Hey Ho, Let's go

Ramones - Ramones - 1976

Today's section should be called "Welcome to CBGB". It's funny, in a way, because I have always associated punk with the UK, most likely because the first punk bands I ever heard of were British. Also, most likely, because it was them who took the whole thing to an angrier extreme.
And that's quite clear in this album, as well as the next one today. First couple of punk albums, from the US of A.
Now, this album, released in mid 1976 (I know, wrong tags again), is much closer to what we understand as punk than the next one, but I have always thought of the Ramones as "happy punk".
In the same way as glam rock did occasionally, they revived the style of 1950s music, and simplified it so much that any simpler and you wouldn't really be able to talk about music. I don't think I need to say this but this is simple, fast, and stupid. And that's what makes it brilliant. It's also what makes it punk, even when the lyrics are more comical and provocative than critical.
Now, I think that punk was never a genre to take too seriously, which doesn't mean that I don't think it wasn't influential or important, quite the contrary. I think it was a genre that changed music forever, and that it was necessary in the face of the self-righteousness and pomposity that progressive rock had achieved. But it's precisely because of that, that I think that. We, as listeners, can take it anyway we want, actually. I don't think punk was ever meant to take itself too seriously.
And The Ramones understood that better than anybody in the genre, and that's most likely the reason why they were the one of the longest (if not the longest) enduring band of that era.
This is a Ramones album, an amazing debut album, and the consolidation of what had been brewing since the Ziggy Stardust days. From that moment on, musicians and bands were looking for a sound to express disconformity, anger and rebellion, both towards society as well as towards the stagnation and complacency of the music industry. With this album, The Ramones managed to put all that energy in one hell of a fun album.
And I'm already taking this whole thing too seriously, so let's go back to the beginning, forget everything you read, start jumping and shout, as loud as you can: "Hey Ho, Let's Go!"

• Most of the lyrics deal with topics stemming from their life growing up as lower class kids in New York. Some are more autobiographical than the others. 
• The topics include drugs, relationships, prostitution, violence, humor and Nazism. The latter caused a bit of controversy, both because of "Blitzkrieg Bop" and, especially, because of the closing track, "Today your love, tomorrow the world". 
• About "Now I wanna sniff some glue", Dee Dee apparently said: "I hope no one really thinks we sniff glue. I stopped when I was eight". 
• Most of the songs are over 160 beats per minute. I love it how Wikipedia occasionally reminds you that one or another of the songs has a 4/4 time signature!
• I'm putting "Blitzkrieg Bop" here. Just in case you need a bit of help with the whole "Hey Ho, Let's Go!" thing. 

Some head and shoulders

Blondie - Blondie - 1976

It was very late in 1976 that this album appeared, and while it's classified as punk rock, I would tend to think of it more like what was known as "new wave".
It's Blondie's debut album, and one I have listened to very little, to be honest. I guess most of their earlier material, I always listened through compilations.
This is a cool album, although it sounds a bit too much like a band covering 1950s songs for most of the time. Unlike The Ramones, here you don't find that edge to the old style songs. At most, they sound like pop rendering of the slightly rockier sound that bands such as Slade or The Sweet would give their 50s style tunes. They would make that sound more their own in future albums, I think.
There are a couple of bona fide punk rockers here, like "Rip her to Shreds", most of the songs are great to listen to, and some have become classics. I think it's brilliant as far as debut albums go, but there seems to be something missing at times.
Deborah Harry's vocals are the best thing about the album, few other female singers have managed to sound sweet, angry, trashy and vulnerable at the same time.

• The opening track and single "X Offender" was originally called "Sex Offender", but they had to rename it for obvious reasons. 
• The title of this section is from "Look Good in Blue". The whole line goes: "I can give you some head and shoulders to cry on", which I think is wonderfully cheeky. 
• Continuing with the 1950s homage, they have a song titled: "The Attack of the Giant Ants". I can't really tell whether there was a 50s B-movie about giant ants, but if there wasn't one, someone should make one. 
• I'm picking "X Offender" to share here. It's my favourite track, and the one that is more like what they would do later on.