Affair ramones1/8/2023 JOHNNY*JOEY*DEEDEE*TOMMY MARKY*RICHIE*C.J.Joey Ramone‘s estate has sold a stake in the Ramones icon’s publishing income to Primary Wave for $10 million, a source close to the deal confirmed to Billboard. AND, without the aid of my beloved Mullin, it is very likely that this writer would be incapable of even turning on this nerdbox correctly, so! continual gratitude- and smooches. Respected 'Resident Punk' LEGS MCNEIL, operating from the Please Kill Me- An Oral History of Punk website and elsewhere, did much to kickstart the momentum necessary to get this undertaking underway through his support of the project's precursor piece. The RAMONES FAN PAGE, working in conjunction with other notable group sites, recently began methodically giving public forum to each of the band's songs once a day, in order, planting the germ of an idea from which this project sprung AND establishing a pace which will be adhered to here as much as is feasible. A few nods are necessary before proceeding: The late IAN MACDONALD'S book "Revolution in the Head-The BEATLES' Records and the Sixties" influenced the construct and approach of this project and is absolutely crucial reading for any serious fan of the group, or anybody interested in how the accelerated development of their music mirrored the times. Notable recordings not appearing on these formats will be given separate space along the way, and the occasional TOP TEN list will appear as an aside for the sake of variety. Although compositions shall be considered as sequentially as possible, as a matter of convenience the songs will be noted in the order in which they appear on the definitive WARNER ARCHIVES and RADIOACTIVE expanded CD editions. HUMMING A SICKENING TUNE shall encompass a track by track review of the complete recorded works of THE RAMONES, giving consideration to each song's composition, recording and place in the overall arc of the band's career. As well, the unnecessary double tracking of JOEY's vocal cramps the amount he can enjoy exaggerating the song's bizarre affectations (although without doubt the line concerning banana picking remains one of the album's most humorously incongruous moments.) Nonetheless, the tight arrangement and driving rhythm of the incomprehensible storyline's phrasing mark HAVANA AFFAIR as one of the most underrated tracks on their first three releases. TOMMY also adds a rumbling, machine gun tom roll to the start of each chorus (yet another interesting flourish from a group not exactly known for arrangement ornamentation.) However, the still dominant limitations of the mix render it nearly subliminal. For two glorious blasts, how heavy the entire first lp MIGHT have sounded is finally, teasingly realised. JOHNNY doubles up the crunch with an extra guitar overdub, DEEDEE wisely dives down to his bass' lower register, and TOMMY instinctively nails it, cutting to half time on the bell of his ride and cementing the wallop with an added, nagging cowbell. For the enticing 'loco/mambo' chorus the music hovers over a G to F# change, a one fret maneuver surprisingly appropriate for such a non-gringo related piece (an unintended, unconscious choice, surely.) Then arrives a startlingly powerful middle eight, built around chords which will soon be expanded into the main melody of PINHEAD. Kicking off with a riff afterwards unrepeated (though hinted at at the end of each chorus) JOEY weaves the vague but amusing narrative over a now familiar four chord verse construction. First, perhaps more the result of DEEDEE's upbringing in bombed out Germany, a dark attraction to War (although in this case, the theme might be more accurately tagged as Espionage.) Second, perhaps more the result of JOHNNY's brief stint in military school, a unexpectedly intense streak of Patriotism (though this lyric finally hints that the protagonist may have jumped sides.) Like ROKY ERICKSON's Two Headed Dog, however clearly the thematic result of cold war paranoia, the words' specific meaning defy concrete explanation. Debatably the debut album's only track with significant depth of descriptive detail, with HAVANA AFFAIR the band unveiled a duo of what would soon be apparent lyrical obsessions.
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