And speaking of Blondie, the group's long-delayed new album, "Panic of Girls," is due to be released in the UK on May 30. You can HEAR PREVIEWS of all 11 tracks HERE and, much to my relief, it actually sounds quite promising. I tend to panic when my favorite bands release new material, but I'm really liking the reworked "Mother" -- check out the video below, which plays homage to the former Meatpacking District hot spot -- as well as a number of the other new songs that I haven't heard live.
I haven't been able to confirm this, but I suspect the "issue" this time around is an atomic lawsuit from keyboardist Jimmy Destri, who was unceremoniously pushed out of the band for having a drug problem years ago in the second coming of Blondie (they've now been re-formed longer than they were together in the first place) and probably isn't taking too kindly to not even being featured on the LP, as he was with "The Curse of Blondie." (I can understand them not wanting to tour with him, but to omit his writing contributions -- he penned their one comeback hit, "Maria" -- is a grave mistake as he is the only member of the band who can still write songs that sound like Blondie rather than Debbie Harry solo stuff.) Pity that their last two albums have been mired in lawsuits and delays because any traction they might have built up -- they toured and wowed crowds with "Panic" songs last year -- has long since dissipated. The "Mother" video is getting a lot of new attention, but now I'm reading that the album will not be coming out in the U.S. until September (on the band's "own label"), which means it will again get lost in the shuffle. (WHO is handling their PR?) Still, am happy that they're still feeling creative and will gladly shell out 15 bucks to hear what they've come up with.
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