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Music

Johnny Ramone Was an Asshole, But I Get It

Johnny's autobiography tells his story in his own blunt, Republican-punk tongue.

What I love most about reading rock stars autobiographies is that they are written by people who are not professional writers, but punks. These books read like a conversation, scattered, often off on side-story tangents. Rock star autobiographies (especially if the rock star had no ghostwriter) are littered with improper language and he-said-she-said-gossip about widely know events that made rock history. Johnny Ramone's Commando is no different. It's his story in his own blunt, Republican-punk tongue (in the back of the book Johnny has penned Top Ten lists of baseball players, guitarists and of course, Republican presidents). He's pro-police, pro-Capitalism, pro-war (some of them). He's the ultimate good American, but he's also a Ramone.

Remember in that Ramones documentary End of the Century when they interview Johnny about Joey's death and he acts desensitized? Like the death of his lifelong pal and bandmate was nothing to him? It's weird and shocking, but the book dispels all notions of Johnny being an emotionless robot with a six-string talent. When Johnny talks about his bandmates, he speaks with an air of annoyance, which makes him sound like an asshole, but I get it. I get it when he's talking about Joey always being sick and too tired on the road and why it pissed him off. I get why he beat Joey up when he was late for so much as a movie. I get why he was irritated by Dee Dee's drug habits. (Though he did smoke pot regularly, Johnny never had more than one or two beers. He gave up drinking when he saw God at 20 years old and decided to go from neighborhood thug to what he describes as "normal.") I get being irritated all the time with his bandmates. Johnny was the leader. He had orchestrated the Ramones. It was his vision and he didn't like having that vision lose focus because of others.

Read the rest over at NOISEY.