Overview
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!
Synopsis
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!
Library Journal
Determined to kick heroin, methadone, and his past, Ramone checked himself into New York City's Chelsea Hotel upon writing these memoirs of his 15 dysfunctional years as bassist/songwriter of punk's poster boys, The Ramones. To describe them as a haphazard, hazily recalled series of mostly gory episodes is more than fair, but to thousands of fans they will take on higher meaning, as this is the only Ramones story by a Ramone. Luckily, amongst all the boozing, scoring, overdosing, and power struggling, Dee Dee brings in producer/ consummate nut case Phil Spector for comic relief. Before he oversaw the production of the CD End of the Century, Spector invited the band to his Beverly Hills mansion. When our narrator tried to leave, Spector brandished a pistol and made his guests listen to him play "Baby I Love You" on the piano until 4:30 a.m. Had Lobotomy been more structured and detailed, it would have nicely complemented the 1970s New York punk bible, Please Kill Me. As it is, however, this book is more about Dee Dee surviving himself than about the Ramones, and what he does remember of the era and his estranged band mates makes better anecdotes than a book. For larger popular music collections.--Heather McCormack, "Library Journal" Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.