Line #231 Music/Ramones


1	[[quoteright:360:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ramones.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:360:The original line-up of The Ramones. From left to right: Joey Ramone, Johnny Ramone, Dee Dee Ramone and Tommy Ramone.]]
3
4	->''"Well!!! It's good to be here on Website/TVTropes, and it's good to see all of you again; '''take it, Dee Dee!'''"''
5	->''"'''ONE, TWO, TREE, FAH!'''"''
6
7	[floatboxright:Influences:
8	+ Music/BuddyHolly, Music/TheBeatles, Music/TheBeachBoys, Music/TheStooges, Music/NewYorkDolls, Music/{{Slade}}, Music/MC5, Music/{{The Rolling Stones\|Band}}, Music/TheWho, Music/TheKinks, The Ronettes, 1910 Fruitgum Company, Ohio Express
9
10	Influenced:
11	+Music/BeastieBoys, Gorilla Biscuits, Music/TheMisfits, The Mob, Agnostic Front, Generation X, Music/SexPistols, Music/TheClash, Music/TheDamned, Sham 69, Music/BlackFlag, Music/DeadKennedys, Music/{{Ministry}}, Music/SocialDistortion, Music/BadReligion, the Lurkers, the Undertones, Teenage Head, the Zeros, the Dickies, Music/BadBrains, Riverdales, Music/GreenDay, Music/{{Metallica}}, Music/{{Motorhead}}, Music/IronMaiden, the Pastels, the Lemonheads, Dave Grohl, Music/TheStrokes
12	]
13
14	The Ramones, an American rock band formed in 1974, are widely regarded as the first PunkRock band, and could even be considered something of a turning point in rock history.
15
16	Their influence on the PunkRock movement was musical rather than political. While the Music/SexPistols or Music/TheClash's lyrics focused on sticking it to the man, The Ramones preferred to talk about common juvenile themes, like love, drugs, alienation, and cheap horror movies. In contrast to the luxuriant symphonic rock that was dominant at the time, they wrote very simple, very fast songs.
17
18	Their other schtick was to adopt pseudonyms; all the various members of the band went by "[First Name] Ramone" even though none of them were related, and (for that matter) none of them had that surname in real life. While their influence on rock music is widespread (one magazine ranked them the second-greatest band ever, behind only Music/TheBeatles), their records never sold well and they toiled on in relative obscurity for many years before finally giving up the ghost in 1996. They've released a number of solo albums afterwards, the most notable of which is Joey Ramone's ''Music/DontWorryAboutMe''.
19
20	The Ramones formed in [[BigApplesauce Queens,]] UsefulNotes/NewYorkCity. The earliest incarnation of the band had Johnny Ramone (John Cummings) on guitar, Joey Ramone (Jeffrey Ross Hyman) on drums, and Dee Dee Ramone (Douglas Colvin) on vocals. When Dee Dee's young vocals proved unable to sustain live performances, they switched, with Dee Dee sticking to backup vocals and mostly concentrating on bass, and Joey assuming lead vocals. The band still needed a drummer, and after manager Thomas Erdelyi had trouble finding a proper drummer, he assumed the duties himself, dubbing himself Tommy Ramone.
21
22	The band debuted in 1974, playing at various clubs around NYC, most notably CBGB's, which became famous for being a showcase for the budding PunkRock movement. They recorded their first album, ''Music/{{Ramones\|Album}}'', in 1976 on the low budget of $6400, and while the record wasn't a commercial smash or anything - in fact, at their first performance outside New York, in Youngstown, Ohio, about ten people showed up - it was a further catalyst for the punk scene and got glowing reviews from critics. They were further vindicated when they proved to be more popular in the UK, most notably influencing bands like the Music/SexPistols and Music/TheClash, and playing career-defining gigs second-billed to the Flamin' Groovies.
23
24	Two further albums, ''Music/LeaveHome'' and ''Music/RocketToRussia'', followed in 1977. While the former did even worse than the debut, ''Rocket to Russia'' was their best seller to date, hitting #49, and the single "Rockaway Beach" hit #66 - the highest charting single the band would ever have. By this time, Tommy stepped down as drummer for good but remained friends with the band and would go on to produce for them. His replacement was Marc Bell, aka Marky Ramone, who recorded 1978's ''Music/RoadToRuin'' with the band.
25
26	After the band made a guest appearance in Creator/RogerCorman's cult movie ''Film/RockAndRollHighSchool'', the band got in touch with famous 1960s pop producer Music/PhilSpector in 1980, to attempt a breakthrough album, ''Music/EndOfTheCentury''. The sessions were fraught with tension between the band (who were always the 'get in, get out' types) and Spector (a notoriously meticulous ControlFreak). The sessions did pay off in an album that charted at #44, their highest charting album ever, but it got a mixed reputation, among fans and the band itself, for presenting a [[LighterAndSofter slicker, poppier Ramones.]] Oddly enough, their cover of "Baby I Love You" did huge business in the UK.
