proper leisure
activity, but the idea that 'Blitzkreig Bop' or 'Sheena Is A Punk
Rocker' are less well known than "I Wanna Be Sedated". Such things
matter. ÌýI am not suggesting that Marky, who replaced the original
drummer Tommy after their third LP, was trying to put forward the idea
that the Ramones were better when he joined them but someone described "Road To Ruin", the first LP on which he was the drummer, as 'the breakthrough album'.
Let me not get bogged down in such trivial matters, though. The most interesting point about the article was the attempt to pin down the beginning of punk. Not the beginnings, plural, but the one defining moment.
Marky says Punk began with the Ramones. The Ramones began in 1974. Therefore punk began in 1974.
Why ? Because they were the first to play all punk songs. Not "all" as in every punk song ever written, but "all" as in that's all they played. No slow songs, no ballads, nothing to interrupt a list of fast and funny songs.
"There weren't any bands playing like that, ever" says Marky.
Too right. We shall never hear the likes of them again. Unless you put on a record, of course.
Let me not get bogged down in such trivial matters, though. The most interesting point about the article was the attempt to pin down the beginning of punk. Not the beginnings, plural, but the one defining moment.
Marky says Punk began with the Ramones. The Ramones began in 1974. Therefore punk began in 1974.
Why ? Because they were the first to play all punk songs. Not "all" as in every punk song ever written, but "all" as in that's all they played. No slow songs, no ballads, nothing to interrupt a list of fast and funny songs.
"There weren't any bands playing like that, ever" says Marky.
Too right. We shall never hear the likes of them again. Unless you put on a record, of course.
Comment number 1.
At 10th Feb 2010, Thomas Ferraro wrote:I will not defend the quality of "sedated" over "blitzkrieg" or "Sheena", but here in the US, "sedated" is by far the most well-known Ramones song, at least to the great ignorant (of the glories of most punk as we know it) masses. Thanks for the great show.
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Comment number 2.
At 11th Feb 2010, mickeybradley wrote:Thanks for that Thomas. Genuinely didn't realise that. Serves me right for being so sneery, eh ?
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Comment number 3.
At 11th Feb 2010, An Cruiskeen Lawnmower wrote:I've always loved that trying to pin down the exact beginning of any genre. Who was the Grandfather/Godfather and so forth. No matter where you go, you can always go a little further in some direction. Example, I was easing the tedium of a drive home from a cold building site in Holywood on Tuesday with one of the many 'Best of' Woody Guthrie compilations I have amassed and it was striking the similarities with punk.
The songs are short, catchy, to the point and a mixture of life,love and politics, genius in their simplicity. Simple but not as simple as they would have you believe. Is there much between a crashing guitar solo and a raucous banjo run? The constructs are identical in many cases and I tested this by singing The Vibrators' 'Baby Baby' as Woody lamented another dustbowl emigration. If punk was an attitude, Woody had it in spades, just more real than some, any thoughts?
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Comment number 4.
At 19th Feb 2010, mickeybradley wrote:The fact that it took me a week to respond doesn't mean I have come up with a profound observation. I'll grant you the earliest punk is Woody - except that for me punk in 76 was a reaction against ELP, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin and their ilk. Not sure if 'This Land Is Your Land' was written after he was fed up hearing about Dark Side Of The Moon.
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Comment number 5.
At 28th Feb 2010, Scott Matthews wrote:Though Rolling Stone magazine and National Public Radio are big fans of the song, it would be largely anecdotal to definitively call "I Wanna Be Sedated" "by far the most well known" Ramones song in the US. It may have been all over college radio at some point, but it never even charted in Billboard's Hot 100, unlike its predecessor, "Rockaway Beach," which was their highest charting US single, reaching #66.
There are plenty of other candidates--"Rock and Roll High School" had massive exposure via the film of the same name. "My Brain Is Hanging Upside Down (Bonzo Goes to Bitburg)" showed up in School of Rock. "Sheena Is a Punk Rocker" is the most anthologized of their songs. "Blitzkrieg Bop" was used in an AT&T commercial a few years back. "Do You Wanna Dance?" suffered a similar fate, as probably have others.
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