Clashin' Ramones

END OF THE CENTURY (2003)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

After seeing "End of the Century," one might be tempted to nickname the Ramones the Clash. It was certainly a clash of personalities as evidenced by their disparate belief systems and constant temper tantrums. Joey Ramone, the lead singer of the band, was a leftist. Johnny Ramone was a staunch Republican ("God Bless George Bush"). Dee Dee Ramone was on higher ground than anyone else, albeit on a heroin high. Tommy Ramone was the drummer who basically ran their publicity machine. And to this day, the Ramones, the arbiters of punk rock, never got the recognition they deserved.

"End of the Century" begins with the ever-changing music culture in the mid-70's as the disco craze continued and the Osmonds ruled the airwaves. Suddenly, an unexpected explosion of rock erupted from Queens, NY in 1974. This explosion was a band called the Ramones, formed by four musicians from poor neighborhoods wearing matching blue jeans and leather jackets. Their two-minute songs ranged in subjects from, well, rock and roll to sniffing glue to teenage isolation. They were the official begetters of punk rock - a louder, in-your-face form of rock and roll. As seen in some original concert footage from the CBGB's (a dank New York club), they were indeed loud and would often argue on stage about what song to perform. The Ramones were beloved in New York City, England and abroad, and produced 18 studio and live albums (they inspired a movement that included the Clash and the Sex Pistols). The problem was that they failed to create a sensation in America, though they created a mass sensation elsewhere. I remember my years at Jamaica High School where one girl, one girl mind you, spoke highly of the Ramones (and included her appreciation of them in the senior yearbook) - she was vilified for being a fan (not many at Jamaica High School in the late 80's were fans of punk rock).

"End of the Century" features revealing interviews with the band and the different members that came and went in later years. There are tales of the growing animosity and discomfort that developed when Johnny Ramone stole Joey's girlfriend and married her - they stayed as bandmates but the tension was always there (one song they performed, "The KKK Took My Baby Away," even deals with their love triangle). There are also revealing tidbits about CBGB's, the friction with producer Phil Spector holding the band at gunpoint, the cult film "Rock and Roll High School" that prominently featured their music, Dee Dee going solo and producing a truly moronic though energetic rap video, the notion that Joey was never able to talk about the band in press interviews (Johnny was the spokesman), their inspirations such as MC5 and New York Dolls, and much more. Diehard Ramones fans (and rock fans in general) will find plenty of insight into the punk rock scene.

At a little over two hours, "End of the Century" does a cohesive, compelling job of detailing the band's disillusionment with their status (forced to play at clubs rather than arenas through most of their career), the individual personalities of the bandmates, and the music culture that changed with each decade yet they kept their integrity, including their outfits. Compared to most rock documentaries, "End of the Century" has a melancholy tone that considers what might have been since the revolutionary Ramones never reached the mass audience they sought (the fates of some of the band members is just as sad) . The film wants you to feel sore about their lack of mass appeal, and one can't help but wonder why some forms of music, like rap, took off and others hardly raised an eyebrow. Maybe the Ramones were too punk for any generation, too angry. Perhaps a band that was upfront and confrontational was more than any American audience could stand for.