I'd like to get a few things straight. When you read what you are about to read, you will undoubtedly laugh, and may find yourself wondering exactly what the attitude of the author toward this band is. Well, I'll tell you, my attitude is that the Ramones are the best rock'n'roll band in America. My attitude is also that there are a hell of a lot af musicians who have absolutely no idea of what music is about and hide behind something they've learned somewhere; there is an invisible pecking order that's sickening, especially considering that all this stuff comes from the most rudimentary folk music. How you feel about this may reach as deep as your ultimate feeling about America; the way I see it, punk rock is democracy in action. And I would also like to say that as of this very second, there exists in every town on every block in America a band with a kid whom nobody has ever heard of who plays guitar every bit good as Eric Clapton or Ritchie Blackmore or Ted Nugent or whoever.

St. Thomas Aquinas put it well when he said "It is not by their technical dexterity but their spirits that ye shall know them."

The Ramones were formed by themselves to follow their own vision, a vision based on disgust with the old forms, a vision that starts where all the Jimmy Pages stop, when Jeff Beck drops dead, when tomorrow has to be and you know you're chosen.

You may not like them but you're going to to contend with them and, personally speaking at this point in time, I love it. I love to see them this happy and you this miserable. Because you can't play. But you'll learn.

I was listening to the first Stooges album again the other night. Jesus! There's Ron Asheton playing two chords and the entire lyric of the song consists of "Can I come over tonight? We'll have a real cool time." People say the Ramones are 'minimalist' or whatever, but those guys...

That's what it's all about. All these assholes say 'So-and-so can't play' or they pull their technical shit on you, when it's really the drama in the music. The Stooges had it, the Ramones have got it. It doesn't matter how technically proficient you are ar any of that shit. I hate all that crap. I'm so glad this article is in this magazine because when all these 'guitar players' read what the Ramones and I said today they're gonna shit their pants, go berserk with hatred...