The Ramones "Blitzkrieg Bop" (from "It's Alive")

Few bands get to introduce themselves like The Ramones.

Clocking in at a neck-breaking 180 bpm and holding steady in a four-chord A-major progression with little variance, "Blitzkrieg Bop" was The Ramones' first single and ushered in a new age of rock 'n roll: Punk.

The band ignored all conventions of songwriting or performance and simply went with its gut, producing a truly unique collection of songs.

This performance from New Year's Eve 1977 is widely considered one of the most important and finest in rock history. The entire show is one hour and includes 28 songs (from the band's first three albums). Each song finishes in fewer than 3 minutes. (This video, which claims to be the entire show but is actually only half of it, gives a good flavor for the entire show, which was also released as a double-LP.)

Henry Rollins often talks about The Ramones on his spoke-word tours and wrote a heavily-circulated piece about the band in 2014. He often refers to the 1977 show as a moment of zen.

Location: Michigan, USA

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