Many of the quotes on specific bands refer to the Blondie/Deborah
Harry influence on Wendy James of Transvision Vamp and Justine Frischmann
of Elastica as well as contemporary bands like Garbage, the Cardigans,
Hole, Luscious Jackson, and No Doubt. The impact of Blondie, however, is
not limited only to female artists as reflected, for example, by Billy
Corgan of the Smashing Pumpkins, Mark Linkous of Sparklehorse, Damon Albarn
of Blur, Michael Stipe of REM, and the late Jeffrey Lee Pierce of the Gun
Club. Madonna is frequently, and most prominently, mentioned as having
been influenced by Deborah Harry and having learned from the latter's career
in the promotion of her own career.
"...those who have an interest in American punk--or simply dig ex-Playboy
bunnies who front rock and roll bands--may find some pre-Madonna entertainment
here."--On Lester Bangs' book entitled Blondie (Krebs, 98)
"'I never saw her perform live with Blondie, I wish I had.'"-Madonna
in response to the question: "Who did you see in the clubs when you arrived
in New York? Debbie Harry?" (Du Noyer, 1994)
"...Debbie Harry was Madonna's only antecedent, but...Harry 'was far
too stunning and beatific to appeal to most women.'"--Melody Maker's
observation on Deborah Harry and Madonna in its 28 September 1985 issue
(Johnstone,
286 and Mico, 29)
"...Madonna--who stole some of her best moves from Debbie--may well
be doing a better version of Debbie than Debbie herself is currently capable
of."--On Deborah Harry and Madonna, when the latter was still in the
early stages of her career (McKenna, 59)
"'I identify with a lot of the things she does--and the fact that some
people think she's being exploitive. The same thing happened to me. At
one time, I was considered exploitive because of the aggressive, feminine
images....'"--Deborah Harry on Madonna (Hilburn, 1985, 63)
"Debbie Harry, lead singer of the disbanded rock group Blondie, says
she doesn't feel she was a pioneer who paved the way for other female singers
like Madonna. 'I always felt that it was just a matter of time. Because,
in terms of marketing, where could they go with guys with guitars? They
had done it. Female lead singers were the only thing that hadn't been exploited
yet....' She said female lead singers have been presented in a more aggressive
light than all-women rock groups." ("Debbie Harry Not a Pioneer"). While
in this 1987 Associated Press article Deborah Harry does not claim to be
a musical pioneer, this may be more a reflection of Harry's modesty than
fact because there are many subsequent articles in which she and others
acknowledge her pioneering role among female rock and pop singers, including
Madonna. This story is based on an interview Harry did with Details
magazine, August 1987.
"'She's an aggressive person to achieve anything like she's achieved.
She's very timely, she's right on time.'"--Deborah Harry on Madonna
("Debbie Harry Not a Pioneer")
"'Yeah, I was out there on the street patching holes with asphalt!'"--Deborah
Harry in response to a question if she thought she "had paved the way for
Madonna" (Saban, 100)
"...without her, there would be no Madonna....Her ambitions as lead
singer for the late-'70s and early-'80s rock group Blondie, her poised
mix of Andy Warhol iconoclasm and pop appeal, her five-and-dime beauty
and understanding of fashion as statement all provided the blueprint not
only for Madonna but also for most of the pop divas of the '80s."--On
Deborah Harry and her influence (Infusino, 27 October 1989, E1)
"'I think Madonna took what I did in her own direction. Madonna is a
great business person and very talented. You can't deny that. But she's
motivated by success. To be as blatantly sexual as possible is natural
to her.'"--Deborah Harry on Madonna (Infusino, 27 October 1989,
E1)
"'Did you ever feel cheated that she raked it in after you'd made that
kind of image acceptable in pop music'"--Question posed to Deborah Harry
concerning Madonna (O'Toole, 87)
"'She's a saint."--Deborah Harry on Madonna(O'Toole,
84)
"With her blonde bombshell good looks, pouty mouth, and come-hither-and-drop-dead
expression, [Deborah] Harry was out-Madonnaing them while Madonna was still
in pigtails." (Advokat)
"...she watched as a host of other young women, principally Madonna,
attempted to fill her pop-trash stiletto shoes. 'I always knew that someone
would come along, use similar things to what I had used and fit right in
the pocket commercially....I always felt that if it wasn't me playing the
blond, sexy nymphet, then it would be somebody else.'"-On the period
after Blondie's breakup in 1982. Deborah Harry quoted in Savvy magazine,
1 May 1987 (Advokat)
"'When I first started[,] the music business wasn't geared to marketing
women....This has been the biggest change in the music industry-now, the
marketing of women has gotten so sophisticated that practically anything
can be sold. I wasn't alone in helping make that change. But I was one
of the few involved in the transition.'"-On Deborah Harry's pioneering
role in helping to open up the music industry for women. Deborah Harry
quoted in Savvy magazine, 1 May 1987 (Advokat)
"'I respect her single-mindedness and her ability to maintain control
of her own destiny. Not everything she does appeals to me but she is worthy
of respect.'"--Deborah Harry on Madonna ("Any Questions: Deborah
Harry," O44)
"Fans of Madonna may not agree, but without former Blondie singer Deborah
Harry spearheading the new wave rock movement in the mid-1970s, the Madonna
her fans enjoy today may not have existed. Harry, along with Patti Smith,
was one of the few women in rock to be the equal of her male counterparts--at
least, in the attitude department."--On Deborah Harry being a precursor
of Madonna (Young)
"Harry's bottle-blonde, sex-kitten image and edgy attitude foreshadowed
what Madonna would bring to the table. 'I'd say that was a safe bet,' Harry
said without a trace of jealousy. Most critics would agree that while Harry's
occasional film appearances haven't created sparks, she's at least a better
actress than Madonna." (Young)
"...there's just enough sly naughtiness in Harry's soft, disaffected
vocals to make her seem Madonna's true role model." (Rosen, Steven, 28
April 1995, 29)
"...Madonna's predecessor...."-On Deborah Harry (Wilton, 6 March
1999)
"Madonna has followed in Harry's large footsteps." (Kletke)
"'Oh yes, my huge size 9 ½'s to her size 6's. Actually, I don't
know what size shoe she wears. But Madonna has said I was an influence
on her, although she comes from much more of the dance world and I came
from rock'n'roll.'"-Deborah Harry (Kletke)
Without Deborah Harry, "there could never have been a Madonna...."--The
influential gossip columnist Liz Smith on Deborah Harry and Madonna
(Smith, A15)
"Blondie's Deborah Harry was cold and detached, and Madonna made it
clear that she was an individual who did not care what other people thought,
as long as she got what she wanted." (Charlton, 240)
"Balancing glamour and street smarts, Harry paved the way for Madonna's
revolutionary mix of image and music in the '80s...."--Looking back
on the Parallel Lines album, Rolling Stone music critics on Deborah
Harry and Madonna (McGee and DeCurtis, 70)
After Blondie's breakup, "Madonna assumed the mantle as the pop world's
pin-up--for which Harry takes a little credit. The path had been cleared
for the Material Girl."--On the pioneering role Deborah Harry played
for Madonna (Laurence, 13)
"'Madonna came right after me, and took the next step to become a real
pop star...but it is just not in my personality to do it. In some ways,
I wish I, too, could be a tower of power, but really my goal in life was
to be an artist, and being a star is really not worth it to me.'"--Deborah
Harry on Madonna and stardom (Laurence, 13)
"Oddly, perhaps, Harry pulled back from the brink of lasting stardom
for much the same reason that she became a star in the first place. She
had moulded herself as the incarnation of Blondie with a sense of ironic
distance, and she destroyed the image when faced with the prospect that
she might truly become that character."--On why Deborah Harry is not
the star of the magnitude that Madonna has become (Laurence, 13)
"On a cultural level, Harry's use of glossy imagery has come to be recognized
as a key antecedent to Madonna." (Farber, 10 January 1999, "New York Now:
Music" section, p. 19)
"'Madonna has a genius for condensing, for taking the essence of what
people do and making it extremely commercial....My thinking is much more
subtle. I want to sneak into people's brains. She wants to smash people
over the head. I find it a bit unnerving that someone would come and take
this little needle that I try to get underneath the skin of people and
make it into a baseball bat.'"-Deborah Harry on Madonna (Farber,
10 January 1999, "New York Now: Music" section, p. 19)
"With the notable exception of Abba, no group from the seventies captured
the esprit of pure pop with such aplomb as New York new-wavers Blondie.
Central to their appeal was Andy Warhol acolyte and Girl Power pioneer
Debbie Harry....Their highly photogenic, platinum blonde singer played
the all-American bad-girl role to perfection, setting the stage for the
arrival of Madonna a decade later." ("Vulture Picks Over the Bones of Contemporary
Culture," 46)
"What Harry's exile did do was leave centre stage open for that other
material girl and one-time platinum blonde, Madonna." In contrast to Cher
or Madonna, "Harry never quite made the leap to film stardom or successfully
re-invented herself as her chameleon contemporaries managed." (Robson,
Andy, 11)
"Long before Madonna started flaunting her underwear and offering to
teach us about sex, Debbie was going on stage without any knickers, acting
out the part of the sexually assertive, blonde bombshell, and being condemned
for it." (Burtson, 8)
"'Absolutely. But she's an incredibly resourceful refinery--she knows
how to refine elements and make them completely understandable and salable
to the public.'"--On whether "pop music's original ironic blonde" [Deborah
Harry] feels she "'can claim an influence on her [Madonna]'" (Udovitch,
56)
"'Yes, in her early days when she was doing the Marilyn [Monroe] thing
and being very blonde, she clearly took over my territory.'"--Deborah
Harry on whether she believes she has influenced Madonna (Malins, 13)
"'It all started with Debbie Harry....And this is just the culmination
of that.'"--Madonna herself acknowledging Deborah Harry's pioneering
role, which eventually led to an increased presence of women artists in
the music industry (Morse, 25 February 1999, E1)
"'I think there was a very obvious sexual energy to her work and to
her persona, and speaking as an unapologetic feminist, she was way ahead
of the curve in terms of what was going to come later--certainly it was
part of what Madonna seized on....'"--Michael Stipe of REM on Deborah
Harry and Madonna (Che, 2000, 171)
"Like Madonna, only cleverer, harder and more cool."--On Deborah
Harry (Smith, Giles, 66)
"'When I was starting out as a singer and songwriter I was hugely influenced
by Debbie Harry. I thought she was the coolest chick in the universe.'"--Madonna
(Che, 2000, back dust jacket cover)
"As I was growing up, I kept my ears open. Whether it was Debbie Harry
or Laurie Anderson or Kate Bush or Joni Mitchell, they all affected me."--In
answer to the question: "Is there a woman who was a role model for you
musically?" (Cheever, 104)
"…sounds so crafty and slick they could be mistaken for Blondie--that
is, if Deborah Harry started penning parables about Custer, Ho Chi Minh
and American slavery."--On Patti Smith and her band regarding the album
Gung
Ho (Wener, Ben, 24 March 2000, F52)
"The street-smart art-pop of 'Persuasion' and 'Gone Pie' out-Blondie
Blondie…."--On the songs "Persuasion" and "Gone Pie" from the album
Gung
Ho ("Patti Smith: Gung
Ho," "Features" section, p. 26)
"There are echoes of Smith's contemporaries from the 1970s punk-rock
nexus at CBGB. The spy-movie wahwah and reverb of 'Gone Pie' lead to a
buoyant chorus fit for Blondie…."--On the song "Gone Pie" from the album
Gung
Ho (Pareles, 30 March 2000, 62)
"A Blondie turn on Gone Pie is about as commercial as Smith gets on
Gung-Ho…." (Clark, Michael D., 2 April 2000, "Zest" section, p. 6)
"...Blondie-esque...."-On the song "Glitter in Their Eyes" from the
Gung
Ho Pie album (Wener, Ben, 11 April 2000, F4)
"...the Blondie-like single...."-On "Glitter in Their Eyes" from
the Gung Ho album (Fletcher, 14 April 2000, D27)
"...closer to primo Blondie than the Patti of yore."-On several songsfrom
the Gung Ho album(Wener, Ben, 14 April 2000, F5)
"...in spots she...sound[s] like equal parts Stevie Nicks and Deborah
Harry."-Patti Smith on the Gung Ho album (Histen, 5E)
"...Stipe was a Blondie fan...." (Che, 2000, 169)
"Stipe...expresses a great respect for [Deborah] Harry and her legacy."
