I can't say the Ramones ever really got close to Velvet Underground, but I hear you.
It's fun to think about what a band might have done if they broke out of their own formulas/recipes.
Zeta, didn't you say that there are certain artists or albums that you associate so strongly with a particular medium that it just seems natural to listen to it today the same way?
I feel that way about sooooo much stuff I listened to as a kid, even goofy stuff. I still remember when I had to flip the record and the B-side instrumental versions (lame!).