Blondie, Madonna, and Gaga

This weekend I spent quite a bit of time watching Blondie videos and listening to interviews with Debbie Harry.  I have to say that I was pretty shocked by the number of interviewers and reporters who compared her to Lady Gaga -- and actually had the guts to mention that to her.  No offense to anyone, but come on.  Blondie and Lady Gaga?  I am SURE that Debbie Harry must have had some influence on Lady Gaga, but is it really fair to compare them?  I often read about comparisons between Madonna and Lady Gaga -- and that seems more logical to me.  I'm still pondering the Blondie/Gaga connection.  Okay, both Debby Harry and Gaga were NYC natives, right?  They both started out sort of "underground" on the dance circuit, right?  Uh, wrong.  Blondie as a group seemed to be very anti-establishment and counter-culture, although punk was a "counter culture culture" in and of itself.  I actually found some videos of Debbie Harry when she was in her twenties, and she was singing '60s folk kind of stuff.  This made me think of Pat Benatar, who went through all kinds of genres with her band, and so did Debbie Harry.  So, it's fair enough to compare Debbie Harry and Pat Benatar, I think. 

Meanwhile, I guess there's more of a connection between Madonna and Gaga.  Madonna started as a dancer and was pretty broke when she moved from Michigan to NYC.  Her early hits were very "dancy," and so were Gaga's.  Remember "Holiday?"  How about "Just Dance?"  Okay, so the former was Madonna and the latter Gaga.  I think Madonna really paved the way for Gaga.  Madonna seemed really intrigued by commercialism and marketing, and I think Gaga does as well.  I don't think Debbie Harry cared one iota.  Both Madonna and Gaga like the "shock factor," too.  When Gaga first came out, I was pretty engaged by the quality of her music and her musicianship.  She seemed so incredibly talented for such a young woman.  I think it's getting a bit creepy now, and I may have lost touch with her message and direction.  Meanwhile, Madonna was always pretty straightforward.  She liked to shock people.  She loved to throw religious images into the mix just to cause a ruckus.  She also really liked to push her sexuality in everyone's face for shock value.  Hey, no problem.  At least it wasn't creepy.  Seems pretty mild in retrospect.  So, I thought it would be fun and nostalgic to share one of he big shockers, "Justify My Love."  It was written by Lenny Kravitz and basically features an awesomely provocative and "dirty" drum track underscoring Madonna whispering about sexual stuff.  It was extremely controversial back in the day (1990, just at the dawn of the new decade).  It has sort of R-rated images.  Yeah -- but the video is very artsy.  Not really creepy at all.  Just very Madonna.  I think Gaga's last equivalent was "Bad Romance," so I threw that in, too.  I absolutely love the hairless cat -- and the message of the tune.  So, enjoy these two -- I think they are light years closer than Gaga and Blondie (in fact, that comparison is a non-issue in my mind).

Rapture

I've wanted to write about Blondie's "Rapture" for quite some time, and I finally bit the bullet.  I've been searching and reading high and low trying to figure this song out, and I think I've thrown in the towel.  A while ago, I read all kinds of interesting conversation about "finger popping" and "twenty-four hour shopping," -- as in the fact that those were not the lyrics that Debbie Harry actually sings.  If you listen closely, you can definitely hear something other than "popping."  I won't say what it is that people claim to hear, but I think I agree.  Plus, I looked up "finger popping" in some urban dictionaries, and well, it's pretty much what it sounds like.  However, I did hear another performance of the song with Debbie Harry and Eve on VH-1's "Divas Live" from 2004, and I swear it sounds like she says finger snapping or something completely different.  Maybe it is something different each time.

I actually never knew what the lyrics were to this song at all.  All I could understand was "raaaaaaaaaapture....."  Or at least that's how it sounded to me.  I also could hear "Fab 5 Freddy told me" something or other.  Please, do not get me wrong here.  I absolutely love Blondie and would honestly pass out if I ever met Debbie Harry in person.  I think the group was genius, and I actually don't mind that I can't understand the lyrics.  No problem at all.  The video has always scared me, though.  I really think it's the guy in the white tux dancing around expressionless with sunglasses.  It creeped me out.  But, it's okay.  Now that I am older, what strikes me the most about the song is actually the instrumental part.  Sounds like chimes in the beginning, but I am guessing it's a synthesizer.  Then, the bass guitar and rhythm guitar lines are just intermingled perfectly.  To me, I really hear the bass and the brass section most prominently.  I swear I hear saxes, too.  It's quite the intricate instrumental backing for this awesome tune.  Of course, Debbie Harry's voice can put you in a trance with it's sweet and ethereal quality on this song.  I was really surprised to see her singing with Eve on the VH-1 special -- but surprised in a good way.  Debbie Harry truly is a rock legend, and she can sing with whomever she pleases across all genres -- and it kicks a--!!!!!  What else can I say?  Not much!  Enjoy -- I've added the original video and the clip from the 2004 Divas Live.

