(Roughly) Daily

More of the corrective wisdom of Dunder-Mifflin’s self-appointed second-in-command at Runt of the Web’s “Dwight Schrute Knows Best.”  (So this is what became of the humor of Stephen Wright…)

[Thanks, EWW]

As we get literal, we might recall that it was on this date in 1974 that the Ramones played their first gig at CBGB… and Punk was born.  The band became a fixture at the club– with sets that averaged 17 minutes– and soon landed a recording deal.  While only one of their albums went Gold (the compilation Ramones Mania), the group was hugely influential.  As the years have passed they’ve been recognized as one of Rolling Stone‘s 50 Greatest Artists of All Time, ranked the second-greatest band of all time by Spin (trailing only The Beatles), and this year received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.

Legs McNeil (who was sufficiently moved that he co-founded Punk magazine the following year) recalled that CBGB premiere: “They were all wearing these black leather jackets. And they counted off this song…and it was just this wall of noise…. They looked so striking. These guys were not hippies. This was something completely new.”

Indeed.

The Ramones at the scene of the crime (source)

“Judy is a Punk,” from the first CBGB appearance, 1974