Who Is The American Beatles?

dysko · 04-14-2005, 10:55 PM

How can you people completly ignore Ramones... Hello... The Ramones 😲

The Ramones have proven hugely influential, mostly on later musicians, but in other fields as well: In 1997 four species of trilobites were named after members of the band: Mackenziurus johnnyi, Mackenziurus joeyi, Mackenziurus deedeei, and Mackenziurus ceejayi.

While the origins of punk rock are the subject of debate, The Ramones are widely credited with popularizing the form. Several people often state that, when they first heard the Ramones, they felt that they could do the same, deciding to play instruments and form their own groups. The Ramones' first British tour is widely credited with inspiring the first wave of English punk groups: The Sex Pistols, The Damned, The Clash and others.

Some bands are so taken by The Ramones as a whole that a subgenre dubbed "Ramones-punk" has appeared. These bands often dress up like the Ramones, and play instruments like theirs. The music is generally a little faster and heavier on the guitars with tongue in cheek lyrics about girls and similar fare. Notable bands include Screeching Weasel and The Queers, both of whom recorded entire Ramones cover albums.

At a Ramones Thirtieth Anniversary Tribute concert September 12, 2004, hosted by Rob Zombie. The performers demonstrate the breadth of the Ramones' influence: The Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Dickies and X played great sets and then CJ Ramone, Marky Ramone and long time producer Daniel Ray took the stage and played while different guitar and vocal teams came out and did Ramones songs. Tim Armstrong, Danny Bosstone, Brett Bad Religion, Eddie Vedder--everybody sang and played great.

Slash from Guns and Roses has stated that he learned to play guitar by listening to Road to Ruin.

Frank Black from The Pixies has a song on his first solo album called I Heard Ramona Sing that is a Ramones tribute song.

Lemmy Kilmister wrote a song called R.A.M.O.N.E.S..

The Human League song Things That Dreams are Made Of (from their platinum-selling 1981 album Dare) namechecks "Johnny, Joey, Dee Dee" in the lyrics

When Joey died, The Misfits removed their own content from their website and replaced it with a picture of Joey. On the following day, Bono from U2 made a speech about Joey and the Ramones.

Jello Biafra has a track called Joey Ramone on one of his spoken word albums.

William Shatner mentions Joey Ramone on a song. If gaining mention in a Shatner song isn't hitting the big time, I don't know what is.

Swedish band Roxette included a tall thin puppet with long black hair, Perfecto leather jacket and red sunglasses in one of their video clips. By the end of the video, the puppet name is revealed as being "Joey".

Australian punk rock band The Spazzys are huge fans of The Ramones and once played with Mark Ramone. They say that The Ramones are one of their main musical influences.

Website HomestarRunner.com featured a character dressed up as one of the Ramones in the cartoon The House That Gave Sucky Treats

The Ramones once made a guest appearance on The Simpsons, during which they performed Happy Birthday for Montgomery Burns.

The band formed in 1974 was the underdog of the punk genre, a group whose frenetic, bare-essentials music paved the way for such mega-successful ‘90s groups as Nirvana and Green Day.

Because none of their songs rocketed into the Top 10, because their music was primitive (four chords, a catchy melody, inane lyrics) and because their look wasn’t exactly camera-friendly, the Ramones barely rose above cult status. Yet their influence was great enough to land a 2002 induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Long live The Ramones... enough said.

Deuce · 04-15-2005, 12:25 AM

I am really going to take a shot in the dark... maybe go out on a limb a bit and ask...
Do you like the Ramones?

:D

Quote:

Originally Posted by dysko

How can you people completly ignore Ramones... Hello... The Ramones 😲

The Ramones have proven hugely influential, mostly on later musicians, but in other fields as well: In 1997 four species of trilobites were named after members of the band: Mackenziurus johnnyi, Mackenziurus joeyi, Mackenziurus deedeei, and Mackenziurus ceejayi.

