FLORIDA: Bet You No One Ever Looked at the Bass Player

First, let's be clear: there is no such person known as "Blondie." Unless you count the title character of a comic strip that everyone should have stopped reading in 1936. But with her peroxide halo, singer Debbie Harry sure fit the name of her famous band. As the 1970s faded, the acclaimed new wave act abandoned their edgier sound for something poppier and more radio-friendly, even embracing disco ("Heart of Glass") and hip-hop ("Rapture"). The latter proved that if you rap as badly as Debbie Harry, you damn well better look like Debbie Harry.

But before that, on their first two albums, Harry and her cohorts rocked like the CBGB regulars they were. If you need further evidence of Miami native Harry's new wave/punk credentials, she went on to appear in a failed Broadway play with legendary provocateur Andy Kaufman. Remember: if it's not profitable, it's punk.

TODAY'S RECOMMENDATION: "X Offender" by Blondie
AVAILABLE ON: Blondie