27
28	The band soldiered on with a few more pop crossover attempts, with relationships in the band straining further. Most notably, around the early 80s, Johnny stole Joey's girlfriend, Linda, which Joey never got over for many years, and they rarely spoke to each other since. Despite this, the band never slowed down, still playing hundreds of concerts a year. Marky, who was abusing alcohol, got fired from the band and replaced with Richard Reinhardt[=/=]Richie Ramone, who debuted on the 1984 album ''Too Tough to Die'', a more rock-oriented album featuring Tommy Ramone behind the boards alongside old-school Ramones producer Ed Stasium.
29
30	Despite this, ''Animal Boy'' was one last grab at a pop crossover, this time produced by Jean Beauvoir of the Plasmatics, and sporting a funny, memorable music video for "Something To Believe In," a parody of the charity anthems and organizations of the day ("Ramones Aid," "Hands Across Your Face"). ''Animal Boy'' still did better business overseas than in their homeland, continuing a trend for them, so they went back to straight rock music again for 1987's ''Halfway to Sanity.'' Richie left the band after the album's release, upset that he wasn't given a share of the t-shirt sales after years with the band. The band attempted to recover by taking on Clem Burke from Music/{{Blondie\|Band}}, dubbing him "Elvis Ramone," but he only lasted two shows behind the kit before the other Ramones decided he wasn't fast enough.
31
32	Luckily, Marky Ramone was newly sober and returned to the band for their eleventh studio album, ''Brain Drain'' (mostly notable for their song "Pet Sematary," written for [[Film/PetSematary1989 the film]] of the same name). Unfortunately, it was just in time for longtime bassist and songwriter Dee Dee Ramone to leave, in a miserable haze of addictions, depression, and an eating disorder. Dee Dee still continued to contribute songs to the band, however - in fact, the band once bailed him out of jail after a drug bust by trading a few songs for it. After leaving, however, Dee Dee embarked on an infamous series of odd career moves, including putting out ''rap music'' under the name Dee Dee King (to say the least, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-QveINMwkQ it didn't go over well]]), and briefly performing with shock rocker Music/GGAllin. The Ramones officially replaced Dee Dee on bass duties with PromotedFanboy CJ Ramone, who the band later credited as giving the band youthful energy again.
33
34	The band reunited again with producer Ed Stasium and released ''Mondo Bizarro'', which did huge in Brazil, but the band was embittered by this point of never breaking through in America - in South America, they'd be packing stadiums and getting mobbed in the streets, but back home in North America, they were still playing smaller clubs. By 1995's ''¡Adiós Amigos!'', they declared they were hanging it up unless the album did huge numbers (again, it didn't), but nonetheless, they embarked on the longest farewell tour in the history of rock & roll, going over two years and spawning two live albums (''Greatest Hits Live'' and ''We're Outta Here!''). Their last show was in UsefulNotes/LosAngeles, in August 1996, featuring special guests like Lemmy from Music/{{Motorhead}}, members of Music/{{Rancid}} and Music/{{Soundgarden}}, Music/PearlJam's Eddie Vedder and even a returning Dee Dee. After this show, the band unceremoniously went their separate ways.
35
36	After a seven-year battle with lymphoma, Joey passed away in April of 2001, in New York, just shy of his 50th birthday. In early 2002, the band (specifically the founding members and Marky) was inducted into the UsefulNotes/RockAndRollHallOfFame, where Tommy mentioned in the midst of their speeches that while it meant a lot to them, it "meant everything to [[DueToTheDead Joey]]." Two months after, Dee Dee Ramone, who'd battled drug addictions for most of his life, was finally found dead of a heroin overdose in his apartment.
37
38	In 2003, the group got their own documentary, ''End of the Century: The Story of the Ramones.'' It features interviews with everyone who'd been in the band, plus members of their families, contemporaries like Debbie Harry and Joe Strummer, and more, as it chronicles the band's history from their start in [=CBGBs=] to their Hall Of Fame induction. While Joey and Dee Dee never survived to see the film, Johnny did, and his reaction was printed on the box cover: "It’s accurate. It left me disturbed." It should be noted that Johnny, a notoriously thuggish taskmaster through much of the band's tenure, did try to repair his relationships with his former bandmates after the band ended, largely to no avail. In 2004, Johnny Ramone succumbed to prostate cancer, survived by his wife Linda. In 2014, the last original member, Tommy, succumbed to bile duct cancer.
