FAINT WAVES

That’s right, that’s right. This week, it’s a favorite of mine from the American poster boys of Punk. This is Song Of The Week: “We Want The Airwaves” by the Ramones, from the album ‘Pleasant Dreams’.

From its immediately catchy guitar riff to its commanding pop lyrics, this song is a good example why the Ramones hit as big as they did for as long as they did (with some peaks and valleys along the way). They were brutal, they were gross, they were cynical, but they also had the pop sensibility of someone like The Beach Boys. Even at their most polished, they were always no-frills, straight-forward rockers, who could write pop songs like nobody’s business.

“We Want The Airwaves” came from Pleasant Dreams, their second album of the 1980’s and sixth album overall. It’s not my favorite of their records, that honor belongs to Animal Boy, but this record and its predecessor set the stage for the (continued) mainstream success that’s to come for the boys within the decade (despite internal struggles and shuffled band members). While it may not be my personal favorite album, it’s still a strong offering, featuring “We Want The Airwaves”, “She’s A Sensation”, and “The KKK Took My Baby Away”. Interestingly too, it had an unlikely producer in Graham Gouldman of 10cc, either intentionally or unintentionally continuing the trend of using a celebrity producer, as they had on their prior album with the infamous Phil Spector.

While the music to follow from the Ramones in the latter half of the decade would pretty much eclipse that of the former half, with hits like “Bonzo Goes To Bitburg”, “Somebody Put Something In My Drink”, “Something To Believe In”, and “Pet Sematary” (with another hit to come in the early 90’s, in “Poison Heart”); there’s no denying the raucous, lively ambition of tunes like “We Want The Airwaves” from the early portion of the decade. After all, who can defy a sentiment like “Where’s your guts and will to survive? Don’t you want to keep rock n’ roll music alive?”.

Thanks for reading.

~ FW.