Disco and punk rock both hit in the ’70s, and I always thought they had a lot in common. Their fans felt like they didn’t fit in anywhere else. They had their own strict rules about what you should wear and how you should look. And they were both based on simple riffs — one or two chords, one or two beats, repeated over and over until they turned your body into a metronome.
The Ramones and Donna Summer were not that far apart.
Donna Summer died today, according to TMZ. She cast a wider net than most disco stars — she did some straight R&B and even a little rock. But in her best stuff she’s a voice floating above an unstoppable groove. “I Feel Love” was the simplest of all, and because of that, the greatest. I bet Joey Ramone liked it.