(Che, 2000, 171)
"'They were an amazing group and she was an amazing singer and they wrote great songs and lyrics. In fact, one of my favorite lyrics ever is from the song 'Picture This' [he sings]:
Picture this, a sky full of thunder
Picture this, my telephone number.'"--Stipe on Blondie and its music
(Che, 2000, 171)
"'Blondie were exploring music that wasn't at all modern and twisted
it into songs that were innovative and clever. Also, I felt like they were
just being themselves, Deborah Harry particularly. And in my definition
of punk rock, that's as punk rock as you get.'"--Stipe on Blondie and
Deborah Harry (Che, 2000, 171)
As a teenager in Los Angeles, "Pierce was, first and foremost, a dedicated music fanatic. His favorite group was Blondie, and he bugged its key members, Debbie Harry and Chris Stein, until they hired him to answer all their fan mail. (Several years later, Harry and Stein would sign Pierce to their own label, Animal Records)."--On Blondie as an early influence on Pierce (Lanham, 46). Another ironic aside is that a reunited Blondie dedicated one of its songs, "Under the Gun," on its 1999 No Exit album to Pierce, who died in 1996.
"...the Gun Club enlisted as producer Chris Stein of Blondie, Pierce's
favorite band (Blondie's Debbie Harry adds backing vocals as well). Stein
steered the band to a slightly more accessible style by cutting down on
the punk aggression, while accentuating Pierce's lyrics and howl to fine
effect."--On the Gun Club album Miami (Sarig, 106)
Tracey Tracey/The
Primitives
"...makes you look back to early Blondie. The Primitives' Tracey and
Blondie's Deborah Harry share that penchant for disconnection--for singing
'flat' vocals and embittered lyrics that glide over peppy rhythms and hook-filled
melodies."--On the Primitives in performance (Sullivan, Jim, 6 December
1988, 82)
"'It said once every decade a true blonde arrives. For the '70s, it
was Debbie Harry, and for the '80s it's Wendy James. I've got it cut out.
It's one of those high points.'"--Wendy James on a New York Times article
about blonds in pop/rock music (Albert, 11).
"It was a particular high point because the musical heroine of this
British blonde is Debbie Harry. 'I just couldn't get over it, as a young
teen-ager, seeing this absolute movie star goddess fronting a rock 'n'
roll pop band. It was the perfect combination. For me, she was like Madonna
is to the current crop of youngsters--inspiration.'"--Wendy James' reflections
on Deborah Harry (Albert, 11)
"If comparisons have to be made, this one is as solid as any. There
is a definitive Blondie influence in both Transvision Vamp's music and
in James herself. She's blond, she pouts, she exploits her sexuality before
anyone else can even think of doing it for her." (Albert, 11)
Transvision Vamp "has a sound that echoes early Stones, as well as Velvet
Underground and Blondie. And [Wendy] James has been compared to everybody
from Madonna to Debbie Harry to Marianna Faithfull." (Howell, D1)
Sonic Youth's bassist/vocalist Kim Gordon "has perfected a laid-back
but seductive vocal style that owes a lot to ex-Blondie vocalist Deborah
Harry's trademark sound." (Lustig)
Suzie Higgie/Falling
Joys (Sydney, Australia)
"Great rock bands don't just become musical legends, they turn into
the next generation's caricatures....Then there's Blondie: buzz-saw guitars,
three-minute pop tunes and a bottle of peroxide, as adapted by UK bands
like Darling Buds, Primitives and Transvision Vamp." However, that the
band Falling Joys (from Sydney, Australia) have been the closest "to capturing
the Blondie sound" due, in part, to the similarity in voices between Suzie
Higgie and Deborah Harry, is particularly evident on the Australian band's
debut album. Continuing the parallel: "What the Joys have inherited from
Blondie and, in smaller doses, the Pretenders, is a sense of effortlessness,
an impression that their carefully turned songs have occurred spontaneously."
(Barber, Lynden, 12)
Toni Halliday/Curve
"Halliday's seductive chants and shrill wails invoke the vocal spirits
of Blondie's Deborah Harry and Sinead O'Connor."--On Curve lead singer
Toni Halliday's vocal similarity to Deborah Harry (Idelson, 1)
Johnette Napolitano/Concrete
Blonde
"Napolitano grew up being heavily influenced by Debbie Harry (of Blondie),
Fleetwood Mac and even Janis Joplin."--Deborah Harry as one of Johnette
Napolitano's musical influences (Morse, 4 September 1992, 88)
Vitamin
C (aka Colleen
Fitzpatrick/formerly of Eve's
Plum)
New York City group Eve's Plum and its: "Vocalist Colleen Fitzpatrick's
style evokes both the dreamy tones of Blondie's Debbie Harry and the sandpaper
roughness of the Divinyl's Christina Amphlett." ("Alternative Action,"
8)
"The artist formerly known as Colleen Fitzpatrick was a Hairspray-extra-turned-Deborah-Harry-
impersonator in the marginal grunge-lite band Eve's Plum before she opted
to exercise her right to reach for the stars by recording what amounts
to a survey of the hottest sounds of the late '90s."-On the album, Vitamin
C (Ashare, 26 August 1999)
Miss Georgia Peach/Speedway
Blondie has been a "'big influence on my singing.'"--Miss Georgia Peach
of the band Speedway (Surowicz, 17E)
Peach is a "plenty convincing as a blase Debbie Harry punk-pop heir,
complete with sour harmonies...." (Surowicz, 17E)
"'I remember Deborah Harry on Top of the Pops--she took off her dark
glasses and she had these most amazing metallic eyes. I was fascinated
by her make-up, that anyone could wear such beautiful make-up and look
so glamorous. I think she had that effect on everyone.'"--On Sonya Aurora
Madan, frontwomen for the British band Echobelly, recalling the impact
Deborah Harry had on her when she was a teenager (Raphael, 15 April
1995, TT32)
The "comparisons with the late-seventies popsters, Blondie, suggested
by sharp, bouncy numbers like the dynamic-laden Insomniac, extend beyond
mere vocal similarities. Like Blondie's Debbie Harry, Madan is solidly
backed by the efficient work of anonymous, square-jawed young men [with
the exception of guitarist Debbie Smith]....But unlike Harry, whose kitsch
glamour suggested self-mocking wit, Madan wastes no time on cartoon femininity."--The
British band Echobelly compared to Blondie, especially in reference to
lead singer Sonia Madan. (Shook, 11)
It "create[s] a '90s strain of power pop that's got the bounce of Blondie
with the crunch and ache of Nirvana."--On Echobelly's debut album, Everybody's
Got One (Fauve/Rhythm King) (Walters, 28 February 1995, 50)
Sonia Madan is Echobelly's "signature mouthpiece, singing with a wide-open
effervescence reminiscent of Debbie Harry at her sweetest." (Campbell,
T12)
Justine Frischmann is frequently compared to Deborah Harry, especially
in the attitude department, as is the music of Blondie and Elastica.
"Justine Frischmann made no secret of the major influence on her...:
'Debbie Harry was the first girl I fell in love with, when I was 12. I
had her posters everywhere. She was utterly beautiful.'" (Johnstone, 365
and True, 8 October 1994, 32)
"....She had a real softness to her, even though she was hard. She managed
to use her sexuality and not be criticised for it--but maybe that was the
era."--Frischmann on Deborah Harry (in a continuation of the above quote),
although the observation that Harry was not criticized for the use of her
sexuality could be disputed (True, 8 October 1994, 32)
Justine Frischmann's "attitude and bite have earned her comparisons
to Chrissie Hynde of the Pretenders and Deborah Harry of Blondie...." (Hilburn,
12 March 1995, 5)
Frischmann "points to David Bowie and Blondie, acts that dealt heavily
in fashion and image, as two of her earliest favorites." (Hilburn, 12 March
1995, 5)
Growing up, Frischmann "was...fanatical about bands herself...with giant
posters of Debbie Harry and Wire on the walls of her London bedroom." (Brown,
F4)
"One of the reasons we need Elastica back is that even in this liberated
age women fronting rock bands remain a rarity. There's Courtney Love, Chrissie
Hynde and Debbie Harry, and that's almost it." (Williamson, "Features"
section, p. 14)
"'My mum....Otherwise PJ Harvey, Patti Smith, Debbie Harry and Marlene
Dietrich.'"-
Frischmann in reply to the question, "Who are your heroes
and heroines?" ("You Ask the Questions: Justine Frischmann," "Features"
section, p. 7)
Elastica's Music Reflecting a Blondie Influence
"'Suddenly, everyone's getting their Blondie records out.'"--Frischmannon
the British music scene initiated by Elastica in the mid-1990s (True,
8 October 1994, 32)
"At times, Frischmann's voice recalls Chrissie Hynde of the Pretenders
or Debbie Harry on Blondie's feistiest early recordings--the pre-'Heart
of Glass' new wave stuff."--On Elastica's debut album, Elastica
(Snyder, 40)
"The Blondie connection is evident on 'Blue,' a careening, glistening
tune with a lovely chorus. The same goes for the thundering punk-pop of
'Annie' and the girl-group update, 'All-Nighter,' that echoes Phil Spector
and the Go-Go's, too."-- On Blondie's influence on some of the songs
on the Elastica album (Snyder, 40)
Elastica and Frischmann "love the music of bands (from the '80s) like
Blondie and Wire and the Fall and the Stranglers." (Hilburn, 12 March 1995,
5)
"In England, Elastica is viewed as the leader of a revival of the spunky,
tuneful characterizations of such '80s New Wave acts as the Pretenders,
Blondie, Wire and the Buzzcocks." (Hilburn, 12 March 1995, 5)
"Elastica has elements of the gritty sound of Blondie in the early days
before the success of 'Heart of Glass' spoiled that band. As a presence,
Frischmann has striking similarities in spirit to Deborah Harry (frontwoman
for Blondie) in the days when Harry was a punkish, New Wave rocker and
not yet a pop pinup." (Semon, 7 May 1995, 10)
"Vaseline," "borrows from the Blondie song, 'Sunday Girl'"--On the
last song of the album
Elastica (Semon, 7 May 1995, 10)
"...quoted Blondie's 'Sunday Girl'...."-On the song "Vaseline"
(Wolk)
Elastica "has been alternately damned and praised for wearing its influences
proudly. The short pop songs on 'Elastica' sound uncannily like those of
the bands that Frischmann freely acknowledges as influences--everything
from Wire to Blondie to the Pretenders." (Brown, F4)
"Stutter" most resembles Blondie's music, especially the "'la-la-la's'
from some of Blondie's classics, [which are] far too many to mention"--On
Elastica's first single (Myers, 23).
"...still sounds like a low rent Blondie on angel dust."-On the song
"Stutter" (Foreman)
"Pilfering shamelessly from the late-'70s/early-'80s New Wave scene
that revolved around the likes of Blondie, The Stranglers, Wire, even Scary
Monsters-era David Bowie, Elastica has crafted an instant classic, a debut
so self-assured, it sounds as though they've been around for years."-On
the album, Elastica (Sakamoto, [1995?])
"...their fusion of new wave and punk a la Buzzcocks and Blondie, but
with more pop-oriented songwriting, was a hit both sides of the Atlantic."-On
the album, Elastica (Keating, 26 January 2000).
"...an exhilarating blast of catchy, guitar-driven, post-punk rock inspired
by, according to cheerfully mouthy frontwoman Justine Frischmann, 'Records
like (Blondie's) Parallel Lines and Rattus Norvegicus (The Stranglers)
and Scary Monsters (David Bowie)--things my big brother left behind when
he moved on to CDs."-On the album, Elastica (Sakamoto, 25 February
1995)
"...proves the diversity of their influences and tastes: Besides [producers
Chris] Frantz and [Tina] Weymouth [formerly of the Talking Heads], it features
Blondie's Debbie Harry, The Clash's Mick Jones and Jamaican superstar Big
Youth."-- On Rey Azucar (Sugar King), the fourth album by Argentinean
band Los Fabulosos Cadillacs, reflecting Deborah Harry's musical influence
on this band (Obejas, 2)
The band's 1996 album, Rey Azucar, contains a duet with Deborah
Harry. (Doss, 57)
Billy
Corgan/Smashing
Pumpkins
"I was never into punk rock. I liked Blondie, but all that other New
York stuff like Talking Heads never rang true for me"--On Billy Corgan
of the Smashing Pumpkins citing Blondie as an early musical preference
(Fricke, 16 November 1995, 58). As a reflection of their interest in
Blondie, the Smashing Pumpkins did a cover of the song "Dreaming" in a
boxed CD set entitled
The Aeroplane Flies High released in November
1996.
In addition to other female lead singers, it also is understandable
that the Cardigans' Nina Persson would be compared to Deborah Harry.
The Cardigans, like Blondie, also are fronted by a "cute blond for fun
and profit." (Christgau, 60)
"With snappy girlish vocals and a frothy pop/dance attitude, Sweden's
hot quintet the Cardigans could well be a sort of Blondie for the late-nineties.
Problem is, Debbie Harry has returned and decided that the original Blondie
will fill that role. So instead, the Cardigans will just have to fall back
on all those pesky Abba comparisons." ("The List," C23)
The Cardigans "conjure up visions of Blondie....In her current long-haired,
leather-trousered, vampish guise, Persson is the living reincarnation of
Debbie Harry at her early '80s peak, with the same casual pout that made
Harry a global pin-up. And just as with Blondie, the four men around Persson,
while every part equal members of a longstanding group, fade into the shadows."
