Do your parents know you're Ramones??
May 21, 2016 4:53 PM   Subscribe

"Bloodlines make bonds irrefutable. You might hate your brother for what he's done, but you can't undo the blood; he's still your brother, you're his. A makeshift family, the kind many bands construct, may seem easier to leave behind. It's a musical partnership, a fraternity at best. But the bonds can be just as indelible, as sublime, as painful." -- The Curse of the Ramones by Mikal Gilmore, Rolling Stone
posted by Room 641-A (6 comments total) 20 users marked this as a favorite
 
Bloodlines make bonds irrefutable. You might hate your brother for what he's done, but you can't undo the blood; he's still your brother, you're his.

Very few people know this better than does Gilmore, who is the brother of this other, much more notorious Gilmore.

His book Shot in the Heart is one of the best true crime books I've ever read, largely because it is not really a "true crime" book at all, but a beautiful (and often horrifying) memoir about growing up with a brother who happened to become a famous murderer.

Plus, Gilmore's an excellent writer, and this Ramones article is great.
posted by dersins at 5:16 PM on May 21, 2016 [6 favorites]


Geraldo Rivera Interviews Joey Ramone's Mother
Joey's mom definitely knew he was a Ramone.
posted by dougzilla at 5:28 PM on May 21, 2016


What a great band. Great article, too. Thanks for posting.
posted by kevinbelt at 6:02 PM on May 21, 2016


Gabba Gabba We accept you, we accept you. One of us.
posted by evilDoug at 7:04 PM on May 21, 2016 [1 favorite]


What an amazing article, and so sad too. To read that that they originally thought the Bay City Rollers were there contempories is both stunning and interesting. Thanks for posting.

I love this part: "Dee Dee got the name 'the Ramones' from Paul McCartney," Tommy said. "McCartney would call himself Paul Ramon when he checked into hotels and didn't want to be noticed. I liked it because I thought it was ridiculous. The Ramones? That's absurd! We all started calling ourselves Ramones because it was just a fun thing to do. There were times we were pretty lighthearted when we were putting this together."

*plays Blitzkreig Bop and once again revels in how totally awesome it is - what a fucking sound* (It makes me want to buy a $50 guitar and start a punk rock band, and I am old and grey.)
posted by marienbad at 4:48 AM on May 22, 2016


There's a clip of the Blues Magoos on the Smothers Brothers Show where each member is introduced with the last name "Magoo" and several have haircuts similar to what Joey and Johnny Ramone had. Paul McCartney may have inspired the name, but this may have been the inspiration for everybody in the band adopting the same last name.
posted by jonp72 at 6:24 AM on May 22, 2016


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