The Ramones vs. The Sex Pistols

[thunderbolt]

The Ramones, the pistols were just the punk version of the Monkees. I've met both Joey and Johnny Rotten, Joey was the nicest guy you could meet, and johnny was the wanker you expect him to be, almost like he's always in character, very fake and pretentious.

[Donkey Hoatie]

Hard to say

What does relevance mean?

Musically, it's the Ramones. Hands down. Ramones Mania is still one of my favorite albums of all time, and I've been listening to it for 20 years now. Listen to that thing and tell me it's not awesome. Sure, about 11 of the songs sound the same during the intro, but I'm OK with that. There's only so much you can do with 6 different chords.

Culturally though, I'd have to go with the Sex Pistols. I don't think you can deny the cultural perspective the Sex Pistols helped develop with the image of punk rock. If you asked casual music fans who they thought was the best punk band, I think you'd get more people saying Sex Pistols than Ramones. Mind you, I'm talking about CASUAL listeners.

[Cosmicman]

Ramones all the way! I am honored to say that my band got to open up for them at the Barrymore in 1995. It was a total honor meeting them backstage for a whole five minutes. Nice guys! Joey Ramone was so cool!

[timmy]

Ramones vs Sex Pistols

I was lucky enough to be from North Jersey. I would see the Ramones a couple times a year from 1988-1995 in my highschool to college years. Something like 15 times total between City Gardens, CBGBs and Chestnut Cabaret. Would see Joey in the city and Johnny every year at the Comic & Horror shows in NYC. Johnny was always polite and would talk monster movies with us.

Because of that I think I took them for granted, I look back and and now really miss them.

I got to see Pistols reunion in 2003 in Atlantic City, they were very tight and more powerful than expected. Ran into the band at casino later that night as most punk fans had departed AC. They let me buy them drinks. It was a cool fulfillment of a childhood dream to see them live, but I didn't love them the way I loved the Ramones.

Listen to indie 103.1 online Steve Jones has a radio show and often talks about Pistols and Ramones. The station was very committed to the Ramones in their last days.

Indie 103.1 | Indie Home

[Manspider]

Without a doubt... Ramones

[Zemo]

There's only so much you can do with 6 different chords.

Thank God nobody ever told Carlos Santana that.

[Mikey]

Somebody mentioned "I Wanna Be Sedated" a while back on this thread ...

That song alone (musically) kills anything the Pistol's ever did, imo

Ramones, imo were Punk's Beatles.

Wish I could have met Joey-- at least for just one second.

[Dave Mc]

I loves me some Ramones.

[Mikey]

Anybody remember that talk show Joey was on ?
It was either late 80's or early 90's........
Might have been Phil Donahue

Joey was one of the guests (I forgot what the subject was).
The audience was really horrible to him --- laughing at his every word.
(prim and proper middle-calls wives)

Joey sat the whole show out very cool and never raised his voice.
Now THAT is as cool as cool gets.

[4NDR01D]

One of my biggest regrets were missing the Ramones live, I've seen just about everybody, and a lot of shows were way before the bands "blew up" or got noticed, so how did I manage to miss a band that toured relentlessly for over 20 years? Toronto was known for being the Ramones "home away from home" and they always made sure to put on a great show there although I've realy never heard of a "bad" Ramones show.
If anybody out there is into reading I highly recommend the bok "Please Kill Me" by Legs McNeil, it chronicles the early years of the Stooges,MC5, New York Dolls,and Ramones. Crazy stories and a very interesting and easy read about punks founding fathers.

[The Bat]

Well...the Sex Pistols learned play listening to Ramones Albums...so I'm going to say the Ramones. But they really are two different styles of Punk...the Ramones are funny and fun...and the Pistols are "in Your Face"!

[jwyblejr]

Anthony Bourdain is a huge Ramones fan. If it's good enough for him,it's good enough for me.

[Man of Action]

" I dont wanna be a pin-head no more"

[draconianguard]

The New York Dolls were not an assembled boy band. If anything, the inspiration behind the ramones would be the Dolls. Sure the Dolls wore make-up and outfits but they were quite real. And yes the Dolls were managed by Malcolm Mclaren in the end, in the heat of Thunders and Nolan's addiction... when a dollar earned was a dollar for dope, and it broke the band... fast. The Dolls pre-date the Ramones by about 3 years. The Dolls, while lumped in to "punk" actually represent a return to punchy '50's/60's songwriting. The same can be said of the Ramones. That is in fact how the first Ramones record was marketed. The Ramones have more in common with the Ronnettes than they do with anything traditionally considered "classic" punk.

As far as the original question of this thread, who was more influential, Pistols or Ramones... I hear echoes of Steve Jones in stuff all the time, especially in a lot of the swedish brand of good rock 'n roll, hell I hear a lot of jones in some metal even (new Darkthrone). And I hear Lydon's snot and snarl in most politically minded punk, even if they think they are the new Clash, they are just aping decades old awesome (lookin' at you Anti-Flag). And I hear some Ramones in every flavor of the month pop-punk conglomerate that bursts from the suburbs and lands on Hot Topic shelves. And even more from american bands that are just having fun (Riverdales, ******, Dwarves etc.). I think in both cases much of the influence that I hear these days are second/third/fourth hand. A band influenced by a band that was influenced by a band influenced by the Ramones/ Pistols.

Tie.

You misunderstood me. Didn't Malcolm assemble the Sex Pistols because he wanted The New York Dolls to come to England for him and they said no?

[misterdroid]

You misunderstood me. Didn't Malcolm assemble the Sex Pistols because he wanted The New York Dolls to come to England for him and they said no?

That I don't know... I have never heard that before. Malcolm was the Doll's manager briefly in '75 for the Red Patent Leather fiasco and the end of the band. By the time of the Pistols forming however, Johnny Thunders and Jerry Nolan had moved on to the excellent Heartbreakers, Johansen went on to somewhat successful solo carreer (often with Sylvain Sylvain in tow).
That being said, I guess the premise makes sense. Maybe Malcolm's plan was to turn the dolls into walking adverts for his boutique, the function the Sex Pistols eventually fulfilled. I just don't know.