i remember you: RAMONES BALLAD poll

i love most of these so it's tricky. the classicist answer is "i wanna be your boyfriend," but i think i have to go with "baby i love you" because it's the closest joey ever got to being a ronette.

I Want You Around, but this was a tough choice for me as I always loved when they went in this direction - Joey I miss you

i love "i remember u" so much. gets me misty. on the other hand "i wanna be your boyfriend" is one of the most classic tunes of all time.

went with "don't come close" cuz i thought "needles and pins" was too obvious.

(my vote basically the result of perv-y lisync sequence in Rock n Roll High School)

LIP SYNC

I Want You Around

Particularly from the film "Rock and roll high schol". the tribute to Julie London and/or "Youve got to hide your love away" Help film.

Yeah, I Want You Around for the Ramones in teh shower sequence.

Though I love their version of Baby I Love You - one of the few Ronettes covers that isn't an atrocity.

(rock'n'roll hs scene here)

"Here Taday... Gone Tamarrah!" (the "it's alive" version)

I voted "Here Today Gone Tomorrow," but only because I didn't notice "Don't Come Close" was in the list until the page refreshed (somehow I totally overlooked it).

Joey is so gawky and perfect in that clip

"Don't Come Close" for me, as it nearly drove Johnny out of the band (legend has it). Also, didn't Sonny & Cher (or somebody) actually write "Needles & Pins"?

Jack Nitzsche/Sonny Bono, originally recorded by the Searchers

There ya go.

danny says

I always think that songs like "The KKK took my baby away" and "I wanna be sedated" are ballads too, but they're only slow songs for the Ramones

I wunt you ar-OW-ownd

a lot of their poppier stuff could sort of qualify. i was mostly looking for those joey love songs. (even though he didn't write all of them -- i think "questioningly" was one of the first songs dee dee ever wrote, must've taken 4 albums to convince johnny to record it.)

other songs i could've voted for:
"danny says" (love the way it builds, and the fact that the only reason they can't surf in idaho is that it's too cold)
"7-11" (great teen death ballad. "she was standing by the space invaders")

I'm torn between 'Needles and Pins' and 'I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend'. I'm going to give them a listen and then probably choose 'Baby I Love You'.

Needles and Pins.

"Questioningly" for me, though I like-love almost every single one of these (except the last 3, which I don't know, and the Ronettes cover which apparently I'm alone in thinking is kinda blah).

"the classicist answer is "i wanna be your boyfriend"
that's what I'm voting for.

xpost:

the last 3 are good! "bye bye baby" especially. (ronnie spector covered it on that ep joey produced for her.)

Where is the love for DANNY SAYS?

"It's A Long Way Back To Germany"!

[ Eb D C Bb ] x4
[ Ab Bb ] x2
Ab Eb
You by the phone
You all alone
It's a long way back to Germany
It's a long way back to Germany
[ Eb D C Bb ] x4

Isn't 'Needles and Pins' an old Dave Clark Five song, though?

READ THE THREAD.

Danny Says is the best.

xpost wrong, also.

(you could do a ramones cover poll too, they were a good cover band: "needles and pins," "baby i love you," "do you wanna dance," "i don't want to grow up," "surfin bird," "california sun," "time has come today," "little bit o soul," and of course the whole acid eaters album.)

all their covers are great tho

A few of these really do strain the definition of "ballad" - "Ramona" especially, although it's totally great! I think "Don't Come Close" is the best, not so much "oh, it's a sweet song done in Ramones style" but the Ramones actually stretching their style to tackle the genre, in the process getting one of the catchiest things they ever put on record.

"danny says" (love the way it builds, and the fact that the only reason they can't surf in idaho is that it's too cold)
"7-11" (great teen death ballad. "she was standing by the space invaders")

Agreed. But bollocks, I didn't notice Questioningly - that's a fucking great country song.

What about I Can't Make It On Time? It rocks, but it has the yearning quality of their best ballads.

Fantastic song from the last album: "She Talks To Rainbows"

i know that one from ronnie spector's version. yeah, nice song.

needlesw and pind,though its' a cover

needls and pins that is

Any of the End of the Century ones would do for me! Um, I guess I Want You Around, then.

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

Voted for "I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend" although I don't quite understand why it's any more of a ballad than the rest of their debut. To me, it seems like every single one of the songs on that album are roughly the same tempo and style.

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.