Has anyone seen John Lydon and Katie Hopkins in the same room at the same time?

It would be very easy to take umbrage at the things that John Lydon says here.
Especially if you are a fan of both The Clash and The Ramones.
However Lydon is the self styled king of outrage and this is his stock in trade.
A mature consideration of what he has spouted can only lead to the conclusion that it is done with the intent to bate, and he clings to the delusion that this carries some worth to it.
Here he is gaining some media traction as his nonsense partially goes viral while simultaneously being unaware that people are laughing at him and not with him.

His comments are ludicrously ill thought out, and to a degree disrespectful, but through repetition of this sort of vapid missive there is literally is no shock value any more.

Who cares what he says.

It's Lydon.

Instead of being offended most now see him as akin to an aged relative with an incontinence problem.

The first time he shits himself everyone screams in horror, and then it is a talking point for some weeks, but a few years down the line when the odour that heralds yet another evacuation of his bowels reaches you there is no shock or horror.
All you do is lift a weary eyebrow and shout to his carer that he's filled his continence pad again before moving on to continue doing what you were doing in the first place.
It's really just become another day in the life of ol' shitty pants and no one is surprised or shocked any more.

And that's really all this is.
Lydon opening his mouth and once again releasing some words that have the value of the contents of an incontinence pad.

It could be funny if he shook it all up a bit, but he is lost in inhabiting the persona of the cartoon stereotype that he designed for himself.

It's actually a rather sad and pointless rut he has managed to create for himself to languish in.

PS - For those who reside any place other than the UK I should explain that Katie Hopkins is a talent void mouthpiece who the media trundle out to boost ratings of daytime televisions shows as she is hardwired to open her mouth and spout similar bollocks to Lydon.

Hey Ho Glasgow - Joey Ramone Tribute

The Empire State Building, the Statue of Liberty, the Hollywood sign, Route 66 and stars on pavements are just some of the iconic images that jump into our heads when we think about the good ol’ US of A.

Or it is for most of the population here in the UK.

For me it’s a little bit different and on my personal flights of fancy the land of our colonial cousins is filled with juke joints, teenage hops, and rock and roll.

It’s one where the roads are filled with shark-finned cars, where kids drink in malt shops and at night watch b-movies at the drive in.

It’s a romanticized view and one I expect others of a certain age will share with me.

It’s not strictly a dream world that is rooted in the fifties though.

Within that stereotypical framework it’s easy for me to slip in the Doors kicking about in the desert tripping on peyote, the MC5 storming a stage as the cops fire smoke bombs into crowds of students, and no one would bat an eye at a junkies body being lifted from the pavement outside of CBGBs.

My surreal potpourri is in all honesty not one that could be easily transferred over here, and most definitely wouldn’t sit comfortably in Glasgow, but for one night only a bit of that magic is coming to town.

Why is that I hear you ask?

Well on the 19^th of April in River (Old Barfly) they will be hosting a night in honour of a man who is about as American as Mom’s apple pie, and that man is of course Joey Ramone.

It’s all for a good cause to as the night will also incorporate a fundraisers for ‘The Glasgow Roller Derby Irn Bruisers' who are looking to raise some cash to help cover their costs for there trip to Indianapolis where they will compete in the Spring Roll.

So if some live bands playing the songs of Da Brudders, dj sets of CBBGS era punk, and ladies who Alice Cooper may or may not have been referencing when he sang Under My Wheels kicking about demanding money from you is something that tickles your fancy then it’s happening, and all for a fiver.

If you are lucky I might even show you my Ramones tat, but only for a donation to the ladies.

Facebook event invite page.

Joey Ramone - Ya Know

New York, New York. So good they named it twice, and today the blog features two New York Legends.

First it was the New York Dolls with their live Bowery album and now it's the turn of another Bowery legend.

The uncrowned, but in my head king of CBGBs, it's Joey Ramone, with the posthumous 'Ya Know'.

I'm an unashamed Ramones nut so this floating to the surface is akin to seeing a shining and life saving oasis in the desert.

It's been so long since I've heard anything new that he has sung that I'm pretty much delirious when I'm listening to this.

It's not all unheard material, but there's plenty to get your teeth into, and not one single track could be described as filler.

It's ten whole years since 'Don't Worry About Me' came out. Ten long barren years that have now come to a close.

There's been some talk about Joey's brother Mickey cashing in on the memory of Joey.

What a disrespectful pile of crap.

So what do the fans want?

A lovingly compiled album that members of Joeys family will profit from, and that will also serve to keep the legend alive, or some label profiting from cobbling together some crap demos and demeaning the legend that was Joey.

I know whose side I'm on.

Anyway, back to the album.

For it to have been created from disparate sessions it has a perfect groove going on.

The songs all flow naturally into each other and it doesn't sound like a collection of tracks, but instead an album proper.

It could have been written in the one sitting and recorded in one exhausting session.

No one, and I mean no one, will feel short changed when they slip this on.

For me Joey was always 'The Ramones'.

That's not to downplay the work of the other band members, but Joey's voice is what dragged me in and wouldn't let go.

Now here I am with the album playing and my head is filled with memories because Joey and the songs he sang were the soundtrack to my life, and now I have some more to get me through the present.

I'm in heaven here.

From the first listen, and then repeating the experience again and again, I've reverted back to being a pathetic fan boy.

I just fuckin' love this.

Forget this being a review.

It's my outpouring of love and respect for the man.

To think that these songs have been lying about waiting to be polished and released is sort of mind blowing to me.

While the mainstream magazines will dissect it, and in my opinion miss the point by failing to see the wood for the trees, I can just on a very basic level say that for a Ramones fan hearing this it is like having all your birthdays and Christmases rolled into one.

The smile on my face is hurting me, but in a good way.

PS - Someone please buy me the deluxe release.

Buy it direct.