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Morrissey On The Ramones In 1976: They're "Rubbish"
By
Jen Carlson
Published Sep 21, 2012
Modified Sep 21, 2012
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By
Jen Carlson
Published Sep 21, 2012
Modified Sep 21, 2012
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Once upon a time a young Steven Patrick Morrissey penned a vitriol-filled piece about The Ramones—in a 1976 issue of Melody Maker, he called them a "bumptious band of degenerate no-talents." "Classic Steve! Here it is in full:
"The Ramones are the latest bumptious band of degenerate no-talents whose most notable achievement to date is their ability to advance beyond the boundaries of New York City, and purely on the strength of a spate of convincing literature projecting the Ramones as God’s gift to rock music.
They have been greeted with instant adulation by an army of duped fans. Musically, they do not deal in subtlety or variation of any kind, their rule is to be as incompetent as possible.
For a band believed to project the youth of America, New York - suburban life, anti-conformism, sex and struggle, or whatever, they fail miserably. And in the sober light of day their imperfections have a field day.
The Ramones make the Stooges sound like concertmasters, and I feel that the only place for their discordant music is the sweaty downtown Manhattan dives to which they are no doubt accustomed.
The New York Dolls and Patti Smith have proved that there is some life pumping away in the swamps and gutters of New York and they are the only acts which originated from the N.Y. club scene worthy of any praise. The Ramones have absolutely nothing to add that is of relevance or importance and should be rightly filed and forgotten—Steve Morrissey, Kings Road, Stretford, Manchester."
notes that you can now buy the issue on eBay, should you need a new clipping for your "Pretentious Moments: A Morrissey Scrapbook" scrapbook.
Tagged
classic steve
everyone's a critic
letter
morrissey
the ramones
Jen Carlson
Jen Carlson is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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