39
40	In July of 2016, a 40th-anniversary deluxe edition of ''Ramones'' was released, featuring the album in stereo and mono mixes, outtakes, and an unreleased live album. Similar deluxe editions followed for ''Leave Home'', ''Rocket to Russia'' and ''Road to Ruin'' for their 40th anniversaries, all of which contain outtakes, alternate takes, and unreleased live recordings.
41
42	One of the more tragic facts about the band is that they're now arguably [[VindicatedByHistory far more famous and are given more credit now than when they were performing]], and after [[PosthumousPopularityPotential every founding member has died]]. Their legacy lives on through the enduring influence of their own music as well as punk rock itself, plus one of the most iconic logos in rock history. (You've seen the shirts.)
43	----
44	!!Principal Members (Founding members in '''bold'''):
45
46	* Marc Bell (Marky Ramone) - drums (1978–83, 1987–96).
47	* [[Music/{{Blondie\|Band}} Clem Burke]] (Elvis Ramone) - drums (1987)
48	* '''Douglas Colvin (Dee Dee Ramone)''' - bass, backing and lead vocals, guitar, synthesizer (1974–89, died 2002)
49	* '''John Cummings (Johnny Ramone)''' - guitar (1974–96, died 2004)
50	* '''Thomas Erdelyi (Tommy Ramone)''' - drums (1974–78, died 2014)
51	* '''Jeffery Hyman (Joey Ramone)''' - lead vocals, drums (1974–96, died 2001)
52	* Richard Reinhardt (Richie Ramone) - drums, backing and lead vocals (1983–87)
53	* Christopher Joseph Ward (C.J. Ramone) - bass, backing and lead vocals (1989–96)
54
55	----
56	!!Studio Discography
57
58	* 1976 - ''Music/{{Ramones\|Album}}''
59	* 1977 - ''Music/LeaveHome''
60	* 1977 - ''Music/RocketToRussia''
61	* 1978 - ''Music/RoadToRuin''
62	* 1980 - ''Music/EndOfTheCentury''
63	* 1981 - ''Pleasant Dreams''
64	* 1983 - ''Subterranean Jungle''
65	* 1984 - ''Too Tough to Die''
66	* 1986 - ''Animal Boy''
67	* 1987 - ''Halfway to Sanity''
68	* 1989 - ''Brain Drain''
69	* 1992 - ''Mondo Bizarro''
70	* 1994 - ''Acid Eaters'' (covers album)
71	* 1995 - ''¡Adiós Amigos!''
72
73	----
74	!!Live Discography:
75
76	* 1979 - ''It's Alive''
77	* 1991 - ''Loco Live''
78	* 1996 - ''Greatest Hits Live''
79	* 1997 - ''We're Outta Here!'' (documenting their final show)
80	* 2001 - ''You Don't Come Close''
81	* 2003 - ''NYC 1978''
82
83	----
84	!! "Hey ho! Let's trope! Hey ho! Let's trope!":
85	[[foldercontrol]]
86	[[folder:A-F]]
87	* AlbumTitleDrop: In "Do You Remember Rock 'N' Roll Radio" for ''Music/EndOfTheCentury''.
88	-->"It's the end, the end of the '70s\
89	It's the end, the end of the century."
90	* AlliterativeName: '''R'''ichie '''R'''amone. His real name, Richard Reinhardt, qualifies as well.
91	* AlliterativeTitle: ''Road To Ruin, Rocket To Russia, Adios Amigos!''
92	* AngryMobSong: "Blitzkrieg Bop." ''"HEY! HO! LET'S GO! HEY! HO! LET'S GO!"''
93	* AnimatedMusicVideo: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5P8lrgBtcU Their cover of the Spider-Man theme.]]
94	* AntiChristmasSong: "Merry Christmas (I Don't Want to Fight Tonight)".
95	* ArsonMurderAndJaywalking[=/=]BreadEggsMilkSquick: "I'm Against It" goes back and forth with these tropes, as Joey rejects [[PoliticsTropes politics]], [[DirtyCommunists communists]], games and fun, [[TheFundamentalist Jesus freaks]], circus geeks, summer and spring, [[SexDrugsAndRockAndRoll sex and drugs]], waterbugs, playing ping pong, the [[UsefulNotes/TheVietnamWar Viet Cong]], [=Burger King=], anyone and anything.
96	* BatterUp: "Beat on the Brat" is basically this trope's theme song.
97	-->''"Beat on the brat, beat on the brat, beat on the brat with a baseball bat, oh yeah!"''
98	* BigApplesauce: Played a major role in forming the New York punk scene, and many of their songs referenced different parts of New York City.
99	** "53rd and 3rd".
100	** "Oh Oh I Love Her So":
101	-->"Then we went down to Coney Island."
