Parallel Lines

I came in heavily biased to this one, and really wanted to let loose with a 5. Blondie is a blind spot for me that's always seemed ripe for uncovering some real tasty gems that perhaps even the most elitist music snobs wouldn't fuck with because they were massively successful and led by a woman. I held my hand out with 5 fat stars. It was there for Blondie to take. Hit play. Blondie didn't want the 5. By the middle of the album Blondie reached in for the stars but I quickly pulled my hand back to my hair and said "too slow!" I gave a star away to my neighbor who stopped by for dinner. I put another star on the WalMart grill and cooked it for 45 minutes. Blondie pretended not to care about the leftover stars. I think we're all just ok with how things worked out. B-

Everyone knows all the Blondie staples, most of us don't realise they all lived on one album. This might be one of the best albums ever created. I forget how great this stuff is, it's not until you sit and pay attention that you realise how awesome it is. Not a bad track in the bunch.

What a terrific album. Front to back, every song on here is worth listening to - Debbie Harry's voice is fantastic and oscillates seamlessly between the punk-ier vibes of a song like 'One Way or Another' to the lighter, airy vibes of songs like 'Fade Away and Radiate' or 'Heart of Glass'. The album ends perfectly with the delightfully melodic and catchy 'Just Go Away'. Worth many, many listens.

The perfect pop rock album. Blondie is mostly seen as the epitome of early New Wave alongside The Talking Heads and Devo, but they were able to blend countless genres in a way that was still consistent and accessible to most audiences. Beyond the synth-heavy New Wave, these tracks are full of power pop, punk, and pure rock. "Sunday Girl" takes inspiration from 60s R&B, while "Heart of Glass" is the perfect disco song despite contemporary resentment, and classic Buddy Holly is covered in the rockabilly "I'm Gonna Love You Too." Blondie would further show later skills in their reggae "The Tide is High" and hip hop "Rapture." One of the best track placements I've ever seen. Starts off with a banger of an intro, which is apparently a cover. It has all punk energy with appropriate synths and catchy lyrics (both chorus and verses). Then it just transitions straight into an even more intense and catchier classic, "One Way or Another" which is more rock and less punk, but matches the first track's strengths in every way. Things tone down slightly in "Picture This." I'm really glad that Debbie Gray is the vocalist of all these songs, she's able to sing to such a range of moods that it keeps the audience looking forward to each track. There is no filler in this album. Sure, there are tracks I'm not a huge fan of, but I still like them all, and in fact, I would listen to the majority on their own casually. That's how great all of them stand out. In case you're curious, the one song I'm indifferent about is "I Know But I Don't Know." I like the wacky vocals and sound that almost reminds me of Devo, but the beginning is a tad bit annoying, and the rock solo is generic, but I really like the last minute. I love how the album ends with two more punk-like tracks, as if there's no need for the full pop facade (excluding the "Just Go Away" rock solo), going back to punk roots. I probably would have swapped these two tracks since the Buddy Holly cover is a slightly better closer. Favorite tracks: One Way or Another, Picture This, Fade Away and Radiate, 11:59, Sunday Girl, Heart of Glass (I had trouble excluding some as my "favorite" cause nearly the entire album would be on here)

Debbie Harry, the legend! Blondie is cited so often as an '80s staple that I didn't realize they began making music in the '70s. This sounds a lot more rock-oriented than I expected, it makes me wish we'd get some other, older Blondie records on the list. Anyway, I dig this one. It's got two classic hits and plenty of excellent album cuts. Long live Debbie Harry. Favorite tracks: Heart of Glass, 11:59, One Way or Another, Sunday Girl, Hanging on the Telephone. Album art: Iconic. It's black and white without being black and white. Debbie front and center AS SHE SHOULD BE. Perfect color contrast, and the red font is great. This could be an all-timer. 4.5/5

Obvi so good! And finally a strong female presence!

I came into this album expecting the hits to be good and the deep tracks to be mediocre and uninteresting, but man was I wrong. I loved how different each song was and how different the lead singer sounded in each song. Blondie shows off her true talent in this album that I didn’t know she had. Also the guitar work and production on this album are solid. This album stays interesting throughout making it the perfect length.

