Posted 7:35 AM by Paul
American Time Travel

Today four of the finest elements of American civilization came together and bore fruit in South London. Internet shopping, brought to us by Amazon delivered Anthology - the 2 CD Ramones compilation - to my front door. I blogged my joy to the world. The boys from Queens are on the CD player as I type.

27 years dissapear in a flash and I am back at the Doncaster Outlook Club in 1977 wathching Johny, Joey, Tommy and Dee Dee on their second UK tour. We were dumbstruck. The speed, the energy, the leather jackets, the ripped jeans. Emmerson Lake & Palmer and Yes were history. Prog Rock was dead. Bring on the new wave. I even interviewed the Ramones for our punk fanzine Gunrubber. The boys were just so cool and nice with it. They even gave me a beer. The Talking Heads were the support act.

Much more than the Sex Pistols, the Ramones summed up the spirit of the age for us. No more rock operas, no more guitar solos. You didn't have to practice for years and save up for flash equipment anymore just get out and do it. The anthemic positivism of Blitzkreig Bop rather than the beligerent cynicism of Anarchy in the UK was our call to arms. Maybe that accurately reflects the trans-Atlantic cultural divide. Optimism versus pessimism.

The Ramones are no more. Drugs killed Dee Dee. Liver cancer got Joey. In the 90s the band split apart, riven by litigious dispute. They never sold that many records but their influence can be heard in scores of chart acts 30 years after they played their first gig at CBGBs. I cannot imagine playing the Pistols in 2004, but the Ramones sound contemporary.

All hail the mighty R.A.M.O.N.E.S! Long live New York.