I saw the Ramones only once, in 1979 at Royce Hall in UCLA. I think it was the first tour with Marky - I never got to see them with Tommy drumming. They were, of course, totally wonderful, probably playing about 30 songs in about an hour; one of those electric experiences of strange beauty that only rock and roll can shove you into. In my dogmatic fifteen-year-old mind, I decided I would never even want to see them again, because it might interfere with my perfect memory (ah, the stupidity of youth!). Naturally I regarded their decline as an absolute desecration and wanted to think that the Ramones’ history ended before they made that disappointing (I was about to say crappy, but I have to admit there’s good songs on it) album with Phil Spector. Now that there will never be any more Ramones shows or records, it’s interesting for me to look back and ponder what I might have missed - maybe not very much, but it’s unlikely that it would have been the sort of horrible experience that tarnishes cherished memories.
posted by J C N at 5:20 PM

Do other web writers and weblog keepers make writing everyday into a disciplinary exercise? Do they have more to say than I do? Probably not, it’s just a question of which medium one’s ideas neatly funnel into. I prefer to let things cook and ferment in my brain, rather than spewing regularly.

I do wonder if I would feel more of a need to perform more often, if I had a clearly visible audience. I just feel less inclined to shout in an obvious vacuum (or at least what I perceive easily as such).

I also wonder if I would write more (and participate in chat rooms/bulletin boards more often) if I could type faster…
posted by J C N at 4:52 PM