Song · The Ramones
“I Just Want To Have Something To Do” by The Ramones
From the album Road to Ruin (1978)
“I Just Want To Have Something To Do” by The Ramones appears on 14 radio countdowns from 1 station between 1999 and 2014. It was first released in 1978 on the album Road to Ruin. Its best result is #476 on the CD101 Top 2008 Songs of All-Time (December 2007). In the combined RockLists rankings it is #987 alternative song of all time.
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"I Just Want to Have Something to Do" kicks off Road to Ruin, the Ramones' 1978 album, and for once they ease off the gas: it rolls in at midtempo, slower than their usual blitz, with Joey Ramone's vocal swinging between snarl and plea until it boils over in the chorus. The credit reads Ramones, but Joey wrote it, all frustrated longing and a need to connect, plus a curry-house rhyme that writers still single out.
Johnny Ramone's guitar, Dee Dee Ramone's bass and Marky Ramone's drums give it a pent-up charge of splintered guitar and feedback, and the verses climb in twisty, rising lines that make the yearning ache. The production team was Thomas Erdelyi and Ed Stasium, who engineered it too, and the song later landed in the movie Rock 'n' Roll High School.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
RockLists rankings
Alternative & Modern Rock
All Rock Formats
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | 769 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2000 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) | 2000 |
| 2000 | 820 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2001 Songs of All-Time (December 2000) | 2001 |
| 2001 | 821 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (December 2001) | 2002 |
| 2002 | 821 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2003 Songs of All-Time (December 2002) | 2003 |
| 2003 | 821 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2004 Songs of All-Time (December 2003) | 2004 |
| 2004 | 821 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2005 Songs of All-Time (December 2004) | 2005 |
| 2005 | 822 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2006 Songs of All-Time (December 2005) | 1994 |
| 2007 | 476 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2008 Songs of All-Time (December 2007) | 2008 |
| 2008 | 480 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2009 Songs of All-Time (December 2008) | 2009 |
| 2009 | 490 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2010 Songs of All-Time (December 2009) | 2010 |
| 2010 | 505 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2011 Songs of All-Time (December 2010) | 2011 |
| 2011 | 520 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2012 Songs of All-Time (December 2011) | 2011 |
| 2013 | 520 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2013 Songs of All-Time (December 2013) | 2012 |
| 2014 | 520 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2014 Songs of All-Time (2014) | 2013 |
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