On a spring afternoon in 1979 I walked into a used record store
(The Wax Museum, located near Cedar/Riverside in Minneapolis, now
long gone). The music playing in the store that day was some of
the most energetic, intense and exciting rock 'n' roll I had ever
heard. I asked the clerk what was on the turntable, and I was
shocked to discover that *this* was the music the media had
labeled evil, nasty and dangerous-to-mice -- PUNK ROCK!
I was largely unaware of the whole "punk" thing prior up to that point. My impression of the genre formed by reports in the U.S. media of "violent" punks spitting and throwing up on things. Like the rest of the brainwashed masses -- force fed Fleetwood Mac, The Eagles, Olivia Newton-John and endless pretentious "art-rock" and heavy metal bands -- I was led to believe that punk rockers were the root of all evil. When, in actual fact... They were! But nobody said how great their music was!
I bought the record right there and nearly played it to death (and nearly drove my non-punk roommate crazy). A couple months later, I saw my first punk show at the Longhorn Bar in Minneapolis -- Richard Hell and the Voidoids. The next day I cut my hair, bought a leather jacket, and Timmy Ramone was born!
If you want to find out a little more about the Record that Changed My Life, here is a Track List of the album.
It still rocks after all these years. If you can find a copy, buy it!
-Timmy Ramone, May 2001