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ivan@stellysee.de
| From | GaryPig@aol.com |
| Subject | Re: Johnny Ramone dead; R.I.P. |
| Date | Wed, 22 Sep 2004 16:04:29 EDT |
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<< I always knew in the back of my mind (even as a young kid when I first saw
them) that they were just a LOUD, souped up version of The Beatles, Rolling
Stones, Kinks, Beach Boys, Spector, 60's Girl Groups etc....in other words
"classic rock". >>
EXACTLY,
MB !!
When I first interviewed the band (Spring of 77) and asked the dreaded
"influences" question, Johnny instantly started rhapsodizing all over Elvis' vintage
Ed Sullivision appearances (and this was well BEFORE the VCR age ...which led
me to think, hmm, these guys sure ain't teenagers, lobotomied or otherwise
;-) while Joey claimed his primary vocal idols as none other than Ronnie
Spector and Peter Noone.
Makes perfect sense to me.
To my eyes and ears the Ramones were the logical descendants of
Kasenetz-Katz, though the leather jackets (not to mention being branded with the damnable
"punk" tag) certainly restricted their career trajectory in N. America.
Perhaps had someone closer to the middle of the road only covered one of the
band's early melodic gems over here and knocked the edges off a teeny tiny
bit, a la Linda R. and that other Elvis' "Alison" at the time, it could have been
quite a different story. It SHOULD have been a different story.
Coz lately, it all sounds the same to me,
G. Ramone
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