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Reviews (2)
Aug 21, 2014
Excellent introduction to a great band. Try to get this on vinyl!
3 of 3 found this helpful Stylish, confident and oh-so-sexy/sexual - Debbie Harry was probably the first Rock Diva that I responded to and followed fervently. Not that I think she was overtly sexual, but she definitely knew secrets that I desperately wanted to know hidden behind her alluring looks and sultry class. Even in her punk years, she had that… class. A Queen. It is no wonder or surprise that she stood above her peers at that time.
Chrysalis’s 1981 release ‘The Best Of Blondie’ (CHR 1337) is pretty much exactly that: the best and most commercially successful of the band’s output from 1976 to 1980 (with just a couple of personal faves omitted from their punk years, but that is a small quibble). The best songs on here are those that are now, or should be, etched in our pop culture conscious: ‘Heart Of Glass’, ‘Rapture’, ‘One Way Or Another’ and the song that still knocks me out - ‘Call Me’ (Theme From American Gigolo).
With those two songs: ‘Heart Of Glass’ and ‘Call Me’ being enough to solidify Blondie’s impact on popular music just for the fact that either song embodies a certain time, a certain place and a certain feeling. I cannot hear either song with a strong sense of nostalgia coming over me in waves wallowing in its excess. The whole album shows the confidence that Debbie Harry has from punk to disco, from reggae to sixties girl-pop. The two big rediscoveries for me on this album are ‘Atomic’ and especially ‘Hanging On The Telephone’ which is like a hidden jewel in the New Wave movement that wouldn’t sound out of place now. Highly recommended and I highly urge anyone reading this to rediscover this seminal and important band of the late 70’s and 80’s. Although this a great place to start, do not stop here - there are more great songs just waiting for you in her discography.
Five stars. Out of five, no less!
Sep 01, 2015
"Pillage. Rape. Destruction. Death. It's always the same."
So here we have the much maligned and abused film 'The Adventurers' which makes many Top Ten lists as one of the worst movies ever made. Here I will give the only Spoiler Alert I can make about this movie: yes, it is bad. Like, really bad. With that being said, however, I found this movie to be nearly hypnotic in its awfulness. You can almost bathe in it. You can't even make the argument of 'it's-so-bad-it's-good' because it is truly bad. There is much ado about the acting (or lack thereof) of the lead star, Bekim Fehmiu, but if you look at what atrocities they put him through in the first ten minutes or so I am amazed that he can even function as an adult and almost forgive him for being an emotional invalid. My top three reactions to this movie were: "Well, this is something that is happening", "Why not!" and "How did they drag poor Olivia DeHavilland into this?". The very lovely Candice Bergen is pretty much wasted in this, but when you see her 'orgasm-face' you start to think that it's probably not a bad thing. The movie is actually quite stunning to look at even though everything else around it is a total mess. The fact that the movie is SUCH a complete mess is what makes it so compulsively watchable and I mean that in the most non-ironic way possible.