GABBA GABBA WE ACCEPT YOU

A surprisingly supportive take on the punk movement and one of its unforgettable founders.

Ruttenberg takes a poetic sensibility in this dual narrative of both the life of Joey Ramone (née Jeffrey Ross Hyman) and the birth of punk music itself. Born sick, he grew up to be ungainly, with thick glasses; his Jewish heritage also marked him as an outsider. “Soon enough bullies—UGH! ICK! YUCK! ACHHH!—spotted this thin, clumsy, incredibly tall kid and, with [the] devil’s instinct, smelled difference.” Ramone discovered rock ’n’ roll, yet by the time he was grown, “rock music sounded like it was being made by the parents.” He co-founded the Ramones in 1974, and here the book makes an elegant detour, exploring punk, its origins, and its greater significance. With eloquent wordplay, Ruttenberg gives readers an intimate sense of Joey Ramone’s life and times without ever tipping into fictionalized details or faux dialogue. Even the lack of backmatter (nary a timeline or bibliography in sight) cannot overshadow the frenzied fun on the page. The bold colors and sheer delight of Schreiber’s art make Ramone an appealingly larger-than-life figure, each page vibrating with music and movement. Above all, Ruttenberg underscores the inclusive nature of Ramone’s music; the titular lyrics (from the song “Pinhead”) serve as a rallying cry for outsiders everywhere. Space is left at the end for kids to write their own songs (librarians beware!).

A magnificently exuberant dive into music history.