Ramones (1976)

Thought experiment: The Ramones self-destruct in 1977—much as they actually did 25 years later—before getting any more than a few demos of the second album in the can, while the Sex Pistols (no doubt under the direction of Glen Matlock) release annual albums well into the '80s that work variations on and/or weakly echo the historic first. Now which band and which album would we have made iconic to the point of fetish? I guess that question answers itself. Don't forget this Ramones debut! To me, it has come to seem almost absurdly monumental over the years—the big bang of punk-rock that produced an ever-expanding universe. I think it's impossible to understate how critically important it is. There should be prominent statues in public places and speeches every year. At the same time, and this is the real kicker of it, it's equally impossible to understate the vitality and pleasure of it, still, the more so when listened to as an album, all 14 shards blasted at once and in sequence. It is a rush of oxygen to the brain, lively and fun and goofy and strange. It is truly the ur-album of a wide swath of music that followed and is still implicitly following it. It cost $6,400 to record. The song count-off emerges as badge of pride and identity. The songs are short—six of the 14 under two minutes and the longest 2:35. The Ramones didn't invent the "the" style of band names but they sure helped bring it roaring back. The band lived in the middle of a huge city, wore shades, sneakers, blue jeans, and black leather jackets. And as for the sources of this—it was new, but often felt familiar—they weren't elaborating on them the way they would later, but somehow one sensed it all intuitively: too much TV, too many trashy B-movies, drugs, comic books, dysfunctional families, sketchy street scenes, and, of course, hangin' around with nothin' to do. The unholy alliance of '60s garage and Brill Building pop, the basic Ramones musical aesthetic strategy, was a revelation at the time and it is still. Simply for so imposingly inventing itself as if all at once, this album will always be on the short list of the band's best, and indeed at the top of many of those lists. It is certainly the place to start with them, and stop if you must. For me, it's just the beginning of a long, delicious, always fun-filled ride across many years and many albums. It stands within the Ramones catalog as a most emphatic "1-2-3-4."