“I enjoyed my life when I had nothing… and kinda like the idea of just being happy with me.”

I’ve had this in mind most of the day. The rest of my thoughts aren’t as interesting, or as important. I’ve spent the day listening to and thinking about the Ramones. How time drags. How everything drags when it is bad. I’ve always idolised the Ramones; mainly Joey. I bought (fake) leather jackets because I saw how it made them look untouchable. I wanted to feel like that. When I wear it, I don’t. It’s going to take more than a jacket to make me feel like that. I look at old press photos of them all; they were a gang, a family. A force that could not be stopped and to even want to stop them would have been utterly foolish.

Punk went beyond being a genre of music. Ramones went beyond being just a band. I have a few of their records (vinyl) and when I play it, with the crackling in the background the excitement of discovering them for the first time hits me. They became instantly timeless didn’t they. They had something that is beyond words and will never be seen in any other band. You see, everyone is always “BEATLES OR ROLLING STONES.” No. Forget that. I’d choose neither (if I had to, I’d pick Rolling Stones because they weren’t overproduced and manufactured toss.) Ramones had EVERYTHING a band should have. They had raw energy, songs that felt like you were being throttled but they conveyed so much sensitivity in certain songs such as I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend and their cover of the Ronettes song Baby I Love You.

Joey Ramone will always be the greatest frontman of all time. His shyness and towering frame made him seem like a gentle giant. His distinctive voice and the way he thrashed the mic stand as he sung made you wish you could be like him. I will always wish I could be like him, and Patti Smith. There’s nothing I can really say about Joey that hasn’t been said by so many before. He was truly one of a kind.