A perfect Pop Rock album? Definitely a solid track list with timeless classics like "One Way or Another" and "Heart of Glass" but solid gold behind it like "Hanging on the Telephone" and "Sunday Girl", though for that song you should make sure you get the Frenglish version that inexplicable s'est mis au français à mi-chemin. Pourquoi? Je n'en ai aucune idée, c'est vraiment super mimi et bien plus tard Zooey Deschanel a repris cette chanson avec She & Him et elle correspond parfaitement à son esthétique. Mais je m'égare... 4 étoiles

Nr. 144/1001 Hanging On The Telephone 3/5 One Way Or Another 3/5 Picture This 3/5 Fade Away And Radiate 3/5 Pretty Baby 2/5 I Know But I Don't Know 2/5 11:59 3/5 Will Anything Happen 3/5 Sunday Girl 3/5 Heart Of Glass 4/5 I'm Gonna Love You Too 3/5 Just Go Away 3/5 Average: 2,92 New-Wave is just a genre I can't seem to really enjoy.

Loved this Album. Debbie Harry has such a powerful voice and she wasn’t afraid to be different in a very tumultuous time for rock and roll, and thus helped to influence a revolution. Add that to Chris Stein’s unique guitar compositions and you have a band that was made to break the mold of rock in the 70s and open up a new era of punk and pop rock music.

Probably the band's best album. It's got most of the band's hits, and they're great, but it also shines with its lesser known songs. The album is just a great listen from start to finish. Debbie Harry has a wonderful range, from a little rasp that shines through when she gets louder to the soft whispers in the quieter moments.

What I took away from my most recent listen was irrepresible urgency. If you don't answer, she'll ring your phone right off the wall. To get ya, she'll follow your bus downtown (and spy you in the supermarket buying rat food?!). She'll "wait until morning [to] take tomorrow by the hand" because "today can last another million years". She wants you to make it, but if you do "will anything happen?" For these fatefully spirirted youngsters Something. Must. Always. Be. Happening. We're all dying to live, rushing straight ahead in our own parrallel lines. This catalsym of sexual, intellectual and emotional energy is the sound of those lines converging.

This is just a really good album. High points include the hits ("One Way or Another" and "Heart of Glass"), and tracks like "Hanging on the Telephone" and "Fade Away and Radiate" (I hear Fripp, I like). I've been listening to it repeatedly for several days now and I keep noticing all kinds of great touches and I'm not remotely getting tired of it. Most albums I rate as a 5 really have some aspect that blows me away and I can't say this album has that, but it's just good start to finish. That's worth a 5 also.

fantastic. so re-listenable. he voice is everything

- 'Hanging on the telephone' is a good opener - Did NOT know 'One Way or Another' was their song, ICONIC!! - 'Picture This' really conveys what I want in life: "All I want is 20/20 vision" - 'Fade Away and Radiate', 'Pretty Baby','11:59' - very good run - HEART OF GLASS IS ALSO THEIRS AND FROM THE SAME ALBUM??? WHAT?? How in the world have I never heard their name? Another ICONIC song!!!! - 'Once I Had A Love' may I use the word iconic again?? Never heard of Blondie before, but today I can surely say what an amazing album this is, of course the word to summarize it all is definitely ICONIC, the only reason it didn't had 5 stars is that it could be done without one or two songs that were subpar but overall GREAT

Really solid album. It starts of strong right from the get go. A ton of catchy tracks on here as well, especially Heart of Glass. It does have a few songs, that didn't catch my attention, as some of the other tracks did, but none of them were terrible. Definitely listening to it again.

I've come to the conclusion that Blondie sounds like something you'd hear playing at your local worn-down rock pub. 'Heart of Glass' and 'One Way Or Another' are a step up and really catchy songs, the rest I could do without. Not consistent enough to warrant any higher rating really, so will have to land in the middle.

