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Underground > Radio & Music >

Ramones stuff

15:06 / 12.03.02

from pitchfork

quote: Rob Zombie Plans Mall-ternative Ramones Tribute
Gabba gabba retch
Alan Schnepf reports:
Satan impersonator Rob Zombie has enlisted a who-who's of mega-platinum "modern rock" stars to play Ramones covers for a tribute album to the late Joey Ramone, who died in April 2001 after a battle with lymphatic cancer.

With names like Marilyn Manson ("The KKK Took My Baby Away"), Eddie Vedder ("I Believe in Miracles") and Billy Corgan ("I Want You Around"), it wouldn't be surprising if We're a Happy Family, as the album will be called, sells more units than anything the Ramones ever put out. The grandpappies of punk never had a gold album despite two dozen or so LPs.

Zombie told Rolling Stone that the album should be done by June. "We were working to get it out on the one-year anniversary of Joey's death," Zombie told the magazine. But because they didn't want to "rush out a bad record," the deadline got pushed back. Covering Ramones tunes is time-consuming work, you know. (One love, Joey.)

Rancid, the Offspring, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Static-X, and Mötorhead are among the obvious and not-so-obvious acts recruited so far (ah yes, that's what the Ramones always needed-- compression!). Zombie, who is organizing the album with Johnny Ramone, has said U2, Bruce Springsteen and Joe Strummer have also expressed interest in the project, but aren't yet confirmed. Strummer might already have been on board, except that he wanted to cover "Blitzkrieg Bop," which Zombie is already recording for the album. Some people obviously don't realize their spot in the punk pecking order.

Also, looks like Eddie Veder will be inducting the Ramones into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, which means he'll probably be singing with them. Somehow that doesn't seem right.

A

04:24 / 13.03.02

Fucking Hell.

First Joey dies, and now this. That is such a depressingly terrible line-up of bands. Rather than being a bunch of bands who really love the Ramones, and who would actually do an interesting job of covering them, it's just a who's-who of boring, commercial Alterna-rock.

Motorhead are a fantastic choice and, while i don't like Rancid, they deserve their place there and probably won't fuck it up, but the rest of the lineup is terrible.

It sounds like it will be even worse than the "Gabba Gabba Hey" Ramones tribute, which came out about a decade ago, and consisted almost entirely of crap bar bands doing boring versions of Ramones album tracks (even good bands like the Groovie Ghoulies and L7 did crappy versions).

I really, really hope that the money from this record will be going to charity, so it won't have that awful aroma of "cash-in" surrounding it.

It doesn't surprise me that Eddie Vedder is inducting them into the Hall of Fame. They actually let him sing on the last song they ever played live, for some unknown reason. I have heard that Johnny Ramone has said he will only play with Dee Dee or CJ singing, not with someone impersonating Joey, so hopefully we'll be spared the sight and sound of Vedder whining and blustering his way through some Ramones classic.

Forgive me for going on, but i love the Ramones an awful lot, and this whole tribute thing just seems wrong.

08:24 / 13.03.02

Yes, it's very wrong.

You're right - Motorhead and Rancid are capable of doing a good job, but the rest of those losers deserve a sound beating for even thinking about covering Ramones songs..

I mean, fer fucks sake, imagine U2 singing a Ramones song .. bono standing there in his 'rock god' uniform wailing "beeeaaat u-hu-hooon theee bbrrraaattt" .. good christ.

I used to kinda like Rob Zombie, but fuck him if he's organising this travesty..

And as for the so-called "rock and roll hall of fame", I think the fact that they're only letting the Ramones in in *2002* tells you everything you need to know about those wankers..

A

10:34 / 13.03.02

i could be wrong, but i think that an artist can't get into the rock'n'roll hall of fame until 25 years after their first record, or something like that. Ramones was released in 1976, so this would probably be the first year they were eligible.

However, you're completely right about the "wankers" part.

11:56 / 13.03.02

Agreement on most points here (you know, the one about it being a complete abortion of an idea) but I like Rob Zombie!

Oh, hang on, the point about 'I used to like Rob Zombie until he did this' just sank in.

Wankers.

To be fair though, who could do a decent job? Apart from Motorhead, who did R.A.M.O.N.E.S.

