# Ramones haters - Really? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 15, 2013, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ramones-haters-really/666328 "2013-08-15T17:28:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2013, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ramones-haters-really/666328/61 "2013-08-17T22:39:56Z")
> [@Tamerlane](#): > > _… they made it look so simple–that anyone could do it, hell, even I could do it. This is what I should be doing._ > > - [Jello Biafra](http://progressive.org/mag_intvbiafra) of the Dead Kennedys 😉 There are almost identical quotes in, IIRC, _End of the Century_ from both Clash and Pistol’s band members (who exactly, I can’t remember :mad:). No Ramones, probably no punk. CMC fnord! ---
**Author:** ![Hippy\_Hollow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hippy_hollow/32/4841_2.png) [@Hippy\_Hollow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hippy_Hollow)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2013, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ramones-haters-really/666328/62 "2013-08-18T00:22:14Z")
I respect them for their place in musical history, but RRHS, BB, and a few others are pretty much all I can take. I think it would be difficult for me to last through a Ramones concert. (But it would probably be over in about 20 minutes, right?) 🙂 I don’t get the hate for them, either. I’d rather hear the Ramones’ entire catalog than listen to one side of a KISS album. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2013, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ramones-haters-really/666328/63 "2013-08-18T01:09:13Z")
> [@crowmanyclouds](#): > > There are almost identical quotes in, IIRC, _End of the Century_ from both Clash and Pistol’s band members (who exactly, I can’t remember :mad:). > > No Ramones, probably no punk. > > CMC fnord! They are citing a specific Ramones concert in London that they went to and was ground zero for UK Punk. Just like the Sex Pistols (?) gig in Manchester that set off all the Hacienda/Factory bands… ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2013, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ramones-haters-really/666328/64 "2013-08-18T02:14:12Z")
> [@blondebear](#): > > I saw them in '77 at a tiny place in Campbell, Ca. They were loud as shit…and fun as shit, too. > > And, as a slightly-off-topic-aside, I’d like to say that PJ Soles was extremely cute in _Rock ‘n’ Roll High School_. I’m not a Ramones fan at all. Like some others here, I didn’t hate them, but there were just other bands out there around that time that I liked a lot more. But I did love _Rock and Roll High School_. ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2013, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ramones-haters-really/666328/65 "2013-08-19T01:14:22Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > They are citing a specific Ramones concert in London that they went to and was ground zero for UK Punk. Just like the Sex Pistols (?) gig in Manchester that set off all the Hacienda/Factory bands… I remember reading, possibly in _Trouser Press_, that Joe Strummer met Joey Ramone before the concert. Strummer wanted to form a band, but didn’t know how to play. Joey reassured him that knowing how to play wasn’t that important, saying “Come see us! We suck!” ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2013, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ramones-haters-really/666328/66 "2013-08-19T01:20:53Z")
I did not like the Ramones. Pop wannabes. Boring. They were like Punk™. Nothing original. Move along. ---
**Author:** ![Apocalypso](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@Apocalypso](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apocalypso)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2013, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ramones-haters-really/666328/67 "2013-08-21T22:28:08Z")
As I remember saying in a different thread… I don’t hate them, and don’t deny their influence but I think it’s seriously overrated. I’ve heard a lot of people make a lot of “_X_ wouldn’t exist without the Ramones” claims, which is really a bit of a stretch for me. They didn’t bring anything **that** unique to the table, their appeal as I understand it was that they were just “regular guys” having fun and they sounded more raw and unpolished than what was popular at the time. They didn’t have crazy costumes, makeup, or elaborate stage shows, and could barely play their instruments. It could be your buddy up there, or even you. I think they were more a product of their time than anything. There was a huge backlash against the heavily corporate controlled mainstream music system around that time anyway. If the Ramones hadn’t been, some other guys would have come along and done it. Someone had to be first and they were it, but the revolution would have come anyway. They wrote some good songs, but to say they changed music forever and things along those lines is melodramatic nonsense. People tend to vastly overstate a single artist or bands influence. Just my $0.02 ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2013, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ramones-haters-really/666328/68 "2013-08-21T23:18:42Z")
> [@levdrakon](#): > > I did not like the Ramones. Pop wannabes. Boring. They were like Punk™. Nothing original. Move along. Is this a joke? ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2013, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ramones-haters-really/666328/69 "2013-08-22T02:03:34Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > Musically, the stripped down rock as simply as possible and played it fast and loud, with some catchy tunes and lyrics. Structurally, their songs are basically Beach Boys numbers, sped up and punked out. (And made even more fun.) ---
