Over/Under

MAGNET  does The Ramones. Lets take a look:

The Five Most Overrated Ramones Songs

1) We’re A Happy Family - what? Overrated? This is a great, great song that completely defines both the sound and lyrics of Rocket to Russia. There's a reason they ended every show with this, no? How the fuck can this be overrated? "Daddy likes men!" Camon. Strike One.


2) Now I Wanna Sniff Some Glue - I can live with this, as it's one of those "the first album was awesome, but some of the songs themselves were kinda whatevs." I mean, I'd put it in with Chainsaw or Havana Affair. And just like Havana Affair wasn't even their best song with "havana" in the title, this isn't even their best song with "now I wanna" in the title. So camon. These are songs that don't hurt the album, but not songs you'd notice otherwise. Though I'm curious re: how any of these three songs could be "overrated," since I've never really heard people "rating" them in any way.


3) Rock 'n Roll High School
4) I Wanna Be Sedated - I group these together cause they're overrated for the same reason - everybody's grandma has heard them. But the thing is, if either one came out today, they'd be amazing. I mean, Rn R HS is perfect - its got the teen thing going on, namedrops classes you hated, great chorus, and the Wall of Sound. A Ramones 101 slice. But we've all heard it from the womb, it's a little TOO "Ramones 101" (also why I never cared for She's the One.) All this is also true for I Wanna Be Sedated, the proverbial "I live on the moon and only know one Ramones song and it's Sedated" Ramones song. How many 14 year-old girls do you think have a $45 Ramones t-shirt and can only hum I Wanna Be Sedated, but has no idea what Carbona Not Glue sounds like? I know thats snobby, but it is what it is, and why I'm okay with both going under "overrated." (despite, as I said, if they came out today they'd be amazing.)


5) Pinhead - way overrated. There is nothing to remotely like about this idiotic song. The movie it's based on is 100x better.

The Five Most Underrated Ramones Songs

1) Listen to My Heart - I like this song, but I don't think it's great enough to be considered "underrated." I don't know anyone who doesn't like it, but I don't know anyone who has it their top 10 either. I'd put Locket Love in it's place, or pretty much half of Too Tough to Die. She Belongs to Me, for sure.


2) I Can't Make It On Time - Again, an okay song, but not great enough to be on an "underrated" list that doesn't include Do You Remember Rock 'n Roll Radio, which should've been bigger than White Christmas. Hell, This Ain't Havana from the same album is 100x better, and just as obscure!


3) All of Pleasant Dreams
4) All of Subterranean Jungle - YES, YES, YES!!!!! Both albums HORRENDOUSLY underrated - in particular SJ, which I have ranked ahead of their debut (but have never had the guts to put ahead of Leave Home and Rocket to Russia.) Song after song after song of bubblegum pop with a crunch, the wall of sound meeting some weird echo chamber meeting Buddah Records. Part of why this record gets the shaft is cause for some reason Psycho Therapy was the "single," so on every comp since they've just lazily stuck it on there, and it became the only song they played live after that tour from the album. Meanwhile, I have it as the 2nd worst song on the album (above only What'd Ya Do, the only stinker on it.) Not cause it sucks, but because the album is STACKED with what shoulda been fucking hits. An unbelievable, underrated album. Fucking finishes with a run of In the Park, Time Bomb and, what should be a HUGE song but never will be, Every Time I Eat Vegetable It Makes Me Think of You. I Need Your Love (a cover) should be blaring outta every fucking window on every fucking street. Camon. And Pleasant Dreams suffers cause 1) snobs like to complain about the sound of it  2) like Psycho Therapy, lazy motherfuckers just pick out The KKK Took My Baby Away or We Want the Airwaves when, while they're both great songs, ironically the best track on the album is All's Quiet on the Eastern Front, which is right between them in the track sequence!!!! There's TONS of great melody somehow buried in the album (You Sound Lie You're Sick, Sitting in My Room, You Didn't Mean Anything to Me), one funny, namecheck-themselves-like-only-they-can song that sounds like a Thanksgiving Day Parade (It's Not My place in the 9 to 5 World) and hell, a slow song whose lyrics I used to fill answer to a chemistry test in to - a fucking ballad which lists one of their own songs!  Camon. A GREAT album! Both albums way better and deeper than THE overrated Ramones album, Road to Ruin.


5) Questioningly - fuck. I'm outta breath. What do you want me to say? If you don't love this song, you're an idiot. It's incredible. Period.