Three things come to mind when I hear The Ramones: they were a fun band for good times, their rhythm was deceptively hard to play, and the video for Rock n Roll High School gave me nightmares.

Granted, the Swedish Chef from the Muppets also gave me nightmares.

Rock n Roll High School was the first Ramones video I saw and I loved the music, even if the atomic bomb stock footage always scared me. That’s what you get from growing up during the Cold War. It’s weird, I’ve never bought a Ramones t-shirt and I never saw them live, but it feels it’s a band that always was with me, with this song, with I wanna be sedated, their version of the Spiderman tune, or even the overplayed but still great Blitzkrieg Bop.

More than a decade ago I had the pleasure of interviewing Dan Sartain for his Ramones inspired album, Legacy of Hospitality, and he mentioned that he loved the Ramones and their music was “easy for the left hand but hard on the right hand (assuming right handedness).” As someone who has failed on many occasions to cover The Ramones, I agree wholeheartedly. My orthopedist too, but he appreciates the business.

Sundays are less gloomy with The Ramones. That’s a dang fact.

-Sam J. Valdés López