cover up love's alibi

An absolute blast from the past.

I have been meaning to post a Debbie Harry song for some time now, and even have a half draft of it somewhere but never could find the occasion to actually do it. Hearing it being blasted at the Ministry of Sound further made my night, kudos to the dj for putting it on when he did, for though the name of the song before slipped my mind the transition was good and well remembered.

When people talk genres like ' punk rock' and point out Avril Lavinge as a good example while name dropping sum 41 and the like, I keep mostly silent since I know there's no way I can successfully carry off " huh that's punk? I know they werent ' in our time' but have you heard Blondie?" without sounding like an indignant music snob. ohh yes ever wondered how Coldplay would sound like covered by ms Lavinge? mm slaughter.

I would give it a fair guess that Debbie Harry was *the* sex icon of the 70s/80s, fronting a band that consistently topped charts in both UK and the US ( cross Atlantic success being tougher and a big thing back then it seems), framing the typical ' girl group shangri- las-style' of a decade earlier with an ironic new wave sheen. The thing about Debbie was that she was able to combine a gutsily acerbic yet playful sweet image that I find more than stood toe to toe with the raucous classic punk guitar wall of sound her contemporaries The Ramones exemplified.

It's that tough-girl-with-a-tender-tone ( or as so Allmusic.com puts it and I cant think of anything better to describe such a contradiction) that one falls terribly in love with. Take a closer listen to the lyrics, then think of how she's singing it. You can take her either way, and her attitude says she couldnt less for she has said what she wants to say how she wants to say it, leaving you to sort it out. Hah call me suicidal for always being hopelessly attracted to a girl like that, but I always had, and probably always will, find that kind of spirit refreshing and just captivating.

BLONDIE - CALL ME

Anyway more likely than not one would most likely recognize Blondie now due to a recent Korean movie soundtrack cover of another of her hit songs. One reason why a Blondie post took so long to come up was an internal debate between ' Call Me' and ' Maria' as to which I should feature. Hearing a digitized ' Maria' in Korean ringing from just about every phone nowadays resolved it instantly.



Wow that's all I will say and she's what? 50+ when she did that live? Proof that being absoulutely hot does not all come from looks.

Just an expanded thought. Come to think of it, The Pipettes are kind of an ' update' of Blondie, just that their modernity reflects the globality of the times in that inflections from many different kinds of music are present in Rose & Co's songs. More down to earth, honest and less flashy than glam superstar Debbie Harry too, sung from the point of view of a typical 20 odd girl who goes pubbing and gets happily drunk. Lily Allen lists her as an inspiration too, just look for her cover of Blondie's first hit ' Heart Of Glass' on youtube.

hm The Pipettes have been out of listening rotation for awhile now.. hope I can lay my hands on new songs by them soon.

A happy birthday to you Cheryl
yes I know im 2 hours late

and all the things I had in mind for you and me

Amazing the SAF finally allows access to YouTube and Blogger with certain computers in the camps.


If I could, I would try it all over again.

I found out that it's been some time since I last heard The Concretes. Not even " Say Something New". It's good hearing it again. Makes one realize that I have forgotten a little of its spirit along the way the last few months, doing things too fast and taking things too seriously, not really listening as much as I would like to another.

Forgetting the whimsical derring-do, the smile and grit, the easy flow of chimes and melody, the commitment failure heart.

Amazing too, what a song can do yes?

oooh shameless cut and paste

Remember When I Was So Strange And Likeable?

Tegan and Sara "Back In Your Head" - This song is an enormous pile-up of neuroses, but its issues are stacked neat and deliberately, just like the "wall of books" mentioned in the very first line. It's an internal tug of war: You want intimacy, but it's terrifying. You love someone, but you push them away, in part because you never let yourself believe that they love you. You want the comfort of familiarity, but things get boring if they never change. You get frozen by indecision even when you know exactly what you want. The song feels light and casual; it fits into the smallest, stillest moments while quietly (almost silently) freaking out.

-Fluxblog.com June 26th