While the origins of punk rock are the subject of debate, The Ramones are widely credited with popularizing the form. Several people often state that, when they first heard the Ramones, they felt that they could do the same, deciding to play instruments and form their own groups. The Ramones' first British tour is widely credited with inspiring the first wave of English punk groups: The Sex Pistols, The Damned, The Clash and others.

Some bands are so taken by The Ramones as a whole that a subgenre dubbed "Ramones-punk" has appeared. These bands often dress up like the Ramones, and play instruments like theirs. The music is generally a little faster and heavier on the guitars with tongue in cheek lyrics about girls and similar fare. Notable bands include Screeching Weasel and The Queers, both of whom recorded entire Ramones cover albums.

At a Ramones Thirtieth Anniversary Tribute concert September 12, 2004, hosted by Rob Zombie. The performers demonstrate the breadth of the Ramones' influence: The Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Dickies and X played great sets and then CJ Ramone, Marky Ramone and long time producer Daniel Ray took the stage and played while different guitar and vocal teams came out and did Ramones songs. Tim Armstrong, Danny Bosstone, Brett Bad Religion, Eddie Vedder--everybody sang and played great.

Slash from Guns and Roses has stated that he learned to play guitar by listening to Road to Ruin.

Frank Black from The Pixies has a song on his first solo album called I Heard Ramona Sing that is a Ramones tribute song.

Lemmy Kilmister wrote a song called R.A.M.O.N.E.S..

The Human League song Things That Dreams are Made Of (from their platinum-selling 1981 album Dare) namechecks "Johnny, Joey, Dee Dee" in the lyrics

When Joey died, The Misfits removed their own content from their website and replaced it with a picture of Joey. On the following day, Bono from U2 made a speech about Joey and the Ramones.

Jello Biafra has a track called Joey Ramone on one of his spoken word albums.

William Shatner mentions Joey Ramone on a song. If gaining mention in a Shatner song isn't hitting the big time, I don't know what is.

Swedish band Roxette included a tall thin puppet with long black hair, Perfecto leather jacket and red sunglasses in one of their video clips. By the end of the video, the puppet name is revealed as being "Joey".

Australian punk rock band The Spazzys are huge fans of The Ramones and once played with Mark Ramone. They say that The Ramones are one of their main musical influences.

Website HomestarRunner.com featured a character dressed up as one of the Ramones in the cartoon The House That Gave Sucky Treats

The Ramones once made a guest appearance on The Simpsons, during which they performed Happy Birthday for Montgomery Burns.

The band formed in 1974 was the underdog of the punk genre, a group whose frenetic, bare-essentials music paved the way for such mega-successful ‘90s groups as Nirvana and Green Day.

Because none of their songs rocketed into the Top 10, because their music was primitive (four chords, a catchy melody, inane lyrics) and because their look wasn’t exactly camera-friendly, the Ramones barely rose above cult status. Yet their influence was great enough to land a 2002 induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Long live The Ramones... enough said.

dysko · 04-15-2005, 04:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Deuce

I am really going to take a shot in the dark... maybe go out on a limb a bit and ask...
Do you like the Ramones?

:D

No not really... :D

clarette · 04-15-2005, 08:58 AM

Public Enemy much, anyone?

And NWA too (the documentary on Death Row Records puts them in a whole new light).

DadOf8 · 04-15-2005, 10:12 AM

I'm going to have to go with The Monkees, they had a huge influence on The Beatles.

DadOf8 · 04-15-2005, 10:14 AM

Actually, nobody has mentioned The Beach Boys. I should have included them in my poll too. I would say they influenced a whole genre and American music on the whole. The Beatles even mimic them in "Back In The U.S.S.R." so in a small way they influenced the Beatles.

Merrill · 04-15-2005, 11:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Deuce

Good point Jake.

I suppose it could be argued that Eminem has had more or as much impact on bringing rap acts to the mainstream media as Run DMC... I mean rap was unheard of on the english airwaves until Eminem came along!

