75. Blitzrieg Bop by The Ramones 1976

Living in the suburbs in the Seventies I didn't know where any independent shops were so I would ride my by my records from a newsagent in Blackburn near the train station or ride my bike to K-Mart on the corner of Blackburn Road & Burwood Highway. Or I would take the bus to Box Hill and go to Brashes. This is where I bought this record. A regular reader of NME I heard about the Ramones and it seemed exciting just the words they used. Buzzsaw guitars and drills and machinery to describe the sound. I had to buy it. I couldn't believe it when I saw it in the record racks. I shelled out 10 bucks and took it home.

The first song Blitzreig Bop knocked me sideways. It was everything they described and more. It had great pop tunes. It was sixties and seventies and the future but it was minimal and fierce and prehistoric. I had just begun writing songs. Suddenly I had a model. Iggy Pop and the New York Dolls had laid the groundwork but this was it! This was the model for punk rock. And one of the best opening songs ever.
Not long after I saw Nick Cave and his band the Boys Next Door play some church hall in Mount Waverley. They did a great version of this song.