Debbie Harry spent most of her career looking down her nose at her audience like she was so much cooler and better than them. Well... it's because she was. The band aren't far behind her either. Every note played is impressively tight in a way that many bands weren't able to be before click-tracks, sequencers and time-alignment. Slick, energetic, fun, and never outsays its welcome.

If you don't like this album you hate women I'm sorry

Parallel Lines is the album where Blondie transcended the NYC punk scene and became one of the biggest pop groups in the world. They didn't abandon that aggressive, slightly weird, punk/new wave ethos of previous albums but built on it, with more emphasis on their Phil Spector 'Wall of Sound' influences, which had always been there but really fill out the soundscape on this album. There isn't a bad song here and so many hits it is like a best of - Hanging on the Telephone, One Way or Another, Picture This, 11:59, Sunday Girl, Heart of Glass - all of them played by a really tight band, Mike Chapman's '60s pop production, great drumming, crunchy guitars and, in Deborah Harry, the most charismatic, captivating front woman in rock and pop history!

Parallel Lines The best of Blondie was one of the official minidisc albums I got when I got my minidisc player for Christmas in 1998. Nothing to do with Parallel Lines but whenever I hear Blondie I think about that Minidisc player. Sweet memories aside this album is just a terrific rush of pop perfection, right in the sweet spot of new wave, disco, reggae, pop, power pop, little bits of country and rock, with a slightly crazy number of classic bangers: Hanging on the Telephone, One Way or Another, Picture This, Fade Away & Radiate, Pretty Baby, Sunday Girl, Heart of Glass, I’m Gonna Love You To. Some of the less famous songs are great as well, I Know but I Don’t Know has a great seedy pop snark to it, 11.59’s slight doo wop wedded to power pop is super, Will Anything Happen is an excellent bit of new wave vaguely rockabilly synth pop and Just Go Away is a lovely bit of attitude. All bangers, all the time 🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍 Playlist submission: Heart of Glass the obvious one, but I love Fade Away & Radiate.

Masterpiece of new wave music. Almost a greatest hits album

I first heard Blondie on the Muppet Show when I was a child in around 1981, but let's not dwell on that. When I was teenager, my mate Shawn's parents had a caravan at Kendall's Beach, near Kiama, and they kindly let Shawn and his friends (including me, Philippa, Tim, Jessica, Irina, and few others) head down there for the occasional weekend, unsupervised. We were generally a well-behaved bunch, and didn't get up to much trouble beyond splitting a bottle of lambrusco between of us (which is not a lot of cheap wine per person). We would often go hang out at the pizza place at Surf Beach, just over the headland, eat pizza and feed coins into the jukebox. A vinyl jukebox was almost an anachronism by then, so it was a bit special. They didn't update the singles very often, if at all, so it usually had the same reliable songs available whenever we visited, including a bunch of Blondie singles. We always played the Blondie singles. Always. When Shawn and Tim and I formed a band a few years later, we mostly played (terrible) originals, but Heart of Glass was a regularly featured cover. As a result, I mainly think of Blondie as a singles band. The Best of Blondie is a guaranteed good time, and a record I keep in my DJ crates for dance floor emergencies. They had a magnificent streak of amazing pop singles through the late 70s into the early 80s. I own a few of their albums (including Parallel Lines) but I rarely play them because I live under the misapprehension that they just were a singles band, and that the albums are full of filler. So, giving Parallel Lines a proper listen today was quite a surprise. Blondie _are_ a phenomenal singles band, and they were at the height of their powers here. There were six (SIX!) singles released from the album, and they are all pretty great (with chart-topper Heart of Glass the clear standout). But even the album tracks are pretty damn strong. This is a really consistent album of power pop all the way through. The songs are awash with hooks and strong melodies and a beat you can bug out to. The covers are well chosen and sit well with the originals. Their cover of Buddy Holly's 'I'm Gonna Love You Too' is my deep cut discovery from this listen (although, in fairness, it was released as a single. I didn't know that). Mike Chapman had a hard time wrangling the famously undisciplined band into playing, you know, _well_, which he managed to do without smoothing off all their energetic edges. The band is muscular and taut and melodic. Debbie Harry's vocals are tough and expressive and charismatic, even if not always technically perfect. Charles Shaar Murray famously wrote in a 1975 overview of the CBGB's scene that Debbie Harry was cute, but lacking star power. By 1978, I'm sure he was eating his words. Fade Away and Radiate is a bit of the odd track out, and I understand why some people don't like it, but I love the moody weirdness, embellished by Robert Fripp and his idiosyncratically Fripp-y guitar playing. Always love a bit of Robert Fripp. Based on this listen, I am prepared to re-evaluate my prejudices about Blondie. They were an outstanding singles band, one of the best of all time, _and_ capable of producing high quality pop albums as well. All killer, no filler (as they say). Five stars.

