| Immortality is so much better when you can stay | | | | embodied the essence of the group:- They were |
| around long enough to realize it ...In that respect, the | | | | proudly American,- Their sound was aggressive, and- |
| Ramones endured to at least have a hint it was being | | | | Their compact compositions seemed to defend the |
| bestowed upon them.Once again, you've got a chance | | | | roots of Rock-&-Roll.To this day, items adorned with |
| to see why. If you were among the many who missed | | | | the Ramones logo can be found everywhere in the |
| them in their heyday, you can now relish their legend --- | | | | world. A further show of the band's ever-growing |
| in sound and sight --- with a cleverly-packaged | | | | effect on current consciousness is seen in sports, as |
| collection entitled 'Weird Tales of the Ramones.' If you | | | | hockey arenas all over North America have turned the |
| have any favorable inclinations toward rock music or | | | | seminal 'Blitzkrieg Bop' ('Hey, ho, let's go!') into an |
| pop culture, this is an essential item for your edification | | | | anthem that raised the song's mainsteam familiarity to |
| and enjoyment. Not only does the set contain 85 | | | | such an extent that it now provides the 'zeitgeist' |
| Ramones songs and 18 videos, it features an | | | | attitude portrayed in Pepsi-Cola commercials and |
| impressive array of works from top pop comic artists, | | | | elsewhere.In a way, the Ramones finally have their hit. |
| such as 'Simpsons' creator Matt Groening and 'Mad' | | | | With the third passing of the original four band |
| magazine's Sergio Aragones (there's even a 3D | | | | members --- bassist DeeDee Ramone --- only |
| comic, glasses included).The band probably had an | | | | drummer-cum-producer Tommy Ramone has |
| inkling of their icon status in the late 1970s when Rolling | | | | survived to completely bask in the belated |
| Stone magazine named them as one of the seven | | | | glory.Besides the release of the boxed anthology, the |
| most important groups in Rock-&-Roll history. | | | | other reason to wax poetic about the Ramones right |
| However, even then, the relative squalor of their daily | | | | now is the announcement that the Sex Pistols have |
| existence was threatening to put them in the ironic | | | | finally been accepted into the Rock-&-Roll Hall of |
| company of Mozart and van Gogh, two titans of their | | | | Fame. To many, they were the clarions of punk rock, |
| art whose earthly rewards fell far short of their | | | | but both the Pistols and The Clash owe their origins to |
| legacies.Actually, all the Ramones ever wanted was a | | | | the Ramones, who were inducted in 2002, when all but |
| hit. They were New York misfits who grew up | | | | lead-singer Joey were still alive.The Pistols and Clash |
| humming to the Top-40 charts, so perhaps that | | | | were in attendance for the first Ramones concert to |
| yearning was understandable. It was yet another irony | | | | rock the UK. Both met the group, who encouraged |
| of their careers, as their ultimate impact on rock music | | | | them to forsake perfection and embrace energy and |
| was that of being iconoclasts. They ultimately didn't | | | | get their sounds recorded as they were. Even the |
| need the Top-40 to make their presence felt.A recent | | | | term 'punk rock' was created in New York by |
| movie scene hit this nail right on the head. When Jack | | | | underground diarist Legs McNeil to describe the |
| Black's faux-teacher character in the wonderful | | | | Ramones (and Iggy Pop's Stooges) as well as the |
| 'School of Rock' diagrammed the influences of virtually | | | | genre that was emerging from the dark shadows of |
| every esteemed band of this era on a blackboard for | | | | disco, appealing to the disaffected and disenchanted |
| his elementary-school students, the name at the center | | | | who clung to the late-60s ideal that music still |
| of that chalked universe was, rightfully, etched in all | | | | mattered.One pleasant surprise on the boxed set is |
| capital letters: RAMONES. Another indicator of their | | | | the inclusion of a song the Ramones only released in |
| impact is the lineup of artists who covered their tunes | | | | the UK, 'I Don't Want to Live This Life Anymore.' It's |
| on a 'tribute' album compiled by the late Johnny | | | | DeeDee's melodic projection of the last moments in |
| Ramone and Rob Zombie (if your musical tastes are | | | | the drug-engulfed murder-suicide of Sex Pistol bassist |
| merely mainstream, he contributed 'Dragula' to the | | | | Sid Vicious and girlfriend Nancy Spungen. This concise, |
| 'Matrix' soundtrack). The album was produced to | | | | haunting opus, composed late in the group's career, |
| generate proceeds for lymphoma research, which | | | | served to further illuminate the torch being passed, |
| claimed the life of Joey Ramone. Those who paid | | | | from the influence the Beatles' early songs had on the |
| homage with their performances were a veritable | | | | Ramones --- the band took their name from an alias |
| Who's Who of today's rock industry:- Pearl Jam's | | | | Paul McCartney commonly used when registering at |
| Eddie Vedder (who was a close friend of Johnny | | | | hotels --- to their own influence on the British scene |
| Ramone),- U2- Metallica- Marilyn Manson- Tom Waits- | | | | that grew from their presence.The Pistols substituted |
| The Pretenders- Red Hot Chili Peppers- Offspring- | | | | anger for the Ramones' wit, but they still had the |
| GarbageEven glam-rockers Kiss made an | | | | artistic 'edge' that all great rock acts possess. They, |
| appearance, perhaps as a subtle acknowledgement | | | | and so many groups after them --- including Nirvana |
| that their own style-over-substance circus act has | | | | and Green Day --- took their cue from the Ramones |
| been well and truly outlasted by the stripped-down | | | | that the music was more than just a catchy tune. |
| sound of the Ramones. Kiss' contribution to the cause, | | | | Much more. The Ramones returned the music to its |
| though, may have been to first establish that a group | | | | adulators by making it accessible again. They hit the |
| didn't really need a Top-40 hit --- their only noodling of | | | | raw sensations that powered Rock-&-Roll in the first |
| note that made the hit list was a ballad, 'Beth' --- to | | | | place.And that may have been the Ramones' greatest |
| become financially independent. Merchandising was | | | | 'hit' of all.J Square Humboldt is the featured columnist at |
| their meal ticket and years later, that was the route | | | | the Longer Life website, which is dedicated to |
| that finally served the Ramones so well. Their first | | | | providing information, strategies, analysis and |
| roadie, Arturo Veja, designed a distinct logo and | | | | commentary designed to improve the quality of living. |
| hawked it is fashioned along the lines of ton clothing | | | | His page can be found at and his observations are |
| and posters at their concerts. The logo imitates seal of | | | | published three times per week. |
| the USA's Defense Department, which in a sense, | | | | |