Because I'm ultimately a slow, stupid and easily-distracted reader, it took me forever and a day to finally finish Simon Reynolds' excellent-if-strenuously-depressing "Retromania" (which I wrote about here), but it was truly worth it. In any case, I've currently sank my fangs into the less intellectually-challenging but equally entertaining "Commando," the autobiography of Johnny Ramone.
True to the late guitar-slinger's notorious style, Johnny's prose is dry, succinct and largely devoid of sentiment. His blunt insights are pretty hilarious on occasion (whether that's intentional is debatable). Every now and then, Ramone betrays his famously frowny demeanor and says something from the heart. I was bemused, for example, to learn that he considered fabled KROQ DJ Rodney Bingenheimer a "sweet guy" -- who knew "sweet" was in Ramone's vocabulary? But for the most part (or so far, at least -- I'm about halfway through), Johnny comes across as the iron-willed control freak and needlessly disagreeable punk icon of yore. While lovably cartoony in that capacity, make no mistake -- through much of the book, he reveals himself to be a stubborn, insensitive bastard and a hatefully intolerant xenophobe, albeit fiercely loyal and pointedly consistent. I imagine that he must have been quite a challenge to deal with during the Ramones' glory days.
Obviously, if you're a fan, "Commando" is required reading, but the book also features some amazing photographs and is rife with Johnny's hilarious top ten lists. Go check it out.
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