RAMONES CARTOONS!!

RAMONES--HUMMING A SICKENING TUNE: An Overview will be taking a short break as my band THE HICKOIDS wraps up SXSW in Austin & goes on a short European tour with THE GRANNIES from San Francisco. Til then, here's Saturday Morning fare to keep you kiddies occupied over your sugarcoated breakfast cereal.


I DON'T WANNA GO DOWN TO THE BASEMENT

LISTEN TO MY HEART

COMMANDO

CHAINSAW

JUDY IS A PUNK

DEEDEE

JOHNNY

SPIDER MAN

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

 I DON'T WANT TO GROW UP

Thanx to the animators and posters of these great clips, especially stelos486!! Great work. No ownership implied or suggested.

RAMONES' IT'S ALIVE--FUELED BY ELTON JOHN??!! w/ EXTRA CLIPS!

RAMONES-- IT'S ALIVE: FUELED BY ELTON JOHN???!!


IT’S ALIVE by THE RAMONES. My favorite band. My favorite record. Their best ever performance. Much to my surprise, we might have ELTON JOHN to thank in part. We’ll let Ramones producer ED STASIUM take it from here…

“I recorded six or seven gigs but we chose the Rainbow show because it was a great gig all around….When they did the It’s Alive recording at the Rainbow Theater in London on New Year’s Eve in ‘77, Elton john came to the party dressed all crazed out in his gay Nazi biker drag uniform. He had a German eagle SS pendant and a pound of cocaine in his hip pocket and was giving everybody bumps of coke from this thing he had around his neck. He actually held the thing as I snorted it….I thought ‘Holy Toledo, I’m snorting cocaine with Elton John!’”
—-excerpt from MONTE MELNICK’s book ON THE ROAD WITH THE RAMONES. It is wonderful. Go buy ten copies. Photos by DANNY FIELDS.



POSTSCRIPT:
One of the things that made the DVD release of IT'S ALIVE so enthralling was that it was the final culmination of an excruciatingly drawn out tease. Brief clips from the London show had trickled out on various RAMONES video releases over the years, and anticipation built to a fever as work on the IT'S ALIVE dvd commenced and was completed.

Just one problem- IT'S ALIVE omitted the tracks which had previously appeared! I've gathered them up here for convenience. Obviously the quality is not up to the stunning restoration apparent on the dvd, but they are thrilling nonetheless,  Enjoy!


ROCKAWAY BEACH








SHEENA IS A PUNK ROCKER







ALSO!

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RAMONES--HUMMING A SICKENING TUNE

RAMONES--HUMMING A SICKENING TUNE

RAMONES--HUMMING A SICKENING TUNE

My new daily track by track blog RAMONES career overview.

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RAMONES--HUMMING A SICKENING TUNE

THE RAMONES' OTHER DEBUT ALBUM

 

 

 

The Brothers are absolutely my favorite band, and I often refer to the first album as THE 14 COMMANDMENTS. The nature of its odd (practically ANTI-) production has become a central part of the mystique- thin, dry, trebly, practically no outside instrument embellishment or solos, brutal stereo separation of the bass & guitar, little 'protection' for Joey's (and others') vokes. Its primitivism is often cited as an ideal match to the band's aesthetic approach.

In fact even the meager cost of recording (six grand or so) is often touted as evidence of their simple precision. (I know, doesn't seem too meager to me either. They mean meager compared to the cost of  Fleetwood Mac producing TUSK.)

These notions, however, are obliterated upon hearing the cheap demos recorded by manager Marty Thau & the band in 1975. Crunchy and charged, these recordings make the six grand spent on THE RAMONES seem like a dubious extravagance, and in retrospect later several members noted the earlier tries' superior sound and feel to the subsequent 'real' recordings. A majority of the debut record's tracks were tried out, as well as a few that made it to LEAVE HOME (and even LATER!) and a couple of awesome tunes which went unreleased for years.

With most of these tracks so readily available via youtubin' I thought it might be fun to assemble them here, duplicating the original track order as closely as possible. A few iconic tracks don't appear (Beat on the Brat), but much of the flow has been maintained. Threw on some other extras at the end too. ENJOY!



1. BLITZKRIEG BOP--Even at this early stage, they seemingly arrive fully, perfectly formed. Breathtaking.






2. I DON'T CARE--The only one of these demos held back for ROCKET TO RUSSIA, their 3rd. Many of these tracks feature far more more relaxed and expressive vocals from Joey, and this is a good example.






3. JUDY IS A PUNK--The heavier, but simultaneously somehow more bubblegummy sound they would later overtly attempt on their 2nd LEAVE HOME is evident all over these tracks.





4. I WANNA BE YOUR BOYFRIEND--They give it a go in C before trying it in D (see 16) and then ending up in E on the record. Shoulda left it where it was.





5.CHAINSAW--No buzzsaw intro, but KILLER!





