Johnny Ramone has ALWAYS been a right-wing stooge.
The anecdote about friction over "Bonzo Goes to Bitburg" is precisely the way I
remember it from contemporary interviews. Johnny was responsible for all of the
paramilitary aspects of the group, including the Marine Corps and Nazi fetishes.
No wonder the band was so damned volatile -- it's amazing they actually
accomplished as much as they did.
Regarding the use of "Blitzkrieg Bop" in a phone
commercial, however, I seriously doubt anyone thought further than the
undeniably catchy "Hey, ho, let's go!" The execs probably figured the rest of
the lyric was too garbled to parse in a quick TV commercial.
Skip, here's a question for you: When I was in St.
Petersburg, Florida last weekend I saw that X was coming around on tour again.
Is it the original line-up? And if so, do we include this in our tally of old
punks who never say die? True, X outlived most of the bands in their generation,
but not without their own share of turmoil. Still, they were incredible when I
saw them at a muddy Guiness festival five or six years ago. (At this point,
however, it wouldn't surprise me if YOU were the guitarist in the band...)
;-)
Steve Smith