The Friday Canon: BLONDIE

[katstevens.livejournal.com]

BLONDIE TRUFAX:

- Debbie Harry used to be in a band called 'Wind In The Willows'
- And she was in an episode of Sabrina The Teenage Witch! The big goth.
- In 1981, 89% of teenage bedroom walls displayed at least one Blondie poster.

Blondie have 23 UK Top 40 hits (including Debbie's solo stuff), you have just SEVEN ticks. Ooo bee doo!

[Poll #1051554]
Norman Cook (link)

1. Beats International [ft Lindy Layton] - Dub Be Good To Me
2. Fatboy Slim - The Rockafeller Skank
=3. Fatboy Slim - Praise You
=3. Housemartins - Happy Hour
5. Fatboy Slim - Gangster Trippin'
6. Freak Power - Turn On Tune In Cop Out
7. Fatboy Slim - Right Here Right Now
8. Fatboy Slim - Everybody Needs A 303
=9. Fatboy Slim - Star 69 / Weapon Of Choice
=9. Housemartins - Caravan Of Love

Comments

[catsgomiaow.livejournal.com]

HERE IS AN U&K BLONDIE Q:

PM maintains that Union City Blue is the best EVER Blondie song. I think he is on a MOUNTAIN of CRACK. Why do people love UCB so much (I think it's a bit dirgey myself) and HOW HOW HOW could you think it's better than Atomic or Sunday Girl or Dreaming? OR CALL ME! Crikey!

[jauntyalan.livejournal.com]

he is on 1x mountain of crack yes

[jeff-worrell.livejournal.com]

It is the indie choice, duh.

Srsly. Ride and Lush used to perform it live as an encore when they toured the States together in [whatever year that was].

And you don't stop, with the sure shot

[katstevens.livejournal.com]

The debate has surfaced many a time, but is Deb's rapping on Rapture (RAP-ture, do you SEE) really that bad? IS IT?

Re: And you don't stop, with the sure shot

[boyofbadgers.livejournal.com]

Problem is, I find it almost impossible to divorce from her terrible performance in the terrible video.

Re: And you don't stop, with the sure shot

[catsgomiaow.livejournal.com]

I never questioned it - I grew up listening to Blondie and Talking Heads, and assumed that that kind of talkey-over-the-music style was just, y'know, how some bands WERE. It only actually occurred to me that she was actually RAPPING ages later (I didn't listen to all that much hip-hop in my formative years either I have to say).

It's probably pretty crap rapping. But I still love it :)

Re: And you don't stop, with the sure shot

[carsmilesteve.livejournal.com]

in comparison to every other novelty rap song of the early 80s it's pretty good rapping.

(YES, i am DOING wham rap for the top 100 songs, just not at this moment due to it not being on my ipod)

Re: And you don't stop, with the sure shot

[mackromackro.livejournal.com]

Her flow is fine enough. It's the words that are kinda terrible, but it's still a great single.

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

I've just realised that I have NEVER heard Blondie played at Poptimism. This is really weird! They seem ideal for Poptimism.

[carsmilesteve.livejournal.com]

they have been played a billion times, you were just drunk.

[friedslice.livejournal.com]

I'm pretty sure I played Heart of Glass once.

[jauntyalan.livejournal.com]

i take best of b every time i'm up, but have never played any. i can recall listening to blondie plenty tho. skidmo memorably played their very early single that sounds like bruce springgreens

[martinskidmore.livejournal.com]

I played them too - X Offender in my set at the Chapel.

[chezghost.livejournal.com]

I remember Matt playing '...Telephone'

I played 'Heart Of Glass' at Club Popular one time

[catsgomiaow.livejournal.com]

Debbie Harry was also in an episode of The Adventures Of Pete And Pete, the most INDIE KIDS' PROGRAMME EVER MADE! (special guest stars also included Michael Stipe, Kate Pierson and IGGY POP playing Dawn-from-Buffy's DAD!)

[sbp.livejournal.com]

I want about 15 ticks if you don't count the remixes.

And then some more ticks for her work with the Jazz Passengers. Srsly, check it out.

Comebacks

[katstevens.livejournal.com]

Definitely one of the more successful ones in pop history! I had to untick Maria to get the quota down, but I do really like it.

Re: Comebacks

[bengraham.livejournal.com]

I think this is probably the hardest canon since the dawn of time. I really really struggled with it and ultimately 'Call Me' was the one that missed out.

'Maria' was actually my second choice tick after 'Atomic'. You're right, of all the comeback singles, 'Maria' is right up there near the top. It probably introduced a whole new audience to Blondie.

Oh, yeah, this ties in nicely with the subject line of KT's comment above... going into the Beastie Boys on Tuesday we spotted Debbie Harry. Maybe she was going to pick up some rapping tips?!!

[martinv.livejournal.com]

Hanging on the Telephone is overrated. If UCB is a dirge, that's a double-dirge, albeit a mildly hyperactive sounding dirge.

[katstevens.livejournal.com]

It's also very SHORT which is annoying when it's the Blondie track you have to hand whilst DJing. It always goes down well though.

[strange-powers.livejournal.com]

Atomic is the hero song here - weird, disco-synth-rock, mental minimal lyrics but so much passion underneath. "Oh, oh your hair is beautiful, ahhhhhh tonight. ATOMIC." Really sets me off crying, sometimes.

[katstevens.livejournal.com]

I contributed to our team's £10 pub quiz winnings by knowing that Sleeper covered it on the Trainspotting soundtrack. Almost indistinguishably from the original.

debbie harry facts

[jauntyalan.livejournal.com]

1. HUGE HEAD

Re: debbie harry facts

[carsmilesteve.livejournal.com]

2. 98729037469807623 years old.

[martinskidmore.livejournal.com]

For once I can take the indiest of positions here: I like their early stuff best, before the hits. I totally love their first album (s/t) - it sounds like a punk Shangri-Las. Their first single was my first 12" single - X Offender, Rip Her To Shreds and In The Flesh - and those three tracks remain my favourites.

I was going to go to see them live in 1977, their first visit here, supporting Television. However, that was one of three highly desirable gigs in, I think, four days, and at 17 I didn't have the money for all of them. I went to the White Riot tour (Clash, Buzzcocks, Subway Sect, Slits) and the Ramones first appearance here (supported by the Talking Heads). I regret the one I missed, but I still think I got it right.

Red eyeshadow, green mascara, yuck! She's too much

[katstevens.livejournal.com]

I heart Rip Her To Shreds! Definitely would have got a tick if it had charted over here.

Injustice watch

[jeff-worrell.livejournal.com]

More votes for "Dreaming" plz

Eat To The Beat is their best alBUM IMHO.

[piratemoggy.livejournal.com]

My mumXor reckons that Debbie Harry was actually in her early forties when Blondie's first single came out. Is this temporally possible or has my mum read a dodgy gossip column somewhere?

[ms-bracken.livejournal.com]

The latter, if wikipedia is correct (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Debbie_Harry)!

OK UK, NO "RUSH RUSH"?

[mackromackro.livejournal.com]

"Rush Rush" was a U.S. single for Deborah Harry in 1983. There wasn't one in the UK? This song is better than everything else Blondie/Debbie Harry.

[mackromackro.livejournal.com]

(Granted, 1983 was a weird and wonderful place for pop music in the U.S. Hell, Laid Back's "White Horse" was a charting single here. Sigh.)