‘No longer is the rock impulse revolutionary-i.e., the transformation on oneself and society-but conservative: to carry on the rock tradition.’ -James Wolcott
The Ramones guard the door.
‘No longer is the rock impulse revolutionary-i.e., the transformation on oneself and society-but conservative: to carry on the rock tradition.’ -James Wolcott
The Ramones guard the door.
The New York Times, 1975
The Pop Life
Speculation
By JOHN ROCKWELL
The Ramones, a young rock quartet from Queens, have been playing here and there recently (at CBGB's earlier this week), and it's a lot of fun.
This is yet another group in what has become a fixed New York pattern. Black leather jackets, a parodistic macho camp swagger, and furious blasting rock and roll. But what the Ramones offer is non-stop energy (based on double-time guitar strumming), a few clever hooks, and sudden start-and-stop endings to their songs. For all the underground image, this is a band with obvious commercial potential, and one imagines that potential will start being realized very soon.
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"So what else is new? Well, the Ramones, for one. The most amazing new band I’ve heard yet. All their songs sound exactly the same, each one is under two minutes long, they start out every number with a shouted "one-two-three-four!" and then rush ahead at breakneck speed with the highest rock and roll energy ever. Then just stop- suddenly. It couldn’t be cuter. The Ramones are amazing, they’re exciting, and it’s funny because they’re so serious about what they’re doing. Slightly reminiscent of early Stooges, (the energy, the repetition) their bio reads: "…their songs are brief, to the point, and each one a potential hit single." It’s true. The Ramones are Johnny, Joey, Dee Dee, and Tommy Ramone, they all originate from Forest Hills and to quote again from their half-page biography, "kids who grew up there because either musicians, degenerates, or dentists. The Ramones are a little of each. Their sound is not unlike a fast drill on a rear molar." I’ll say.