Published in 2018
168 pages
Donna Gaines has written for such venues as Rolling Stone, MS, the Village Voice, Spin, Newsday and Salon. Her work has been published in fanzines, trade and scholarly collections, journals and textbooks. A sociologist, journalist and New York State Licensed Master Social Worker, Dr. Gaines taught sociology at Barnard College of Columbia University, the Graduate Faculty of New School University and the State University of New York. She grew up in Rockaway Beach, Queens, a surf town made famous by the mighty Ramones.
What is this book about?
The central experience of the Ramones and their music is of being an outsider, an outcast, a person who’s somehow defective, and the revolt against shame and self-loathing. The fans, argues Donna Gaines, got it right away, from their own experience of alienation at home, at school, on the streets, and from themselves. This sense of estrangement and marginality permeates everything the Ramones still offer us as artists, and as people. Why the Ramones Matter compellingly makes the case that the Ramones gave us everything; they saved rock and roll, modeled DIY ethics, and addressed our deepest collective traumas, from the personal to the historical.
Part of the Music Matters series.