(Fletcher, 8 February 1999, B3)
"Pretty convincing in both the role model/sex icon stakes. Nina has
a face perfect for bedroom walls and some saucy adolescent fantasies."--On
Nina Persson and Deborah Harry (Myers, 23)
"The Cardigans' Nina. That's Swedish for Debbie [Harry], probably."
(Myers, 23)
The "Cardigans' international success is growing thanks to their attention
to visual presentation (á la Blondie's video appeal) and their ability
to shift between genres" (Myers, 23). Much the same can be said of Blondieregarding
genres.
Nina Persson and Deborah Harry are "decade-defining blonde pop icon[s]"
and Deborah Harry is Persson's "Seventies prototype." (True, 22 May 1999,
24)
Both "'have a huge variety of moods. There's not one particular Blondie
song. We have that, too.'"--Nina Persson noting the musical similarities
between the Cardigans and Blondie (True, 22 May 1999, 24)
"'All I know is what I've been reading and seen on TV. Obviously, Blondie
was a very visually strong band. Good style has always been connected with
Blondie and Debbie. Aware of street cred, too. I'd like to be perceived
as both things myself.'"--Nina Persson on Blondie (True, 22 May
1999, 25)
"'A great band. A band I like a lot--even though, when I was younger,
I was more into their image than their music.'"--Nina Persson on what
Blondie means to her ("My Favourite Dame," 25)
"'I think she's an excellent singer and also an excellent example of
a front figure for a band. It's like the exact same set-up as we're doing
now, so I can relate to that, but I've never had that relation to music,
that I wanted to take after someone else.'"--Nina Persson on whether
she ever wished to be Deborah Harry ("My Favourite Dame," 25)
"'To be honest, when I first started seeing her records, it was during
the 'Hunter' period--a style which maybe wasn't her best, with the lion
hair. But on those first few albums, Debbie looked stunning. Especially
the 'Eat To The Beat' cover. 'Parallel Lines' is a great record as well'"--Nina
Persson on which images of Harry she likes the most ("My Favourite
Dame," 25)
It "is rooted in such lilting British pop-rock bands as the Smiths and
the Sundays, as well as Blondie and (inevitably) Abba."--On the Cardigans'
musical style (Jenkins, D7)
"...more PJ Harvey than Deborah Harry."--On the album, Gran Turismo
(Pappademas, 29 October 1998)
Sings "...in a style similar to Debbie Harry, or Shirley Manson of Garbage."--On
Nina Persson (Augusto, 13)
"...possesses the kind of hard prettiness that recalls Debbie Harry
in her Blondie heyday...."--On Nina Persson (Stevenson, 11 February
1999)
The Cardigans "mix happy music with depressing lyrics into an irresistible
retro-pop paradox....: Imagine a bossa nova Blondie for the '90s." (Bream,
4 April 1997, 1E)
Songs by The Cardigans Reflecting a Blondie Influence
"Lovefool"
The "similarities between The Cardigans and Blondie are striking. Both
are guitar-led bands of blokes, fronted by ice-cool blondes--teenage pinups
both, neither adverse to wearing the odd garment of leather and rockin'
out. Both bands are connected with films (Debbie Harry staffed in several
Eighties movies, including John Waters' 'Hairspray' and the futuristic
'Videodrome'; The Cardigans shot to worldwide fame after 'Lovefool' was
featured on the soundtrack to the DiCaprio movie 'Romeo And Juliet'). Both
acts have aspirations towards their marvelously light-of-touch pop music
not being disposable, towards it being 'art.'" (True, 22 May 1999, 24)
"Debbie: 'We [i.e. Blondie] did actually break some ground. We blended
different elements which really up til then hadn't been considered as legitimate.
We really did get a lot of criticism for 'Heart Of Glass.' 'Lovefool' was
like our 'Heart Of Glass,' sympathises Nina. 'To most people who watch
MTV, we were instantly connected with that song, despite our previous three
albums. Wasn't it the same with 'Heart Of Glass'? 'Yeah, definitely,' says
Debbie. 'And it was criticised because it had a techno underbelly, same
as 'Lovefool.'"--Conversational exchange between Persson and Harry
(True, 22 May 1999, 24)
The Cardigans' smash hit single, "Lovefool," with its plaintive refrain
of "'Love me, love me, say that you love me'" has proven "as irresistible
as Blondie's 'Call Me,' which it so obviously resembled." (Himes, N17)
"Lovefool" "evokes the ingenue side of Debbie Harry in her days with
Blondie." (Morse, 4 February 1997, E3)
"Lovefool" "has touches of the girly-girly romanticism heard on [Blondie's]
'Sunday Girl.'" (Myers, 23)
"Rise and Shine" and "Sick and Tired"
"When the blonde Persson emerged [in a concert appearance] in a punklike
black outfit with leather pants and bracelet, the cool eye to the group's
minimalist riffing, she looked a lot like a young Debbie Harry of '70s
new wavers Blondie." This image is enhanced by the Cardigans' songs "'Rise
and Shine' and 'Sick and Tired,' bridging dark with sunny." (Robicheau,
D8)
"No Doubt have a spry, white-suburban take on ska and Blondie-esque
pop."--A reference to Blondie in a Rolling Stone review of No
Doubt's album Tragic Kingdom (Fricke, 26 December 1996-9 January 1997,
195)
"Their thoroughly modern brew of rock/punk/pop/ska/dance sounds like
an updated Blondie playing perfect pop songs for the nervous '90s."--On
No Doubt (Solomon, 5)
"As the voice of Blondie, Ms. Harry paved the way for such modern div-ettes
as No Doubt's Gwen Stefani."--On Gwen Stefani as an example of a female
vocalist who has benefited from Harry's pioneering work ("Let's Go,"
W35)
"Part Madonna, part Cyndi Lauper, part Marilyn Monroe, part Debbie Harry
and part Energizer Bunny...."--Description of Gwen Stefani (Bream,
2 July 1997, 4B)
"...part Debbie-Harry-ish punk vixen and part pure pop showgirl...."-On
Gwen Stefani (Tarlach, 8 July 2000, 65B.
"Part street-tough Cyndi Lauper and part California-styled Debbie Harry."--Description
of Gwen Stefani (Bream, 8 August 1996, 5B)
Stefani's "...riveting voice reveals shades of other rock chicks--the
phlegmatic vocal slouching of Chrissie Hynde; the ethereal pierce of Debbie
Harry; and the giddy exuberance of Cyndi Lauper." (Garcia, D1)
"...tempers a Madonna-fit physique with a trippy charm more akin to
Debbie Harry."-On Gwen Stefani (Weatherford, 2C)
"...Miss Stefani rather fancies herself as the new Debbie Harry. Trouble
is, No Doubt have little of Blondie's melodic flair." (Perrone, 31 March
2000, 13)
"...looked like a Nineties Deborah Harry--I mean, a twenty-first century
Deborah Harry."--On Gwen Stefani's performance at a No Doubt concert,
The Riviera, Chicago, March 24, 2000 ("Fans' Notes," 42)
"Vamping like a cross between Betty boop-boop-de-Boop and Blondie femme
fatale Deborah Harry...."--On Gwen Stefani in concert (Kot, 26 March
2000, "Metro Chicago: Arts Watch" section, p. 6)
"...primarily punches out a zesty update of early '80s new wave, drawing
on the Twin-Tone ska of the English Beat and Blondie's sassy melodicism."--On
No Doubt (Kot, 26 March 2000, "Metro Chicago: Arts Watch" section,
p. 6)
"...[an] amalgam of styles that draws on everything from Blondie to
Madness, without ever delving too deeply into any one sound." (Masuo, 6)
"Like Blondie before them, the boys in the band rarely get the credit
they deserve." (Harrison, D6)
"Debbie Harry and Stefani attract all the attention, but both were blessed
with powerhouse bands." (Harrison, D6)
"...its inner Blondie...."-On No Doubt (Browne, 71)
"'...looking to be the neo-new wave answer to Blondie, in both style
and substance....'"-On No Doubt (Chung, "Weekend Entertainment"
section, p. 5)
"A latter-day belly-baring Blondie."-On Gwen Stefani (Mark, 77)
"...ska-pop existed, and indeed thrived, throughout the 1980s with acts
like Culture Club, Blondie, General Public and Madness...."-On ska-pop
predecessors of No Doubt (Teo, "Music" section, p. 19)
"If you like...No Doubt's...Return of Saturn, return to Blondie, the
original female-fronted pop-new wave-ska band, and their 'Rapture'-ous
Autoamerican (1980)." ("The Week:...," "Music" section, p. 78+)
"...takes her cue from throaty front ladies like Debbie Harry and Peggy
Lee...."-On Gwen Stefani (Brinn, 23 May 2000, 10)
"Is she Aimee Mann or is she Britney Spears? Is she Madonna or Debbie
Harry? Is she a 'real musician' or merely a poster girl for pre-adolescent
fantasies?"-On Gwen Stefani (Ganahl, D1)
"'Then we'll remember hitting the road in 2013, recreating that tour
[The Mighty Mighty Bosstones with Smashmouth, and No Doubt, summer 1997],
and Gwen (Stefani, No Doubt's singer) will look like Deborah Harry.'"-Dicky
Barrett of The Mighty Mighty Bosstones jokingly projecting into the future
(Jansen, 10)
"She has grabbed at Debbie Harry's ferocity, Cyndi Lauper's flair for
color and Madonna's striking presence to create her own brand of she-rocker."-On
Gwen Stefani (Clark, Michael D., 8 June 2000, "Zest" section, p. 1)
"...her stylized, colorful look suggested such New Wave icons as Cyndi
Lauper, Deborah Harry and Thompson Twins' Alannah Currie."-On Gwen Stefani
in concert (Pantsios, 15 June 2000, 9B)
"The platinum-pink sheen in her formerly bottle-blond hair is as good
a sign as any that Gwen Stefani never really wanted to have the kind of
fun that girls like Madonna or Blondie had." (Finn, 12 July 2000, F1)
"You can compare her to several leading ladies-Blondie, Stevie Nicks,
Joan Jett, Pat Benatar or Shirley Manson of Garbage all come to mind-but
none of them is or was as physically or kinetically magnetic as Stefani.
In a way, she is this appealing mix of Courtney Love-without the drugs
and ego-and Shania Twain." (Finn, 15 July 2000, E7)
Blondie In Relation to No Doubt's Recordings
Albums
Tragic Kingdom
The "outlandish B-52s/Blondie caricatures and the chessy synth riffs
and Gwen Stefani's girl-group vocals float effortlessly over reggae, ska
and punk beats." (Brinn, 11 February 1997, 7)
"...what Blondie would have sounded like if the band had infused some
existential rage and New Wave sensibility into its music. Singer Gwen Stefani
does remind you of a less polished Debbie Harry, though she's more fiercely
individualistic as songs like Spiderwebs, Hey You, Sixteen and Tragic Kingdom
demonstrate." (Murthi, 4)
"Cross the sound of Blondie with Talking Heads and, without a doubt,
you've got No Doubt." (Russell, Mark, 14)
Return of Saturn
"One moment Stefani and the group are aping Cyndi Lauper; the next they
are trying to be Pat Benatar or Blondie." (DeRogatis, 26 March 2000, "Real
Life" section, p. 3)
"No Doubt buffs out all the rough edges left from its decade in the
ska-punk trenches to make a broadly eclectic brand of pop, reminiscent
of early '80's Blondie." (Kot, 16 April 2000, "Arts and Entertainment"
section, p. 10)
"'So we went back to bands like the Cure, the Smiths, Blondie, the Police-the
music in that time period was the backdrop of our lives. All those keyboards
with fresh new sounds came out in the '80s, and people were using melody
and writing songs with a bit of substance.'"-Gwen Stefani on musical
inspirations for Return to Saturn (Brown, G., 14
July 2000, E1)
"If this album has any rock antecedents it is Blondie's Eat To The Beat,
the terrific album that showed Deborah Harry and company had a lot more
going for them than the chart topper Heart of Glass." (Blanchfield, E5)
Songs/Singles:
From Tragic Kingdom
"Just A Girl"
"...buzzing energy, dizzy tune and ironic babe-power lyric made it irresistible
to a US mainstream audience too young to remember Blondie." (Elliot, 12)
"...a ska bounce, a pop kick, a punk surge and a very-in-your-face charge.
Madness meets Blondie." (Sullivan, 5 April 1996, 52)
"Don't Speak"
"'...a really good pop record, but it's more about the projection of
the band's image, which is sort of a Blondie for the '90s...."--Bernie
Taupin, Elton John's major lyricist for the past thirty years
(Weingarten,
7)
From Return of Saturn
"New"
"Lead singer Gwen Stefani's Debbie Harry/Chrissie Hynde vocal hybrid
falls somewhere between a rasp and a whine--a sexy, powerful and melodic
talent that edges her ahead of Courtney Love in the rock credibility pageant."
