Hey kids! Welcome to another Deep Dive episode of CJ Says: A Ramones Podcast.
This week, we drop the needle on Brain Drain—the Ramones' eleventh studio album, released in 1989, and a record that arrived at one of the most turbulent moments in the band's history.
By this point, the cracks were beginning to show. Richie Ramone was gone, Dee Dee was battling his own demons, and the band were facing the increasingly familiar struggle between artistic credibility, commercial success, and simply keeping the machine moving. And yet, somehow, Brain Drain produced some of the most memorable songs of the Ramones' later years.
From the irresistible 'I Believe in Miracles' to the sublime soundtrack song 'Pet Sematary', Brain Drain is a fascinating collision of classic Ramones songwriting, vintage '80s production, and even a Christmas song thrown into the mix.
In this week's Deep Dive, we get under the skin of the record (or skull) of Brain Drain—the songs, the stories, the lineup changes, and the bizarre context surrounding an album that's often overlooked in favour of the Ramones' earlier, more celebrated records.
So grab your leather jacket, turn up the volume up dial, and join us as we revisit Brain Drain, an album made by a band who may have been running low on fumes, but somehow still had enough gas left in the tank to go to the distance as they entered the third—and arguably most successful—decade of their career...
The Ramones weren't finished yet. Not by a long shot.
As always, if you want to hear the Side B Deep Dive and stream the rest of our exclusive bonus content, head over to www.patreon.com/cjsays
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