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What’s up Sorry Staters?
How was your summer? I think I feel my body and mind slowly adjusting to life flowing at a somewhat normal pace. Does that mean vacation time is over? It may be September, but the temperature gauge in my car said 102 degrees today. What the fuck, dude? So yeah, I guess we’re still out here having fun in the sweltering North Carolina sun. Speaking of which, did any of yall see the video of this Cretin Family gig thing for the Ramones’ 50th Anniversary? Kinda weird, huh?
I don’t have a staff pick exactly. I just got Ramones on the brain. I think I’m just gonna wax poetic about this weird makeshift Ramones performance. Okay, this “supergroup” of sorts, let’s talk about it: Tim Armstrong, Billie Joe Armstrong, Travis Barker (whoa), and CJ Ramone doing a bunch of Ramones songs. I guess I heard Billie Joe say something on stage in the video that this was kinda Tim’s idea to put this band together? First of all, obviously the original foursome have all passed, but where the hell was Marky? Maybe he doesn’t wanna play Ramones songs in his 70s. Or maybe he didn’t wanna be involved at all. If that’s the case, super funny. No songs were counted off like, “1-2-3-4!” Seems like when Travis counted off the first song on the hi-hat, CJ gave this look like “what are you doing dude?”
Honestly, the whole thing felt kinda awkward. Dude, Travis Barker is like a fuckin’ celebrity married to a Kardashian n shit. Whatever, I guess he played drums okay. CJ sang “Warthog,” which I guess was kinda cool they did a mid-period song that Dee Dee sang. Then also “The Crusher” from the last record, throwing CJ a bone it seemed like. That choice sooooorta made sense, only because it’s a song CJ actually sang on a Ramones record. They played “Do You Wanna Dance?” twice… Why? Yeah, it just felt weird man. The “special guests”… it was like Fred Armisen? All 4 of The Linda Lindas with no instruments sharing microphones? Strange. Then Billy Idol, which is cool, but it kinda felt like he didn’t really even acknowledge everyone on stage? Maybe he’s just an old man who’s a bit awkward. And then I guess to appease Billy they did a Generation X song? Felt super random and unnecessary, even though I love Gen X. Seems like maybe his inclusion kind of a coincided with his recent documentary maybe. I dunno that’s just a thought.
Really, in terms of how the songs were played stylistically, CJ was holding it the fuck down. His style of playing and sound on stage was so crucial to the songs even sounding halfway legit. So many people in the comments saying things like, “Respect. At least one person on stage is down-picking!” Haha. I’ve been thinking about Ramones stuff a lot after this anniversary, and also noticing new episodes of CJ’s podcast on my feed. If you haven’t seen it, CJ and this other dude are chronologically breaking down every single Ramones record in their discography. I’ve checked the podcast out a couple times. It’s pretty cool to see the records celebrated. But I will admit that sometimes as I’m watching, it feels like the energy, particularly when they have guests on the podcast, comes off a bit stilted.
Then thinking about another podcast, I watched the most recent episode of Patrick the Pack Rat’s “Record Rooms” the other night. Full disclosure, I am a Patreon subscriber. I’m pretty sure this episode with Jackie Blenkarn is not yet on YouTube at the time I’m writing this. But at one point Jackie brings up the Ramones and talks about how Leave Home is her favorite Ramones album. At certain points over the course of my life, I have also decidedly referred to Leave Home as my favorite Ramones record. But then Patrick makes a comment like, “There’s no wrong answer for a favorite… as long as it’s one of the first 3 records.” Which… no shade, but I’m not sure how I feel about that! I guess if you’re a purist, then this perspective makes sense. But even one record forward, man I just love Road To Ruin like so much. And dude, if your favorite record is the Phil Spector orchestra-laden End Of The Century, then hey man, you have my full respect. I’m sort of a Ramones apologist, I suppose. Basically meaning that I think every single record is good. Or more accurately, each record has AT LEAST one great song. For a while, I was on a serious Pleasant Dreams kick. “She’s A Sensation” dude? “7-11” going full on doo-wop style? I love it. I was fascinated with Animal Boy for a while. Honestly, probably mostly for “Bonzo Goes to Bitburg”. There are definitely some stinkers on that record. Funny that Animal Boy has the band dipping their toes into hardcore, but also has some of their poppiest, most 80s gated-reverb sounding pop songs. I don’t even know what point I’m trying to make anymore. Maybe I would’ve liked to have seen more of the Ramones catalog represented by the Cretin Family? But why would I expect such things. Maybe at the next gig they’ll pull out “Pet Semetary” and “Poison Heart,” but I’m not holding my breath.
Sooo yeah, hope that was a solid 15-minute waste of your time. I will say, we have been trying to stock more Ramones reissues at the store. Kinda crazy you can buy a reissue of Halfway To Sanity in the year 2026. It’s a beautiful thang. It used to be those late 80s records were like mythical finds, often only found in used bins with like cutouts and former radio station labels. If I don’t hear any feedback from all you readers about how you listened to Acid Eaters for the first time in a while, and that version of “Journey to the Center of the Mind” is actually pretty cool – then I’ll be pissed.
Just kidding. Thanks for reading.
‘Til next week,
-Jeff