Lee Ranaldo on the impact of Ramones: “They were a generation ahead of us”

Posted On August 1, 2024August 1, 2024

Sonic Youth were the definitive band of New York’s underground music scene during the 1980s. Spurred on by the vibrancy of the no-wave movement, the group created some of the most stunningly original material of the era, and they continue to be celebrated for that near-flawless discography to this day. Sonic Youth owes a great deal to their diverse range of influences, but it seemed as though one pioneering punk band were particularly impactful to the group.

New York was, arguably, the birthplace of punk. Without groups like The Velvet Underground, Patti Smith, and Television, the genre would be virtually unrecognisable. Even when punk rock became more widely renowned during the mid-1970s, the East Side of Manhattan still housed the bulk of bands that made up the scene. The sticky floors and dirty walls of the CBGB club, for instance, inspired the formation of countless groundbreaking groups, including the likes of the Ramones, Blondie, and Talking Heads.

Punk had an undeniable impact on the likes of Kim Gordon, Thurston Moore, and Lee Ranaldo, who went on to form Sonic Youth in 1981. However, during those early years, the band was much more dedicated to no-wave rather than punk. In many ways, the no-wave scene was a rejection of the banal and repetitive nature of punk. What started out as a musical rebellion soon became a mainstream fashion, which led artists like Suicide, James Chance, Lizzy Mercier Descloux, and, later, Sonic Youth to form their own revolution.

Nevertheless, Sonic Youth could never fully denounce the brilliance of punk rock. Throughout their career – even during the no-wave years – the early influences of the genre were clear. Interestingly, though, the band seemed to have a particular soft spot for the Ramones. The Queens-based band was, arguably, the closest punk got to pop during those early years, leading many to view the group as being too mainstream or unoriginal. 

For Sonic Youth, however, this blending of pop sensibilities with punk rock attitude and performance was something of a masterstroke. During a 2011 interview, Lee Ranaldo reflected on the group’s utter adoration for the Ramones, saying, “You would see them around town, like at CBGB’s or something. We thought that they were unbelievable. They were a generation ahead of us. They were older than us. Not by much, maybe, but we totally looked up to them and revered those early records.”

In fact, the band had such a love for the Ramones that they chose to cover ‘Beat On The Brat’ for their ‘Master=Dik’ EP, released in 1987. Sonic Youth would also feature various Ramones covers during their legendary live shows, with Ranaldo remembering, “We loved their music. We did an entire Ramones encore medley. We did five or six songs in a row. Rapid fire.”

Speaking to their love of the band, these encore medleys were not mere half-hearted versions of ‘Blitzkrieg Bop’ but some fantastically energetic versions of deep cuts from the Ramones’ early work. One performance in 1987 saw Sonic Youth take on ‘Loudmouth’, ‘I Don’t Wanna Walk Around With You’, ‘Today Your Love, Tomorrow The World’, and ‘Beat On The Brat’ without the opportunity to even catch their collective breath. The Ramones might have been a generation ahead of Sonic Youth, but the lineage was clear for all to see. 

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