Slug (Joey Ramone)

Title – Slug
System – Commodore 64
Authors – Joey Ramone (song), Joey Latimer (programmer)
Publication – K-POWER, March 1984
Page Scans – 1 2 3 4 5
Preserved by – eboy71
Recommended Emulator – VICE

Download ROM

Loading the Game –

Mount the disk image (K-Power March 1984 – Slug (Joey Ramone).d64) in your emulator. In VICE, this is done by selecting File → Attach Disk Image
Load the app by typing LOAD”SLUG”,8
Once loaded, type RUN to start

Article Text

Leaving no stone unturned and sparing no expense, K-POWER searched for a rock-and-roll song that you could program into your computer. After months of listening to thousands of records and tapes and going to hundreds of live concerts, we found a song we think you’re really gonna like. It’s called “Slug” and it’s written by Joey Ramone. “Slug” has nothing to do with computers, really. (And neither does Joey Ramone . . . usually! But after this experience, he made us pay him in computer equipment instead of money.)

Joey is the lead singer of the famous rock-and-roll group, the Ramones. Formed in 1974, the Ramones have released nine albums and countless singles, most selling in the hundreds of thousands. They’re best known for their starring roles in the classic cult comedy film, “Rock ‘n Roll High School,” directed by Alan Arkush. The Ramones are currently in the studio recording a new album for Warner Brothers.

Joey is the kind of guy who likes to keep busy. He’s done a lot of things on his own. He teamed up with Holly Beth Vincent to remake “I Got You Babe.” He also recorded several songs with the well-known Doo- Wop group The Mystics (including the classic “Duke of Earl”). And he’s had several magazine articles and cartoons published.

Now, Joey has written “Slug” for K-POWER. “Slug” is about how a teenage boy’s love for a teenage girl is destroyed by a common garden snail.

In his spare time, Joey likes to watch MTV, play video games, and eat pizza. His favorite rock groups include Def Leppard, Van Halen, T.Rex, the Rattlers, and Shrapnel. Joey is often seen at rock ‘n roll clubs in New York City, where he grew up and still lives. Although he’s a “rock star,” he remains true to his roots, and doesn’t act like a big shot. He’s as normal as anyone you hang out with.

Of course, this doesn’t explain where songs like “I Wanna Be Sedated” or “Slug” come from. All Joey would tell us about that is “It’s a sickness.” He did talk a little bit more about “Slug,” though. “It’s a melodramatic, bittersweet love song. I think the whole family can enjoy it. It reminds me of Michael Jackson’s ‘Billy Jean “.

Although Joey needs a computer, a robot, and a spare room to keep track of the thousands of cassette tapes and records that litter his apartment, he has a few reservations about the computer revolution. “I think it’s interesting and exciting. I just hate to see it get out of hand. I like the basic things. I can appreciate computers, but I’d like to see kids take chances. Kids are so conservative today. I think the computer age is a big part of it. Computers can become too much like a crutch. I think kids need to experience more stuff that’s real.”

We’re not promising you anything, but maybe after you feed “Slug” into your computer, you’ll both experience that something.

Editor’s Notes:

This is a short program that contains the music & lyrics to the song Slug, written by Joey Ramone. There is no interactivity – just run and watch/listen.
The Ramones released the song as part of a 2001 expanded edition of Rocket to Russia, originally released in November, 1977
The article says that Joey Ramone wrote the song for K-POWER, but that’s not accurate. A demo of it was recorded in December, 1978
Gabba Gabba Hey!