Blondie - Behind the Music Remastered

Last night, I had the chance to watch VH-1's "Behind the Music Remastered" episode about the group Blondie.  It was really, really good.  I realized after watching this that there was so much to the group that I never knew.  The first and foremost was that they were from the NYC area.  Debbie Harry grew up in NJ and then moved to the city, where she met the other band members.  Wow -- I can't believe I didn't know this!  Makes me proud since I am from NY.  I guess I had never really listened to an interview with her, either, and I was pretty surprised.  She seemed very mellow, laid-back, pensive, soft-spoken, and introspective.  Just seemed so different from her persona on stage.  I think it is amazing. Kudos to her, because she is definitely a performer and a "regular person."  Nice to see a dichotomy there.

There are so many songs by the group that are terrific - "Heart of Glass," "Rapture," "Call Me," "Tide is High."  What is truly remarkable is how different those songs are stylistically.  I love all of these and could certainly listen to them again and again, but I found something that is kind of a "lost gem" in her discography -- "Dreaming."  I think the last time I heard this song, I was shopping in Express.  It doesn't get as much attention as her other hits, but it is just a very cool song nonetheless.  The lyrics are nice and light.  Interesting, too, and certainly "dreamy."  It's nice and refreshing to hear these type of lyrics, although the first line really packs a punch --"When I met you in the restaurant, you could tell I was no debutante."  Touché!  Very cool -- sort of "tongue in cheek."  Lyrics like that always make me smile.  I hope you'll enjoy this song as well.  Check out the VH-1 episode, too.  It is worth watching,

Blondie - What I Heard

Well, what I heard this evening is that there is a new Blondie album!  I had no idea!  This is pretty exciting news, and it looks like the album was just released in the U.S. this past September.  It's the first album since their 2003 release, Curse of Blondie.  I think I may have to listen to the songs on this album a few times, because they are really addicting.  I saw the video for "Mother" on their website and thought it was a terrific song...and then I found "What I Heard" this evening.  Love this song!  I think the lyrics are awesome, too.  In the chorus, we hear "You told me you were done with her, and I believed every word, and now I wonder what I heard...oooooh oooh oooh."  I think it would be really cool if she threw "kick you to the curb" in there, kind of like this: "You told me you were done with her, and I believed every word, and now I kick you to the curb...ooooooh oooh oooh."  That's my kind of lyric!  Yeah!  In all seriousness, this song is just as full of gusto, rock, and passion as we would expect from Blondie.  I love it.  Lost track of how many times I heard it this evening.  Debbie Harry's legendary rock vocals and the drive behind this song make it perfect for today.  I hope she goes on tour again this year.  Maybe she could tour with Pat Benatar again--or maybe with Heart.  She can certainly hold her own on tour, too.  I'd be first in line for tickets if she tours here.  Rock on, Ms. Harry!  You sound better than ever!

Maria, Blondie, and Pat Benatar

Okay--so I admit that the title of this post is a bit odd.  Let me explain.  I was watching "Behind the Music: Remastered" on VH-1 Classic.com.  It was the episode about Pat Benatar, who is probably my absolute favorite female singer from the '80s (and my idol!).  Toward the end of the episode, they showed a clip of Debbie Harry from Blondie because she and Pat had recently toured together. This reminded me of how much I enjoyed the song "Maria" by Blondie, which was released in 1998.  So, technically, that is not an '80s song, but it was the first hit for the group since they broke up in 1982.

Anyway, Pat and Debbie are both amazing singers, and I wanted to share a light song this evening, so I thought "Maria" was perfect.  Looking at the lyrics and reading a bit about the song, I found out that it is about a boy's love/infatuation for a girl from because the boy was shy and "awkward."   The whole "Maria" and "Ave Maria" related to the idolization concept and the idea of the girl being sort of "untouchable" to this extremely insecure boy.  Pretty neat.  I hadn't thought much about it before since I just loved the vocal quality in the song and the very awesome chime sounds.  I do hope you will enjoy this tune.  There are so many Blondie and Pat Benatar songs that are amazing, so perhaps this will be sort of an interlude to more posts with their music!