Ten Favorite Rock General Questions: Do You Remember Rock and Roll Radio? (#7)
By Four Walls
@FourWalls (62425)
United States
March 26, 2017 6:41pm CST
Before we finish the weekend it's time for a question. More precisely, it's time for a song that has a question in the title. This is the next song on my list of favorite rock songs with a question in the title.
#7: Do You Remember Rock and Roll Radio? - Ramones (#7)
Yeah, this was going to be ignored. 
One of the great bands of the punk era, the Ramones had a knack of giving you music, music, and nothing but more music. I saw them on the "Escape From New York" tour, and they did 22 songs in an hour. By then that was just enough time to hit some of the highlights of their career.
Of course, it helped that most of their songs were about two minutes long. This song, clocking in at almost four minutes, is one of the the longest songs in the Ramones' career.
Taking dead aim at the ever-increasing formulaic sounds that were begin to overtake commercial radio ("lately it all sounds the same to me"), the Ramones compared the fresh sounds of the earlier days of rock and roll ("Do you remember Jerry Lee"), even as relatively recently as the early 70s ("a little T Rex") to what punk was trying to do to shake up the sound.
While the Ramones were a popular band, eventually inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the plea fell on deaf ears, with commercial radio becoming more and more formulaic. Consider that "classic rock" stations that play the Police today would not touch them when they were actually together and new.
That's okay. I remember rock and roll radio, and I'm thankful for the education it gave me. I'm more thankful that we have alternatives to the same 120 songs by the same 40 artists that rock and roll radio has become.
Do You Remember Rock and Roll Radio?
Written by Dee Dee Ramone, Johnny Ramone, and Joey Ramone
Recorded by the Ramones
From End of the Century, 1980
It's the end, the end of the 70s:
One of the great bands of the punk era, the Ramones had a knack of giving you music, music, and nothing but more music. I saw them on the "Escape From New York" tour, and they did 22 songs in an hour. By then that was just enough time to hit some of the highlights of their career.
Of course, it helped that most of their songs were about two minutes long. This song, clocking in at almost four minutes, is one of the the longest songs in the Ramones' career.
Taking dead aim at the ever-increasing formulaic sounds that were begin to overtake commercial radio ("lately it all sounds the same to me"), the Ramones compared the fresh sounds of the earlier days of rock and roll ("Do you remember Jerry Lee"), even as relatively recently as the early 70s ("a little T Rex") to what punk was trying to do to shake up the sound.
While the Ramones were a popular band, eventually inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the plea fell on deaf ears, with commercial radio becoming more and more formulaic. Consider that "classic rock" stations that play the Police today would not touch them when they were actually together and new.
That's okay. I remember rock and roll radio, and I'm thankful for the education it gave me. I'm more thankful that we have alternatives to the same 120 songs by the same 40 artists that rock and roll radio has become.
Do You Remember Rock and Roll Radio?
Written by Dee Dee Ramone, Johnny Ramone, and Joey Ramone
Recorded by the Ramones
From End of the Century, 1980
It's the end, the end of the 70s:
Do you remember lying in bed, with the covers pulled up over your head.
2 people like this
2 responses
@teamfreak16 (43419)
• Denver, Colorado
27 Mar 17
How funny, earlier I was just wondering where this would pop up. A most excellent choice.
1 person likes this
@FourWalls (62425)
• United States
27 Mar 17
One of the more obvious songs for the list.
1 person likes this
@JohnRoberts (109857)
• Los Angeles, California
27 Mar 17
I love the Ramones so this is aces with me.
1 person likes this
