POP-A-LOOZA: Archie Meets Ramones

 

Each week, the pop culture website Pop-A-Looza shares some posts from my vast 'n' captivating Boppin' (Like The Hip Folks Do) archives. The latest shared post is my celebration of a fantastic comic book from 2016, Archie Meets Ramones.

I've written a lot more about the Ramones than I've written about the Archies. My biggest stand-alone Archies piece was "The Archies: An American Band," a short story answering the question, "What if the Archies had been a real band?" My interview with Ron Dante, the voice of the Archies' actual records, was part of my extensive history of bubblegum music. And, although I quickly grew tired of The CW's Archie reboot Riverdale, my initial enthusiasm is chronicled here and then here. 

Before we get to the Ramones, here's an Archies tangent from a June 2020 edition of my weekly 10 Songs feature, spotlighting Wilson Pickett's cover of the Archies' "Sugar Sugar:"

"There are some people who are offended by the very existence of this track. The offended parties tend to be those who rightly view the great Wilson Pickett as one of the great soul voices, but view the idea of the wicked, wicked Pickett lowering himself to sing a lowest-common-denominator weenybop tune by a crass, artless, and, by the way, imaginary cartoon concoction such as--ACK!!--the Archies to be blasphemy. I guess there are maybe some Archies fans who don't dig it either. 

"Aw, but man--that's so limiting.

"Wilson Pickett's 'Sugar Sugar' is an audacious mix of swaggering soul with the sweetest of sweet, sweet bubblegum. I'm an unapologetic bubblegum fan; the music of the Archies easily transcends its purely-commercial origin as Saturday morning television soundtrack music spun off as cash-grabs for an undiscerning younger audience. The records are good--well-produced, catchy, with compelling lead vocals from the great Ron Dante. Wilson Pickett was--how shall I put this?--WILSON FREAKIN' PICKETT. A force of Southern R 'n' B nature, the source of 1,000 dances in the midnight hour. If you don't like Pickett, I question your possession of a pulse. I just happen to have a pulse. Wilson Pickett's "In The Midnight Hour" earns a chapter in my book, The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1). Rightly so.

'I also love the Archies. My favorite Archies track is 'Jingle Jangle,' with honorable mentions to 'Get On The Line' and 'Who's Gonna Love Me,' and certainly props to 'Sugar Sugar,' which was my favorite song on the radio when I was nine. I still like it, and the fact that I like Wilson Pickett's version even better isn't a slam against the original; they're both wonderful. Purists? Please show yourself out. Thanks for stoppin' by. For the faithful: Let the summer sunshine pour its sweetness o'er us. Amen."

As for the Ramones, well, we'd be here all night going through the tons of stuff I've written about the group I call the American Beatles. For now, let's start with Greatest Record Ever Made! pieces about "Blitzkrieg Bop," "Sheena Is A Punk Rocker," "I Don't Want To Grow Up," and "Do You Remember Rock 'n' Roll Radio?," plus my video blog about the latter song. We'll supplement those with a bit about the Ramones' fabulous B-side "Babysitter," my entry inducting the Ramones into the Power Pop Hall of Fame, an appreciation of Rocket To Russia, and a look back at my first Ramones concert, also starring the Runaways and the Flashcubes.

Still wanna read more about the Ramones? There are additional blog pieces that can be accessed via my Ramones link. Pack a lunch. And I'll have more to say about the Ramones in a forthcoming project I've been teasing for months. In the mean time, we head back to CBGB's via Riverdale. Archie Meets Ramones is the latest Boppin' Pop-A-Looza.

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This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio with Dana & Carl airs Sunday nights from 9 to Midnight Eastern, on the air in Syracuse at SPARK! WSPJ 103.3 and 93.7 FM, and on the web at http://sparksyracuse.org/ You can read about our history here.

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