As a female who plays bass and loves tempo experiments, this album has been a favourite for years now. I've tried today to analyse why. It's Blondie's 3rd album, and it shows in its confident production and aural layering. Thematically they're still experimenting, not settling on one emotion or vibe for too long. Listening through headphones I can hear multiple understated stabby guitars & sparkly synths. The bass has a really fun bouncing energy in most tracks (which is guaranteed to hook me). Several of the songs have a schoolyard teasing vibe ("nyer nyer!"), especially noticeable in One Way Or Another after the lyrics change from "I'm gonna getcha" to "I'm gonna lose ya". This is a band that doesn't take themselves too seriously :) But then! Oh, they follow up with Picture This, a sweet nostalgic longing, with a hint of desperation. Heart of Glass is wonderfully polished, with a trip hazard in the first half of the bridge where the tempo loses a beat (7/8 time not standard 4/4): a reminder that life isn't smooth & predictable, so take care not to drop & shatter the heart. To follow this up with I'm Gonna Love You Too and its wild, unrestrained, loose energy is just lovely. My favourite of the Blondie albums, and when my vinyl wears out from overuse I'll be replacing it for sure :)

Fantastic album. It starts with a phone ring and then punches straight into Hanging on the telephone. One of the best "intros" of any album. The album continues with a mix of punk and new wave, fast and slow. All in all, a very well put together album.

This was one of the very first albums I bought - actually my brother bought it, I bought ELO's Discovery, the only time he has demonstrated better taste. Only two things to note on one of the easiest 5 star reviews: I never knew that Hanging on the Telephone was a cover until very rcently, and you need to make sure your copy has the 5:50 disco mix of heart of Glass and not the single edit some early pressings of both vinyl and CD use (including my brother's copy I quickly inherited and still have).

Glittery pop-rocking set of songs. “Heart of Glass” makes me happy. The rest is solidly enjoyable.

Not my jam but way better than what I’ve been served lately 3.4/10

Tough one as I'm a bit ambivalent about Blondie. Parallel Lines rightfully deserves its classic status and boasts a handful of cracking hit singles. Somehow though, for me, that still doesn't add up to an album I want to have on heavy rotation. So, I enjoy hearing it now and then but not really enough to compel me to score it more highly.

Didn't hate it. 2.7

Part of me wanted to like this bit I didn't that much

Way more punk rock than I was expecting. The singles naturally stood out, heart of glass is a great song. Catchy and warm throughout, but very “of the time” sounding. Still enjoyed but probably wouldn’t listen to it again.

This was a good album. I wouldn't go out of my way to listen to it again, but it wasn't bad. The hits are classic ofc, and there weren't any necessarily bad songs. Just kinda a regular album.

Pretty enjoyable even outside of the obvious hits. Can't say it's something I'd listen to off-hand, but pleasant overall.

I think that this sat in an overall mediocre position, great singles, consistent sound, but samey, and not a ton of interesting stuff going on.

The highs are smashing but the lows are disappointingly bland on this one. 'Heart of Glass' still slays though

One Way or Another ist ein Banger

A few good bops does not a good album make. The thought that came to mind while listening was "Isn't there six people on this album cover? Six people and they can't make more interesting music?" 2/5

Honestly wasn’t really that good besides the iconic songs

Just two hits, rest of the songs totally boring

New wave sucks, that's been established. Blondie isn't a very good band, and they're in a genre that sucks. There isn't much substance to anything here, including the singles. The non-single tracks are bog standard late 70s crud. But Debbie Harry is a fucking babe, so an extra point for that. 2/5.