("It's No Doubt..., 6G)
"New" and "Staring Problem"
"...echo new-wave pulsations of classic Cars and Blondie…" (Harrington,
7 April 2000, C7)
"Ex-Girlfriend"
"...Deborah Harry in ska-rock mode."-On Gwen Stefani and the song
"Ex-Girlfriend" (Riemenchneider, "The Beat: Listening Station" section,
p. 8)
"Marry Me"
"...Blondie-esque...." (O'Hare, 49)
"Six Feet Under"
"...Blondie-charged....." (Ruggieri, 20 April 2000, D13)
"...they'll rescue anyone who can't wait for Blondie to come back."-On
Republica and the album, Republica (Freedberg, 23 May 1996)
"[A] Debbie Harry for the Oasis generation. Like Harry she's charismatic,
which compensates for a Harryishly thin voice and the blokeyness of the
rest of the lineup. Unlike Harry, her magnetism stems from a cool composure
that verges on imperiousness."--On Republica's lead singer Saffron
(Sullivan, Caroline, 17 February 1997, T10)
"Musically a cross between Blondie and the Prodigy," which "derived
their impact from Saffron's delivery."--On Republica (Sullivan,
Caroline, 17 February 1997, T10)
"The UK has never had its own Deborah Harry-cum-Madonna, which is where
Brixton-based Saffron comes in."--On Saffron's potential to become the
equivalent of Deborah Harry and Madonna (Sullivan, Caroline, 28 February
1997)
"'Ready To Go' recalls the pumped-up energy of 'Dreaming.'"--On Republica's
single, "Ready To Go," which is the song most similar to Blondie's sound
(Myers, 23)
"Saffron's more of an updated, high-street version [than Harry], but
she's [i.e. Saffron's] got enough charm to carry the band...."--On parallels
between Saffron and Harry (Myers, 23)
"'It was a great concert, and there's something about the Blondie records.
They're so pure pop, kind of like The Cardigans are, so unpretentious.
They had a great sense of melody."--Mark Linkous of the band Sparklehorse
on his first concert, an appearance by Blondie during its Parallel Lines
tour in 1979 (Linkous, 39)
Blondie, along with the Buzzcocks, "'really introduced me into how to
present a pop song in an interesting way, without it being all fluffy.
I guess that's what influenced me most about seeing Blondie.'"--Linkous
on the musical influence Blondie had on him (Linkous, 39)
"It should really be the whole album, but '11:59' has been driving me
mad for years, because I'm sure the melody line is two famous songs stuck
together. Like Elastica? Yeah! But I love it. I remember seeing Debbie
Harry on 'Top Of The Pops', all glossed up and she was wearing some kind
of dress that looked like it was made of chamois leather. The whole three-minute
pop epic seemed to be encapsulated in 'Parallel Lines' and she was everything
I wanted to be in those days. I wanted to be blonde, I wanted to have lip
gloss, I wanted to have a great voice, I wanted to wear a dress with a
halter neck. What went wrong? Nothing! I still want those things...."--On
the song '11:59' which Wener rated as the second most influential song
for her (Wener, Louise,11)
Sleeper's "note-for-note rendition of Blondie's 'Atomic," [is] obvious...,
as heard on the Trainspotting soundtrack."--On which Sleeper song is
most similar to the Blondie sound (Myers, 23)
"Big wide eyes, yes, but it would take more than a couple of cheap skinny-fit
T-shirts to put Louise Wener in Debs' league. Still, their Sleeper blokes
surely hark back to Blondie's often out-of-focus musical backbone."--On
Wener and Harry; Sleeper and Blondie (Myers, 23)
"There is always an It Girl in rock 'n' roll. She's the student union pin-up, the darling of the weekly music rags, an outspoken laddish babe who manages the difficult feat of combining feminism and femininity while surrounded by a bunch of ugly blokes with guitars."--On Deborah Harry as the first "it girl" of pop and the potential of Cerys Matthews of the Welsh band Catatonia to become one as well (McCormick, 23 April 1998, 23)
"...literally bouncing across the stage like some berserk monster mash-up
between Debbie Harry, Eddie Izzard and Someone Who Is Very Excited Indeed."--On
Matthews onstage (Williams, Simon)
"'...amazing,'" "'...a total sweetheart and good for...[Wales].'"--Nina
Persson of the Cardigans on Matthews (True, 22 May 1999, 25)
"'very dynamic'"--Deborah Harry on Matthews (True, 22 May 1999,
25)
"'The possibilities are there for them to break out big style, [especially]
if they can tailor [the band's image] around a Blondie-type thing.'"--Jason
Legg, spokesperson for HMV retail stores in Great Britain, on Catatonia's
chances for success in the United States (Sexton, 11)
Courtney Love's name invariably and often comes up regarding comparisons
to Deborah Harry and their respective bands, Hole and Blondie.
"...many of the songs sounding like a cross between latter-day Echo
& The Bunnymen and Blondie."-On the album, Celebrity Skin ("Love's
Labor...")
"Harry's vampishness was subtle and refined, a far cry from one of her
musical successors, Courtney Love."-On Deborah Harry's stage presence
compared to Courtney Love's (Moore)
Deborah Harry herself sees some of her "'funkiness in what Courtney
does....She's a Rock kind of girl.'" (True, 22 May 1999, 25)
While Love does not share her "pop sensibility," "'...early Blondie
was very rough, before we had Jimmy [Destri, keyboard-player]. It was all
guitar.'"--Deborah Harry on Courtney Love and Blondie (True, 22
May 1999, 25)
"'I like Courtney Love--she's full of attitude, she does come up with
some interesting hooks, she has ideas. Her musicianship needs to grow,
and whether she's really interested in doing that, who knows, maybe she
just wants attention. But she's got all the elements of a pop star, all
the ingredients. I don't know if I could be in the same room with her for
very long, but who can you be in the same room with for very long? She's
a strong character, very intense, but that's what it takes, so God bless.'"--Deborah
Harry on Courtney Love (Udovitch, 56)
"Blondie is what Hole can only hope to be in a couple of decades: a
back in the day innovator of uncategorizable sound that pleases not just
the critics but a hungry public, a prominent styler in an anti-fashion
era, an enigmatic entity fronted by a dynamic talent of both celluloid
and vinyl offshoots, and most importantly-a vital presence these many years
hence." (La Grone)
"...her latter-day dyed-blonde sex-bomb self, Courtney Love."--On
Deborah Harry (Morse, 14 May 1999, C15)
Shirley Manson of Garbage is a natural comparison to Deborah Harry.
Earlier Reviews of Shirley Manson, Which Draw Parallels to Deborah
Harry and Blondie
"With Shirley Manson's vocals fluctuating between Debbie Harry and Siouxsie
Sioux [of the band Siouxsie and the Banshees]..., Angelfish is a one-band
new-wave revival."--On the self-titled album, Angelfish (Jenkins,
10 June 1994, N17). Manson was the lead singer of Angelfish, before
joining Garbage.
"Garbage...writes tunes reminiscent of New Wave bands such as Blondie,
but rarely delivers the ear candy unfiltered. Instead, the tunes bump and
groove on a bed of spikey sampled sounds, rhythm loops and distortion."
(Kot, 8 November 1995, 12)
"Manson's voice recalls the conflicting stylistic qualities of Deborah
Harry. Her delivery suggests boredom and excitement, while her physical
energy suggests a cheerleader or aerobics instructor without the screams."
(Magnarini, C5)
Later Comparisons Between Shirley Manson and Deborah Harry
While Manson "isn't blond,...her band might as well be Blondie. There
she stands, just like Deborah Harry--the exquisitely tired vamp flanked
by her chiseled boy band, sighing her tales of temptation, trauma and titillation.
Also as Harry did in her heyday, Manson stands head and bust above the
tender flock of femininity, currently herded around as the Lilith Fair."
(Conner, 22 May 1998, 14)
"Take a lead singer who is a charismatic combination of Debbie Harry
and Chrissie Hynde, add a savvy producer who can combine techno beats and
guitar rock, and you've got the highly successful formula for Garbage."--On
Deborah Harry fitting into the Garbage "formula" (Smith, Andy, F4).
"[A] throwback to the good old days of strong, sassy female singers
ala Debbie Harry, Chrissie Hynde and Joan Jett."--On Shirley Manson
(Persky, D4)
"Shirley Manson follows a line of tough punk girls from Patti Smith
to Blondie's Deborah Harry to the Pretender's Chrissy Hind, with a little
Pat Benatar thrown in for the sheer trashy fun of it."-- Rock critic
Ken Tucker placing Shirley Manson within the context of her predecessors,
including Deborah Harry (Bogaev)
Shirley Manson's "rapidly becoming a pre-millennial, alt-goddess update
of Debbie Harry or Madonna." (Rayner, 17 May 1998, 8)
"Garbage is Blondie on steroids, with mini-skirted front-vixen Shirley
Manson very much a Debbie Harry for the '90s." (Harrington, B3)
Garbage "devised a wholly appealing jumble of styles and sounds, fusing
traditional pop from the Beatles to Blondie and translating it through
the electronic filters of the 1990s." (Conner, 9 October 1998, 16)
Garbage is "a darker Blondie." (Kot, 21 December 1998, 1)
"...a sleek band that suggests jet-fueled new wavers Blondie updated
for the '90s"--On Garbage (Kot, 27 November 1998, 2)
"...[W]here Harry led[,] others--notably Madonna--have followed," including
Manson who "too is a convert to the cult of Harry"--that is, who also is
among Harry's admirers. (Didcock, 4)
She admires Harry and "'her refusal to bow to society's convention.'"--Shirley
Manson on Deborah Harry (Didcock, 4)
Shirley Manson "counts Chrissie Hynde, Cher and Blondie's Debbie Harry
among her fans." (Dingwall and Fulton, 6)
Garbage guitarist Steve Marker cites Blondie as a major late '70s influence
along with the Clash, the Ramones, Talking Heads, and Television. (Dedrick,
L7)
"With Shirley Manson, it's more an attitude thing. Just like Debbie,
do not cross her."--On Shirley Manson and Deborah Harry (Myers,
23)
"'Doesn't every smart woman like Debbie Harry?....She has exceptional
character and exceptional intelligence yet she was one of the first beautiful
pop icons that we'd ever had. There are so many now who have followed in
her footsteps, that, in my opinion, don't hold a candle to her. Debbie
did it with such style and grace and humor, and she never took herself
too seriously. That's what makes her stand out amongst all the pretenders
to her throne.'"--Shirley Manson on Deborah Harry (Che, 1999, 155-156)
"'...almost every single female musician owes a lot to Deborah Harry.
She's flaunting convention and she's doing it for every woman out there.
I find her immensely inspiring....'"--Shirley Manson on Deborah Harry
as a significant role model (Che, 1999, 157)
"'Madonna has said herself that she was influenced by Deborah Harry,
and then, without Madonna where would we be? Madonna has also flaunted
convention and broken rules, portraying women in a different light. I think
if we hadn't had role models like that, who would have pioneered the way
for a lot of artists like myself, we'd still be in a state of arrested
development in terms of women's forays into the music world.'"--Shirley
Manson on Madonna and Deborah Harry (Che, 1999, 158)
"'...Shirley's great. She always was good, better than she knew. She's
a terrific singer and I'm very pleased about her success. It doesn't surprise
me at all.'"--Deborah Harry on being very supportive of Manson and her
career (Che, 1999, 157)
"Looking at Manson's frankly outspoken views, unapologetic sexuality
and intelligence and trend-setting style, one can conclude that Manson
has taken some of the best elements from Deborah Harry's example and made
them her own. As one of the few contemporary female rock stars who seems
to have talent, beauty and intelligence in equal parts, Manson may, in
the course of her career, even add some improvements to the model."--On
how Shirley Manson has benefitted from the example and precedent Harry
has set for her and other women in rock/pop music (Che, 1999, 157)
"'It's easy to abuse your position of power. When you're famous, it's
pretty easy to treat others with contempt. What I find incredible about
her is, here I was in this tiny little band [Goodbye Mr. Mackenzie] from
Scotland...and she found time in her day to show interest and extend support
to us.'"--On Deborah Harry when Manson was keyboardist for Goodbye Mr.
Mackenzie in support of some of Harry's solo performances in the 1980s
(Dingwall, 2 October 1999, Saturday Magazine, "Features" section, p. 3/31)
"'She was a phenomenally beautiful woman fronting a male pop band and
she did it with such grace and humour. Debbie couldn't hide her sexuality.
