Ramones Forever
Immortality is so much better when you can stay around long
enough to realize it ...
In that respect, the Ramones endured to at least have a hint it
was being bestowed upon them.
Once again, you've got a chance to see why. If you were among
the many who missed them in their heyday, you can now relish
their legend --- in sound and sight --- with a cleverly-packaged
collection entitled 'Weird Tales of the Ramones.' If you have
any favorable inclinations toward rock music or pop culture,
this is an essential item for your edification and enjoyment.
Not only does the set contain 85 Ramones songs and 18 videos, it
features an impressive array of works from top pop comic
artists, such as 'Simpsons' creator Matt Groening and 'Mad'
magazine's Sergio Aragones (there's even a 3D comic, glasses
included).
The band probably had an inkling of their icon status in the
late 1970s when Rolling Stone magazine named them as one of the
seven most important groups in Rock-&-Roll history. However,
even then, the relative squalor of their daily existence was
threatening to put them in the ironic company of Mozart and van
Gogh, two titans of their art whose earthly rewards fell far
short of their legacies.
Actually, all the Ramones ever wanted was a hit. They were New
York misfits who grew up humming to the Top-40 charts, so
perhaps that yearning was understandable. It was yet another
irony of their careers, as their ultimate impact on rock music
was that of being iconoclasts. They ultimately didn't need the
Top-40 to make their presence felt.
A recent movie scene hit this nail right on the head. When Jack
Black's faux-teacher character in the wonderful 'School of Rock'
diagrammed the influences of virtually every esteemed band of
this era on a blackboard for his elementary-school students, the
name at the center of that chalked universe was, rightfully,
etched in all capital letters: RAMONES. Another indicator of
their impact is the lineup of artists who covered their tunes on
a 'tribute' album compiled by the late Johnny Ramone and Rob
Zombie (if your musical tastes are merely mainstream, he
contributed 'Dragula' to the 'Matrix' soundtrack). The album was
produced to generate proceeds for lymphoma research, which
claimed the life of Joey Ramone. Those who paid homage with
their performances were a veritable Who's Who of today's rock
industry:
- Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder (who was a close friend of Johnny
Ramone),
- U2
- Metallica
- Marilyn Manson
- Tom Waits
- The Pretenders
- Red Hot Chili Peppers
- Offspring
- Garbage
Even glam-rockers Kiss made an appearance, perhaps as a subtle
acknowledgement that their own style-over-substance circus act
has been well and truly outlasted by the stripped-down sound of
the Ramones. Kiss' contribution to the cause, though, may have
been to first establish that a group didn't really need a Top-40
hit --- their only noodling of note that made the hit list was a
ballad, 'Beth' --- to become financially independent.
Merchandising was their meal ticket and years later, that was
the route that finally served the Ramones so well. Their first
roadie, Arturo Veja, designed a distinct logo and hawked a ton
of clothing and posters at their concerts. The logo imitates
seal of the USA's Defense Department, which in a sense, embodied
the essence of the group:
- They were proudly American,
- Their sound was aggressive, and
- Their compact compositions seemed to defend the roots of
Rock-&-Roll.
To this day, items adorned with the Ramones logo can be found
everywhere in the world. A further show of the band's
ever-growing effect on current consciousness is seen in sports,
as hockey arenas all over North America have turned the seminal
'Blitzkrieg Bop' ('Hey, ho, let's go!') into an anthem that
raised the song's mainsteam familiarity to such an extent that
it now provides the 'zeitgeist' attitude portrayed in Pepsi-Cola
commercials and elsewhere.
In a way, the Ramones finally have their hit. With the third
passing of the original four band members --- bassist DeeDee
Ramone --- only drummer-cum-producer Tommy Ramone has survived
to completely bask in the belated glory.
Besides the release of the boxed anthology, the other reason to
wax poetic about the Ramones right now is the announcement that
the Sex Pistols have finally been accepted into the Rock-&-Roll
Hall of Fame. To many, they were the clarions of punk rock, but
both the Pistols and The Clash owe their origins to the Ramones,
who were inducted in 2002, when all but lead-singer Joey were
still alive.
The Pistols and Clash were in attendance for the first Ramones
concert to rock the UK. Both met the group, who encouraged them
to forsake perfection and embrace energy and get their sounds
recorded as they were. Even the term 'punk rock' was created in
New York by underground diarist Legs McNeil to describe the
Ramones (and Iggy Pop's Stooges) as well as the genre that was
emerging from the dark shadows of disco, appealing to the
disaffected and disenchanted who clung to the late-60s ideal
that music still mattered.
One pleasant surprise on the boxed set is the inclusion of a
song the Ramones only released in the UK, 'I Don't Want to Live
This Life Anymore.' It's DeeDee's melodic projection of the last
moments in the drug-engulfed murder-suicide of Sex Pistol
bassist Sid Vicious and girlfriend Nancy Spungen. This concise,
haunting opus, composed late in the group's career, served to
further illuminate the torch being passed, from the influence
the Beatles' early songs had on the Ramones --- the band took
their name from an alias Paul McCartney commonly used when
registering at hotels --- to their own influence on the British
scene that grew from their presence.
The Pistols substituted anger for the Ramones' wit, but they
still had the artistic 'edge' that all great rock acts possess.
They, and so many groups after them --- including Nirvana and
Green Day --- took their cue from the Ramones that the music was
more than just a catchy tune. Much more. The Ramones returned
the music to its adulators by making it accessible again. They
hit the raw sensations that powered Rock-&-Roll in the first
place.
And that may have been the Ramones' greatest 'hit' of all.