I love music. I also happen to like drinking at bars. This got me thinking how similar the two are.

Bars are a little like recording artists and their songs—some put out hits for a short time then fizzle out, while others entertain generations of fans. Some are great during the holidays, and others just can't be remade. Then sometimes Michael Bolton takes a great thing and goes and stamps his creepy, long-haired mark on it and ruins it for the world.

Thank God I don't care about transitions, because writing about a Michael Bolton bar would be terrible. Instead, I get to write about a bar that's much more like the Ramones.

The Ramones didn't offer much refinement or production value in their music, and I'd really be surprised if there were more than four chords to any Ramones recording before 1985. They didn't need it. Same goes for the Hideaway Bar on the fringe of Waikiki. You won't find gimmicks here, just cheap drinks.

Just as so many great rock bands today credit the Ramones as a big influence, you'd better believe that if there's a rock or punk concert going on in Honolulu, the bands will pay homage afterward at the Hideaway.

But it's not only punk-rock types who frequent this prototypical dive bar. Club kids looking for a place to start (or end) their nights as well as businessmen are often seen sharing space with heavily tattooed bikers. The Hideaway appeals to many different kinds of people, and those who are too intimidated by its surly reputation are probably more Michael Bolton's crowd anyway.

During “;Power Hour”; from 6 to 7 p.m. daily, all domestic beers and well drinks are $1. “;Power”; is fitting, since I've never had a watered-down drink here. Normal drink prices are what most other bars call their happy-hour specials, so even if you don't make it during “;Power Hour,”; you'll never overpay for drinks.

Unfortunately, about the only food available is the gum stuck to the bottom of a few of the tables. But hey, the Ramones never ate. They only drank, right?

Decor at the Hideaway consists of bumper stickers and old photos, and while the bar itself is pretty big, there are an additional dozen tables or so to sit at. A pool table, dart machines, a couple of video games and a jukebox as diverse as the crowd—which you can often hear playing Ramones songs—are also available. I bet if that jukebox ever played a Michael Bolton song, you'd find out why the Hideaway has such a hard-core rep.

I'll admit now that I never saw the Ramones play live, which is what they did best. But I will never have to say I don't know what it was like to down a few drinks at the infamous Hideaway Bar.

There's really no excuse to pass on a trip here. They open at 6 in the morning and sell cheap drinks that get even cheaper at dinnertime. And they are nothing like Michael Bolton.

Pau Hana Patrol is a weekly look at Honolulu bar and restaurant happy hours. E-mail happy hour tips to .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).