The Ramones
We're Outta Here
[Radioactive]
Rating: 7.5
The Ramones were one of the greatest bands to ever grace the planet. I
hope you didn't need me to tell you that. Pure pop bliss baked in
mighty decibels, spewed out like lightning; that's the way they did it
from 1974 to 1996. We're Outta Here, a CD and video box set works
as both a document of their final show and a trip down memory lane.
The disc churns through all the usual suspects: "Blitzkrieg Bop", "I
Wanna Be Sedated", "Cretin Hop", "Teenage Lobotomy", and my personal
favorite, "Do You Remember Rock and Roll Radio?" A few omissions, to be
sure (where's "Bonzo Goes To Bitburg" and "It's Gonna Be Alright"?),
but that's made up by some very solid and boasting cameo appearances by
Rancid's Tim Armstrong, Soundgarden's Ben Shepard and Chris Cornell, and
Eddie Vedder. Joey Ramone will probably win an award for Least Intelligible
Performance by a Male Lead Vocalist; I haven't heard such mush-mouth since
Bob Dylan groaned his way through "Like A Rolling Stone" during "Late
Night With David Letterman's 10th Anniversary Special."
The video, at two and a half hours, is too goddamned long. There are
too many puffy testimonials by the likes of Debbie Harry, Richard Hell,
and the non- Byrne members of Talking Heads. (I did, however, realize
during the course of the video that Jello Biafra must be a long lost brother
of Norm MacDonald-- think about it.) However, there are some priceless
moments: a wholly surreal clip of their appearance on "Sha Na Na", an
appearance on something vaguely cable access- like called "The Uncle Floyd
Show", the infamous "Happy Birthday To You" scene from "The Simpsons" ("Have
the Rolling Stones killed."), an insane home video of rabid fans in Argentina,
and the downright flaming Dee Dee Ramone waxing gayly about the old days.
Inbetween all of this are indulgent interviews with the band and footage of
their last concert that looks like it was shot by the Blind Cameraman's
Union Local 653. It may be avant garde to film the guitarist's head at the
very bottom of the frame or fixate way too long on sneakers, but it adds
nothing to the live footage. The CD's a worthy final product, but the
video is for diehards only.
-Jason Josephes