Ramones Mania

Now I remember why baseball sucks -- it takes a perfectly good network, like Fox, and replaces all the good programming with fucking... baseball. So I'm finally (sorry!) watching this Ramones Raw DVD that Devin bought me as a birthday present the year before last, and you know what? It's totally fucking engrossing. It's basically a compilation of home movies the band made while touring in the U.S. and abroad, along with some totally sweet live footage for songs I think they didn't do live that much (including one of my personal favorites, I Can't Make It On Time). I think the best part is how dumb it at all is -- literally a double-digit percentage of the footage is of members of the band posing in front of some local edifice or pointing at a funny sign and waiting nervously to have their picture taken, starting to smile, not sure if the picture's been taken yet, glancing back and forth awkwardly, etc. And then there's the fucking terrifying footage from inside their car of them getting mobbed by fans in South America and Europe. My only complaint is that most of the stuff is from the post-Dee Dee era, so it's got C.J. in it instead, and that guy... he's not, you know, a Ramone.

Some other highlights:

• Gilbert Ramone
• Joey and Marky's appearance on Steampipe Alley, hosted by Mario Cantone
• Dee Dee's perverse insistence on taking a detour to go shopping for a Rolex in Valencia
• Holy shit, Joey wearing a fucking Dickies t-shirt!