Blondie on the cover of the Rolling Stone, 1979, Photo Credit: Rolling Stone
Blondie on the cover of the Rolling Stone after the release of their album Parallel Lines and number one song ‘Heart of Glass.’ In an interview with Rolling Stones, interviewer Jamie James described Blonde lead singer Debbie Harry as “annoyed” because “it had taken ‘Heart of Glass’ hitting number one in the US charts to arouse the magazine’s ardour” (Porter, 2) However, their appearance on the cover of Rolling Stone was an indication of things to come.
However, their appearance on the cover of Rolling Stone was an indication of things to come. Blondie would become one of the most popular bands of the 1970s, remaining popular until their break-up in the early 80s. In 2003 Parallel Lines would end up listed as number 140 in Rolling Stone’s list of “The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time,” keeping that same position when the list was revised in 2012. (Rolling Stone, 2003) One of the magazine’s reasons for its position was that the album was “where punk and New Wave broke though to a mass U.S. audience.” This push in the U.S. mainstream, however, would never have happened if Blondie had not paid attention to its predecessors by which it was influenced. It also would have not seen that success if it had not taken advantage of the new technologies that were introduced in the music industry at the same time.
Roland CR-78, by Music Go Round
A major reason that critics regard “Heart of Glass” as a hybrid between disco and rock is because of the texture, specifically of the drums. The layering of a synthetic drum kit and actual drums is essential in understanding the dynamic nature of the song. The CR-78 introduced the drum machine that is common among disco tracks. For the first ten seconds of the song, you can hear the CR-78 syncopated percussion that would convince the listener that it’s the beginning of a disco track. Actual drums are then layered on top of the drum machine to articulate a propulsive, open-hat backbeat. The quick tempo of the actual drums provides a backbeat that a punk audience is familiar with. Blondie not only layered one drum track on top of the machine but eight individual tracks. This allowed for the tracks to be processed individually and create the punchy drum beat that complimented the synthesizers (Harry, 1). The pulses and rhythm are more oriented towards disco while the backbeat is distinctly reminiscent of rock. The arrangement of the drums illuminates both aspects of the genres and their impact on the song.
The changing meter throughout the song indicates the pop influence. The song starts in four-four through the first verse and the chorus. After the second verse & chorus, the vocal melody is heard in changing meter for six measures. The meter switches from 4/4 to 3/4 each measure for six measures. The song finishes out in 4/4 time. One more measure of 3/4 can be heard in the song’s instrumental ending. The changes in meter resemble the form of a pop song (Langerholc, 1). Another key element that the Roland CR-78 introduced were the synths. Specifically, it had the ability to send a trigger pulse to the synthesizers. A trigger is a signal to the drum machine that tells it when to play a certain set of keys. A pulse indicates how long the key is played for. Thus, a trigger pulse enables the keys to start and stop in a desired pattern and sequence. It created the dysfunctional stuttering keyboard motif that is heard throughout the song (Rosenschein, 1). In an interview, the band cited that the foundation of the song was the synths that are heard at the beginning, and how the actual drums and bass were layered on top of it (Porter 85). The synthesizer ultimately laid the foundation for the rhythm of the song. Blondie was able to utilize both a synthetic drum beat that was so familiar in electronic dance music combined with real rock drums to create the unique sound of new wave (Myers, 3).
The layering of the drums, as well as the pulse synthesizer, attracts a different audience than Blondie had previously been associated with. The CR-78 drum machine and syncopated percussion specifically targeted pop and disco listeners. The purpose to include the strong polyphonic synths was to attract a new audience and gain more attention. This was a strategic move on Mike Chapman’s part because it appealed to a genre of music that was at the height of popularity. This was particularly important because it attracted the disco crowd in the United States, which ultimately allowed Blondie to become popular in a bigger market. Although they were excited about the new sound, Blondie was hesitant about how their original fan base would perceive the music. In an interview, Debbie Harry commented about the release of their album Parallel Lines, “a lot of people are going to accuse us of selling out even more. I think that the album will have more mass appeal, but I still don’t think we have abandoned our principles” (Porter, 110).