Honestly, despite the hits like Heart of Glass and One Way or Another, not that good of an album. Was disappointed:/

Overfamiliarity with the (admittedly great) singles added to some fairly meh album tracks means an entertaining-enough but ultimately pretty shallow experience.

2 hit wonder. Pass

Awesome album , loved it

The Blondie Disco Album! Parallel Lines was the Blondie album that yanked Blondie out of the NYC New Wave scene and into international stardom, mostly because of the song Heart of Glass i.e. The Disco Song. The rest of the album is a masterpiece of New Wave songs, full of pop references and just enough quirkiness to not seem too insular or precious. From the cover of The Nerves' Hanging on the Telephone to the Robert Fripp infused Fade Away and Radiate, to the final track telling you to Just Go Away, Parallel lines is one great song after another... except Heart of Glass. It's hard to imagine today the breath of the controversy at the time but, Heart of Glass was almost a Blondie deal breaker to the NYC New Wave community. It's disco beat alone, while presaging the technopop of the 80s, was patently offensive to most Punk and New Wave folks. The whole "Blondie as Disco" thing seemed like capitualtion to the mainstream and not forward muscial evolution. The rest of the world loved it though. It was pop, it was disco, and to mainstream top-40 radio, a great song. With the space of almost 50 years between now and then, it's easy to see Heart of Glass for what it was - a sellout. It worked too! It's actually one of the weakest songs on the album but it got Blondie the attention they were seeking and it's why we are even talking about this album today. That's unfortuntate because the album itself is amazing... except for Heart of Glass.

Really good album. Debbie Harry is an amazing lead vocalist, she’s a force. I knew all the hits, but never listened to this in full before. I’m not surprised I loved it, but I’m surprised I didn’t listen to it sooner.

Lo he disfrutado mucho.

Fuckin love blondie

There's 4 bonafide classic songs here. Unfortunately, 3 of those are the first 3 songs on the album, but that's not to say there's a single bad song here. I have listened to this before, and I was going in expecting to give it a 4, but having listened, I think this is a 5. Just an incredibly fun catchy album.

Blondie är så coola! Några riktiga bangers + genomgående välljudande

"I want to tell you something you've known all along," she sings on the opener, and then she proceeds to do exactly that, running through power pop that feels both fresh and timeless in a way that's both relentless careerist (Disco! From a punk-adjacent band! The horror!) and quietly revolutionary by virtue of it coming from her voice. I'd call it the sound of the hunter getting captured by the game except that it collapses the categories of "hunter" and "game" so thoroughly.

This was unexpectedly fun! Loved the variety, the instrumentals, and the vocal work. 'One Way Or Another' is a certified classic and my fave. 'Heart Of Glass' was also an awesome track! Hard to pick between the two.

Really good rock/new wave album! I'd already heard Heart of Glass and One Way or Another, and after a careful listen I think they're both excellent. The real surprising part was how consistently good the album was. Sunday Girl is maybe the pick of the rest, but it's very close with just about any other track.

It’s actually kind of wild how many iconic songs are crammed into this thing. The variety is nuts! Its got punky edges and glossy pop hooks. Pure gold. Spins: 3 Playlist Additions: - Hanging On The Telephone - On Way Or Another - Picture This - Sunday Girl - Heart Of Glass - I'm Gonna Love You Too

Blondie's masterpiece 😍

Wow, this blew my mind! Knew a little of Blondie but it's all here and then some. There's nothing else for it, this is just.... COOL. I want to be in Blondie. Loved it.

Amazing album!

So many amazing songs here!

Only one meh song and the singles are all top class

# Playlist Track - Hanging on the telephone # Notes - Not looking at the additional tracks from the extended version. - For something published almost half a century ago, this sounds pretty damn modern and fresh! - Listening to this on Debbie Harry's birthday! She's 80 today?! Oh my!