**Author:** ![tomcar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7993a0/32.png) [@tomcar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomcar)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2013, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ramones-haters-really/666328/70 "2013-08-23T21:55:39Z")
Come on, the Ramones are the best punk band of all time. Only the Clash give them any competition. The Sex Pistols meant a lot at the time but are unlistenable now… And don’t get me started on the “true” punk ghetto of bands like Crass, Subhumans, Exploited, etc. You have to have a stick so far up your ass and a cotton field in your ears to listen to that stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Valgard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/7feea3/32.png) [@Valgard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Valgard)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2013, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ramones-haters-really/666328/71 "2013-08-23T22:44:27Z")
> [@Hippy\_Hollow](#): > > I respect them for their place in musical history, but RRHS, BB, and a few others are pretty much all I can take. I think it would be difficult for me to last through a Ramones concert. (But it would probably be over in about 20 minutes, right?) 🙂 > > I don’t get the hate for them, either. I’d rather hear the Ramones’ entire catalog than listen to one side of a KISS album. It’d take about the same amount of time 😃 There’s a quote about The Ramones from a record exec who said something like “I would have walked out but they were done before I could get out of my chair.” I dig 'em, personally. ---
**Author:** ![Snupzilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/54ee81/32.png) [@Snupzilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snupzilla)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2013, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ramones-haters-really/666328/72 "2013-08-24T04:59:29Z")
> [@madsircool](#): > > The Ramones were a power pop band who were basically pousers. Who exactly were they posing as? Was there some other band before them who they stole their sound and image from? ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2013, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ramones-haters-really/666328/73 "2013-08-24T17:34:41Z")
> [@Labrador\_Deceiver](#): > > Is this a joke? Not really. I thought they were boring. Oh, well. YMMV. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2013, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ramones-haters-really/666328/74 "2013-08-24T17:49:33Z")
> [@levdrakon](#): > > Not really. I thought they were boring. Oh, well. YMMV. I think the 😕 part in your other post was that they were “nothing original” - simply not true. Their superfast, all downstrokes approach to filling in the sound WAS new - using that distortion to build a Wall of Sound - you’re welcome to not like it, but it was very much seen as a new thing when they came out. ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2013, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ramones-haters-really/666328/75 "2013-08-24T19:20:04Z")
Yeah, you lose a lot of credibility when you refer to the Ramones as punk wannabe and unoriginal. ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2013, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ramones-haters-really/666328/76 "2013-08-24T19:32:48Z")
> [@Labrador\_Deceiver](#): > > Yeah, you lose a lot of credibility when you refer to the Ramones as punk wannabe and unoriginal. Yes, because Punk always aligned itself so closely to established musical mores. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2013, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ramones-haters-really/666328/77 "2013-08-24T19:53:17Z")
> [@levdrakon](#): > > Yes, because Punk always aligned itself so closely to established musical mores. You reply to that post, but not mine? Okay then… ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2013, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ramones-haters-really/666328/78 "2013-08-24T19:55:48Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > I think the 😕 part in your other post was that they were “nothing original” - simply not true. Their superfast, all downstrokes approach to filling in the sound WAS new - using that distortion to build a Wall of Sound - you’re welcome to not like it, but it was very much seen as a new thing when they came out. You know more about it than I do. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2013, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ramones-haters-really/666328/79 "2013-08-24T19:59:44Z")
> [@levdrakon](#): > > You know more about it than I do. 🙂 Okay; cool - but you probably shouldn’t declare that they weren’t original without knowing a bit more ;). The Ramones - and the emergence of Punk in general - is really fascinating and really well written about. If anyone in this thread hasn’t read **Please Kill Me: An Uncensored Oral History of Punk** , I can’t recommend strongly enough. ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2013, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ramones-haters-really/666328/80 "2013-08-24T20:04:45Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > You reply to that post, but not mine? Okay then… It’s okay. I have no idea what he’s saying anyway. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ramones-haters-really/666328.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ramones-haters-really/666328.md?page=5)