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While the band inherited some of their raw, primitive power from the New York Dolls
and Iggy and the Stooges, and while their sound harkened back to rock and roll's simple
roots, the Ramones took these influences and forged them into something entirely their
own. First, they sped it up. Pedal to the metal, they drove their songs like drag racers, for-
ging their brand of punk rock as we know it. Unlike the heartfelt lyrics found in many rock
songs of the early '70s, their lyrics were tongue-in-cheek with ironic titles like “Blitzkrieg
Bop”and“BeatontheBrat.”Andtheircartoonylook,thegoofballblackbangs,boots,and
leather jackets—the staged, choreographed uniformity of it—put them in a class by them-
selves. They may have only played four chords, but they played the hell out of them. And
because of their famously militaristic rehearsals (no one drinks during rehearsal, always
tape everything and listen to it later) their playing was tight as a fist.
Dee Dee was “the cute one” in the Ramones, the one the girls most wanted to be with.
He was the band's creative brains, its artistic director and songwriter who kept their songs
simple and tight, honest and funny. In his personal life he often played dumb, but he was
smart and sensitive.
He wrote most of the Ramones' best songs, which is why, even after he left the band,
they kept him on the payroll as songwriter.
Inadditiontothesongs,DeeDeetrademarkedthefast1-2-3-4countthatlaunchedeach
song (and now the songs of many bands). His personality was irascible and volatile—he
could be a handful. But no one could deny his talent.
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