Before I weigh in on the Ramones seminal debut album, I need to kinda clear the air on something....

A few of you may have noticed a suspicious absence on my blog in recent weeks/months... due to a falling out between me and my sibling in mid November - I haven't spent any time with my niece who I affectionally call Hobbes.

The rift has been difficult on my immediate family... I missed out on her birthday and did not participate in any holiday activities. Missing out on holiday activities was a blessing in disguise tho... I fucking hate christmas.

That being said, not being able to see or spoil my niece has been pretty upsetting... hanging with her would normally include having to put up with my sister and I'm not looking to repair that relationship in the foreseeable future.

9:00 AM
I'm not going to lie to you... I was pretty fucking shocked that my sister allowed my parents to bring my niece over for a sleep over tonight. It's officially the first time that the two have been apart since my sister went in for her gallstone surgery in November of 2012.

I can't begin to describe how fucking amazing the past 15 hours have been. Now that Hobbes can grasp, throw, climb and walk - it's like hanging with a completely different person. She's always been surprisingly responsive to music - so I naturally pulled out my copy of the Ramones/Ramones.

I saw a thing on TV once where an entire room of 5 year olds were singing the lyrics to Blitzkrieg Bop - though a bizarre music appreciation class. I knew that very moment that if I were ever a parent or uncle - that I would introduce the Ramones to the kid as soon as possible.

Hobbes took to it immediately... she kinda does a "pogo" dance move without ever leaping into the air. It's pretty fucking adorable and I hate everything.

As for the Ramones album... I don't really have anything profound to say about an album that has been documented and written about ad nauseum.

Here however are some of the tracks that she really responded positively too...