Ramone, my son, as you know, you were named after the Ramones, a band that had a profound impact on my life. I am not sure if I can fully articulate what they mean to me, but I will try.

 I want to start by sharing a statement Bono made concerning the considerable influence the Ramones had on U2: “We were a band before we could play. We formed our band around an idea of friendship and shared spirit. That was a preposterous notion before the Ramones."

That quote succinctly summarizes what made the Ramones so special. It was part of the reason why they appealed to me. As I alluded to, I did independently record music, but my first foray into that world was forming a band in high school. The Ramones were a huge part of that.

 Their music followed simple chord progr...

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