Johnny Ramone died Wednesday, which fucking sucks beyond words. Three dead Ramones now. The Ramones are the best American band ever. Think about it: most great bands are from England, while great solo artists are from the U.S. I don't mean your personal favorite band, but a band that is universally loved is probably from England. The Ramones were all American, timeless, and fucking rocked their asses off. Loved the Ramones since 1978, when the teenage son of my mom's best friend make me listen to them over and over, and they were the first band I saw live. I was 13, it was 1986, and I got in trouble with the cops for taking pictures. Still have the pictures. I saw them about a dozentimes over the years, and while the shows were great, they were even better on record. They earned the title "best worst band in the world" somewhere along the way, but that title sort of insults how freat those records really were. The Ramones mean something to me, but I don't think I can fully articulate it right now. I will say, that for an outcast teenager, lyrics like "Gabba gabba we accept you, we accept you--one of us" were not gibberish, those lyrics might have saved my life.