Not a good point. Eminem is riding on the shoulders of greats in the past. Eminem would be a cracked out homeless person who murdered his wife and child if it weren't for one Dr. Dre. Eminem's got some good stuff, but they were filling the charts in england with Rap going all the way back to the Beastie Boys 1st album. I can remember watching MTV in the eighties and seeing Beastie Boys "She's Crafty" (a good song but far from their best) firmly rooted in the english top ten.

Again I must say. Run DMC. They weren't the first, but neither were the beatles. No one else turned music on a new course from Rock and Roll to hip-hop.

Maybe y'all aren't of the right age to understand. I was in middle school when Rap blew up the radios. RunDMC, Beastie Boys, LL Cool J, and all were out of control popular. Then it developed from there into what we have now. From there, the really pivotal artists I would say are NWA, Public Enemy, and finally Dr. Dre & Snoop. "The Chronic" is what put rap on top to stay.

After all that being said, I only somewhat like rap. I can only tolerate the biggest hits. So I guess that means I appreciate Eminem, but not many of the others any more.

Also, I had to refute the notion that all great music originated in the british isles. Because it was based on the assumption that the Beatles started it all. Like we've already said, the Beatles weren't the first, just the most popular. Rock and Roll was around ten years old by the time the Beatles put their spin on it, and Rock and Roll began right here in the United States of America. C'mon, here on a soccer message board we can't let the brits take credit for our inventions...we already follow their sport, let's keep our music.

Czar Jake · 04-15-2005, 12:23 PM

I see what you mean, but here's my whole point: Even though Eminem would be nothing without the likes of precursors NWA, Beasties, Snoop, Run DMC, etc., I still think that Eminem was the first rapper to really hit popularity levels that we can compare with the Beatles. The original question was "Who is the American Beatles?" not who started such-and-such.

A couple years ago, Eminem had the #1 album, #1 Single, and #1 movie all at the same time. That kind of popularity outdistances NWA and all the great originals in rap, despite whether Slim Shady's music is better or worse. So in that sense, Eminem is sort of like the Beatles: Hugely popular, innovative in the earlier stages of rap (yeah it's been around since the early 80s or so but 25 years is still infancy for a musical movement in my book), and mainstream success.

So while you might be right about Eminem standing on others' shoulders, Snarf, that really isn't the point, because The Beatles did the same thing, and the question is "Who is the American Beatles?"

Dysko, The Ramones are great, absolutely one of the best bands. But can you really argue they had the success (though possibly the influence on other musicians) to qualify for this list? You and I love the Ramones but if I ask 10 people walking down the street, I bet 5 of them won't know their music. By way of comparison, all 10 would know the Beatles and probably 9 would know Eminem. That doesn't mean Eminem's music is better than The Ramones' - I don't think it is - it just means he hit that mainstream success, much like The Beatles.

clarette · 04-15-2005, 12:25 PM

Does anyone else see the irony in Eminem being compared to the Beatles (the ultimate chick-magnets) when most of the girls I know HATE HATE HATE Eminem?

Heh. :D

Czar Jake · 04-15-2005, 12:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by clarette

Does anyone else see the irony in Eminem being compared to the Beatles (the ultimate chick-magnets) when most of the girls I know HATE HATE HATE Eminem?

Heh. :D

But there are plenty of chicks who are in love with Eminem. If you have seen the crowd at one of his concerts, it's about half girls. "I go to TRL, look how many hugs I get!"

Eminem has been a very controversial character, but let's not forget that the Beatles had times of controversy as well. At one point they (well mostly John) had completely pissed off the entire Christian community, something Eminem should be familiar with.

I'm not trying to say Eminem is as good at The Beatles, just trying to make a comparison. The other band that people might make a case for would be Backstreet Boys or N'Sync. They were insanely popular, mainstream success, chick-magnets (I bet you liked them Clarette! :D ) ... but they didn't do much to influence music or musicians at all. Their similarity ends with being hugely popular.

How about Michael Jackson? He might fit even better than Eminem. All the success, surely influenced music, redefined "pop", and turned into a complete wacko.

Again, I have no agenda here. Eminem is not my favorite musician, I'm not trying to cheer on my own favorite or anything, just trying to make some comparisons.