6. NOW I WANNA SNIFF SOME GLUE--Extra fancy guitar pickin' from Johnny!





7. I DON'T WANNA GO DOWN TO THE BASEMENT--I'd be hard pressed to not call this superior to the album version.

8. LOUDMOUTH--A bit tentative perhaps, but great clarity on DeeDee's bass.





9.YOU SHOULD NEVER HAVE OPENED THAT DOOR--Neither HAVANA AFFAIR nor LISTEN TO MY HEART were attempted, but here's a good stab at what ended up being one of LEAVE HOME's less well mixed tracks. They struggle briefly with the oddly timed intro.






10. I CAN'T BE--The other gem which, along with LEARNED/TAMED never made it on to any of the bros' records. The central riff to CHINESE ROCK makes an early appearance, and DIG the cool montage of vintage Bob Gruen and Danny Fields pix from period music mags!





11. 53RD AND 3RD--GREAT vokes from DeeDee throughout, and the fat mix shows Tommy's drumming to great advantage. Great tom sound and eccentric hihat pulloffs.




 

12. YOU'RE GONNA KILL THAT GIRL--LET'S DANCE was not attempted, but this similarly early 60s flavored original was, so it'll take it's place. Bass heavy, but a fun alternative to the LEAVE HOME version, which is voke heavy, amongst other problems. Still strong enough to coax SIRE to offer a single contract to the band for this song, an offer they rejected, holding out for an lp deal.

13. I DON'T WANNA WALK AROUND WITH YOU--One of this collection's strongest finds, an unbelievably awesome sonic barrage.



 

 

14. TODAY YOUR LOVE, TOMORROW THE WORLD--Our alternate '14 commandments' comes to a powerful end, uncensored lyrics and all.

15. JUDY IS A PUNK--Another poppier attempt.






16. I WANNA BE YOUR BOYFRIEND--This time trying it in D, somewhat more polished.






17. WHAT'S YOUR GAME--This was the only Marty Thau demo that didn't fit too well into the construct of what I was aiming for, so I've saved it for here near the end. 

 

 18. I DON'T WANNA BE LEARNED/ I DON'T WANNA BE TAMED--Finally,this embryonic classic- a song which distills their primitive power down to it's purest essence. Until DURANGO 95 came along, much later, that is.







 

 

I'd like to thank all of the youtube posters of this precious material. I know some of these links might not work on phones, but several of the clips were too cool to not get the nod.

Special thanx to Mullin for massive nerdbox support.



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HERE'S  LINKS TO MY RAMONES REVIEWS-- A TRACK BY TRACK RAMONES CAREER OVERVIEW!! 

 

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RAMONES--HUMMING A SICKENING TUNE: An Overview

 
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Here's two RAMONES related sites I like:

BLITZKRIEG'S PSYCHOTHERAPY BOP

RAMONES WORLD WIDE GROUP HEY HO LET'S GO




Here's a link to MY tumblr--TRUCKSTOP'S TRUCKSTOP

THE KINKS KONTROVERSEY KONTINUES!!

For the uninitiated: One of the nagging rumors that has persisted over the decades regarding YOU REALLY GOT ME concerns who rightfully let loose the LOUIE LOUIE derived, blisteringly protopunk , now iconic  guitar solo. One would assume the KINKS' lead guitarist Dave Davies, but LED ZEPPELIN's Jimmy Page (and John Paul Jones for that matter) was a well known session player and arranger in the years before he joined THE YARDBIRDS, and took part in the recording of many British 60's classics (and beyond a doubt, he DID play rhythm guitar on a couple of tracks on the KINKS first lp.) Over the years, the story that it was actually Jimmy wailing the lead steadily took hold.

Ray Davies for that matter (NOT always on the best of terms with Dave generally, in case you've lived your life under a rock) has stated emphatically time and again that it was indisputably his brother, even detailing a telling instance where Jimmy actually was in the studio as Dave dubbed his very similar break to their subsequent hit ALL DAY AND ALL OF THE NIGHT and snickered at it's hamfisted nature.

As an obsessive KINKS fan but only a marginal ZEP fan my sympathies lie in a predictable direction (tho, make no mistake, Jimmy's work on hits such as Them's BABY PLEASE DON'T GO is JUST amazing.) Then, it suddenly struck me- I have a way to independently double check this gnawing myth, thanks to the recordings of one Larry Page.

One of their army of managers, publishers and hangers on during the initial wave of the KINKS popularity (he also handled the TROGGS during their big years), Page had had already had a career as a performer and bandleader before switching to business side of things in the early sixties. Nonetheless, as Ray's viability as a songwriter increased he struck on the idea of recording an album's worth of instrumental versions of the KINKS songs with his orchestra (though pictured on the cover, no KINKS played on the recordings.) Deciding to title it KINKY MUSIC, just WHO do you think it struck him to ask to play some lead guitar? That's right, Jimmy Page.

SO. It seems simple. YOU REALLY GOT ME is on this disc. The probable guitarist is Jimmy Page. Just throw it on, compare with the hit single version, and we'll have this DAMN thing settled ONCE and for ALL.