This is incredible, some of the most stand out singles of all time compiled into one album, it is almost like a blondie best of. Also shout out to 11:59 and fade away and radiate the album’s non single gems that make this a must listen for every 5/5

Excellent album. New to me as I am only really familiar with their Best Of (although a lot of it seems to be from here!)

hell yeah, WAY better than Patti Smith and Nick Cave. I should dislike this more on principle, but i think Debbie is a badass. these guys are sellouts, that's a fact. but they had a lot going on. they are apart of that scene early on in a very pivotal way. this one has banger after banger for 78. the energy this has from start to finish is undeniable. Hanging on the Telephone should be a hit cuz for the start its amazing. its hard to find a song i skip. there is a 50's theme throughout but it does stray for its own version of that style. the punk roots are here in a big way. I Know but I Don't Know and 11:59 show that. them playing shows with the Ramones at CBGB's is a radical image. there is sense of humor that if you aren't in on the joke, you just take the record at face value as a low budget rock project when, in reality, the ideas going into these tracks are basically the foundation that would build a scene for 30 more years. this is honestly 5/5 for all the markers: i have a connection to it, its a triumph of this group's talent, and moved music forward that we still see influence of today. arguments have been made as to how important they are to the punk scene versus others who are less recognized, but gun to my head, its objectively a perfect record. this idea at that time was brand new and opened doors wide. last song is called Just Go Away which tops that attitude that this album is exudes regardless of what you think.

My timelines are way off. Blondie were active in the 70s? This album is wall to wall new wave bangers

Excellent album. I don't know how they do it but every song hits perfectly and they each sound unique.

The mixture of punk and pop in the hands of this band produces one of the albums of the era. Debbie Harry’s vocal really carry it well.

Отличный альбом, много классных хитов

Awesome album!!! Not a bad song on here!!

Absolutely a classic

The return to Pop. A pleasant listen.

Blondie has been a favorite of mine for a long time. Like her friends Iggy, Bowie, and Joey - Blondie never sought to define themselves as New Wave or Punk Rock. Instead they wrote and produced songs from several genres and influences. I LOVE the album opener "Hanging On The Telephone" even today. Debbie wasn't blessed with a traditional beautiful voice like Linda Ronstadt or Pat Benatar, but you could HEAR her moxy and life experience of New Jersey/New York. There were 6 singles on this album, each another delicious flavor.

How good is Blondie! Banging record.

Favorite song: Pretty Baby I really like one way or another, I understand why it was such a big hit. I know but I don't know almost felt too repetitive and didn't not fit but also didn't fit, it felt like a last minute add on to fill time. I like the roadtrip feel of just go away, it would be a great car song. This album has a nice feel to it. It feels a little bit mainstream but not necessarily in a bad way but in the way that you could play it for anyone and they'd like it. Especially with the obviously rock inspired guitars and pop-rock type vocals and the keyboard they use.

Blondie is the perfect blend of pop and punk. Their 2nd and 3rd (i.e. this one) albums are absolute masterpieces with all-time classics. I slightly prefer the second because it's a bit rockier, but truth be told, this is perfection. Great radio-oriented songs, top-notch production, an amazing and super charismatic lead vocalist... again, pure NY punk-pop sound. You'll have timeless classics like Heart of Glass or Hanging on the Telephone, One Way or Another here, but ALSO some others that maybe aren't that famous but rock as hard. Example: 11:59, what a song! 5 stars and I sold my soul to Debbie Harry.

Great

Grappig om dit album achter elkaar te luisteren. Afzonderlijk van elkaar kende ik deze nummers bijna stuk voor stuk en bij sommige kon ik nooit de artiest plaatsen, maar de nummers zijn bekend. Super goed album!

