The Ramones are a curious musical atavism - while at their core, they were basically a bunch of anti-social, substance abusing lunatics who helped to define punk rock (and many of it's attendant behaviours), their heart beats with a solid pop rhythm, clearly evidenced in this song which was, apparently, the first 'punk' song to chart in the US and UK. Written by Joey Ramone and released in the year of our lord 1977, the year that punk rock broke according to Thurston Moore from Sonic Youth, it's a slab of surf-punk-pop. It features the traditional Ramones buzz saw guitar (courtesy of Johnny), machine gun drumming (courtesy of Tommy) and slightly doleful vocals (Joey again, in case you get confused about who did what). By all accounts Dee Dee played bass, but you can't really hear it, which means he was probably off stoned somewhere.
It's fantastic, of course, as this is The Ramones we're talking about. Or, more accurately, if you love the Ramones, you'll already love this and if you despise them, this will do nothing to change your mind. I love this song. It sounds like every other Ramones song with one difference being that, at 2:45, it's about a minute longer than most of their output. Most of that minute is dedicated to Joey singing "a punk punk, a punk rocker ooooh" repeatedly.
Now for the moment we've all been waiting for - The Ramones meet The Rock Nutter Scale (tm). True to form, they broke it.
(1) Must have done enough drugs to kill a regiment of dutch soldiers
They wrote Now I Wanna Sniff Some Glue, Carbona Not Glue and I Wanna Be Sedated. They were junkies for most of their lives. Dee Dee died of an overdose at age 50-odd. Easy pickings for the boys from Queens, NY. And at one point they actually kicked Marky out for being an alcoholic. Guffaw.
(2) Must have been to prison more times than the neck tattoo fairy
Two words: Dee Dee. Three more words: Joey and Johnny.
(3) Must be reknowned for wild and destructive behavior
Joey stole Johnny's wife (or Johnny stole Joey's, roughly the same thing) and they consequently didn't talk for decades. This wouldn't be particularly out of the ordinary, except they were touring continuously during that time, playing on the same stage nightly and travelling in the same van. And Dee Dee was Dee Dee - tales of swastikas and being stabbed by drag queens abound.
(4) Should have a proper pseudonym
They're not an early precursor to the Jonas Brothers. In fact, they're not related at all. Which means they chalk up a point for their pseudonyms.
(5) Should have a suitably weird history
Joey spent time in mental hospitals getting electroshock therapy and Dee Dee was a male prostitute. Johnny was fascinated with the Third Reich.
Adding up the points, they're like a triple-headed Iggy Pop (in typical fashion, no-one cares about the drummer), a cerberus of punk-pop. And there's no doubt as to their influence - an often-quoted story is that everyone present at their first gig in the UK went off to form a band. And those present included future members of The Clash and The Sex Pistols. Apparently they also taught Sid Vicious how to shoot up heroin. Needless to say, their influence looms large over rock and roll. This song is tribute to their legacy - it mixes punk and pop at an almost intrinsic level - this wasn't punk or pop or some tired combination thereof, this was a visceral, vital mix at it's most basic level. They didn't know how to do anything else.
Verdict: A+ for Dee Dee
Tomorrow: Lloyd Price - Stagger Lee
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