Even if she'd stepped onstage in a paper bag it would have been oozing
out of her.'"--Shirley Manson on Deborah Harry (Dingwall, 2 October
1999, Saturday Magazine, "Features" section, p. 3/31)
Version 2.0
Lead Garbage vocalist Shirley Manson "plays the tough girl, borrowing
poses, 1960s girl-group influences and even the odd lyric from New Wave
heroines such as Chrissie Hynde of the Pretenders and Debbie Harry of Blondie."--On
the album Version 2.0, which "sounds like the great lost American
New Wave Record" (Dafoe, C4)
"Conjuring up images of Blondie, circa 1978, Manson...and company write
killer off-kilter pop songs, inject them with samples galore and perform
them with verse and panache." (Brinn, 12 May 1998, 9)
"And red isn't the only jug of dye in this group's medicine chest: at
several moments, Garbage and Manson preen like a bottled-Blondie." (Finn,
21 May 1998, F5)
"[A]n elaborate pastiche of multi-layered studio noises, production
gloss, disco beats and angst-filled lyrics sung by a sultry Manson, who's
indebted here to Blondie's Debbie Harry and the Pretenders' Chrissie Hynde."
(Powell, M8)
"...her occasional Debbie Harry, Chrissie Hynde and PJ Harvey inflections
are equally brazen, equally arch."--On Shirley Manson (Dalton, 9
May 1998)
Echoes "past divas such as Deborah Harry, yet [is] very much her own
woman...."--On Shirley Manson ("Best Pop Discs," 7F)
"[R]ecalls the effortless cool of Debbie Harry and Chrissie Hynde but
with added emotion."--On Shirley Manson (Rodman, S23)
"Think Blondie circa 'Heart of Glass' and you grasp the ersatz charm
of this Madison-based quartet's marriage of pop and electronica....Singer
Shirley Manson has a blast flirting with her tough-but-tantalizing persona,
a worthy heir to Blondie's Deborah Harry...." (Kot, 17 May 1998, "Arts
and Entertainment" section, p. 9)
"Borrowing bits of Blondie, the Pretenders and Patti Smith, the songs
are as slick as, but much more poppy than their predecessors." (Verrico,
6)
"'Blondie meets Hole.'" (Stevenson, 2 January 1999, C3)
"...they recalled the synth-punk of Blondie (though with no melody line
as good as 'Heart of Glass')-On Garbage (Garelick, 25 February 1999)
It has revamped the "tough spirit of Blondie." (Thrills, 18 December
1998, 48)
At the album's "core are songs that honor the new-wave craftsmanship
of Blondie's 'Heart of Glass' and the Pretenders' 'Brass in Pocket'" (Kot,
20 November 1998, 60)
Songs by Garbage Reflecting a Blondie Influence
"When I Grow Up"
Garbage evokes "a Blondie refrain on 'When I Grow Up.'" (Booth, 10)
Shirley Manson "sounds very much like Deborah Harry in When I Grow Up,
even to the point of using the phrase 'Rip it to shreds.'" (Budzak, 5)
"Manson sings it just like Debbie Harry." (Brown, Glyn, 2)
"With a bouncy, breathy refrain once again recalling vintage Blondie,
Manson makes teen angst sound appealing on 'When I Grow Up.'" (Semon, 21
June 1998, 9)
"Temptation Waits"
"[A] slick dance number in the old Blondie tradition" (Persky, D4).
"Less than 30 seconds into 'Temptation Waits,'...just as the ticking
techno beats begin to mesh with an undulating bass line and sequenced synth
vibrato, with singer Shirley Manson whispering sweet somethings about wolves
in sheep's clothing in my ear, I'm already thinking Blondie, as in 'Heart
of Glass.' Manson's no blonde, but she can play one on CD." (Ashare, 7
May 1998)
Shirley Manson's "eloquence,...fire, not to mention a lyrical persona
of attitude and a stage presence that...pull[s] every eye to her and no-one
but her, has drawn comparisons. First, with Blondie's Deborah Harry--and
certainly a song such as Version 2.0's lead-off, Temptation Waits,
plays to the hilt with mumbled almost disdainful delivery and a melody
circa Blondie's seminal late-'70s album, Parallel Lines." (Zuel,
27 June 1998, 7)
One can hear in "Temptation Waits" "a choir of Mansons strain and whisper
over a brutish, Blondie-esque disco." (Eccleston, 10)
"I Think I'm Paranoid"
"Manson furthers her quest to become '90s ultimate tease and truest
pop tart with the bouncy, Blondie-esque delight, 'I Think I'm Paranoid'...."
(Semon, 21 June 1998, 9)
"...a bouncy, Blondie-esque pop masterpiece." (Aquilante, 12 May 1998)
"Only Happy When It Rains"
Garbage "is at its best when, as on the classic 'Only Happy When It
Rains,' [it] surrender[s] to the pure pop instincts of such predecessors
as Blondie and Eurythmics." (Hilburn, 5 April 1999, F1)
The Garbage song that most resembles Blondie's sound. (Myers, 23)
Tina
Weymouth/Tom
Tom Club (formerly of the Talking
Heads)
"I'd be walking down the street with Debbie [during the late '70s and
early '80s] and she just turn it on and everyone would recognize her. Then
she'd just turn it off and they wouldn't recognize her at all. She'd have
these great ideas like wearing Jayne Mansfield kind of high heels with
the heels knocked off so that her shoes looked really elfin with the toes
pointed up, straight up into the air. And she's still so beautiful. No
matter how beautiful another person can be, Debbie will always be the most
remarkable beauty. Because it's like the sunshine to the moon, you know,
the sun comes up and the moon is eclipsed. She is a goddess: She has a
heart of gold and she is never unkind to people. She has this wonderful
sweetness, too. She's really smart and she doesn't have to prove it to
anybody. I remember seeing her perform in the late '70s in California and
she was pretending to kick at the photographers in the pit as they were
taking pictures of her and the band. We had never seen anything like that
before. I remember thinking: How incredible."--"(unpublished outtake
from an interview conducted October 10, 1996)" (Chaplin, 67)
"B-52s' bouffant bop: this year's Blondie?"--From the 13 January
1979 cover of Melody Maker (Johnstone, 239)
Blondie is: "Known for: Being essential New York scenesters who made
some of the smartest and most successful new wave around, be it post-punk
('Hanging on the Telephone,' 'Dreaming'), disco ('Heart of Glass'), hip-hop
('Rapture') or exotic ('The Tide Is High'); singer was the hottest pinup
of the era, and the subject of a new B-52's tune, 'Debbie'" (Wener, Ben,
31 July 1998, F8)--words and music by Keith Strickland, Kate Pierson,
Fred Schneider, and Cindy Wilson; vocals, Kate Pierson and Cindy Wilson
(liner notes from album Time Capsule: Songs for a New Generation)
"Harry was...paid tribute to by another '80s act, The B-52s, who penned
Debbie--one of only two new songs for their...greatest hits collection,
The B-52s: Time Capsule." (Stevenson, 7 August 1998)
"...partially inspired by Blondie singer and contemporary Debbie Harry."--On
the song "Debbie" (Holguin)
"Along with Talking Heads and Blondie, the B-52's formed the central
part of the early '80s new wave movement." (Brown, G., 28 July 2000, F1)
"The outlandish, fun-loving band sifted through American pop culture,
and now the group is a reference point for much modern rock, from lo-fi
to ultra-lounge to dance music."--On the B-52s (Brown, G., 28 July
2000, F1). Much the same can be said of Blondie.
"Will Kate Pierson be this year's Debbie Harry?"--Question posed
in Melody Maker, 13 January 1979 issue (Mieses, 18)
A bond has existed between Blondie and the B-52's since both bands were
more on the pop "spectrum of punk." Harry maintains a popular culture presence,
as reflected in the song "Debbie," which evokes the late 1970s new wave
sound and atmosphere. The song continues in the celebratory tradition of
B-52s' songs like "Roam" and "Love Shack." The tune's chorus conjures up
an image of a "'shell-shocked supersonic blonde, hyperphonic female, dark
sunglasses on,'" which evokes Harry, but this image becomes more ambiguous
when the song refers to its subject as a guitarist in an "all-girl rock
band." This possibly could refer to the many woman who have been influenced
and inspired by Harry. And, as reflected in this song, Fred Schneider has
no doubt about the importance of Deborah Harry, who "represents the most
inspiring and most progressive female of her time."--On the B-52's song,
"Debbie" (Che, 1999, 161-162)
Deborah Harry "'was the first. She set the stage for everyone--from
Madonna to Alanis Morrisette to whoever--and she still writes the best
songs. She's just a totally self-assured, sex bomb. Also, I love her N[ew]
J[ersey] accent--it always gets me. It's sort of incongruous with her looks,
but she never took all of it too seriously. Like you could almost see her
rolling her eyes when Dick Clark [from American Bandstand] interviewed
her or something. She was never one to fall for the hype. She's a goddess,
in your face and in your ears.'"--Fred Schneider on Deborah Harry
(Che, 1999, 162)
Both bands formed part of the New Wave music scene and admired each
other's work. Devo sang back-ups on Harry's first solo album effort, Koo
Koo, but Devo founder Mark Mothersbaugh more recently "has a much more
significant connection to Harry's legacy." Along with his former band mates,
Mothersbaugh, through his company Mutato Muzika, has produced film scores,
including "The Rugrats Movie" in 1998 and "200 Cigarettes" in 1999. Both
include Blondie songs--a remake cover of "One Way or Another" for "Rugrats"
and a medley of "Rapture," "Maria," and "No Exit" for "200 Cigarettes."--On
connections between Blondie and the quirky futuristic 1980s new wave band,
Devo (Che, 1999, 163)
Chrissie Hynde "'was the only girl I'd ever been in a band with, so
when I met Debbie I was like, 'How cool a girl in a punk band,' as punk
was...primarily the domain of males. Plus she was so beautiful. A lot of
girls in punk made themselves look ugly because they were angry and revolting
against the tyranny of glamour and beauty in their lives. So here Debbie
was, straddling both worlds, yet she seemed amused by her own glamour and
beauty, like she could take it or leave it'"--On Mark Mothersbaugh's
first impression of Deborah Harry, after having worked with Chrissie Hynde
(later of the Pretenders), who was the front woman for his first band,
SAT/SUN MAT (Che, 1999, 164). It is interesting to note that some
of Mothersbaugh's observations on Harry are similar to those expressed
by Fred Schneider in the previous section.
Joan
Jett/The
Blackhearts (formerly of The
Runaways)
As is the case with Shirley Manson of Garbage, Kate Schellenbach
of Luscious Jackson, and others; Deborah Harry and Blondie were very supportive
and helpful to Joan Jett early in and throughout her career.
"'I just loved seeing another woman in rock 'n' roll...with a strong attitude. She had an edginess, which I could relate to. There was anger, there was tenderness, happiness, all the same things that are in a lot of rock 'n' roll music, but I also saw [she had a] frustration at not being taken seriously.'"--Joan Jett on how Deborah Harry appealed to her and served as a role model (Che, 1999, 154)
"...like Pat Benatar and Deborah Harry, Jett was about a decade ahead
of her time." (Dickerson, 164)
"...whom Melody Maker compared to 'The Pretenders, Jefferson
Airplane, Siouxsie and The Banshees, Kate Bush, Lene Lovich, The Roches,
Sonic Youth, Blondie and Melanie.'"--On Blondie as one of the bands/singers
compared to the American band, Throwing Muses, in 1986 (Johnstone,
292 and Irwin, 15 November 1986, 10)
"'Call Me' is the perfect microcosm of their music, haunting and disturbing
and suddenly leapfrogging into the most delectable pop since Blondie."--On
the Throwing Muses (Irwin, 29 November 1986, 19). While the song
"Call Me" usually is associated with Blondie, the song of the same name
referred to in this quote is the first song on the Throwing Muses' eponymous
debut album.
Theo Kogan, lead singer of the New York City-based punk band the
Lunachicks, was influenced by and has been compared to Harry and Blondie.
While the Lunachicks' "sound is much harder and faster than Blondie's,...there
is a striking resemblance between the Lunachicks and Blondie; the visual
similarity between Kogan and Harry"--"blonde with roots, beautiful and
sexy." (Che, 1999, 159)
"'I can't imagine the world without her, so many people have been inspired
by her, like me....We might not have Madonna if it wasn't for Debbie, but
the thing about Debbie is, that unlike Madonna, when she was first starting
out, she was clearly uncomfortable on stage and struggling against it.
