Led by the blondie herself—Debbie Harry—Blondie is now known for their subversive yet foundational takes as pioneers of new wave. It’s almost hard to believe that at the time of many of these releases, the group was thought of as kitschy, uncool, and pandering. However, their legacy has outlived any haters’ notions.
Blondie’s music is sensational in its melodramatic, yearning storytelling. Debbie Harry’s a class-act lyricist, bringing her own desires to life through an obsessive lens and bodying what the mania of love feels like. It’s what attracted this writer to her music as a young child, as her mother blasted 1981's Best Of Blondie through the speakers of their minivan in the early aughts. Harry clearly lays out her intentions in Blondie’s music, which sets their music alight.
As we’ll see in this Power Hour, Blondie fearlessly traversed genres and influences to create an ever-evolving sound and establish themselves as vanguards in the early punk and new wave days. Starting with their self-titled debut, the band’s first run would span six studio albums, including 1980's Autoamerican and 1978's Parallel Lines. Today, this work has been immortalized in the all-encompassing box set, Against The Odds: 1974-1982, released via Numero Group, which features some of the band’s earliest demos and unreleased rarities.
“Heart Of Glass”
Right out of the gate, we have to start with the seminal classic, “Heart Of Glass.” Seen at the time as the cult band’s mainstream “sell-out” single, the disco-inspired track has become one of the most memorable and enduring songs from Parallel Lines. “Heart Of Glass” reflects Blondie’s unflinching methods of fusing genres and expanding their sound beyond what was considered acceptable for punk at the time. Featuring one of the best bass lines in music history, “Heart Of Glass” sparkles like its own mirrorball. Debbie Harry’s so right when she sings, “Once I had a love and it was a gas/Soon turned out, it was a pain in the ass.”
Early iterations of the track (which have since been shared) deviate from the final product, leaning into a looser, more funky feel, and are definitely worth exploring.
“The Tide Is High”
In 1980, Blondie took John Holt’s “The Tide Is High” and ran with it, incorporating the reggae-style sound and fitting it with a horn and string section. The backup singers ground Harry’s voice as she playfully swoops up and down, with a wink and a glint in her eye. It’s a prime example of Blondie taking on genres not considered their wheelhouse and making them their own.
“One Way Or Another”
There would be simply no Blondie Power Hour without the strong-arming “One Way Or Another,” with its uncompromising lyrics and snarling vocals from Harry. Telling the tale of a real stalker, Harry later recounts of the incident, “I was actually stalked by a nutjob so it came out of a not-so-friendly personal event. But I tried to inject a little bit of levity into it to make it more lighthearted. I think in a way that’s a normal kind of survival mechanism.” “One Way Or Another” would go on to solidify Blondie’s entrances into pop-rock, as well as their breakthrough in the States.
“Hanging On The Telephone”
Blondie possessed an uncanny ability to take songs and turn them into hits, as seen once more with “Hanging On The Telephone,” originally penned by Jack Lee of The Nerves in 1976. While the song never led to commercial success for The Nerves (who disbanded following the release of their sole EP), Blondie’s take on “Hanging On The Telephone” became a power-pop anthem, with an infectious energy helmed by Harry’s rocksteady vocals, which fuel a sense of desperation and provocation.
“Dreaming”
As the opening song to Eat To The Beat, “Dreaming” sparks images of romantic grandeur, all over drummer Clem Burke’s robust and propelling drum sequence. We can all attest to the line “dreaming is free,” and Harry encourages us to let our heads get lost in the clouds. Dubbed “pretty much a cop of [ABBA’s] ‘Dancing Queen’” by guitarist Chris Stein, the band sought inspiration from the disco supergroup in their attempt to continue the success of Parallel Lines. As the song remains one of the more salient records from this stage in their career, we’d say they hit all the right notes.
“In The Flesh”
Giving the crooners of the ’50s and ’60s a run for their money, “In The Flesh” is a remarkably tender ballad that presents Harry as an outsider in the Lower East Side. As the drummer, Burke aces it with the rapid-fire snare shots during the bridge, especially in comparison to Harry’s delicate coos. “In The Flesh” flaunts Harry’s uncanny range of expression in her voice, pouring out in a lustful, velvety smooth tone. It’s a perfect song for walking around the city streets, just thinking about a special someone who remains just out of reach. You may even kick a can down the sidewalk for good measure.
“Rapture”
Now this is a song this writer would give anything to go back in time to hear on the dance floor upon its release. Clocking in at over six minutes, Blondie gives us plenty of time to get into the groove of Tom Scott’s saxophone lines.
Boasting the title of the “first rap song on the radio,” “Rapture” showcases Blondie’s ability to innovate and transform the music scene at their peak. Psychedelic and sci-fi influenced, Harry delivers a funky rap about a martian who comes down to Earth to eat up cars, then bars (where the people meet) before he finally moves on to on consuming guitars. Attesting to the song’s own powerful influence, Stein once reflected, “Wu-Tang guys and the guys from Mobb Deep, they told us it was the first rap song they heard when they were kids.”
