Blondie

This book is interesting for two reasons, the first is the contents, how a struggling group of creative people became (briefly anyway)the hottest rock band in the world. The second reason is the writing of the late Lester Bangs. The book deals with Debbie Harry and Chris Steins'struggle, as two artists, seemingly being knocked around and conspired against by just about everyone, including friends and even fellow band members. Fortunately they find the right combo of people to play some original songs at the famous New York underground club scene. From there superstardom was only a few albums away. Though the troubles never ceased. There are some great pictures of the band before they broke it and of course lots of shots of the stunning Deborah Harry, incuding the famous see-through blouse poster. Lester Bangs writing is fantastic. A true fan of rock and roll, he makes possibly the best argument ever for the greatness of punk rock, "just because something is simpler than something else doesn't make it worse". He seems to be a Blondie fan that has become somewhat disenchanted with the direction of the band. Which is good as the book does not become too eulogistic like too many others. The book is great for someone who does not know a great deal of the band and wants some back ground information on how they started out.

I agree with the reviewers who say this one's worth it for the pictures alone. Lester Bangs is kind of the Norman Mailer of rock journalism, and Debbie is his Marilyn. Only instead of Debbie being his muse, she seems to have become the target for all his frustrated ambition! Confessedly jealous of Blondie's success, as Lester hung out on the periphery of the CBGS's scene and had a band of his own that went nowhere, there also seems to be a note of misogyny in his tone. Not that he's an all-out woman hater, more like he is threatened by the idea of a beautiful but unavailable woman. Over and over, Lester hits us over the head with the idea that the point of music is to hear passion expressed, and by his criteria, Blondie and their emotional distance operated on the opposite principle. He just can't get over Debbie's independent lyrical stance--even though it's juxtaposition to her glamorous image is the cornerstone of Blondie's appeal! Songs like "Just Go Away" really get Lester mad. He harps alot on the sexuality used in marketing Blondie, not because he is prudish but because he seems to regard it as false advertising! Once again, he ignores the fact that Debbie's starlet image was part of the package from Blondie's inception in 1976, and that the contrast between that image and Blondie's quickfrozen lyrics might be compelling. That was always the reason I loved the band so much. If Debbie had done the old bump-n-grind, she would have just been a musical Farrah Fawcett and we wouldn't remember her today as anything but a flash in the pan. She remains an icon because of the very duality that scared Lester so much. Luckily, he was a good enough writer that even his ranting is interesting, and as I've said before, the book is fabulously illustrated. Although it's strange to read a book on Blondie that cautions the reader against listening to their records! "If the point of music is to hear passion expressed, what harm are we doing ourselves by listening to this?" Calm down, Lester.

This is less a book about Blondie, although that's most of the material, than it is a book about the state of rock in 1970's, the origins of punk, and the insane journalism it inspired, of which Mr. Bangs was a prime example. The man COULD write. (If you've seen "ALMOST FAMOUS", a film which I didn't like, Phillp Seymour Hoffman, whom I do like, plays Bangs). Lots of great photos you've never seen, too.

This book is by far the best photo resource when hankerin' for a fantastic shot of the Debster. Buy it for the photos alone!