Lobotomy: Surviving the Ramones (Paperback)

~ (Author), Veronica Kofman (Author), Legs McNeil (Foreword) "Dee Dee Ramone epitomizes the quintessential punk rocker..." (more)
Key Phrases: Dee Dee, New York, Johnny Ramone (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"[Lobotomy] is the quintessential punk-rock survival story- . . .drug addled lows, gig-fueled highs, and financial woe induced bitterness." -- Dennis Cooper, Art & Culture

Product Description

Lobotomy is a lurid and unlikely temperance tract from the underbelly of rock 'n' roll. Taking readers on a wild rollercoaster ride from his crazy childhood in Berlin and Munich to his lonely methadone-soaked stay at a cheap hotel in Earl's Court and newfound peace on the straight and narrow, Dee Dee Ramone catapults readers into the raw world of sex, addiction, and two-minute songs. It isn't pretty. With the velocity of a Ramones song, Lobotomy rockets from nights at CBGB's to the breakup of the Ramones' happy family with an unrelenting backbeat of hate and squalor: his girlfriend ODs; drug buddy Johnny Thunders steals his ode to heroin, "Chinese Rock"; Sid Vicious shoots up using toilet water; and a pistol-wielding Phil Spector holds the band hostage in Beverly Hills. Hey! Ho! Let's go!

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Da Capo Press; 2 edition (September 24, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1560252529
• ISBN-13: 978-1560252528
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (27 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #418,035 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great book, June 19, 2001

By	M. Langhoff (Chicago, IL) - See all my reviews

No, it's not the best written book, but it's certainly better than the fluff piece "Ramones: An American Band". Dee Dee tells his story in a fragmented manner. He'll spend a paragraph discussing the recording of an album and then a full page talking about crashing his favorite car. Well, the car meant more to him, I suppose, and so what? It's still entertaining. For those who might be inclined to chastise Dee Dee for "whining" or for not being "grateful" for the career the Ramones afforded him, you've obviously never been in a successful band. All musicians are egomaniacs, and most successful ones are pessimists. Dee Dee Ramone was a drug addict. The book is written as if by a drug addict. Taking all of this into consideration, I think it's the most honest book I've ever read by a musician. It's also one of the most accurate overviews about conflicts among band members you'll find. If you're afraid of finding out about Dee Dee Ramone, don't read this book. If you're genuinely interested in the man, this book will offer some insight. If you don't like what you see, maybe you should've turned your head...

26 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Let's not forget the title of the book..., February 8, 2001

By	Rebeca Thorvund (San Jose, California United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The title of this book is "Lobotomy: Surviving The Ramones" and that's exactly the tale Dee Dee tells. It's his story; not a Ramones chronology or tell-all. I found it fascinating. Dee Dee writes honestly about his unhappy and lonely childhood, his drug addiction, and his dysfunctional relationships, both with girlfriends and The Ramones (apparently, he had to omit any references to his first wife, Vera, as part of their divorce settlement). He freely admits his own faults and ineptitude (he writes that Johnny had to teach him the bass lines to his own songs) and the book reads like the wistful memories of a man who has finally come to terms with his past and found happiness at last. As much as I love The Ramones, one can't deny the fact that they are quite a dysfunctional family. Remember Joey and Marky's verbal slugfest on Howard Stern's show? And Johnny's position as Boss Hog? No wonder Dee Dee quit! Sheesh. I enjoyed his dry humor and writing style. Dee Dee rules! He is a true original. For more information on the history of The Ramones and their career, read the excellent "Please Kill Me: The Uncensored Oral History of Punk" by Legs McNeil and Gillian McCain.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Gimme Gimme More Pages, March 8, 2001

By	Kitten With a Whip "kittenwithawhip" (The Hellmouth) - See all my reviews

I reviewed the first edition of this book, "Poison Heart", a couple of years ago and have since revised my opinion a little. We were lucky enough to get Dee Dee to sign our copies last year and he was so friendly and happy to do it, I thought I'd re-read it and give the book another chance.

I waited a looong time for this book, and I wish I could say it was 100% worth the wait. Before I thought maybe 70%...now I'd say 96%. Upon first reading, -I couldn't believe that after all those years with the Ramones, Dee Dee didn't have ONE nice or positive memory or thing to say. Don't get me wrong, I liked the book on first reading and love it now. Dee Dee has a great sense of humor, and even at his worst there's something so lovable about the guy. It sounds corny but there really is an innate sweetness under all that drug abuse and New York attitude. It's really just kind of depressing that he seems to have had such a miserable time. I knew he had problems with depression, but not this bad. Even though the Ramones are my favorite band and have been since the later 80's and I read everything I could get my hands on about them- I didn't know Dee Dee's drug problems lasted much longer than "End of the Century".

The first edition of the book seems to be a series of wretched stories about being broke, taking drugs, turning tricks, getting beat up, taking more drugs, overdosing, getting beat up or stabbed by insane girlfriends, or out trying to cop drugs. The second edition at least has a more positive ending. Not to sound like a name-dropper (as I said to Iggy Pop the other day...just kidding) but I've spent time with the Ramones and agree that Joey can be moody and Johnny can be crabby and bossy, but that they are also nice people in general and can be fun to be with. I am glad there turned out to be at least ONE show, ONE night when Dee Dee was up there, playing bass and jumping up and down and thought, "Man, this is pretty fun." Obviously there's still some bad feelings left, which is too bad. But then again, think of some of the people you may have worked with years ago who you still don't want to run into again because you're so sick of. And as another reviewer said, see the title of the book.

This book is also a very, very effective example of why not to do drugs. You may not want to look at the pictures taken after 1989 if you want to remember him like he was. I do still tend to think, though, that "Please Kill Me" gave you a better idea of the Ramones and the New York punk scene back then, and even of Dee Dee's life. Now that's a solid, satisfying read and includes almost as many of Dee Dee's words as this autobio does. In both, it's clear he's a great storyteller.

Another thing that bugged me when I first read the book was there's absolutely NO mention of his wife of over 10 years, Vera Ramone, who he loved so much he married her in a church and had her name tattooed on his arm. Like she never existed, and I really wanted to hear about their marriage. I since found out that they have some kind of written agreement that he can't write about her, or she asked him not to and they are close enough so he respects her wishes.

Anyway, Dee Dee gets some great stories about the punk scene in, is a good sport about the less than shrewd decisions he's made in his life ("Putting out a rap album didn't exactly win me any popularity contests", he writes) and has a great sense of humor. Just wish the book wasn't so short (and that he did an audio version). He said his next book is going to be a horror novel- now that I **really** can't wait to read.

Dee Dee's much smarter than he sounds...I still think every hardcore Ramones fan should have this in their collection.