That was really endearing and really real.'" Despite this vulnerability,
Kogan hastens to add, however, that Harry is not someone to cross. Kogan,
having been inspired over the years by Harry's "public persona," is pleased
to count Harry as a personal friend.--Theo Kogan on Deborah Harry's
pioneering role of being a precedent-setter for other woman in rock
(Che, 1999, 160-161)
"And, if you want a comparison, you could do worse than Blondie, at
least in terms of their similar sheer scope and style."--Comparison
between Luscious Jackson and Blondie (Bresnark, 14)
"...Debbie Harry-influenced and breathy trip-pop sounds on 'Fantastic
Fabulous' and 1996's hit, 'Naked Eye'"--On Deborah Harry's musical influence
on these two Luscious Jackson songs (Kassulke, 22 February 2000, 5D)
a "...homage to early Blondie...featuring vocals by the blond one herself,
Debbie Harry."-On the song "Fantastic Fabulous" from the album,
Electric Honey (Veitch, 27 June 1999)
"Luscious Jackson--probably the first band to write a 'Rapture' for
bike messengers--bring their genius of love full circle on Electric Honey
when Deborah Harry turns up on 'Fantastic Fabulous.' In the intro, Debbie
does 'X Offender' again but tells that cop she wasn't thinking of him after
all, and then Jill Cunniff, Gabrielle Glaser, and Kate Schellenbach launch
into an electric ladyland. It's their most rocking moment to date; part
'When the Levee Breaks' and part 'Dreamin',' and Schellenbach is as convincing
as Bonzo as she is as Clem Burke." (Sherr, 24 August 1999, 113)
"...a backhanded homage to Deborah Harry, who sings along."-On the
song "Fantastic Fabulous" from the album, Electric Honey (Susman, 24
June 1999)
Deborah Harry "'is a huge inspiration for me, so to have (her) call
me up and say, 'we need a drummer, can you do it?'--that's one benefit
of being in a recognized band."--Kate Schellenbach, drummer of Luscious
Jackson, describing as the highlight of her career (up to that time), serving
as substitute drummer for Blondie at a trade show (King, 29)
As a teenage drummer, Schellenbach fantasized about Deborah Harry calling
her and requesting her services as a substitute drummer and so the dream
came true. She also was a big fan of the band and belonged to the Blondie
fan club. She relates that Harry's voice and her genderless lyrics especially
appealed to her. Luscious Jackson asked Harry to sing "Fantastic Fabulous"
on their album, Electric Honey. (Chaplin, 67)
"...recalls Blondie's vintage street-talking jive."-On the song "Fantastic
Fabulous" (Walters, 1999, 55)
"'Blondie were the first group who made me realize that there was something
else out there besides what you heard on the radio. I realized they were
connected to this New York music scene like CBGB's and Max's Kansas City
and all those places. That's when I started going out to clubs and seeing
bands. The band was a big influence on me in this way, as well as in making
me want to actually play in a band myself.'"--Schellenbach on Blondie's
musical influence on her (Chaplin, 67)
"Schellenbach had one of her personal dreams realized when she was invited
to play drums for pop icon Blondie. Members Harry and Chris Stein were
impressed with Schellenbach's playing when they saw her at a Blondie tribute
in New York. A month later, Schellenbach was called in when Blondie drummer
Clem Burke couldn't make a show. 'That was an absolute dream come true.
They were my first band that I was obsessed with as, like, a 13-year-old.
I mean really,' Schellenbach said. 'They were like, 'We know you know the
songs.' The most thrilling part about it was actually the rehearsal. Playing
these songs and having Debbie Harry singing and dancing in front of me.
When we played, it was like a blur.'" (Guerra, 24 February 2000, 14)
"'...what first attracted me to Debbie Harry was she sang perfect pop
songs with the sing-along chorus and the whoa-whoa-whoas....That stuff
captures me--I'm a pop lover at heart, and her voice was so compelling.
Something about it--it was syrupy and sexy....Lyrically the songs were
very strong and sexy, and like 'Pretty Baby,' they had ambiguous lyrics.'"--On
Deborah Harry's musical appeal to Schellenbach (Che, 1999, 159-160)
"...acknowledges her own diverse influences. Along with female-dominated
early '80s cult bands like ESG, the Slits, and the Raincoats, one of Schellenbach's
first favorite bands remains crucial to Luscious Jackson's vibe: Blondie."-On
Blondie's influence on Luscious Jackson (Walters, 1999, 55)
"'...also incorporates street sounds, most notably hip hop and 70s R&B
influences, in an assortment of very clever, foot-tapping songs.'"--Kate
Schellenback on Luscious Jackson and its musical similarities to Blondie
(Che, 1999, 159)
"'She's really sweet, really generous, an incredible singer, funny as
hell, a badass, and totally awesome.'"--Kate Schellenback on Deborah
Harry (Walters, 1999, 55)
"I'm so glad that Blondie have come back to get the respect they deserve
as a groundbreaking pop act."--Kate Schellenback on Blondie
(Walters, 1999, 55)
"Hopefully, we can ride their wave!"--On Blondie (Bresnark, 14)
"'She will forever be awesome.'"-On Deborah Harry ("Random Notes,"
18)
"'...we've been compared to them since day one...and of all the people
in the world, they're the ones we really relate to.'"--On Blondie
(Bresnark, 14)
"And, in the same way, Blondie always experimented with all...kinds
of music, too."--Comparison to Luscious Jackson (Bresnark, 14)
"JC: Just for the record, as we all know, Luscious Jackson take a lot
of cues from Blondie. We always mention you as a big influence....[Blondie]
really blazed a trail in terms of crossing boundaries in music. That's
something that people still aren't really doing, and it's partially because
the way the [music] business is set up...."--Excerpt from an interview
conducted by Jill Cunniff (JC) with Deborah Harry (Cunniff, 65)
Torry
Castellano (a.k.a. Donna
C.)/The
Donnas
"The Donnas covered Blondie's song 'One Way or Another' when we were
like fifteen." (Chaplin, 67)
"Debbie Harry is really cool because she does what she wants and she
has her own style. Back when she started she kind of flipped in and out
of different styles, but somehow it always seemed like her own."--On
Deborah Harry and her style (Chaplin, 67)
"When you listen to Deborah Harry sing, it's like she can do anything
with her voice. She can sing really high or low--her voice is so strong
she can really do cool things with it. When you try to sing along with
her you can't do half the stuff she does, and yet she makes it sound so
simple."--On Deborah Harry's singing voice (Chaplin, 67)
"And the music is really cool and you can dance to it and rock out to
it and everything. You can put Blondie on, and it makes you want to drive
really fast in your car."--On Blondie's music (Chaplin, 67)
"I think it's great that they've reunited and that they're putting out
this new album--it's especially good for people like me who haven't had
the opportunity to see them play live. I'll definitely go and see them."--On
the Blondie reunion (Chaplin, 67)
David Ironside (saxophonist from New Zealand)
"They are one of the great pop-craft bands of our time. They are a melody
machine....Every song has got a hook."--On Blondie (Armstrong, 29)
Deborah Harry sounds "'better than ever....Her voice is just absolutely
beautiful. And Clem Burke is one of the great rock drummers.'" (Armstrong,
29)
"'Blondie's out front rocking for hours, and she can sing like a mother'"--On
the Blondie 1999 No Exit world tour, the band's reception in England,
and Deborah Harry ("Blondie Wow British," "Features: Entertainment" section,
p. 24)
"'...acts like she was influenced by Deborah--she uses an ironic awareness
of her sexuality like Deborah.'"--Music writer Evelyn McDonnell on a
similarity between Kathleen Hanna from the band Bikini Kill and Deborah
Harry (Che, 1999, 153)
"In another stunning picture, the band re-create Blondie's classic Parallel
Lines album cover--with Damon [Albarn] transforming himself into Debbie
Harry"--Reference to Blur's official biography: Stuart Maconie, 3862
Days: The Official History of Blur (London: Virgin, 1999) (Dingwall,
9 July 1999, 56)
"...Damon ditched his bowlcut for a blonde wig, silk white dress and
high heels to look like Debbie Harry shortly before Blur shot to stardom."
(Dingwall, 9 July 1999, 56)
"Natalie Imbruglia would love to have some of Harry's credibility, but,
alas, it will always be beyond her. Problem one: her mis-spent youth. At
the age when the Seventies pop babe was a Playboy bunny, a Warhol hanger-on,
and a CBGB habitue, the Nineties pop babe was a squeaky-clean soap star.
Problem two is that Imbruglia's brand of gorgeousness is so much less idiosyncratic
than Harry's...." (Barber, Nicholas, 15 November 1998, "Features" section,
p. 6)
"'...she's absolutely incredible, so she's definitely an icon.'"--Natalie Imbruglia on Deborah Harry (Tom)
"...Debbie Harry's more poppy late-Nineties equivalent? Will she be
around that long?"--On Natalie Imbruglia in relation to Deborah Harry
(Perry, Tim, "Features" section, p. 40)
"'She was one of the first rappers that was really popular....I don't
think people realize that.'"--On Deborah Harry (Tom)
"...the collaboration was incredible....Collaborate with Blondie...,
that's history right there. That's oil and vinegar mixing together."--On
the song "No Exit" (Tom)
"...the big hits came with the Blondie-goes-to-California-style 'Vacation'
and 'We Got the Beat'...."--The Go-Go's big hits had a Blondie influence/similarity
(Hoskyns,
1996, 300)
"...part Blondie, part 60s-girl groups, but still a little noisy
around the edges."-On the album Beauty and the Beat (Dix, "Features"
section, p. 15)
"'Kathy Valentine (of Go-Gos fame) cooked that one up....'"--Deborah
Harry on the jazz-style song "Boom Boom in the Zoom Zoom Room" from the
No
Exit album (Balzano)
"...while the band's makeup invites inevitable comparisons with Blondie,
nobody could accuse Hynde of stealing any moves from Deborah Harry. The
two women are, in fact, poles apart in approach, though sex plays a big
part in each one's stage image."--comparison, circa 1980, between
the Pretenders and Blondie and between Chrissie Hynde and Deborah Harry
(Van Matre, "Arts & Entertainment" section, p. 4)
"More so than her 'women in rock' contemporaries Debbie Harry or Patti
Smith, Hynde was, and remains, a real rock 'n' roller-the template for
every exile in Guyville since, from Nena to obvious acolyte Liz Phair."
(Rayner, 2 March 2000, EN2)
David
Byrne (formerly of the Talking
Heads)
"She took the role of being a glamorous rock 'n' roll singer but it
was always with a wink to let you know this was just a part she was playing.
She was always letting you know musically and physically that this was
all kind of a game to her."--On Deborah Harry in Blondie's early days
(Dingwall, 2 October 1999, Saturday Magazine, "Features" section, p. 3/31)
"'I think Blondie brought a lot of styles to the pop mainstream that
weren't there before....And Blondie had a whole sense of being a pop band,
but playing at being a pop band as kind of a role.'" (Che, 1999, 71)
"...she sings with an aloofness that, at times, resembles a young Deborah
Harry."--On Ani DiFranco (Semon, 13 February 2000, "Datebook" section,
p. 8)
"Teen pop star Billie is…to record a cover of The Tide Is High, the
reggae song written by John Holt and originally sung by the Paragons but
made famous by Blondie" (Jones, Stephen, 8)
"'I've always wanted to do it, it's such a great pop song I'm amazed
somebody else hasn't snapped it up.'"--Billie Piper on her cover of
"The Tide Is High" ("Billie's Back...," 28)
"It mines straight-ahead guitar rock with new wave and Debbie Harry-influenced
vocals from Carrie Akre."--On the Rockfords' self-titled album (Morse,
11 February 2000, C16)
Erasure
(Vince Clarke
and Andy Bell)
"Bell's operatic voice and Clarke's way with synthesized sounds perfectly
suit a cover of the Blondie classic, Rapture."--From the album,
Cowboy (Stevenson, 20 April 1997)
"...an unforgettably stilted and hardly rapturous cover of Blondie's
Rapture."--From the album, Cowboy (Veitch, 27 April 1997)
Andy
Bell/Hurricane
#1 (formerly of Erasure)
"'...Pop is facile and vacuous, and Blondie knew how to do it....It's
brilliant because it's so nonsensical. I like it because it's ultra-disco:
it had a disco baseline, which is nice and varied like in New Order or
Hi NRG music, and like in Erasure too--the early stuff anyway....The drums
had drum rolls, like machine guns, like the sort you hear in a lot of rave
records today. The lead guitar sounds just like the Shadows...this is rock
music, or punk, crossing over into disco, a bit like Primal Scream. The
riff in the middle is pure Abba, straight out of 'Voulez Vous.' They don't
know what else to do, so they break it down to just disco drums and bass
and say 'aha' lots of times.'"--Andy Bell on the Blondie song "Atomic"
(Bell, 10 October 1991, "Arts Page: Riffs" section, p. 23)
"'This was the first record I ever bought....Blondie? Well, I've always
been a fan of pop music and this is a great pop record. I think I've got
everything they ever did.'"--Andy Bell on the Blondie song "Heart of
Glass" (Bell, 10 May 1997, 19)
"Blondie were the first group me and Emma [Anderson] played along to
in our bedrooms. I played acoustic guitar and Emma plugged her bass into
her record player. It was...awful. Debbie Harry, on the other hand, was...brilliant...."--On
the Blondie song, 'In the Flesh,' as rated first by Berenyi among the records
that changed her life (Berenyi, 34)
"...credits Blondie with turning her on to the music scene in NYC and
inspiring the band to relocate [from Washington, D.C.]."--On Alyson
Palmer from the band BETTY (Che, 1999, xi)
"'Parallel Lines' is a wonderful album. I'm not so taken with the lyrics,
but I love the melodies, and the music. I get submerged in it. I listen
to Blondie on the road, and hear other people's songs in theirs. The Girl
Singer With All Male Backing Group can be a bit of a formula in record
company eyes, but at its best it can be Blondie. The tunes are so adventurous--I
could never sing anything like that."--On the Blondie song "Picture
This" from Parallel Lines album as rated fifth by Loz among the
records that changed his life (Loz, 37)
"...in Brijitte West, NY Loose Have a Sassy, Streetwise singer to match
even the late Seventies smoulder of Debbie Harry." (True, 31 August 1996,
10)
Big Fun
(formerly The Enemy)
"...abandoned their punk posturings in an attempt at Blondie-like stardom--On
the Seattle-based band The Enemy (later renamed Big Fun) (Humphrey,
57)
"'...also has that awareness of both the rock world and the fashion
world.'"--Observation by music writer Evelyn McDonnell on Skin from
Skunk Anansie in comparison to Deborah Harry
(Che, 1999, 153)
"Although clearly a democratic band, Skunk Anansie are similar to Blondie
in their heyday. Cass, Ace and Mark just can't match their female band
member's [Skin] charismatic presence." (Keating, 10 November 1999)
"...cooing gorgeously the 'seemed like the real thing' bit from Blondie's
'Heart Of Glass' over a wobbly dub-funk meltdown. It is a great idea, bizarre
and brilliant, a bit like the jungle revolution back in the olden days
when the fusion ethos stood for endless possibilities of creative guile
and lots of bonkers personalities with weirdo eyes and big lives."-Refers
to the vocalist Martina on the song "Antihistamine" (Patterson)
"…Tricky's austere hip-hop mix of 'Antihistamine' is hard to shake (especially
singer Martina's spacey repetitions of a lyric from Blondie's 'Heart of
Glass')."--On the cut "Antihistamine" from The Crow: Salvation
(Koch) album (Campbell, 31 March 2000, 18)
"…there are a few standout tracks, like Tricky's recasting of Blondie's
'Heart of Glass' as a paranoid nightmare."--On the cut "Antihistamine"
from The Crow: Salvation (Koch) album (Weinstein, 70+)
"What's amusing: Tricky stealing from Blondie's 'Heart of Glass' (more,
please?)...."--On the cut "Antihistamine" from The Crow: Salvation
(Koch) album (Wener, Ben, 14 April 2000, F57)
"...Tricky's creepy Antihistamine with bits of Blondie's Heart Of Glass...."--On
the cut "Antihistamine" from The Crow: Salvation (Koch) album
(Stevenson, 14 April 2000, "Entertainment" section, p. 66 and Stevenson,
17 April 2000, "Showbiz" section, p. 25)
"...appropriates the opening lines to Blondie's 'Heart of Glass' for
a queasily seductive tale of the blackest love."-On the song "Antihistamine"
from the album Broken Homes (Cameron)
"Yeah, it was good. Very Blondie, but there's nothing wrong with that.
