The Ramones of the ’70s are iconic. They were at the vanguard of punk, and arguably pop punk, and created songs that are still considered classics of the genre today. You go to a sporting event, you hear “Blitzkrieg Bop.” Their look was easily recognizable, and influential. They appeared in Rock ‘N’ Roll High School. Then came 1980’s End of the Century which was, in its own way, the end of an era for the band. By 1995, when they released their final studio album Adios Amigos!, they were no longer part of the zeitgeist. They were an afterthought, and they weren’t even the same band.
The change from Tommy to Marky on the drums had happened a while back, with a brief stay from Richie in there as well, and, in truth, changing the drummer isn’t really going to rile up many people. However, by the time of Adios Amigos!, Dee Dee was also all but gone, although his presence is still felt on the album, as he is credited as the writer on many of the songs, including a handful from other projects of his. He had been replaced with C.J. Ramone, who was given a lot of credit by his bandmates for bringing some much-needed youthful energy to the band. C.J. could only do so much, though. This was a band that had been releasing music for 20 years. Nobody could blame them for being burnt out.
Adios Amigos! begins with the iconic “1, 2, 3, 4!” count off that was synonymous with the band, but after that it feels decidedly like warmed-over Ramones. Now, this could be where one would break out the old chestnut about how even bad pizza is pretty good, and how the same can be said for the Ramones. The Ramones were still making the music they’ve made for years. Charging guitars. Simple drumbeats. Although, they do slow it down a bit more than they did in the past, in part to ease the strain on Joey’s vocals. He gets to croon a bit, and he’s not half-bad at it.
The album is hit-or-miss. In addition to the songs from Dee Dee, there is a cover of Tom Waits’ “I Don’t Want to Grow Up” and Johnny Thunders’ “I Love You.” They are both fine. “Fine” is about the highest level this album achieves. “Life’s a Gas” is pretty good, but also goes on a bit too long. In the end, the songs that Joey sings on are reminiscent of the glory days of the Ramones. The issue is that on four of the tracks, C.J. takes the lead vocals. One of the song, “Scattergun,” is OK, but the others are abysmal. Of course, one of those songs is “The Crusher” from Dee Dee’s brief time as a rapper, so C.J. can’t take all of the blame. Nevertheless, it’s one of the worst things ever recorded for posterity.
Dee Dee’s impact on the album is felt in his songwriting, but his only tangible appearance is on the final song “Born to Die in Berlin,” wherein he (literally) phones it in from Germany. None of the original Ramones (Joey, Johnny, Dee Dee, and Tommy) would die in Berlin, but they have all now passed away. Three of them have been dead for over a decade now. However, those Ramones weren’t the Ramones by the time the band was winding it all down. Adios Amigos! isn’t a stain on their legacy by any means. It has its moments, and it sounds like the Ramones, which has merit. Based on their album title, obviously, they knew this was the end. They didn’t go down in a blaze of glory, but at least they said goodbye without embarrassing themselves.
MAD MAX: FURY ROAD MY LITTLE PONY BECAUSE OF COURSE
Even if the movie wasn’t the biggest smash hit of the year, the way it should have been, Mad Max: Fury Road has certainly taken the prize for the film with the largest permeation on the internet. The number of essays and articles written about George Miller’s post-apocalyptic, people-driving-in-a-straight-line action film became a must-see for fans of cinema and discourse about gender roles, internal politics, and blind devotion. It’s also precipitated all sorts of awesome DIY projects, par exemplesome Mad Max Power Wheels.
The newest and, we admit, most absurdly awesome of these projects are custom-made (and totally unofficial, via artist Kelsey Wailes) Mad Max: Fury Road My Little Pony figurines. That’s right, two weird worlds that are even weirder together. The artist used the older variety of My Little Pony dolls, from prior to the Brony days, and Polymer clay, acrylics, leather, and faux fur to create highly-accurate equestrian representations of Max Rockatansky, Imperator Furiosa, Nux, and Immortan Joe.
They look so happy together, don’t they?
Both the Nux and the Max figures had heads that could rotate, but all four figures have the ability to drive cars (not true). I don’t know which is more impressive — Joe’s toothy face mask/breathing apparatus or Furiosa’s mechanical artificial hoof. They somehow even managed to get the look of pure chrome-fueled martyrdom in Nux’s eyes, although I seem to recall that’s just how My Little Ponies looked anyway.
The figures were available for sale at last weekend’s Awesome Con in Washington, D.C., so unfortunately that’s over, but you can still witness them in their full glory in the gallery below.
Mad Max Fury Road Ponies: Because I am a monster.
They were super fun to make and super horrifying (I’m looking at you, Immortan Joe)
Made with My Little Pony toys, Polymer clay, acrylics, leather, and faux fur.
