New Vinyl Times

1981 – Vol. 2 – No. 1

Free Bi-Weekly music paper published in the USA
Cover photo by Neil Zlozower

SAMPLE ON NEW VINYL TIMES JUKEBOX CUTS
JUKEZINE PLAYLIST/REVIEWS

BLONDIE
AUTOAMERICAN
Rock’n’roll must be real uncool in Manhattan nowadays. For AutoAmerican, Blondie seem to be willing to try anything once – from a Henry Mancini-like symphonic instrumental, to a Bebop jazz ballad (ala Rickie Lee Jones) to a rap number, to a Lerner-and-Lowe pop standard – all the while avoiding their strong suit of slick, pop-styled, fun rock. In the past, Blondie have shown considerable abilities in the techno/disco realm (“Heart of Glass”, “Call Me”) but the dance numbers on AutoAmerican are all pretty flat and the addition of a noticeably lifeless horn section helps not a whit. Blondie’s dilletantism only pays off on the calypso “Tide is High” – a work of cheerily classic-sounding fluffiness, which they did not write.

COVER STORY
Photos by David Arnoff, Susan Carson, Brian McLaughlin, Neil Zlozower

CHANGES ON AUTOAMERICAN
(DEBBIE HARRY):
“I felt like it was taking a chance either way, truthfully. I felt like it was taking a chance if we departed from what we were doing before or if we stuck with it. Because if we stuck with it and it became boring and sort of overworked, where would we be then? We would be classified as being not creative and uninventive. If we went this way we’d get just the reverse.”

HEART OF GLASS
(CHRIS STEIN):
“We did it as a novelty item to put more diversity into the album (Parallel Lines). We thought “Picture This” and “Pretty Baby” would be the big hits in the States. Naturally, we were proven wrong… I suppose we should be concerned with the disappointment of our fans. But if they’re that strict that they’ll get concerned because we do a song like “Heart of Glass”, I can’t have much sympathy for them.”

BLONDIE BEGINNINGS
(DEBBIE HARRY):
“It was Chris’ and my idea to start the group. We really didn’t have any exact ideas about what we were going to do. But we got to a point with the Stilettos (Debbie’s glitter-era group) where we were getting some notoriety, and some following, and some press – and then we started not getting along. So after a while, Chris and I broke off on our own.”

FIRST MEETING
(DEBBIE HARRY):
“I met Chris at the Beauburn Tavern at the second Stilettos’ show. He was sitting in the shadows, but I could feel his gaze on me through the whole show. I kept looking over at him because I couldn’t see his face. All I could see was this long dark hair. And then we met later that night and he joined the group.”

PERFORMING
(DEBBIE HARRY):
“I get excited. Sometimes I have doubts. I always scream before I go on ‘I don’t want to go! No! No! I don’t want to do it!’ But I always do it anyways. I just have to say that. It’s part of my ritual.”