There is something really appealing about that whole CBGB's scene and that's
really evocative of all that. We played CBGB's once and we were terrified.'"
(Bell, Farmer, and Mathur, 39)
"...Blondie-esque...."--On the song "Party Crashers" from the Love
at Absolute Zero album (1999) by the group, My Favourite (Robinson,
21 August 1999, 38)
"...borrows from the melody of Blondie's "Rapture" which it plays on
what sounds like a stylophone throughout."--On the song "Times Up" from
the album, Overproof (Loben, 44)
"...The Audience knows the value of understatement. There's a tangible
desire here to be Edith Piaf, Debbie Harry, Siouxsie Sioux, Marianne Faithfull...."--On
The Audience in performance (Segal, 27 April 1998)
"...the Blondie blast...."--Description of the song "Running Out
of Space" by The Audience(Mason, 37)
Sophie Ellis-Bextor
"...she has more charisma than a phalanx of Sophie Ellis-Bextors."--On
Deborah Harry (Long, 24 November 1998)
Donald McDonald/Pacifica
"'And there they were!...Blondie, onstage at Glastonbury--with my guitar!'"--Donald
McDonald (Robinson, 17 July 1999, 8)
"...I wrote 'Lost In The Translation' halfway through last year, and
just couldn't get 'Heart of Glass' out of my head while I was working out
the chords.'"--Donald McDonald (Robinson, 17 July 1999, 8)
"...bubblingly Blondie-ish."--Description of the song "The Waitress"
by the band His Name Is Alive (Nine, 37)
"'It starts off like classic Blondie for the first 30 seconds, but the
crucial thing that always made Blondie songs great--and I'm a massive Blondie
fan-were choruses. And I'm sorry to be trad, but choruses count. That's
your anthem, the thing you want to say.'"--On the song "Nothing Is Real
But The Girl" (Jones, Stone, and Hoyle, 39)
"'In their time they had all the attitude of punk, but it was poprock
done by a band with some attitude.'"--On Blondie (Jones, Stone,
and Hoyle, 39)
Charley Stone
"'It's like a perfect pastiche of themselves.'"--On the song "Nothing
Is Real But The Girl" and Blondie (Jones, Stone, and Hoyle, 39)
"'I like it. How many bands actually make a comeback and do it well?
Not many, look at the Sex Pistols, the Stone Roses. Her voice still sounds
brilliant.'"--Manda Rin on the hit single "Maria" and Deborah Harry
(Disco, Rin, Steve, and Booth, 36)
"'I wouldn't say they've been a direct influence, but that whole disco
genre definitely inspired us. Like Steps..."--Manda Rin regarding Blondie's
influence on Bis (Disco, Rin, Steve, and Booth, 36)
"Still, on the rare occasions when they're not copying Bow Wow Wow ('Theme
From Toyko') or ripping out Blondie's heart ('The Hit Girl'), we learn
that Bis have soul."--On the album, Social Dancing (Martin, Piers,
17 March 1999)
"...sleek techno grooves have pushed the punk aside in favor of buoyant
hooks that bring to mind everything from B-52's bushfires to Chumbawamba
tubthumping, from classic Blondie to contemporary trip-hoppers."--On
the album, Social Dancing (Ashare, 26 August 1999)
Russell
Senior/Venini (formerly of Pulp)
"...they're T-Rex meets Blondie...."--Description of Russell Senior's
new band Venini (Barker, 11)
"...the whipsmart melodic suss of Blondie."--On the single "Mon Camion"
song by lead singer Debbie Lime (Martin, Piers, 27 May 1999)
"...played Blondie covers at parties...."--On Sugar Ray's early years
(Watson, 17) [OK. I know it's kind of a stretch, but...--Webmaster]
"'Deborah Harry.'"--Nixey in response to the question "Who is your
all time hero?" ("Black Box Recorder's...")
"'...decided to stop being Blondie....'"--John Moore of Black Box
Recorder on the group's songwriting (Edwards, 37)
Shareen/Ms45
"'The 'B' bands: Belly, the Bangles, Blondie, and the Breeders, we're
constantly getting compared to....How many times has Deborah Harry been
referred to on the vocals? Deborah Harry is a wonderful woman, I'm sure,
but we don't sound anything like Blondie. Nothing. We both have the same
reproductive organs, that's about where the similarities end.'"--On
Ms45 being compared to Blondie and other females bands, with Shareen adamantly
disagreeing with such comparisons (Bayton, 171)
"...Chic went on to work with artists as diverse as Diana Ross, Carly
Simon, Sheila B. Devotion, Sister Sledge and Blondie's Debbie Harry...."
(Heatley, 166)
"That first wave of people like Patti Smith and Deborah Harry was really
appealing to me. I felt like women could be a part of this [punk and new
wave] movement."--Connie Champagne, who started out in punk music in
the 1970s and then went into lounge and swing music in the 1980s and 1990s
(Vale
and Wallace, 106)
"...singer Christy Schnabel's voice is the group's defining feature,
and it wanders from sexy Debbie Harry belting ('Bring Me Flowers') to heavy,
narcotic refrains ('Seven Days') to an almost giddy B-52's-like chorus
on 'Endless Stream.'"-On the album, Sweetness (Miner)
Needles and Pins
"...the Blondie-esque Needles and Pins." (Hoskyns, 1996, 291)
"New York Blondie descendants...."--Description of the band called
the Goops (Eddy, 87)
"...since the line-up features three scruffy guys (guitar/bass/drums)
and a strong but sexy bleached-blonde female singer, it's not too hard
to guess who their role model is-think hair color."--Blondie as a role
model for the Goops (Ashare, 29 February 1996)
"On the Goops' major-label debut, Eleanor Whitledge does like Deborah
Harry and makes up for what she lacks in vocal range by laying the attitude
on thick. Her boys make like early Blondie sans keyboards...while Whitledge
teases on 'Hard Candy'...and taunts on 'Don't Wanna Be like You'....But
it's harder for a woman to be shocking now than it was when Blondie came
out with 'X Offender' in '76."--On the album, Lucky (Ashare, 29
February 1996)
"...the new group's influences include Blondie, Chic and Sly & the
Family Stone."--On Lucy Pearl ("Pop Notes," "Style" section, p.
C5)
Sally Vate/Def, Dumb and Blondie; Soul Destroyers
"No prizes for guessing on whom they are based!"--On the group Def,
Dumb and Blondie, which is an "offshoot band" of the Soul Destroyers
(Clark, Keith, 3)
"The gorgeous Sally Vate and the band stomped their way through the
Debbie Harry repertoire, from Denis and Telephone to the recent Maria."--On
Def, Dumb and Blondie in performance (Clark, Keith, 3)
"Once she had time to pack away her Blondie persona and that wig, Sally
Vate was back on stage with the Soul Destroyers." (Clark, Keith, 3)
Samantha Hill/Once More Into the Bleach (OMITB)
"...shock of blonde hair makes it easy to guess which pop star she idolises."--On
Samantha Hill (Hassall, 15)
"...a successful tribute band dedicated to top popsters Blondie."--On
Once More Into the Bleach (Hassall, 15)
"...recognised as one of...[England's] leading tribute bands...."--On
Once More Into the Bleach (Hassall, 15)
"'When you buy their singles, videos and posters for years you put your
favourite star on a pedestal....If you meet them it will either be a great
experience or a terrible disappointment. Deborah Harry is a great, down-to-earth
person with a sense of humour.'"--Samantha Hill on Deborah Harry
(Hassall, 15)
Beck
(aka Beck Hansen)
"'...people reacted the same way when Blondie did 'Rapture'....'"--On
Beck doing rap (Spartos, 104)
"'L7 made an album called
Triple Platinum, for which they dyed
their hair blonde.'"--Reflects, according to Evelyn McDonnell [co-editor
of Rock She Wrote: Women Write About Rock, Pop and Rap], the
fact that "Deborah Harry also has a strong presence among many young, very
edgy female musicians." (Che, 1999, 153)
"'At the time we saw Janis Joplin as a very powerful (female) figure....But
even her music was all like, 'Women suck, life is hard.' Debbie came from
a different point of view.'"--Chris Stein comparing Janis Joplin and
Deborah Harry (Wilton, 6 March 1999)
"Debbie Harry summed her up best: 'She was big. She was...out. You know,
she was just out. Aaaarrrrhhhh. Oh baby, oh baby.' I think we'd all go
along with that."--Deborah Harry on Janis Joplin (Hanks, "Features"
section, p. 16)
"...almost warbles like Debbie Harry."--On Cristina Martinez in the
song "Get It While You Wait" by Boss Hog (Hunter, 96)
"...an infectious soul-punk fusion spiked with retro sounds reminiscent
of Blondie and the Eurythmics."--On Boss Hog's music (Barajas, 12)
Alma Vucinic/Balkan
Tribes
"Her silky voice...can invoke the jazzier side of singer k.d. lang and
the sultry pop of Debbie Harry...."--On Alma Vucinic, vocalist of the
band called Balkan Tribes (Wildman, "City Weekly" section, p. 15)
"'We...sort of had this unabashed love of the late '70s-early '80s edgier
New Wave like Blondie, Gang of Four, Wire, Television.'"-Deathray keyboardist
Dana Gumbiner on the band's influences and musical tastes (Graff, 6E)
"Her vocals sound alternatively like Gwen Stefani of No Doubt, Sarah
McLaughlin, Courtney Love of Hole, Joan Jett, Luscious Jackson, and sometimes
Blondie-fluctuating enough to keep her free of specific classification."--On
Bif Naked's album I Bificus (Blasco, "Showtime" section, p. 94)
"There's an intelligence here, but it's almost buried beneath an avalanche
of half-digested influences ( Debbie Harry, Rickie Lee Jones, English post-punk)."--On
the album Comatized by Leona Naess, stepdaughter of Diana Ross
(Scherman, 70+)
"And they ain't ever going to compile a songbook that will rival Blondie
or Talking Heads." (Anderson, Ian, "Features" section, p. 9)
Cool Green Capsicums
"Check them out. You're liable to hear anything from Bob Dylan to Blondie."--On
the group Cool Green Capsicums ("Get Out Your Dancing Shoes," "Features"
section, p. 23)
"...further playing up guitarist Carrie Brownstein's early Go-Go's influence
and adding a touch of prime Blondie as well."-Comparison between Sleater-Kinney's
The
Hot Box and All Hands on the Bad One albums (Wener, Ben,
28 April 2000, F62)
Mirwais
(aka Mirwais Ahmadzai)
"This determinedly derivative number references everything from Devo's
Whip It to Blondie's Rapture."--On the "Disco Science" single CD (Sakamoto,
10 May 2000, "Entertainment" section, p. 51 and Sakamoto, 11 May 2000,
"Showbiz" section, p. 57)
"...supplies appropriate music to enjoy while reading her latest sexy
page turner. Included are tracks by Dionne Warwick, Blondie, Tina Turner,
Eartha Kitt, Dusty Springfield and Collins herself."-On the CD Jackie
Collins Presents Lethal Seduction (Takiff, P33)
"Expect...even a cover of Blondie's '(I'm Always Touched by Your) Presence
Dear."--From a preview of a 10,000 Maniacs concert ("10,000 Maniacs,"
14D)
Grant Hart
(formerly of Husker
Du)
"...would have been cute on Blondie's second album, but Hart
makes it sound dead serious"-On the song "Run Run Run to the Centre
Pompidou" by Grant Hart from the album Good News for Modern Man (Ross,
Curtis, 23 June 2000, 15)
"...a girl power anthem that blatantly rips off Blondie's Heart Of Glass."--On
the song "Last One Standing" by the Dutch group Girl Thing ("A Disposable
Guide....," 5)
Nina Gordon
(formerly of Veruca
Salt)
"Her songs contain traces of Blondie and The Bangles, Sarah McLachlan
and Madonna (the ballad aspect), and more than just traces of Aimee Mann."--On
the album Tonight and the Rest of My Life by Nina Gordon, formerly
of Veruca Salt, "whose 1994 breakthrough, Seether, was a minor classic
of snarling pop-punk volatility" (Barnes, 6D)
Louise Quinn/Quinn
"...a pulsating, dancefloor maelstrom that recalls Blondie's 'Heart of Glass' while grinning like a Cheshire cat."--On the single, "The Next Time" (Dempster, 23 November 1999)
"Girl warns boy not to mess around, plus '70s disco beat as hired by Blondie on 'Atomic.' It all sounds a bit obvious but there's sly knowingness, bright words and a femme fatale allure in the vocals from band centrepiece Louise Quinn."--On the single "The Next Time" ("This Week's Singles: 27 May 2000...")