Ideas on the back of a barbe-thread...

Fengs for the Memory

12:22 / 13.03.02

Just Say No. 'Rocket to Russia'. Rocket to Rob fucking Zombie right now Mr Bush, For acts of terror agianst the Ramones.

12:37 / 13.03.02

quote:Originally posted by Rizla Year Zero:
And as for the so-called "rock and roll hall of fame", I think the fact that they're only letting the Ramones in in *2002* tells you everything you need to know about those wankers..

Acctually, this was the first year they were eligable (may be second). I'm kinda surprised they got in so fast.

mr. y's got a good idea though.

A record exac comes up to you and gives you the reigns of this tribute album. Either you make it, or Rob gets it back and uses the backstreet boys. Unlimited budget, who would you pick?

I'm with the motorhead and rancid arguements. I also think Joe Strummer should be able to do what ever the fuck he wants on the album. I think it could be interesting to let ONE (and only one) of the pop punk bands (Green Day, Blink, etc.) do a track if for nothing else then may be their fans would pick up the album, and realize what real punk is about. But, they might just be able to pull things off. Green Day would be my choice though.

Hmm, this is harder then I thought. Few bands could handle what appear to be such simple songs.

13:10 / 13.03.02

I'd pop the Beastie Boys forward. Beyond them, I'm stuck.
Help!

19:03 / 13.03.02

quote:Originally posted by Rizla Year Zero:
I mean, fer fucks sake, imagine U2 singing a Ramones song .. bono standing there in his 'rock god' uniform wailing "beeeaaat u-hu-hooon theee bbrrraaattt" .. good christ.

Bono claims that Joey was listening to "All the things you can't leave behind" when he died.... whether listening to that album really killed him I don't know. For a while U2 was covering 'I remember you' on tour, so that's probably what bono would want to sing.

Matthew Fluxington

19:07 / 13.03.02

FYI, it was "In A Little While" by U2 which was apparently the last song Ramone heard before dying. It's a lovely song, and he liked it a lot.

Bono mentioned this fact in several shows in which they performed this song, and how the song changed from a love song to a gospel song after that fact - it rings true to me. "In a little while/ this hurt will hurt no more/ I'll be home/ love / slow down my beating heart, slowly, slowly..."

I think that U2's version of "I Remember You" is very lovely and heartfelt too... I don't think U2's contribution to this effort is nearly as crass and disgusting as most of the other bands.

19:34 / 13.03.02

Well, Motorhead is really an obvious choice. After all, like Lemmy said, there are only two bands in the world...

I've got no problem with really diverse contributors to a project like this. I'd like to see the Beasties, maybe even the Wu-Tang. It would be nice to see Tom Waits return the favour to the Ramones. And Johnny Cash could knock out a decent tune.

Rob Zombie should have the courtesy to pick last in respect to the other contributors. What an asshole. And that's one of my favourite Ramones songs, too.

19:47 / 13.03.02

quote:Originally posted by moriarty:
Rob Zombie should have the courtesy to pick last in respect to the other contributors. What an asshole. And that's one of my favourite Ramones songs, too.

I think what really gets me with this is that the Ramones and the Clash are tied so closely together in the mythos of both bands. That, in my mind, Joe should be allowed to do what he wants.

Then when I think how much better Joe would do the Ramones, I just get sad.

Suedey! SHOT FOR MEAT!

20:46 / 13.03.02

06:01 / 14.03.02

quote:Originally posted by Flux = Avoiding The Conceptual Life:
I think that U2's version of "I Remember You" is very lovely and heartfelt too... I don't think U2's contribution to this effort is nearly as crass and disgusting as most of the other bands.

Sorry for my anti-U2 stance, but I've been tired of Bono and the Boys, especially after the super bowl...

10:33 / 14.03.02

quote:Originally posted by tSuibhne:
Then when I think how much better Joe would do the Ramones, I just get sad.

Just stop now.

