Kembrew
McLeod “Blondie’s Parallel Lines” (Bloomsbury Academic, 2016)
This book is a great example of why I love the 33 1/3 series—it’s
full of unexpected gems. Parallel Lines is not my favorite
album, I don’t even think of myself as a big Blondie fan. But I loved this book.
If you are wanting a detailed track by track examination of
the album, you’re going to be disappointed.
That’s not what this book is.
There is some discussion of album highlights, etc. But they are
minimized in favor of a larger look at Blondie the band, and how they fit into the
NY music scene.
The larger point that McLeod is making is that the dominant
narrative of the NY punk scene has been reductionist and exclusionary. By focusing on certain bands and certain
influences, music historians have written a history that is white, male, and
heterosexual.
McLeod dives into the larger scenes of art & music
(because the two were intertwined for a time) to show how influences like girl
groups, disco, and proto hip hop were hardwired into Blondie’s music from day
one.
As he makes his case about Blondie, McLeod makes a larger
point about the NY music scene and the way that we have remembered it. Women, people of color, and homosexuals were
intimately involved from the beginning of the 70s musical scene. To pretend that they weren’t important parts
of the aesthetic is to ignore a strong vibrant cultural history.
While hardcore fans may lament a missed opportunity, for
those who are interested in a broader take on music in the 1970s, McLeod’s book
is a fascinating counterpoint to the dominant narrative.
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