Well, perhaps not. I'd have to admit that it's actually pretty damn similar. I was expecting to hear a sort of 'virtuoso' version of the Davies lead to be played by Page, but danged if it don't actually sound sloppier, less of an imitation than seemingly just a crappier try of the same groups of licks (with even a snatch of ALL DAY AND ALL OF THE NIGHT's bit thrown in.) Surprisingly even the tone is kinda close, only a certain lack of OOMPH distinguishing it from the 'real' solo's verve. For comparison:

Huh. Well, that clears nothing up. I'd kinda hoped for a substantial stylistic difference or at least tangible details that might state definitively how it wasn't Page and help put this thing to rest. But although I'll always go along with the Davies brothers version of events I'd hafta admit if anything I am LESS certain than I was before.

Sorry I Kouldn't Klear this up.

Krap.

WINNING IMMORTALITY VIA THE TWO PRONGED ATTACK OF SUBLIME AND ABSURD

EDDIE CARMEL was an exceptional human being. Born in 1936, he began suffering from the effects of gigantism (acromegaly) as a teen, and as he grew to immense size the 'Jewish Giant' reluctantly fell into a moderately successful career as a human oddity: stints in the circus and sideshows, random tv appearances, and even some rock and rollin' with a combo called FRANKENSTEIN AND THE BRAIN SURGEONS and a 45 called "Good Monster." (I know, I'm looking, I'm looking...) But this potential cultural footnote lurched into the permanence of collective consciousness not once, but twice via routes tantalizingly polar in qualitative notoriety. First, a few years before his death in 1972 he was captured in a portrait by Diane Arbus, entitled 'Jewish Giant, taken at Home with His Parents in the Bronx, NY' (see below.) Typical of her work, though it captures expressions of heartfelt love on the face of each family member, it is haunting in the unspoken struggles and sadness at which the image mysteriously but knowingly hints. Immortal- frozen forever in one of the best known pieces by one of history's greatest photographers.


And then, there is THE BRAIN THAT WOULDN'T DIE. Regularly and deservedly mentioned in the top echelon of the most hilariously terrible b-movies ever filmed, Eddie brought the necessary alarming heft into his role as the mutant pinhead 'thing in the closet.' Hidden until the very last minutes of the movie, and covered in cheap yet horrifying makeup, his startling entrance registers an unforgettable shock even to those who have endured the wretchedly sleazy reels which have preceded. The outlandish work has steadily grown in popularity ever since it's hesitant, belated release in 1962, and seems likely to remain discussed whenever schlock is the subject of nodding conversation. Once again, Immortal- but at completely the opposite end of the spectrum.

As such he stands devastatingly in opposition to the 'opportunity only knocks once' paradigm, encouraging proof that even the strangest of us have not only a chance to make our mark, but MULTIPLE chances in an array of instances which can be wildly divergent.




I'll wrap this up with the complete THE BRAIN THAT WOULDN'T DIE (though i HIGHLY encourage watching the ENTIRE thing--it's truly hilarious from start to finish, and the buildup to Carmel's entrance makes the delirium all the more delicious-- you can cut to his entrance at 1:19) Here's to ya, Eddie- Immortal and inspiring.








 Almost forgot, here's a link to some AWESOME behind the scenes stills from the film at my tumblr---

http://truckstopstruckstop.tumblr.com/search/eddie+carmel





AND! Here is one side of Eddie's 45!!

TODAY LIVERPOOL, TOMORROW DER WELT!!

During the initial years of the first wave of Beatlemania in America it became commonplace for the band to be derided as amoral, homosexual, or even worse, Communist by the more stuffed shirted of this country's 'right' commentators. All of this looks past the far more insidious truth which has slipped by the collective awareness somehow  unnoticed for several decades--that the Fab Four- JOHN, PAUL, GEORGE & RINGO, had sympathies far less concerned with Marxist demagoguery and far more obsessed with Master Race World Domination. With significant stretches of their early career spent in Hamburg and surrounding cities, it is hardly surprising that they fell sway to prevalent radical ideologies.



Skeptical? Well take a gander at the proof. First, sample this recording of one of their biggest hits, I WANT TO HOLD YOUR HAND, remade with a new vocal track retranslated  to better please the Hit Parader Youth:

But this wasn't the only of their hits remodeled to better please the Deutschlander fans- try this anthem on for size, which even managed to crack the charts on this side of the Atlantic, thanks no doubt to it's nearly profane phoneticisms to red white & blue ears. Sample as well the accompanying footage of the lads merrily romping around the beloved 'Vaterland.' "Ja,ja,ja," indeed:

And as if this all didn't make it plain enough, consider this telling footage of their reaction to a gigantic mob assembled to greet their 1964 tour to Australia (The unfamiliar fifth member is JIMMY NICOL, brought in to temporarily fill in for an ailing RINGO):

But lest one thinks that this leaves STARR off the hook, gaze upon the final footage of this clip, where he greets a crowd from his hotel widow once having rejoined the band after returning to good health:

Ladies and gentlemen, the evidence speaks for itself.