102	** "Sheena Is a Punk Rocker":
103	-->"Well New York City really has it all oh yeah oh yeah."
104	** "Rockaway Beach".
105	** "We're A Happy Family":
106	-->"Sittin here in Queens eating refried beans."
107	** "I Just Want to Have Something to Do":
108	-->"Hanging out on Second Avenue Eating chicken vindaloo."
109	** "All's Quiet on the Eastern Front":
110	-->"New York beauty take my breath away."
111	* TheBigGuy: At 6'6", Joey towered over every other member and most other musicians.
112	* BlackComedy: The band always had a somewhat offbeat, twisted sense of humor, but "Beat On The Brat," "We're A Happy Family", "Teenage Lobotomy," "Today Your Love, Tomorrow The World" (a Nazi love song) and "Wart Hog" just wallow in this trope.
113	* BreakUpSong: "The KKK Took My Baby Away" was a particularly bitter take on this. Also, "Glad To See You Go" (which Dee Dee wrote about his abusive ex) and the somber "Here Today, Gone Tomorrow." "Questioningly" plays with this; the lyrics take place long ''after'' the breakup.
114	* BrokeTheRatingScale: Once, WesternAnimation/BeavisAndButthead watched the video for "I Wanna Be Sedated", and it is one of, if not ''the'', only videos that actually got the boys to shut up and rock out for a change.
115	* BrooklynRage: Unlike other NYC Bands, they were not from Manhattan but Forest Hills, Queens. The band's lyrics and stage demeanor fully exploit the New Yorkers' reputation for grumpiness.
116	* CatchPhrase: ''ONETWOTHREEFOUR!''; "HEY! HO! LET'S GO!"; [[Film/{{Freaks}} "Gabba Gabba Hey!"]]
117	* ChristmasSongs: "Merry Christmas (I Don't Want to Fight Tonight)".
118	* ControlFreak: Johnny Ramone. Maybe not as notorious as [[Music/TheBeachBoys Mike Love]], but he was very much a disciplinarian, and very rigid about the band and their image. Even his widow, Linda, said he "always gets what he wants."
119	* CoolShades: Joey and Tommy. Joey's, coupled with the mane of hair framing his face, became iconic in their own right, to the point of it being near impossible to find pictures of him without them. Dee Dee began wearing them regularly in the 80s, as did Marky. In fact, Johnny was the only member of the band who never wore them.
120	* CoverVersion: Plenty. Almost every album (except ''Pleasant Dreams'', ''Too Tough to Die'', ''Animal Boy'' and ''Halfway to Sanity'') features at least one. The entirety of ''Acid Eaters'' consists of this. Further, the band covered their '60s pop influences throughout their career. On their very first album, otherwise all original material, the boys included a cover of "Let's Dance" (Chris Montez), and their last album started with Music/TomWaits' "I Don't Want to Grow Up" from Waits' ''Music/BoneMachine''[[note]]Waits would later return the favor with covering two songs of theirs for Music/OrphansBrawlersBawlersAndBastards[[/note]]. Other notable covers included:
121	** "California Sun" (The Rivieras).
122	** "Do You Wanna Dance?" (Bobby Freeman).
123	** "Needles and Pins" (Music/TheSearchers).
124	** "Surfin' Bird" (Trashmen).
125	** "Substitute" (Music/TheWho).
126	** "Any Way You Want It" (Dave Clark Five)
127	** "7 and 7 Is" (Music/{{Love\|Band}})
128	** "Take It As It Comes" (Music/TheDoors).
129	** ... And two of their most unusual covers, the theme for the 1960s ''[[WesternAnimation/SpiderMan1967 Spider-Man]]'' cartoon, and Music/{{Motorhead}}'s tribute song to the Forest Hill Four themselves, "R.A.M.O.N.E.S."
130	** TheCoverChangesTheMeaning: Odd example with "I Don't Want to Grow Up". While the lyrics are unchanged, it has a rebellious tone to it in stark contrast to Waits's depressing original.
131	* CreepyCemetery: The titular graveyard in "Pet Sematary" is absolutely lousy with undead and goblins. Of course, in the book it was UnholyGround, so there's that.
132	* DarkerAndEdgier: The albums that Richie Ramone performed on (''Too Tough to Die'', ''Animal Boy'' and ''Halfway to Sanity'') are much heavier musically than the band's earlier albums, and featured songs with some pretty dark lyrics.
133	* DeadArtistsAreBetter: It took Joey and, shortly after, Dee Dee dying for the band to finally get the recognition it was due in America as a seminal punk band.
134	* DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment: A large portion of their songs consist of only a few lines or stanzas repeated over and over. Particularly noticeable in "Daytime Dilemma (Dangers of Love)":
135	--> ''She came from a happy home\
136	A very happy home\
137	A home of happiness''
138	* ADogNamedDog: Johnny Ramone was so conservative that he didn't give his pets names "because animals don't have names in nature."
