Hangin' Out In 100b

Welcome to 100best, our new monthly feature. Here’s how it works: we each pick what we think is the best song by a particular band or artist, and have to make our case in 100 words or less (our name gives us the opportunity for all sorts of semi-gimmicky shenanigans). For this first edition of 100best, we’ll take a look at the Ramones, the band whose wonderful music gave us our name as well as an extraordinary number of classics. But what’s their single best song?

aDawgg:

   Ramones – Needles & Pins

So many songs to choose from! “Needles & Pins” – written by Sonny Bono and Jack Nitzsche and originally recorded by Jackie DeShannon (1963) and prominently by The Searchers (1964) – captures The Ramones perfectly. While “I Wanna Be Sedated” stole the limelight on the band’s fourth album, Road To Ruin (1978), “Needles & Pins” boldly declares their 1960s influences. Yet, they managed to make the song their own, breaking the public image – or stereotype – of what punk was and is. Don’t try to cram us into what you want us to be. Don’t like it? Suck it! Punk.

Bean:

   Ramones – Sheena Is A Punk Rocker

“Sheena” represents all those little things we love about the Ramones in one short burst. It’s a perfect combination of pop and punk: surfer music, 60s girl groups, a peppy chorus you can’t help dancing to, Johnny Ramone’s chugging guitar, and Joey’s beautifully odd voice. It’s got incredibly simple lyrics, telling a story that will appeal to anyone, anywhere, who doesn’t quite fit in. All the kids were going to the discotheque, but Sheena had to go to New York City, where she could be free to be a punk rocker and just be herself. What’s more punk than that?

Tamboosh:

   Ramones – My Brain Is Hanging Upside Down (Bonzo Goes To Bitburg)

I’d written about my favorite, “Beat On The Brat” when one google result showed a thread that debated whether people should keep Ramones records due to ‘Nazi imagery’. Seriously?!? Never mind the fact that Joey was Jewish and any mention of Nazis is obviously tongue-in-cheek, “My Brain Is Hanging Upside Down” protests Reagan’s visit to a cemetery where SS soldiers were buried! When it mattered they were suitably outraged and didn’t limit their show of disapproval to the music they listen to. So here’s my vote for 100best, because thanks to this song we can all enjoy “Blitzkrieg Bop”, guilt-free.

100b encourages you to share your opinions in the comments but if we have to follow the rules, so do you: let us know what you think the Ramones’ best is (or even why we’re wrong), but do it in 100 words or less. It’s harder than you think.