P a r t 2
(Please also see Part One of "Punk's Roots" in Audio Philes, PCR #288)
Ramones
What can really be said...the Beatles for the punk generation. Heavy metal surf music. Power pop. Whatever. The Ramones were and are the face of punk in th US. Taking their cue from the Dictators lyrics about burgers, girls, horror movies, and sniffin' glue these Pinheads from NYC were mysteriously either dumb as rocks or pure geniuses of irony. To this day we will never know. With their greaser leather jackets, torn jeans, and sneakers they made brick walls fashionable and got the Brits to go anti-establishment. Using basically the same formula for years they remain the perfect punk band. Snotty vocals, crunchy guitars, and furious abandon, their magic has been much imitated but never equaled.
Ramones: The debut is the on how to make your parents mad. Thundering bass and doo woop vocals rave on about "Texas Chainsaw Massacre", sniffing glue bottles, Judy and Jackie the punk groupies, and Nazis. It's never been better than this.
Leave Home: Made while on tour their sophomore effort focuses on pop songs tuned to metal level and of course rips off The Dictators by also covering "California Sun", and doing it better. The 2nd part of a song series of girl punk ballads "Suzy is a Headbanger" is also included.
Rocket to Russia: Turning up the pop on Leave Home to ear-splitting level, the boys get back to noise. "Rockaway Beach" is Brian Wilson auditioning for Sabbath while "Sheena is a Punk Rocker" will make you one too.
Road To Ruin: Branching out to include honky tonk on one song they basically keep to what they do best and it is best displayed on "I Wanna Be Sedated" and "I Just Want To Have Something to Do". The Ramones rock a little harder then usual here and even belt out some true metal riffs.
End Of The Century: Fulfilling their prophecy of being punk's Fab Four, the Ramones have Phil Spector put his girl group production on their heavy doo wop to satisfying results.
The Dead Boys
Young Loud & Snotty: Next to the Ramones, NYC's Dead Boys produce a sound that evokes that city better than anyone's. Loud, thrashy and gruff, their sound was unique and unheard of again until punks in the '80s like Minor Threat and Bad Religion ushered in the Boys' more vicious form of Punk.
Talking Heads
'77: Though this is their only punk record, the Heads embodied punk spirit more than any. Playing funky quirky nervous rock that didn't fit in then or even in the '80s. By going against the sound they really were more punk than their peers. They also show that '70s punk had a lot more diversity than the punk in the '80s and '90s, proving how far it's fallen. From funk to reggae to guitar solos to surf twang and even poetry, now all that remains is the three-chord punk of the Ramones and Dictators.
"The Audio Philes" is ©2005 by Terence Nuzum. All graphics (except where otherwise noted) are creations of Nolan B. Canova. All contents of Nolan's Pop Culture Review are ©2005 by Nolan B. Canova.