139	* DontTouchItYouIdiot: "You Should Never Have Opened That Door".
140	* EndearinglyDorky: Joey. Unlike many subsequent punk singers who were big on playing up their toughness, Joey's image was built around his socially awkward but endearing personality.
141	* ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin: Their signature song-titling style, especially in the early years. Just a few examples:
142	** "I Don't Wanna Go Down to the Basement" is about not wanting to go down to the basement.
143	** "Now I Wanna Sniff Some Glue" is about wanting to sniff glue.
144	** "I Don't Care" is about not caring about stuff (specifically, "this world" and "that girl").
145	** "Outsider" is about being an outsider.
146	* FadingIntoTheNextSong: The feedback at the end of "I Don't Wanna Walk Around With You" segues (with help from Dee Dee's signature "ONETWOTHREEFOUR!") right into "Today Your Love, Tomorrow the World."
147	* {{Foreshadowing}}: Joey's first line in "I Believe in Miracles" is "I used to be on an endless run. Believe in miracles 'cause I'm one.". Years later, Music/{{U2}} would release a song called "The Miracle of Joey Ramone".
148	* FreeHandedPerformer: Joey learned to play drums during his youth but was solely a lead singer and songwriter for the band.
149	[[/folder]]
150	[[folder:G-L]]
151	* GentleGiant: Joey stood at a rather imposing 6 foot 6, but was a laid-back, friendly, and fun-loving guy. Also, [[https://i.pinimg.com/originals/83/29/64/8329645bfdbe5a31e7c27953f23ad75d.jpg as]] [[https://i.pinimg.com/originals/31/60/34/3160347438c710bd07b2fef4740d890b.jpg these]] [[https://img.buzzfeed.com/buzzfeed-static/static/enhanced/webdr06/2013/8/1/10/enhanced-buzz-orig-21968-1375367352-15.jpg?downsize=700:*&output-format=auto&output-quality=auto pictures]] show, he [[KindHeartedCatLover loved cats.]]
152	* GratuitousPanning: Their self-titled debut album which puts guitar on one side and bass on the other.
153	* GratuitousSpanish: Their final album is titled ''¡Adios Amigos!''
154	* GreatestHitsAlbum: All kinds of 'em! ''Ramones Mania, All The Stuff (And More!)'' volumes 1 & 2, the double-disc ''Hey! Ho! Let's Go: The Anthology, Ramones Mania 2,'' ''Loud Fast Ramones: Their Toughest Hits'' and many more. A three-disc box set named ''Weird Tales Of The Ramones'' was released in 2005.
155	* GriefSong: "The KKK Took My Baby Away".
156	* GuestStarPartyMember: Clem Burke, a.k.a. Elvis Ramone.
157	* HalloweenSongs: "Pet Semetary" is often included in most Halloween playlists and mixtapes, for very obvious reasons.
158	* HatesEveryoneEqually: The aforementioned "I'm Against It."
159	* HarshVocals: Ramones originally avoided them, but later they started showing up.
160	** Dee Dee sings like this on most songs where he did the lead vocals.
161	** Joey also sang like this in the mid-80s. A good example is "Somebody Put Something in My Drink".
162	** Richie Ramone sings exclusively in this style in his solo material. It could probably best be described as "Joey Ramone meets Music/HenryRollins".
163	* HeavyMeta: "Rock and Roll High School" and "Do You Remember Rock and Roll Radio".
164	* HiddenTrack: Some editions of ''Loco Live'' have "Carbona Not Glue" unlisted in the tracklist. For legal reasons of course: "Carbona Not Glue" was originally deleted from the album ''Leave Home'' because of a potential lawsuit, as Carbona is a trademarked brand of cleaning solvent.
165	* IconicOutfit: The biker jackets, as pictured above (In some languages, they're mostly known as "Ramones jackets") with ripped-at-the-knees jeans and sneakers, preferably either Chuck Taylors or Keds (at the time, both still American brands).
166	* {{Instrumentals}}: "Durango 95", their only song without any vocals. After its release in 1984, it became their traditional concert opener, prefaced with a recording of the theme from ''Film/TheGoodTheBadAndTheUgly''.
167	* {{Irony}}: They will always be associated with New York, but their last concert was in California.
168	* IWantSong: Many songs contain the phrase "I Wanna" or "I Don't Wanna". A collection of them has been gathered and parodied [[http://shirtsofsatan.files.wordpress.com/2011/02/ramonesmisfits.jpg here]].
