The central experience of the Ramones and their music is of being an outsider, an outcast, a person who’s somehow defective, and the revolt against shame and self-loathing. The fans, argues Donna Gaines, got it right away, from their own experience of alienation at home, at school, on the streets, and from themselves. This sense of estrangement and marginality permeates everything the Ramones still offer us as artists, and as people. Why the Ramones Matter compellingly makes the case that the Ramones gave us everything; they saved rock and roll, modeled DIY ethics, and addressed our deepest collective traumas, from the personal to the historical.

"Gaines delivers on several fronts. Part sociological exploration, part fangirl gush, Gaines' book offers a multifaceted exploration of the band and their effect." - First of the Month

"[A] treatise that is both a weighty and breezy read." - Long Island Weekly

"Donna Gaines has taken the lightning-fast songs of the Ramones' oeuvre and welded her own brainy spin on their songs, their personalities, their impact, resulting in something unequivocally fresh and engrossing. Even the biggest fans will find something new to enjoy here." - Razorcake

"Why the Ramones Matter…explores the group's legacy through the dual lenses of [Gaines's] doctorate in sociology and her experiences as a lifelong fan." - Please Kill Me