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Hey ho! The Ramones’ ‘Blitzkrieg Bop’ deconstructed
12.04.2010
01:32 am
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I’m jumping aboard the ‘isolated tracks’ bandwagon (at the risk of hurling it off the edge of its already wobbly reality into the pit of oblivion) with this breakdown of The Ramones “Blitzkrieg Bop,” the debut single off their first album The Ramones released in1976.

In total, the album took seven days to record; the instruments taking three days and vocals taking four days. It also took $6,400 to record. Joey related: “Some albums were costing a half-million dollars to make and taking two or three years to record.” The band recorded using the same mic placement techniques as many orchestras used to record pieces.

The guitars are heard separately on the stereo channels — electric bass on the left, rhythm guitar on the right channel; drums and vocals are mixed in the stereo mix in the middle.”

My buddy Mickey Leigh, Joey’s brother, says The Ramones was recorded on 4 tracks. As much as I want to believe it, I have my doubts.There’s got be a couple of extra tracks in there for backup vocals and effects. But, maybe not. Producers Craig Leon and Tommy Ramone would know. Hey guys, help me out.

Tommy on his drumming style:

I just played what I wanted to hear, what I thought was necessary. I designed the drum parts specifically for the songs—they were constructed in a way that would fit the songs perfectly. They would wrap around the songs, or the songs would wrap around the drums. The whole thing has to work as a unit, sort of as a framework. We tried to coordinate everything so that everything would be one unit like that. The closest things to an influence would be people like Charlie Watts or Al Jackson. But, I didn’t really listen to drummers, I basically played what I thought was needed for the Ramones.”

Johnny described his down stroked, buzzsaw guitar style as “pure, white rock ‘n’ roll, with no blues influence.” 

Joey’s vocals sound like Ronnie Spector with a dick and a Brit inflected Queen’s (N.Y.) accent. (Ok, he didn’t have Ronnie’s range, but he had the ‘eh hos’ down).

Dee Dee plays loud and could count to 4. But, he couldn’t sing and play at the same time. Which is fucking ok. His bass playing was steady, propulsive and inexhaustible. His 1,2,3,4 mantra was utterance enuff, lodged in the collective consciousness of punk with the absoluteness of the 11th commandment of rock and roll.

How do you deconstruct the deconstructed?

2 minutes of stripped down, locked in, tight rock and roll. Everything in its place, doing exactly what it has to do. Intensely focused. Like Zen.

The sound that launched a revolution and a primer in punk rock for you kids out there.
 

 
Johnny, Dee Dee and Tommy after the jump…

READ ON
Posted by Marc Campbell
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12.04.2010
01:32 am
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The Ramones and Dead Boys: ‘Punking Out’ 1977
12.01.2010
11:00 pm
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These clips of The Ramones and The Dead Boys at CBGB in 1977 capture the birth of punk in all of its raw glory. Taken from the film Punking Out directed by Maggi Carson and Ric Shore, this is the scene as I remember it: unpretentious, fun, full of energy and kind of goofy.

Punking Out is a terrific time capsule of a time and place and really should be more widely seen. You can order a DVD copy at the film’s website.  The site hasn’t been updated in a few years, but the ‘shopping cart’ appears to still be functioning.

Dee Dee’s glue rant is hilarious.
 

 

Posted by Marc Campbell
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12.01.2010
11:00 pm
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The Ramones rehearsal video from 1975.
11.16.2010
12:53 am
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The Ramones rehearsing in the loft of their artistic director Arturo Vega in 1975. Vega created The Ramones’ logo, one of the most enduring images in rock and roll history.

Man, this is thrilling!
 

 

Posted by Marc Campbell
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11.16.2010
12:53 am
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The Ramones interviewed on TV show ‘Mouth to Mouth’ in 1988.
11.02.2010
12:44 am
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Johnny Ramone street mural by Austin artist Fe De Rico
 
‘Mouth To Mouth’ was a short-lived MTV talk show hosted by stand-up comic Steve Skrovan. This was aired in 1988. Viva Johnny, Joey, Dee Dee and Marky.
 

Posted by Marc Campbell
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11.02.2010
12:44 am
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