Blondie |
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Mon. March 29.2004 12:00 AM EST |
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Blondie: Once More Into the BleachDebbie and the boys are back in action. She explains their Curse, her Britney and Christina preferences, and how surfing the Web feels like doing homework. by Courtney Reimer |
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(Courtesy of Sanctuary Records) |
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You can't write off Blondie. 1999's No Exit may have been the revered New York band's first album in 17 years, but it proved that the musical smarts of Debbie Harry, guitarist Chris Stein, drummer Clem Burke and keyboard player Jimmy Destri
That return to form was kind of odd for a band that thrived on disposability early on. At the height of new wave, the New Yorkers' dazzling singles flirted with styles from reggae ("The Tide is High") to French pop ("Denis"). They were a rock band unafraid to be disco ("Heart of Glass"), and bridged the gap between Brooklyn graffiti taggers and Manhattan royalty. Their "Rapture" even introduced hip-hop to the top of the charts. Five years after the release of No Exit, they're back again with The Curse of Blondie. Their new album is released into an even more sympathetic world. Gotham groups like the Strokes and Interpol ape Blondie's nonchalant style, while the Rapture even took their name from them. And a new breed of women rockers - from the Yeah Yeah Yeah's Karen O to the Distillers' Brody Dalle - owes a lot to Harry's attitude. So allow them the sense of nostalgia that creeps into The Curse of Blondie's game of musical dress-up. "Good Boys" finds Harry's sultry purr intact and also comes in a Giorgio Moroder remix that nods to the electro-funk of "Call Me." Harry busts rhymes again on "Shakedown," while "Hello Joe" pays tribute to their late CBGB comrade Joey Ramone. It's almost enough to make you forget that Harry turns 59 this year. VH1 asked her about Blondie's New York attitude, pop tarts, and digital music. We also found out she still doesn't like to do homework. VH1: Why did Blondie became the quintessential New York band? Deborah Harry: I think it's because there's so many different kinds of music you could hear in New York. We took a bunch of influences and threw all them together. Chris really loved the Stones, Clem was originally a Deadhead, Jimmy was into Procol Harum and I was into girl singers. There was more regional radio back then. It's really changed now. The radio stations have become big conglomerates, so the programming has become more unified throughout the whole country. VH1: What's the secret to maintaining the band's relationship all those years? DH: It's a love/hate thing, like brothers and sisters. We're smart and secure enough within our own personalities to be able to put up with bullsh*t - and there is bullsh*t. That's human nature. We've brought a couple of extra musicians into the mix, so maybe that separates us a little bit and takes the intensity away. VH1: Where did the title The Curse of Blondie come from? DH: We were talking about calling it Phasm, but that sort of became, "What does ‘Phasm' mean? How do you spell it? It's gonna be sorta strange." They were like, "Let's just call it The Curse of Blondie." It was funny and reminiscent of The Mummy's Curse or something. So that was it. VH1: But there's not really a curse. DH: Not yet! VH1: You've been together for 30 years and still make great music. DH: I know! That's the curse! See, you're damned if you do and you're damned if you don't. VH1: How does it feel making music now as opposed to when you started? DH: As far as writing songs goes, I think it's probably a lot easier, since I've had so much practice. I always say the new album is the best one yet. I always feel that - I really do, because it's the latest and it's the newest and it's a little bit better. VH1: Where did the single "Good Boys" come from? DH: Through management. We didn't write it. It's Kevin Griffin from Better Than Ezra. We thought it was really good and it sounded like it could be a Blondie song, so we did it. It's about always falling for the bad boy. You always fall for the rascal or the guy who's got a little bit of the devil in him. You can't help it. VH1: How did you reconnect with Giorgio Moroder for the remix? DH: I didn't actually [work with him face-to-face]. The UK label put that together. I was surprised. It's a mix that so sounds like Giorgio it sorta doesn't sound like the song anymore. I guess with our history with him, that's kind of a cool thing. VH1: What do you think of the women in rock these days? Who is carrying your torch? DH: I don't know if I would go that far! There's a lot of cool stuff going on. I turned on VH1 this morning just to get a little warm-up before I came over here, and I think it's just terrific. There's so much great stuff: diverse and wonderful music, good performances, great looking girls, great videos, the whole thing. VH1: Who do you prefer, Britney or Christina? DH: The place that they're coming from is much different from where I'm coming from. It's very showbiz. I don't doubt that they have some personal investment in what they're singing about, but they don't write their songs. They're missing out in that respect, but they're both really talented. Christina Aguilera is an incredible musician and singer. VH1: Where do you see yourself as coming from? DH: I don't flatter myself that I'm anywhere near as good as Bob Dylan, but I consider myself like a singer/songwriter. That's really my thrust. I feel like I have to have a voice. VH1: How's your acting career going? DH: It ain't going nowhere! I do a little bit of it now and then and I love it. I get to do some really strange parts, things that I would never think that I would be considered for. I'm very proud of the fact that I was in two really interesting movies in the last year: one was Spun and the other was My Life Without Me. I've been lucky! I hope I get lucky again! VH1: Are you involved much with your Web site, Blondie.net? DH: Chris is very into it. He's always on there, sending messages and doing email. I used to do it and carried around this laptop in the early days. But I started thinking it was like homework, and that was it. Homework? Forget it! I threw the thing away. But I'm about to get back into it. I felt like everybody's putting me down for not having an email address. OK! I'll get one! Big f**king deal! God! VH1: It's almost replaced the phone for a lot of people. DH: Y'know, I love talking! I listen. I have that kind of an ear. I hear things in people's voices. I like to hear people talking. Something's that written out is okay, but it's not always a clear indication of what a person means. VH1: What are your feelings on the MP3 craze? DH: I wish there was a way that everybody could be satisfied. CDs are so expensive, it's prohibitive. You can't hear the music that you want to hear. With MP3s you can. But as a writer and performer, I want to get paid for what I do. That's the simple truth. Why would I want to work so hard to write songs and make good music to just give it away? There has to be some sort of justice somehow for everyone. But computers have changed the world for everyone, so there will be some way of working it out. |
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