So, tonight I went to one heckuva amazing concert by a band that's pretty high on the AM list but not mentioned that often on this forum: Blondie. Great show best summed up by one moment - the unpredictable encore, a punk-rock version of Celine Dion's "My Heart Will Go On". And it worked! In other words, crazy, unexpected, off-the-wall, but excellent nonetheless.
Perhaps what struck me most was the range of styles they covered. They effortlessly blended rock, funk, punk, blues, disco and hip-hop, and that was just on "Rapture". The rhythm section was loose and danceable, and it struck me that, sans Debbie Harry, I might have expected Franz Ferdinand to be on stage. I think Blondie was the first band to connect rock and punk to the then un-cool disco, and I also think a lot of today's bands owe them a great deal.
So basically, while the topic is fresh on my mind, I just wanted to see what you guys think about them. They're probably only a top 50 artist in my book (maybe slightly after that), but they're riding the post-concert bump and they are oft-underrated.
(As for the other acts on the bill, which were the Donnas and Pat Benatar, don't waste your cash. The Donnas sucked a lot and Pat Benatar doesn't have enough good material to stretch into a whole set.)
Blondie is one of my favorites, though I don't really have alot of their stuff (just Parallel Lines and a Greatest Hits.) I flip-flop between them and Talking Heads for who personifies what I think "post-punk" music is: fast, poppy music that takes a million different styles and combines them into something great.
And of course, unless I'm mistaken their debut album is eligible for this months round of the 1970'es poll. I haven't been able to lay my hands on a copy, though ...