I Wanna Be Sedated

This article is about the single by the Ramones. For the Entourage episode, see I Wanna Be Sedated (Entourage).
"I Wanna Be Sedated"

Picture sleeve (Netherlands)
Single by Ramones
from the album Road to Ruin
A-side "She's the One"
Released January 10, 1979
Format 7-inch single
Recorded 1978
Genre Punk rock
Length 2:29
Label Sire
Writer(s) Dee Dee Ramone, Joey Ramone, Johnny Ramone
Producer(s) Tommy Ramone, Ed Stasium
Ramones singles chronology
"Needles and Pins"
(1978)
"She's the One"
(1979)
"Rock 'n' Roll High School"
(1979)

"I Wanna Be Sedated" is a song by the American punk rock band the Ramones. It is one of the band's best known songs.[1] It was originally released on their fourth album, Road to Ruin, in September 1978 and was the B-side of the UK single "She's the One" released on January 10, 1979.[2] The song was later released as a single in the Netherlands in 1979,[3] then in the U.S. in 1980 by RSO Records from the Times Square soundtrack album.

History

"I Wanna Be Sedated" was written by Joey Ramone.[4] In an interview about the song, Joey explains the chorus:

"It's a road song. I wrote it in 1977, through the 78. Well, Danny Fields was our first manager and he would work us to death. We would be on the road 360 days a year, and we went over to England, and we were there at Christmas time, and in Christmas time, London shuts down. There's nothing to do, nowhere to go. Here we were in London for the first time in our lives, and me and Dee Dee Ramone were sharing a room in the hotel, and we were watching The Guns of Navarone. So there was nothing to do, I mean, here we are in London finally, and this is what we are doing, watching American movies in the hotel room."

Music video

The music video for the song, directed by Bill Fishman, was released in September, 1988[5] (nine years after the song was originally released) to promote the compilation album Ramones Mania. The iconic video features the Ramones sitting at a table (left to right: Johnny, Joey, Marky and Dee Dee), nonchalantly reading and eating corn flakes. Meanwhile, the background room erupts into a meeting place for nuns, acrobats, ballerinas, monsters, cheerleaders, clowns, doctors, fetish nurses, and smoking schoolgirls. The film is intentionally sped up to show the excitement of the background, while the band's actions are in regular motion. This was achieved by having the band members move very slowly, while the crowd moved normally, and then speeding up the film. One of the video's characters is a young Courtney Love.[6]

Reception

"I Wanna Be Sedated" was number 145 on the Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.[7] Marky Ramone is the drummer on this track.

In 1999, National Public Radio included the song in the "NPR 100", in which NPR's music editors sought to compile the one hundred most important American musical works of the 20th century.

Cover versions

In popular culture

References

  1. Gina Boldman. "I Wanna Be Sedated - The Ramones | Listen, Appearances, Song Review". AllMusic. Retrieved 2014-02-09.
  2. "History of the Ramones". Home.drenik.net. Retrieved 2010-03-20.
  3. "Ramones - I Wanna Be Sedated (7", Single)". Discogs.com. Retrieved 2010-03-20.
  4. "Joey Ramone: I wanna be sedated. Unplugged.". YouTube. 2011-09-16. Retrieved 2014-02-09.
  5. "Ramones - "I Wanna Be Sedated"". Mvdbase.com. Retrieved 2010-03-20.
  6. "Courtney Love - Other Works". IMDb.com. Retrieved 2007-03-14.
  7. "500 Greatest Songs of All Time: Ramones, 'I Wanna Be Sedated'". Retrieved 28 September 2016.
  8. "Music Reviews". Impose Magazine. Retrieved 2012-05-02.

External links

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