A

11:01 / 14.03.02

There's a bunch of bands who could do the Ramones some sort of justice, do something interesting, and also have a reasonably high profile- Sonic Youth, Green Day (yes, yes i know the official highbrow stance on them, and i don't care), Violent Femmes, Jonathan Richman, Sleater Kinney, Atari Teenage Riot (at least it'd be interesting), the Beastie Boys (as others have already mentioned), Beck etc..

then there are a whole bunch of actual Ramones-influenced punk rock bands who are far more deserving of a spot then the dismal selection so far- the Queers, the Donnas, the Groovie Ghoulies (even though they did a pretty boring job on another Ramones tribute), the Lillingtons, Ben Weasel, the Mr. T Experience, the Muffs, fuck, i could just keep typing all night.

is anyone planning on buying this travesty?

12:37 / 14.03.02

Apparently Eddie Vedder & Joey (or Johnny?) were buddies - Pearl Jam started out as a garage band and rode the grunge wave as far as they could.
It's still weird to me, but it makes sense.

I think I'm gonna start another thread on the co-inductees and one-time tour-mates, the Talking Heads.

>>
From the article cited in that thread:

quote:Johnny was the colonel who kept the Ramones (relatively) in line and on time, and he seems ill-prepared to take marching orders from the Hall of Fame Foundation or anyone else. When Joey died, his mother, Charlotte Lesher, and brother Mickey Leigh proceeded with plans for his May 19 50th birthday bash. The planning committee decided to invite the surviving Ramones to play, so Vega contacted the band members. What happened next could only charitably be called gross miscommunication.

Vega, in an apparent attempt to get Johnny to agree to perform, neglected to immediately explain precisely what Lesher wanted: Behind an empty mic stand, the surviving Ramones would play instrumental versions of a couple of songs and the audience would sing along. Johnny, who hadn't played for keeps in years and had retired because he thought he was slipping, started practicing and contacted pals Eddie Vedder, Rob Zombie, and Joe Strummer with the idea they could front the band. "I wanted to make this an event where people would have a good time," says Johnny. But weeks after Joey's funeral, Lesher was not ready to see Joey's shoes filled. Depending on who you talk to, the Ramones were either uninvited or declined to come. Regardless, the ensuing months saw Marky and CJ lashing viciously at Mickey Leigh, making unsupported claims in fanzine interviews that he wanted to front the band. The fiasco was an inauspicious beginning to an unlikely partnership; Joey left his half of Ramones Productions Inc. to his mother, so Lesher and Johnny are now business partners.

Johnny is asking to be seated away from Lesher and Leigh at the induction ceremony. "Decisions were always made by the band," says Johnny. "I find it ridiculous that anyone has to be consulted. It should always be just the band—If I die, I don't expect anyone to call up my wife to make a Ramones decision. Why do I have to discuss a Ramones performance with his brother and his mother?"

[ 14-03-2002: Message edited by: grant ]

14:50 / 06.05.04

huhhuhhuh

funny as rent boys with guitars:

http://www.flapjackempire.com/ramones/

A

02:59 / 08.05.04

My band supported Marky Ramone a couple of nights ago. It was weird.

He seemed to be quite the rockstar jerk. No one was allowed to meet him or go backstage, not even the support bands. He did a spoken word/slideshow thing for about an hour, which was okay, but if you've read a book, or even a decent article about the Ramones, then you had heard it all before. Then he did a set playing drums with a local band doing Ramones songs. He kept putting in big stupid rock drum fills that weren't in the original songs. I'm not sure why.

Very strange night, but at least I can tell my grandkids that my band played with one of the Ramones.

All Acting Regiment

09:40 / 31.07.04

Uh...Marilyn Manson, I mean he's probably the ultimate "look at the irony that drips off me" act, and for me I always thought the ramones, like the stooges, were refreshingly free of irony, but, uh, without being stupid much.

The thought of those teenage goths from Viz magazine sitting in their bedrooms saying things like "Uh yeah, Marilyn Manson's really ewotic, he did this song called the KKK took my baby away, yeah, uh" and stuff. It's not nice.

And Rob Zombie as well, he's like a big, exaggerated "Grow-your-own-freak", where as Eddie vedder always struck me as being totally up his own arse and not even realising it. Again, personal opinions, but you can see why I don't like the idea of these men dirtying my ramones.

17:24 / 31.07.04

Agreed.

FWIW, I still reckon that Ramones tribute album is one of the biggest travesties in musical history, and they'll all be up against the wall when the revolution comes, the miserable life-crushing bastards.

Er.. yes. Anyway.