10 Jul Spiderman: Homecoming Uses Music Perfectly
Read the full article in Den of Geek.
Excerpt:
In many ways, the Ramones were the Spider-Man of rock n’ roll bands. Universally known and generally beloved, with 14 studio albums, nearly as many compilations, and an odd number of live albums to their name, they’re household names, but could never catch a break. Only 3 of their singles ever charted on the Billboard Hot 100, with the highest (“Rockaway Beach”) topping out at #66. Hard to believe considering that the band’s catalog of songs is an endless treasure trove of perfectly crafted hooks and melodies, delivered with blueprint rock n’ roll precision. They even hid a revved-up version of the iconic 1967 animated theme tune as a bonus track on their final studio album, Adios Amigos! (that theme tune got the orchestral treatment from Michael Giacchino in this movie, too). If you squint a little, you might note that Spidey co-creator Steve Ditko is a devoted libertarian, and Johnny Ramone was one of the few vocal Republicans in rock n’ roll.
So when “Blitzkrieg Bop” kicks into gear during an early web-slinging sequence in Spider-Man: Homecoming, that felt like something of a homecoming, too. “They’re from Queens! They’re from Forest Hills! They’re like actually from the same place that Peter Parker is from, which is so cool,” director Jon Watts told Den of Geek’s David Crow recently. “And when I put all of that together, I was like, ‘How has this never been in a movie?’’
The only thing crazier than the fact that it took until 2002 to get a Spider-Man movie on the big screen in the first place is the fact that it took another 15 years to get a Ramones song into a Spider-Man movie. Peter Parker hails from Forest Hills, just like the band’s original lineup. You can go to Forest Hills today, at the corner of 67th Avenue and 110th Street and find Ramones Way, right in front of Forest Hills High School. Sure, Andrew Garfield’s moodier Peter had a Ramones poster on his bedroom wall, but give me a 1-2-3-4 count off and some power chords or don’t bother.