Continuing my look at the albums of 1976…

The most influential debut of 1976 was the self-titled first release of punk rock band Ramones. This is one of those albums to which Brian Eno’s famous quote about The Velvet Underground’s debut applies: very few people heard it, but everyone who did started a band.

Running 14 tracks and under 30 minutes, Ramones is a collection of fast, furious, funny songs — head-bangy but deceptively melodic.

For me, a little of this goes a long way, so I appreciate the album more than I like it. But in small doses it’s a blast. And I suspect it’s a grower.

That’s because I particularly like the songs I already know from their use in movies: opening track ‘Blitzkrieg Bop’ in Spider-Man: Homecoming and today’s SOTD in The Royal Tenenbaums. I assume if I had more familiarity with the rest of the tracks, they’d be favorites too.

This album was recorded in less than seven days for less than seven thousand dollars, and went on to influence a generation of punk rock, hard rock, and indie rock musicians. Talk about a lot of bang for your buck.