Brain Drain is the eleventh studio album by the American punk rock band the Ramones, released on May 23, 1989. It is the last Ramones release to feature bassist/songwriter/vocalist Dee Dee Ramone, the first to feature Marky Ramone since his initial firing from the band after 1983's Subterranean Jungle and the band's last studio album on Sire Records. Background In his 1998 autobiography, Dee Dee Ramone recalled: "It was tough recording the Brain Drain album because everyone took their shit out on me. I dreaded being around them. It drove me away—I didn't even end up playing on the album. Everybody in the band had problems; girlfriend problems, money problems, mental problems." Johnny Ramone expressed similarly unfavorable sentiments in his 2012 posthumous autobiography, Commando, calling it one of his least favorite albums. He elaborated, "Bill Laswell's production is too dense; he had me record the guitars on five or six tracks. So the album took too much time, and there were too many Joey songs on it, which always took more time". However, he added that the album "has a couple of bright spots, like 'I Believe in Miracles' and 'Punishment Fits the Crime.'" He awarded both the Brain Drain album and its follow-up, Mondo Bizarro, a "C" letter grade. For the first time on a Ramones album, drummer Marky Ramone participated in the songwriting, contributing lyrics to "All Screwed Up" and "Learn to Listen". Songs "Palisades Park" is a cover song, originally recorded by Freddy Cannon in 1962. "Pet Sematary" was written for the Stephen King movie adaptation of the same name and was issued as a single, becoming one of the Ramones' biggest radio hits and a staple of their concerts during the 1990s. Two versions exist of the song: the original recording produced by Jean Beuvoir and Daniel Ray, which ended up on the album (and on most pressings of the single), and the 'Bill Laswell version', a completely different take. The Laswell version was released as a UK single in September 1989. "Merry Christmas (I Don't Want to Fight Tonight)" was originally released in November 1987 as the B-side of the single "I Wanna Live". It was later included in the 2004 film Christmas with the Kranks. "Can't Get You Outta My Mind" dates back to the early 1980s, where it was first recorded during sessions for the Ramones' 1981 album Pleasant Dreams. That version remained