By all accounts, the Ramones pretty much hated each other by the end of their run. Hell, they hated each other well before the end of their run, given that at least half of their years were spent in icy dysfunction, largely due to iron-willed Johnny Ramone hooking up with hopelessly romantic Joey’s ex. Johnny ended up marrying her (she being Linda Ramone), a blow from which Joey never recovered. Allegedly, they never spoke about it — or to each other — ever again. In the band’s official biopic, “End of the Century,” there is a fleeting moment wherein Johnny concedes — however bluntly — a modicum of regret. One wonders what might’ve happened had they cleared the air and tried to talk it out.
The world will never know. Both Johnny and Joey are dead, now (thanks, Cancer!). Yesterday, the Instagram page of Johnny Ramone posted the below picture, and I love it for a couple of reasons.
Firstly, despite the well-established acrimony between them, this picture exudes none of that. While the mythology of the band being actual brothers was all whimsical window-dressing, they look legitimately fraternal, here. While they had their differences, Johnny did indeed affirm that he’d never perform with a different lead singer than Joey. He was at least loyal.
Secondly, I have certain friends who love to invoke the fact that Johnny Ramone considered himself an avid Republican (see these posts for more on that). True, yes he did, famously saying “God Bless George W. Bush” at the Ramones’ induction into the meaningless Rock n’ Roll Hall of Fame. This all said, Johnny was also a genuine fan of the Manson Family, a gaggle of actually murderous hippies and the very personification of everything the Right Wing once actively recoiled from. Check out Johnny’s t-shirt of a crucified Charlie Manson. What explains this core conflict? Was it all a pose? Was it the manifestation of Jungian duality? Or was Johnny really just a xenophobic nationalist more than a more bona fide card-carrying conservative?
I’ve wondered before here what Johnny might have felt about his fellow Queens native, Donald Trump as our president. While, yes, Trump is himself a rampantly xenophobic nationalist (a term he espouses), I want to believe Johnny would have seen right through him for the avaricious fat-cat conman he is. Also, the slightest whiff of Russian involvement — which the Trump Administration remains irretrievably steeped in — would have put Johnny right off.
But, again, we’ll never know.
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