169	** Examples in the titles include "I Wanna Be Sedated", "I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend", "Now I Wanna Sniff Some Glue", "I Don't Wanna Go Down To The Basement", "I Don't Wanna Walk Around With You", "I Don't Wanna Be Learned/I Don't Wanna Be Tamed", "Now I Wanna Be A Good Boy", "I Wanna Be Well" "I Wanna Live" and "I Don't Wanna Grow Up."
170	** Partial Exceptions: "I Just Want To Have Something To Do", "I Wanted Everything", "I Don't Want You", "I Want You Around", "We Want The Airwaves".
171	** Occasionally, as noted in the covers above, they would ask "Do YOU Wanna Dance?"
172	** These also appear within the lyrics, for example, in "Pet Sematary":
173	--> I don't wanna be buried\
174	In a pet sematary\
175	I don't want to live my life again.
176	* LackOfEmpathy: "I Don't Care" is basically this trope's theme song.
177	* LargeAndInCharge: Joey Ramone was the lead singer of the band (most sources agree Johnny was the real ''leader'') and stood at 6'6''.
178	* LetUsNeverSpeakOfThisAgain: Dee Dee Ramone outright refused to ever go into detail about the song "53rd and 3rd" from the band's first album, which featured a passage in which Dee Dee sings about "taking a razor blade and doing what God forbade". It's heavily implied that Dee Dee actually did attack a man with a razor blade, so it's easy to see why he didn't really want to reveal the full story behind it.
179	* LimitedWardrobe: Their stage attire varied even less than their music. Total costume changes were first Tommy/Marky/Ritchie, then Johnny & [=DeeDee=]/CJ, taking off the jackets.
180	* ListSong: "I'm Against It", mentioned above.
181	* LyricalColdOpen: "Outsider."
182	[[/folder]]
183	[[folder:M-R]]
184	* MilitaryBrat:
185	** Dee Dee's father was a soldier. As an infant, his family relocated to West Berlin, West Germany, due to his father's military service. His father's military career also required the family to relocate frequently.
186	** Johnny went to military school where he acquired a disciplinary attitude.
187	* MinisculeRocking: Of course. The first album packs 14 songs into barely 29 minutes.
188	* TheMovie: ''Film/RockAndRollHighSchool''.
189	* NamedAfterSomebodyFamous: When Clem Burke from Music/{{Blondie\|Band}} joined the band, they dubbed him "[[Music/ElvisPresley Elvis]] Ramone." Unfortunately, he only lasted a pair of shows before they decided he couldn't keep up.
190	* NervousWreck: The protagonist of ''Mondo Bizarro'' song "Anxiety" '''prefers''' to be this trope.
191	* NewSoundAlbum: ''End of the Century'' changed the Ramones forever, for better or for worse.
192	* OdeToIntoxication: "I Wanna Be Sedated," "Now I Wanna Sniff Some Glue," "Carbona Not Glue."
193	* OlderThanHeLooks: Johnny Ramone barely aged a day between the [[https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/b9/ab/6f/b9ab6ff70cf3428cc995e2fc585c8251.jpg 70s]] and the early [[http://media.lehighvalleylive.com/music_impact/photo/johnny-ramone-40b67f27b64caa1c.jpg 00s]]
194	* OutOfGenreExperience: They were usually PunkRock, but "Do You Remember Rock 'N Roll Radio" sees them experimenting with RockAndRoll. There's also "Baby, I Love You", a FolkRock song, and "I Want You Around," which comes perilously close to an actual Pop love song.
195	* PopPunk: TropeMakers
196	* PowerBallad: "Poison Heart".
197	* PrecisionFStrike: "Censorshit." A strong title from a band who weren't usually profane. Unsurprisingly, it's a pretty direct TakeThat at Tipper Gore.
198	* ProfessionalWrestling: "Wrestling/TheCrusher", which originated on Dee Dee's rap album. The band re-recorded it for their last studio album, ''¡Adiós Amigos!'', with different lyrics.
199	* ProtestSong:
200	** "My Brain is Hanging Upside Down (Bonzo Goes to Bitburg)", an anti-UsefulNotes/RonaldReagan song that Republican Johnny Ramone hated.
201	** "We Want the Airwaves" is about radio owned by corporations not airing rock music anymore.
202	* PunkRock: One of the [[TropeCodifier bands that defined its ethos.]]
203	* RadioSong: "Do You Remember Rock N Roll Radio?" laments the rock stations of the 70s straying away from the genre's roots.
204	* RagtagBunchOfMisfits: Deconstructed. They were a mess for most of their existence and despised each other and were profoundly miserable at times.
205	* RockTrio: They originally attempted to start as this, with Johnny on guitar, Joey on drums, and Dee Dee on [[LeadBassist bass and vocals]]. Dee Dee, however, found it hard to sing and play at the same time. Joey started singing while initially remaining behind drums as well but realized he had the same problem. Eventually, Joey stopped drumming, and after unsuccessfully trying out a few other drummers, Tommy eventually filled in the spot.