"...an artful update of Blondie's Heart of Glass...."--On the single
"The Next Time" (Connolly, 13 May 2000, "Features" section, p. 12)
"...an exciting, eruptive track that counterpoints a Blondie-like vocal
on top with wailing, slipknot-like chaos underneath."--On the single
"Brackish" (Morse, Steve, 25 May 2000, "Calendar" section, p. 8)
"A punk Abba."--On Blondie (Wells)
"She maneuvers her way through a Tin Pan Alley standard like 'Angel
Eyes'...with a panache Linda Ronstadt can only dream about."--On Deborah
Harry and the Jazz Passengers album, Individually Twisted
(Dominic)
"Blondie-esque fare...."-On the song "We Live For Love" (Veitch,
17 October 1999)
"Crooner in seminal '60s girl-group The Ronettes, ex-wife of Phil Spector,
this is the lady whose shoowop and shimmy have inspired legions of female
musicians from Debbie Harry to Kenickie."-On Ronnie Spector and her
influence, including on Deborah Harry (Long, 16 December 1998)
Alan Vega
(formerly of Suicide)
"Aan Vega's former group, Suicide, were the most uncompromising, inflammatory
outfit to foment in the milieu of the Ramones, Talking Heads, and Blondie."
(Behrman)
Lenny Kaye
(formerly of the Patti
Smith Group)
"...the original punk, out of New York, had about as much to do with
Rancid and Green Day as Lionel Richie. Bands like Blondie and the Talking
Heads were called punk because it was an easy term to use. But they were
all very different."--Kaye on "original" New York punk (Ashare,
6 June 1996)
"Harry and Stein acknowledged that their inspiration came from Buddy
Holly both in music and fashion." (Advokat)
"His art-that-conceals-art has kept his music eternally fresh, appealing
to a wide variety of musicians including the Rolling Stones, the Grateful
Dead and Blondie as well as Paul McCartney."--Blondie within the context
of Holly's appeal to other musicians (Heatley, 195)
"Holly's influence is evident in music everywhere today. Everyone from
the Beatles to the Rolling Stones acknowledge the influence of the bespectacled
boy from Lubbock, Texas. Among the artists who have recorded Holly's songs:
the Beatles ('That'll Be the Day,' 'Words of Love'), John Lennon ('Peggy
Sue'), the Rolling Stones ('Not Fade Away'), Herman's Hermits ('Heartbeat'),
the Everly Brothers ('That'll Be the Day'), the Beach Boys ('Peggy Sue'),
the Grateful Dead ('Not Fade Away'), Santana ('Well, Alright'), Linda Ronstadt
('It Doesn't Matter Anymore,' 'It's So Easy,' ['That'll Be the Day']),
Don McLean ('Everyday'), Nitty Gritty Dirt Band ('Rave On'), Blondie ('I'm
Gonna Love You [Too]'), and James Taylor ('Everyday')."--Blondie within
the context of being influenced by and reflecting the influence
of Buddy Holly (Vincent, E1)
"Holly was one of the original rock legends, a genuine innovator who
laid the groundwork for much of the melodic pop that would follow in his
wake. Songs like 'Rave On,' 'Not Fade Away,' 'Maybe Baby,' 'Peggy Sue'
and 'Everyday' sparked the imaginations of the Beatles, the Beach Boys,
Linda Ronstadt, James Taylor and even Blondie (who cut a percolating cover
of 'I'm Gonna Love You Too')." (Eck, 34)
"...apes the ace glitter-ball jive of latter-day Blondie...."--On
the song "Killing Stars" (Dempster, 15 March 2000)
Moreau's Island
"...have been compared to Blondie, Belly, Gang Of Four, Husker Du, Popguns,
The Blake Babies and Angel Interceptor."--On the band Moreau's Island
("Singles Archive, 29/11/97...")
Scarlet Division
"...the band he keeps the beat for...sound a little bit Texas, a little
bit Blondie and quite a lot of pub."--On Scarlet Division and its drummer
Jamie Oliver (Martin, Piers, 21 March 2000)
"...behind the buzzing guitars and butter-wouldn't melt vocals, the
fairy-floss melodies and battered Blondie badges, there's a sense of wilful
contrariness that blows raspberries at charges of musical grave-plundery."--On
the album, The End of a Beautiful Career, by Angelica (Dempster,
25 April 2000)
"...have clearly come to us via an abundance of Stooges records, snapshots
of Blondie circa 'Parallel Lines,' and an unhealthy fascination with both
LA cheese metal and the delta blues."--On the Japanese band, Thee Michelle
Gun Elephant (Long, 25 April 2000)
"Large chunks of Debbie Harry are discernable throughout...."--On
the album, Ice Cream (Dalton, 31 May 1997)
"...watered down Blondie, inferior PJ Harvey, second division Sleeper-but
better than Alisha's Attic."--Description of Salad relative
to other musicians, including Blondie (Dalton, 31 May 1997)
"...skips along in bumpy Roxy-Blondie runners...."--On the song "The
SAS And The Glam That Goes With It" from the album, Tonight
You Are The Special One (Morton, 6 June 1998)
"...early Blondie for the girls-with-guns playground games...."--On
the song "Spies" from the album, At the Club (Dalton, 3 May 1997)
"Blondie-pop addictive...."--On the song "Dreams" (Morton, 22
April 1999)
"'I do remember having the 'Magical Mystery Tour' single. And I also
remember my brother coming home with 'Denis' by Blondie. We danced around
to it for ages.'"--Orton on the "First Record You Can Remember"
("Beth Orton's....")
Carter
The Unstoppable Sex Machine
"The Pet Shop Boys/Buzzcocks/Ken Livingstone/Soft Cell/Squeeze/Paul
Weller/Blondie/The Waterboys all pummelled into one."--On the album,
30 Something (Lamacq)
"...a mix of '70s glam and 'Call Me' Blondie...."--On the song 'Surfing
USM' from the album, 30 Something (Lamacq)
Brazen Hussies
"...in only one minute 47 seconds it manages to skewer the trashy glamour
of punk-era Blondie, the whipcord sass of Elastica and the shambolic lurch
of Sham 69 into one black patent stiletto like a shish kebab greased with
petrol. In no uncertain terms, it rocks."-On the single "Thin Lips"
(a song about lipstick) from the album, Living in Fear of Reprisals
(Long, 14 August 1999)
"'I wouldn't say I'm a fan of Madonna-I'm a fan of her singles. Last
year's single of the year [1999] was 'Beautiful Stranger.' There are a
lot of great pop singles. Like, Blondie are amazing. But they're just...in
another realm, though, they're incredible. Or I could say T. Rex 'Get It
On,' but that's a rock'n'roll record. Okay, it would have to be Madonna,
'Into The Groove,' then 'I Feel Love,' by Donna Summer, 'Heart of Glass'
by Blondie, 'Blue Monday' by New Order, and 'Sheena Is A Punk Rocker' by
The Ramones.'"--Gillespie in response to the inquiry: "You've
always been a fan of Madonna, and you've mentioned other pop singers from
time to time. What are your top five pop songs?" ("Bobby Gillespie's...")
"It's the shade of Debbie Harry's lipstick...."--Lead singer Rory
O'Keefe on the album, The Ultra Montanes (Beaumont)
"...a perfectly Noo Yawk cool guitar groove, featuring what sounds like
the Debbie Harry Blues Explosion."--On the single "Freon Shortwave"
from the album, Cha Cha Cohen (Cigarettes)
"Just imagine Blondie, Beck, Wedding Present and the Fall all mashed
up into one mental pop combo. Well, now you don't have to imagine any more."--On
the album, Cha Cha Cohen ("The Hatlist, March 1999")
"Where Beck meets Blondie in The Fall's kitchen. Snappy and sassy and
so good they named them twice."--On the album, Cha Cha Cohen ("The
Hatlist, December 1999")
Marine Research
(aka Marine Salvage and Research Limited; formerly Heavenly,
Tallulah Gosh)
"Blondie! Yes! Cute chocolate box picnic summer pop! Double Yes! Bells!
Er...Yes again!"-On the song "Queen B" ("Hatlist, September
98")
"...what Blondie might have sounded like if they'd been to Oxford Uni[versity]
instead of New York's School Of Hard Knocks."-On the song "Queen B"
(Munro)
The Palantines
"...Stooges, Blondie, Talking Heads, Link Wray, Elvis Costello, Nick
Cave, Patsy Cline"- The Palantines on their musical influences ("The
Palantines-News" and "The Palantines WLTM Guitarist...")
"And under the big-rock exterior there's a dressed-down, grunged-up
Jellyfish, or a rural Wondermints, shades of the Plimsouls, Dwight Twilley,
Bram Tchaikovsky, the Buzzcocks, and Blondie."--On the album, The
Katies (Rotondi)
Muff Spencer/Brassy
"...sister of Blues Explosion's Jon, and a true rock and roll heroine
in the mould of Debbie Harry. In fact, it's a fair bet that Muff wants
to be in Blondie. But she also wants to be in The Beastie Boys. So she
does both. At the same time. Confusing? Sometimes. But it can be as thrilling
as hell, too."-On Muff Spencer ("Nightshift Live, November '99").
"...sassy cheerleader rapping and Debbie Harry-like cool dominates a
suitably slap-in-the-face hip hop-meets-Noo Wave soundtrack (sort of early
Blondie 'do' Salt'n'Pepa)-On Muff Spencerand Brassy ("Nightshift,
Gig Guide, May 2000)
"Hey sassy Brassy. Blondie meets the Beasties.-On the single "Good
Times" ("The Hatlist, November 1999")
"...are like the underground version of the Blondie reunion...."-On
the Scavengers at the CMJ Music Marathon in New York City, September15-18,
1999 (Sherr, 28 September 1999, 72)
Shiny Cars
"...offer big beats and Blondie melodies...." ("Something Wicked...")
Shesus
"Shesus is a girl-super group of sorts that sounds like Blondie meets
Black Sabbath, featuring Michelle Bodine (ex-Omatic) and Heather Newkirk
(ex-robthebank)." (Farr, 5C)
"If members of Chicago's rising power-pop quintet Frisbie are looking for a slogan, they could do worse than to turn to Blondie. Anxious at the height of the new wave to underscore that it was not just a vehicle for singer Debbie Harry, that group trumpeted, 'Blondie Is a Band.' Well, Frisbie is a band, too." (DeRogatis, 14 July 2000, "Weekend Plus" sectio