Thursday, September 19, 2013

#254: Blondie - Parallel Lines (1978)


Emily: When I was around 7 or 8, my gymnastics class did our recital routine to One Way or Another, probably the most well-known single from Parallel Lines. Granted, it was approximately 1998 and we were in the second grade, so we didn't actually use the Blondie version. Instead, it was a cover from The Rugrats Movie that I'm pretty sure was sung by Angelica Pickles. Of course, I thought it was awesome. I realized later, though, that the original version was even more awesome. However, I didn't like Parallel Lines as a whole as much as I liked the song. I really like Blondie when they take new wave and pop and add something totally different - a rock edge in Call Me or One Way or Another, disco in Heart of Glass, and even hip-hop in Rapture. Otherwise, however, the music was catchy but just not that exciting. A few tracks show their potential for pop-crossover greatness, but it seems that it took them a few years to really develop their sound. This is Blondie's only album featured on the list, so I'll have to take some time to check out their later albums.
Favorite Tracks: One Way or Another; Heart of Glass; 11:59

Zack: I didn’t really know what to expect form Blondie other than One Way or Another, perhaps the most montage-able song of all time. What I got was a pop rock masterpiece, sort of like a Sister Sisters ancestor. From start to finish, Parallel Lines was unstoppably catchy, yet never really bordered on corny like so many other New Wave bands of the era. Blondie clearly managed to avoid many of the pitfalls of their contemporaries while putting together an album with the exact same spirit.
Favorite Tracks: Will Anything Happen; One Way or Another; Fade Away and Radiate

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