Posted on May 13, 2009 - by Mark Zonda

One Two Three Ramones

When it was all Beatles and Rolling Stones I used to be really hard on Punk music. In a word: it was nonsense noise. Growing up a little it came that not only I kept on being a hudge Beatles fan, but began to get interested on horror movie. I mean: in a massive way. I can clearly remember me and friends of mine wandering loose in the desert city during neverending summer but with our bikes meeting each night not knowing what to do besides cheasing cute girls in cars for being logically dumped and doing some random riot acts nearby cimiteries and abandoned parking lot. Horror movies managed someway to saving our teenage summer nights. I can perfectly recall what during my 17teen we letteraly took every title from the triple Horror VHS shelf of the Video Rental. One of the movies we enjoyed the most was “Pet Cemetery”. The ending titles score was a blast and, guess what, it was “Pet Cemetery” by Ramones, one of the first bands to import punk music from UK to USA.

“I don’t wanna be buried… on a Pet… Cemetery…”, I used to sing outloud that song EVERYWHERE, and I wonder how many passing by was actually scared by this little boy running at his top on his bike screaming that Ramones tune. I‘ m so in love with that song that not only made me gave later a wider open mind on a good part of the punk scene, but I put some of the lyrics in one of my last songs too!

Then I obviously started to get to love all the first naif productions above all, almost thanks to Wes Anderson, Lester Bangs and Luigi Bertaccini, a local DJ using “School of Rock” as anthem and opening tune for his lessons on music history. From an end to a start then. I played at least one Ramones song eache time I had the chance to throw a DJSet. W

Back to 2009. I’m recently listening to the expanded & remastered version of “Too Tough To Die”, the first album with Richie Ramone, and maybe the latest great album the were supposed to record. Somehow was a turning point. The Gabba Gabba Guys has overused their straight rock formula up to its reasonable limit, and tried to breaking up the code withoud changing the rules. “Street Fighting Man” is already a prototype for “Happy Xmas”, yet not a darker “Zero Zero UFO”. The “Dee Dee” vocal of the title track “Too Tough To Die” is yet more refined than “Sheena is a punk rocker”, still it got the groove. Sub Zero is not only a chracter from Mortal Combat. It happens that “Sub Zero Construction” was the name of a band of Seth Macklin, who had a real tough fight with Johnny Ramone, that was beated in the head (with a baseball bat?). Here’s tthe album title self-exlained.

What scared me the most of the band is that they played more than 2.263 in 30 years. Yet the alternative scene and grunge music put the band against the wall when any major name of the scene were quoting the guys as inspirational heroes stille nobody wanted to buy their cds. “Don’t Worry About Me”. Schooltime gets over. Even for an ethernal teenager as Joey Ramones.

Ramones – “Howling At The Moon (Demo)”

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