blondie
The Reissue Section: Blondie Rolls The Dice With Against the Odds
Few acts from the original punk era are more deserving of a comprehensive box set than Blondie. And the hype is well-earned with Against The Odds 1974-1982, a historical juggernaut documenting the first eight years of CBGB’s most successful export. This 8-CD (or 10-LP) collection documents the band’s sonic evolution as it happened — how they molded a literal building block of New Wave by combining girl group melodies, disco riddims and power-pop crunch. The pair of bonus discs bookending the box also contain revelatory moments, namely the embryonic versions of the band’s hit single “Heart of Glass” (one called “Once I Had a Love,” the other “The Disco Song”) on the eight-track Out in the Streets disc, along with guitarist Chris Stein‘s instrumental synth reworkings of “Heart of Glass,” “Ca...
Blondie Reveals Another Unreleased ’70s Demo Ahead of Boxed Set
The latest Blondie rarity to emerge from the upcoming boxed set Against the Odds 1974-1982 is the breezy “Mr. Sightseer,” a 1978 home recording seeing the light of day for the first time. The track was put to tape on a TEAC TCA-43 four-track reel-to-reel in the home of Blondie’s Chris Stein and Debbie Harry, the latter of whom admits, “The lyric is not good at all. The song’s not too bad. It’s just a little simplistic. It didn’t ever get really developed or finished.” “Mr. Sightseer” follows last month’s release of the previously unissued “I Love You Honey, Give Me a Beer,” which eventually morphed into “Go Through It” from the band’s 1980 album Autoamerican. Due Aug. 26 from UMe and acclaimed reissue label The Numero Group, Against the Odds 1974-1982 contains 36 previously u...
Blondie’s Clem Burke: ‘Iggy Was In Pantyhose… Basically Naked From the Waist Down’
Clem Burke, most well known as the drummer for Blondie, has truly lived it up. Even though he thought he’d be retired by 30, he’s still going, and living it up, with a soon-to-be-released memoir to boot. He has been the drummer for four different bands inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame—including Blondie, the Ramones, the Go-Go’s, and 2022 inductees the Eurythmics—and has received an Honorary Doctorate of Music from the University of Gloucestershire for his Clem Burke Drumming Project. The man just won’t stop. I caught up with Clem a few months back, as he was getting off stage playing Cruel World Fest in Pasadena with Blondie. He told me all about his many adventures on tour, starting with playing with Iggy Pop in the late ‘70s. Clem Burke (in white T-shirt) with Chris Stein (...
Morrissey, Bauhaus, Blondie to Headline Cruel World Festival in May 2022
It’ll be just like heaven for fans of Emo Brit retro lineups. The Cruel World festival which was originally slated to take place in 2020 will finally happen in 2022. Morrissey, Bauhaus, Echo and the Bunnymen, The Psychedelic Furs, Blondie and more congregate in Pasadena, California on May 14, 2022 for the event. The one-day festival at Brookside at the Rose Bowl will also see Blondie, Devo, Violent Femmes, The Church, The Damned and dozens more will perform. Additionally, L.A. bands Berlin, 45 Grave and Missing Persons will also be on the bill. In terms of health and safety precaution, Cruel World’s website says, “We will follow all COVID-19 related mandates applicable to the festival and will provide more information as the festival approaches.” The all-ages event will...
Miley Cyrus Covers Queen, Blondie at NCAA Final Four Concert
Between Baylor’s beatdown of Houston and Gonzaga’s jaw-dropping buzzer beater win against UCLA, Miley Cyrus performed a rousing mini-concert at Indianapolis’ Lucas Oil Stadium, where the NCAA Final Four took place on Saturday. The six-song set began with Cyrus strutting out of her dressing room, donning aviator sunglasses, a black vest, and tight black pants, while her band rocked out onstage. By the time she joined them, they transitioned to into Queen’s “We Are the Champions.” From there, she took on the band’s hits “We Will Rock You” and “Don’t Stop Me Now.” After singing her own song, “We Can’t Stop,” Cyrus covered Blondie’s “Heart of Glass.” She ended the performance with “Edge of Midnight,” her Stevie Nicks-assisted “Midnight Sky” remix off Plastic Hearts, and her own iconic tra...
Dreaming of Debbie
Debbie Harry, quite possibly the most iconic woman in music, doesn’t know she’s an icon. It must have been twenty-five years ago when I spotted Debbie Harry floating down an Alphabet City street in Manhattan, clutching not a purse but a small dog, her signature blonde lob glowing like a crown of light. Years later I saw her in the 2000 Axis Theatre production of Sarah Kane’s play Crave, a brilliant beacon in an ensemble cast. That was definitely after she starred with one of my exes in an indie short film, and also after, I think, I was lunching with an acquaintance who casually mentioned that Debbie was in the audience of her friend’s Lower East Side play, and brought her dog along to that, too. When you live in New York, star sightings are somewhat rote, and amidst the churning hus...
Miley Cyrus Announces New Album Plastic Hearts
The unofficial queen of covers has a few originals ready to go. Music trailblazer Miley Cyrus announced her upcoming seventh studio album, Plastic Hearts, on Friday, set to release on Nov. 27 via RCA. The album follows her 2019 EP She is Coming and her 2017 album Younger Now. The new release, originally rumored to be called She is Miley Cyrus, will feature lead single “Midnight Sky” and Cyrus’ covers of Blondie’s “Heart of Glass” and The Cranberries’ “Zombie.” The record will include 12 original tracks from the “Wrecking Ball” singer. “Just when I thought this body of work was finished, it was all erased,” Cyrus wrote of the album. “Including most of the music’s relevance. Because everything had changed. Nature did what I now see as a favor and destroyed what I couldn’...
Pearl Jam, R.E.M. and More Demand Clearance for Campaign Songs
Pearl Jam, R.E.M. Sia, Lorde and more have joined forces with the Artists Rights Alliance to demand that the political parties “establish clear policies requiring campaigns to seek the consent of featured recording artists, songwriters, and copyright owners before publicly using their music in a political or campaign setting,” the Artist Rights Alliance announce in a statement. The letter also points out “the fundamental right of music creators to decide who can use their music and on what terms.” And if they do not comply, the political parties risk legal action. The ARA furthered their point in the following statement: “We’ve seen so many artists and estates dragged into politics against their will and forced to take aggressive action to prohibit the use of their music – usually songs th...
Green Day Cover Blondie’s ‘Dreaming’
Billie Joe Armstrong has been on a roll when it comes to cover songs. His No Fun Mondays have seen him run through a number of covers spanning different eras and apparently that’s translated over to his band. Green Day shared their version of Blondie’s “Dreaming,” which comes from the band’s 1979 album of the same name. The clip for the song opens with a dog staring lonely into the abyss (a lot like us) dreaming of days gone by, which in this case, means going to big concerts (or any really). It features footage of the band on the road and performing live and dreaming of days gone by. Green Day was one of the first bands to change their touring schedule due to the coronavirus pandemic. Their latest album, Father of All…, was released in February. Read our interview with the ...