What a great album, it's almost like a Greatest Hits in how many amazing singles it spawned, and pretty much any of these songs could've been justified as singles aside from the ones that actually were. Crammed with catchy hooks, Debbie Harry is just one of the coolest rock stars ever. I was also surprised to read that the producer thought they sucked as musicians - they sound pretty tight to me. I guess we can also thank him for getting a tune out of the band, too. It worked

Like fine and aging wine, every time I take a sip I enjoy it more. A response to Ramones style punk and a launching pad to new wave. You can really hear the nods to Lou Reed\Velvet Underground (I'm your dog but not your pet...) and this just makes me want to listen to other CBGB bands like Dead Boys, Talking Heads, Television and Patti Smith spring to mind. A musical time capsule with a smirking angel's voice. Absolutely the best.

I really love Blondie, so this is an incredibly biased review

Nice. I feel the band has a great mix of having poppy radio-ready hooks and a punky new-wave sound. Debbie Harry takes her role of front woman and runs with it. I really dig the whole style. The third album to score big with me.

One of my all time favorites

10/10

This took my so called proto/pop punk cherry and when I first listened to it as a young Turk and it became a go to for everything from just listening to it for fun to getting me out of teenage funk. It was and still is a gateway to my crush of Debbie Harry.

11:59

Love love love the album art and love the songs.

Blondie’s tight five-piece arrangements on this album toss punk, glam, prog, pop, disco, and new wave into a blender and serve it up smooth. Add in Debbie Harry’s distinctive, charismatic vocals, veering effortlessly from croon to growl and back, and you have an album that perfectly captures a mood and a style that was emblematic of its time.

APOLOGY FORM FOR THE BAND BLONDIE EXCUSE LIST: [x] The media convinced me they were boomer trailer music [x] I only listened to the radio singles [x] I was jealous of Blondie inventing new wave before punk [x] I didn't listen to the actual albums [x] I don't know new wave [x] Mercury was in Gatorade [x] I will hereby respect Blondie and I will NOT talk down on the current and 19 years running Rock and Roll Hall of Famers. Anything else to say?: listen, i feel like a total dork when i enjoy new wave. the cookie crumbled so that the accessible and popular cousin of punk rock ended up making you look like a total mondo dweebazoid with no friends and no game if you had extensive knowledge about it. you may as well start buying Rogaine at 16. plus, as The Knack have proven, not all new wave is good -- it actually has a great capability to suck ass and survive in culture as throwback trailer music for bitter Gen X'ers. (what's millenial The Knack? Jet?) i know Blondie; who doesn't? i just kind of heard the singles, which are really good, and saw how little buzz their albums got and just assumed "yeah i guess they're a singles band" like a moron. this is some premium grade new wave, and probably the best pop rock that side of the 70s. i was wrong. i shouldn't have put off listening to Parallel Lines. neither should you. can i leave music dork detention now?

A punky poppy masterpiece!

"Cool" rhymes with "fool"

Just full of Blondie bangers.

Oozes cool

album concept: five goobers who look like they work at a pizza parlor dress as tarantino characters and put on a power pop hook clinic while a golden haired demi-goddess (i love you deborah) whirls, sneers, and wails her way through twelve excellent songs. i can remember the exact moment i fell in love with debbie harry as a boy in the back of the minivan listening along to Q104.1 FM: the second chorus of "one way" when she starts letting her voice do that growly thing. probably 7 years old. floored. slack-jawed. what is this weird feeling? who is this lady who's gonna get me? god, i hope she does. i didn't know who she was or what she looked like for another seven years. didn't matter. imprinted. apparently they caught shit for "heart of glass." too commercial or disco, not close enough to what the post-punk art rock world thought was legit. goes to show the value of a dogmatic view of music. any musician who wanted to rob the world of THAT groove (nice one, goobers) deserves to have their card revoked. plus it fits perfectly with the album's sequence. not a dull moment. gets better with every listen. makes me love rock and roll, debbie, and even disco a little more. what more could i ask for?

one of the coolest bands to ever do the damn thing. i love this record from top to bottom.

Power-pop masterpiece and their best album. 5 stars.

Yes

Thumping new wave with disco influence and yet another classic album that Robert Fripp has turned up to offer a bit of texture to. What's not to like?

Extremely familiar with the hits but never listened to the whole album. Super fine. This album could come out today and be a critical smash.

good

Amazing ALbum. Some classic hits and fun rock music!