![]() As the years progressed, Ramones embraced a broader sonic palette (the metallic “Psycho Therapy,” a surf-rockin’ “California Sun”) and deeper lyrics: 1980’s “Do You Remember Rock ’N’ Roll Radio?” name-checked early musical icons Alan Freed and Jerry Lee Lewis yet resisted the urge toward misty-eyed nostalgia, while 1981’s “The KKK Took My Baby Away” touched on racism’s pernicious undercurrents. Although Ramones sometimes drew on their own lives for inspiration-“I Wanna Be Sedated” was inspired by road ennui-they found a groove writing songs about teenage outcasts and adolescent angst “We’re a Happy Family” describes a turbulent home life, while other tunes star vivid rebels named Sheena, Suzy, and Judy. This led to a deal with Sire Records and a 1976 self-titled LP full of punk pogos (“Blitzkrieg Bop”) and gender-flipped ’50s rock homages (“I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend”). Formed in 1974, the faux-fraternal quartet-lead singer Joey Ramone, bassist Dee Dee Ramone, guitarist Johnny Ramone, and drummer Tommy Ramone, all adopting a common last name-honed a ferocious live show as one of the house bands at the gritty New York City club CBGB. Clad in black leather jackets and blue jeans, the Queens, NY, band threw out snotty slogans (“Gabba gabba hey!”) while putting a tougher, faster spin on melodic ’60s garage rock and the airtight arrangements of girl-group pop. The list is based on a subjective selection made by me.It’s not hyperbolic to say that punk’s initial wave began with Ramones. 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.
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