Tomorrow the World
A few years ago most of my tapes (remember C45s and C60s anybody?) a handful of my records (yes actual, precious, vinyl) and a couple of my CDs (now these I really don’t care that much about, and they were truly the crap ones anyway) were deposited in a charity shop. Or a skip. I’m not sure which. I didn’t do it. It was in the spirit of a clear out. I’m not quite over it.
As a consequence, years later I’m still in the business of re-amassing the missing music MP3 stylee. So it was that, a couple of days ago, I found myself in the iTunes store – virtually speaking you understand, there isn’t actually a place tucked away down the Old Kent Road or something that no-one’s told you about – purchasing a copy of Ramones, the Ramones’ debut album. I listened to this endlessly as a kid.
And I’ve pretty much had it on loop ever since I downloaded it. Do you know what the most perfectly brilliant thing about the Ramones is? Brevity. The longest track on the original album comes in at a whopping 2 minutes and 40 seconds. I Don’t Wanna Go Down to the Basement if you were wondering.
Now Shakespeare wrote 154 sonnets about love. Not to mention inflicting on us that Romeo geezer endlessly droning on the about the depths of his passion for Rosaline or Juliet or whoever. But I’m not sure that any of this conveys with such poignant simplicity the courageous emotion of I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend. And I’m not convinced that Salinger told us any more about youth and alienation in 200 or so pages than Now I Wanna Sniff Some Glue does in 1 minute and 36 seconds.
When Ramones was first released I would’ve been 4 or 5 or something. It would be a few more years before I’d be listening to it over and over again on tape (a ragged patchwork of memories is telling me that Too Tough To Die was on the other side, but I might be making that up). It’s kind of sweet that there’s such a market for this stuff – I imagine crinkled Ramones fans lovingly loading it up on their grandkids’ iPods. Today MP3, Tomorrow the World. I finally saw the band at the Brixton Academy, many years too late, in 1991 I think. I really can’t remember that much about it. As it should be.
What's the point of Blogging? 
Oh, Lord who I don’t believe in… Ramones was my favourite band from 12 to 17 years old. No one would be able to beat them up. Just perfect songs for the rebel without cause. And even today when I listen to them I feel like kneeling down and making a prayer. It’s just like… Ahh. Fucking good (apologies my language). And because of Ramones I came to know The Clash, which was my second favourite band from 12 to 17 (don’t ask me what I did in this period). But I think you got overexcited about Salinger… Hold back your pints, Hanna!
It’s possible I was being a bit facetious about Salinger… just possible. Now The Clash – there’s a whole other blog. RIP Joe Strummer
I don’t wanna be buried in a pet cemetery – i don’t wanna live my life again… believe it or not, the soundtrack to a very sweet romance!
No one cares, noooo -body knows. Ah, youth. Wonderful Ramones.
Ah ‘Pet Sematary’… Romance… yeah, I get it. Sort of! Brain Drain actually survived the clear out – I still have it on vinyl