206	[[/folder]]
207	[[folder:S-Z]]
208	* SanitySlippageSong: "Gimme Gimme Shock Treatment", "Psycho Therapy" and "I Wanna Be Sedated," to name a few.
209	* SequelSong: "The Return of Jackie and Judy," for one.
210	** "Carbona Not Glue" may be considered a sequel to "Now I Wanna Sniff Some Glue".
211	* ShoutOut:
212	** The name ''Ramone'' was one, taken from "Paul Ramon", the pseudonym Music/PaulMcCartney used to check into hotels during Music/TheBeatles' touring days.
213	** "Judy Is a Punk" references "I'm Henry VIII, I Am" by Music/HermansHermits, of all songs. "Second verse, same as the first!!"
214	** ''Too Tough to Die'' has a cover that homages the tunnel scene in ''Film/AClockworkOrange'' and one of the songs is named "Durango '95" after the car the Droogs steal.
215	** Joey's solo song "Rock 'n Roll Is the Answer" references Music/EltonJohn's "Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting" ("'Cause twelve o'clock you know I wanna rock/I wanna get a belly full of beer"), although Joey's song says it's not really alright.
216	** "Do You Remember Rock 'n' Roll Radio?" matches its Music/PhilSpector production with a whole slew of them: ''Upbeat, [[DuelingWorksLiveActionTV/VarietyShow Hullabaloo and Shindig]]'', [[Series/TheEdSullivanShow Ed Sullivan]], Murray the K, Alan Freed, Music/JerryLeeLewis, Music/JohnLennon, Music/TRex and "Moulty," the drummer of 60's GarageRock band the Barbarians.
217	* SingerNamedrop:
218	** "The Return of Jackie and Judy":
219	-->"Jackie is a bookie, Judy's taking loans
220	-->They both came up to New York
221	-->Just to see the Ramones!"
222	** "Ramona":
223	-->"Hey Johnny, hey Dee Dee
224	-->Little Tom and Joey"
225	* SingleStanzaSong: They were quite partial to this one. Examples include "I Don't Wanna Walk Around With You", "Now I Wanna Sniff Some Glue", "Listen to My Heart", "It's a Long Way Back".
226	* SlippingAMickey: "Somebody Put Something in My Drink". Based on a [[https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1986-08-17-ca-16302-story.html real incident]] in which someone spiked Richie’s drink with LSD.
227	* SomethingSomethingLeonardBernstein: You'll get this all over their discography, but the debut is especially bad for this. Joey was never really the best at enunciating, and his New York accent didn't help. (That's nothing, you should hear Dee Dee sing!) Of course, generations of punk rockers on both sides of the pond followed suit.
228	* SpellingSong: Music/{{Motorhead}} wrote one about the band, "R-A-M-O-N-E-S". The band later did a CoverVersion themselves.
229	* StageNames: Taken by all of the group's members. None of them are related.
230	** When Richard Reinhardt first joined the band, he initially started calling himself Richie Beau. He switched to Richie Ramone by the time of ''Too Tough to Die''.
231	* StepUpToTheMicrophone: The song "Wart Hog", arguably the TropeMaker if not UrExample of the [[SoBadItsGood "passionate and barely comprehensible screaming"]] variant of HardcorePunk, is sun- er, ''performed'' by bassist Dee Dee Ramone.
232	** Ever since ''Subterranean Jungle'' and the song "Time Bomb", the band made a point to invoke this. Dee Dee averaged a couple of songs on each album until he left the band, and then the tradition was passed onto CJ.
233	** While Dee Dee doesn't sing the full song, the bridge to "[=53rd=] and [=3rd=]" from the debut can be considered his first recorded lead vocal.
234	** Drummer Richie Ramone sang on "Can't Say Anything Nice" as well as some demo songs.
235	* StopAndGo: "53rd & 3rd".
236	* StudioChatter: Usually this just consists of Dee Dee counting in songs in his distinctive way. However, "Danger Zone" has a little bit more than that:
237	-->'''Dee Dee:''' Which song are we doin'?
238	-->'''Johnny:''' "Danger Zone"!
239	-->'''Dee Dee:''' Oh, ready? [[note]]or possibly "Already?"[[/note]] One-two-three-four!
240	* SubduedSection: "Blitzkrieg Bop" of course.
241	* SunglassesAtNight: Joey Ramone's sunglasses seemed to actually be ''part'' of his face since it was incredibly rare that he'd take them off.
242	* TakeThat: To a lot of Album-Oriented, Progressive, baroque, guitar-solo-filled music that dominated most of The70s.
