The first thing I heard of the Ramones was through a self-promotional ad giving vast differences of opinion of whether they were the best thing that'd happened to rock n roll in a long time, or the absolute worst. People were either stunned by the brilliant simplicity of their presentation, or appalled that they'd even consider themselves musicians. And it was their own self-promotion. They promoted themselves as the best AND the worst. Who does that? This was one thing that set them apart from anyone else.
I never got to CBGB's, but I did get to see the Ramones up close and personal in a small bar in Maine a year or two after they released their first album. Joey's eyes (through sunglasses) and mine met a few times during those couple of hours they played. Johnny blasted the two barre chord formations he'd learned to play. DeeDee and Tommy were thumping the beat. The Blitzkrieg Bop set to Beach Boys melodies. Mind-blowing to say the least.
And now today I hear the last of the living original Ramones has passed.
Gabba gabba hey.
Rest peacefully, Tommy.
9:44 AM PT: Best Ramones song?
"I Don't Care"
Entire lyrics:
I don't care
I don't care about this world
I don't care about that girl
I don't care
Simplistic. Raw. Full of nothing but angst. It's the teen angst song Pete Townsend always wished he'd written.