“Picture This”
“Picture This” lands here as an underrated gem from Parallel Lines, finishing off a trifecta with “Hanging On The Telephone” and “One Way Or Another.” Only Harry could compare a “sky full of thunder” to giving her lover her telephone number, and make the simple request of a “room with a view” so grandiose and romantic. Here, the singer expresses the full range of her voice, from the pushy, growling lows to the tenderest of purrs, with the instrumentation peaking at all the right moments.
“Rip Her To Shreds”
The Velvet Underground-inspired “Rip Her To Shreds” presents Blondie at their most catty, giving all mean girls an anthem when taken out of its proper context (as seen in Mean Girls). Representing the media’s fascination with tearing women in the spotlight apart, Harry delivers devastating lines such as “she looks like she washes with Comet,” with a sneer, full of loathing and judgment. Opening the song with a legendary “Psst,” Harry lays it all out, poking fun at the gossipy nature of stardom, and at herself. Fittingly, upon the song’s release, rumors swirled that Harry had written the song about Sid Vicious’s girlfriend at the time, Nancy Spungen.
“Sunday Girl”
This was a doozy of a selection between “Sunday Girl” and “Pretty Baby,” both ’60s-influenced offerings from Parallel Lines. Ultimately, “Sunday Girl” comes out on top. Particularly, it’s the version from the aforementioned Best Of Blondie compilation, which features the bilingual version in English and French (and can be heard here). Written in reaction to her cat running away, Harry sings this playful tune that fuses the sounds of surf rock á la The Beach Boys and girl groups such as The Shangri-Las. The language switch-up in the second verse only adds more sweetness and whimsy to the saccharine tune.
“X Offender”
For anyone who happened to stumble into a record store in 1976 and pick up Blondie’s debut self-titled record, “X Offender” would be their official introduction into the world of the band. The band’s bassist Gary Valentine wrote the track with Harry, about a young prostitute who feels attracted to the police officer who apprehended her, a rather racy subject fitting the song’s controversial title. For their debut single, Blondie teamed up with co-producer Richard Gottehrer, then known for his work in the ’60s with The Angels and The Strangeloves. This marriage of the minds shows that from the band’s inception they were toying with sounds from decades before and integrating them into something entirely new.
“Here’s Looking At You”
Starting with Harry gazing longingly into a tall glass of beer, “Here’s Looking At You” captures all of the theatricality of Autoamerican in this swooning number. Like something straight out of a Marilyn Monroe (another famous blondie) film, “Here’s Looking At You” features a chipper horn section that mirrors Harry’s delivery of the song. The lushness of the horns perfectly sets the mood, leaning into the swing established by the bouncing piano. “Here’s Looking At You” perfectly suits itself for a stage number in a ’60s film, and that’s just lovely.
“Atomic”
Another highlight from Eat To The Beat, “Atomic” presents Blondie at their most volatile. From the moment the cymbals come crashing down in the opener, “Atomic” brings you into a world very different from the one Blondie usually molds. Here, lyrics take a back seat as Harry’s vocals are sparsely used in the Western-infused jam. Everyone in the band gets their chance to shine, before the song builds up into a glorious refrain, helmed by Harry’s rising voice. There are few moments as iconic in Blondie’s discography as Harry belting out the low, guttural “atomic.”
“(I’m Always Touched By Your) Presence, Dear”
As one of two offerings from 1978's Plastic Letters (I am sorry, Autoamerican and Parallel Lines are really stellar), “(I’m Always Touched By Your) Presence, Dear” carries a lot of weight. The track offers a combination of Harry’s frisky, lovey-dovey lyricism mixed with high-energy, psychedelic-infused instrumentation which make this a winning number.
“Call Me”
Harry penned “Call Me” in part of the soundtrack for Paul Schrader’s 1980 film American Gigolo alongside disco-pioneer Giorgio Moroder (who had just completed working with Donna Summer on Bad Girls). Neither of these talents proved to be a fluke, as “Call Me” rocketed to number one in the U.S., with success not seen since “Heart Of Glass.” “Call Me” is truly a triumph of its era, fusing together rock sensibilities with the glossy nature of disco, topped off with Harry’s crisp, soaring vocals.
“I’m On E”
Now this one’s fun. Despite being about the dreadfulness of being without a ride of your own, “I’m On E” put the pedal to the metal with a near runaway tempo. It’s a looser, more reckless version of Blondie than the one we usually see, creating a perfect juxtaposition to the low-energy lyricism. “I’m On E” is fit with many fun touches, from the back and forth between the bass and guitar, to the manufactured skip occurring in conjunction with the lyric, “They’ve totaled me and skipped a beat.”
“Maria”
We’ll cap off this Power Hour with not the end, but a new beginning. After disassembling in 1982, Blondie would return in 1999 with the hit “Maria.” You can call it a comeback, as the band returned with all of the charm of their glory days. Not just a sonic success with Harry’s stunning vocals, “Maria” also marked Blondie’s first number one hit in the UK since 1980's “The Tide Is High.” They were officially back, and would stick around for years to come.