243	** "Censorshit" is one to MoralGuardians (specifically calling out Tipper Gore by name), saying they're suppressing free speech and should focus on more important problems instead.
244	** "Bonzo Goes to Bitburg/My Brain is Hanging Upside Down" is the band's (specifically Joey and Dee Dee) answer to UsefulNotes/RonaldReagan and his official, ceremonial visit to a UsefulNotes/{{West German\|y}} cemetery where UsefulNotes/{{Nazi\|Germany}} soldiers were buried. Website/ThatOtherWiki has details on the controversy [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bitburg_controversy here]].
245	* TeenageDeathSongs: "7-11", "53rd & 3rd".
246	* TeethClenchedTeamwork: Joey and Johnny were polar opposites in almost every way, and their relationship was ''completely'' broken when Linda left Joey for Johnny (an incident which was the basis for "The KKK Took My Baby Away"). Yet they spent 22 years grinding it out in the same band.
247	* TemporarySubstitute: After Marky was kicked out of the band for his alcoholism, Richie Ramone took over as the drummer. He lasted from 1983 until 1987 when he quit the band when Johnny refused to give him a cut of the T-shirt sales. Clem Burke of Music/{{Blondie\|Band}} then took over but was fired after playing two disastrous shows. Marky, having gotten sober, rejoined the band.
248	* ThoseWackyNazis: Johnny Ramone had something of a fascination for Nazism and Nazi imagery, so lyrics mentioning or discussing Nazism pop up from time to time. This is probably most famously seen in "Blitzkrieg Bop", arguably the band's SignatureSong, but more explicitly in songs like "Today Your Love, Tomorrow the World", which uses the lyrics "I'm a Nazi schatze, y'know I fight for the fatherland." The lyrics were originally going to repeatedly state "[[RefugeInAudacity I'm a Nazi, baby]]" until Creator/SireRecords president Seymour Stein [[ExecutiveMeddling told the band to change them]].
249	* ThreeChordsAndTheTruth: {{Trope Codifier}}s; almost every song was this trope, with them sometimes using just two chords. They were originally started because they had "gotten bored with everything else" and described '70s rock as overextended jams, with Johnny in particular outright hating guitar solos. [[note]]He did play a handful of them, but usually short and only a few notes. [[/note]]
250	* TitleOnlyChorus: Quite a few songs with this trope... such as "Sheena Is s Punk Rocker", "Rock 'n' Roll High School", "Somebody Put Something in My Drink", "Mama's Boy", "I'm Affected" and so on.
251	* TitleTrack: ''Too Tough to Die'' and ''Animal Boy'' both had these.
252	* TodayXTomorrowTheWorld: "Today Your Love, Tomorrow the World".
253	* TropeCodifier: PunkRock, at least the musical aspect. There were bands like Music/TheStooges and Music/{{MC5}} laying the seeds, sure, but the blueprint for punk was basically drawn by the Ramones.
254	* TruckDriversGearChange: "I Wanna Be Sedated", "The KKK Took My Baby Away", "Danny Says."
255	* UncommonTime: Yes, even they did this once. Parts of "Durango 95" are in 7/8.
256	** "Wart Hog" features them as well.
257	** "Havana Affair" has a couple of guitar breaks in 6/4.
258	* UnrelatedBrothers: Maybe the most famous example of this outside of professional wrestling.
259	* VitriolicBestBuds: Joey and Johnny Ramone — the two were polar opposites politically and philosophically, Johnny's fascination with Nazism led to endless [[DudeNotFunny anti-Semitic jokes]] at Joey's expense, and Joey constantly vetoed Johnny's edgier songs. Nonetheless, the two remained professionally inseparable, and when Joey died in 2001, [[CantLiveWithThemCantLiveWithoutThem Johnny was reportedly devastated and entered a prolonged depression.]]
260	* VocalEvolution: Joey's vocals were originally very nasal and slurred on the band's first four albums, but became much more powerful and showed a far greater range starting with ''Music/EndOfTheCentury''. By the time ''Halfway to Sanity'' came around Joey proved he could even hold his own against many of the heavy metal vocalists of the time.
261	* WhatTheHellIsThatAccent: Joey adopted something of a British accent on earlier albums, which he dropped by the '80s.
262	* WildTeenParty: In the video for "I Wanna Be Sedated."
263	* WordSaladLyrics: Typically the songs make some general sense, but sometimes there are some... odd insertions (like the whole "Do you like bananas?" bit on "This Ain't Havana").
264	** Could be a reference to "Havana Affair" from their first album.
265	-->PT-boat on the way to Havana\
266	I used to make a living, man\
267	Pickin' the banana.
268	[[/folder]]
269	----

Context Music / Ramones