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joanasoeiro's review against another edition
Many thoughts about this one.
I do think it was personal, contrary to what a lot of other reviews say, and I was able to feel her voice in the writing of this book.
I'm not rating it precisely because it was so personal, and because of the many controversial situations it included.
Not that Debbie was in the wrong – on the contrary –, but I feel like so many things happened to her when she was younger and she hasn't exactly processed them. She doesn't want people to see her as a victim, and I'm not going to judge her for that. I don't think anyone should be judged for how they handle trauma.
The parts about her and the band's careers were super interesting, and I loved learning even more about the making of Blondie albums, Debbie's solo albums and her film appearances (especially Videodrome, a movie that's always fascinated and disgusted me. It was nice to have more context on it).
This book also reminded me of Blondie's 2000s albums that I used to listen to on YouTube when I was younger and stopped because they are NOT on Spotify... So I am now going to search for them again. :-)))
I do think it was personal, contrary to what a lot of other reviews say, and I was able to feel her voice in the writing of this book.
I'm not rating it precisely because it was so personal, and because of the many controversial situations it included.
Not that Debbie was in the wrong – on the contrary –, but I feel like so many things happened to her when she was younger and she hasn't exactly processed them. She doesn't want people to see her as a victim, and I'm not going to judge her for that. I don't think anyone should be judged for how they handle trauma.
The parts about her and the band's careers were super interesting, and I loved learning even more about the making of Blondie albums, Debbie's solo albums and her film appearances (especially Videodrome, a movie that's always fascinated and disgusted me. It was nice to have more context on it).
This book also reminded me of Blondie's 2000s albums that I used to listen to on YouTube when I was younger and stopped because they are NOT on Spotify... So I am now going to search for them again. :-)))
catstello's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
Every music fan should listen to this.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Drug use and Sexual assault
honnomushi13's review against another edition
medium-paced
3.0
Amazing how so many interesting things can be made to sound so dull.
ridgewaygirl's review against another edition
2.0
It turns out that heroin use is not a good way to build memories. Debbie Harry's memoir, is hampered by this fact as well as her unwillingness to say anything bad about anyone, tell juicy stories or get personal. She's lead an interesting life, what with being a part of the punk/new wave music scene, hanging out and performing at CGBG, a legendary music club in the seventies and eighties, with people like Andy Warhol, Jean-Michel Basquiat, and assorted drag queens and musicians, being part of Blondie and touring the world and acting in movies like Hairspray and Videodrome. I just wish there hadn't been so much missing from her memoir.
The book itself is a lovely object. The paper is the kind of thick, matte paper that photographs look good on and there are pictures. Mostly, there is fan art; drawings of Harry sent to her through the years and which she kept. It's a nice, surprisingly sentimental touch from a woman intent in making sure we all know how tough she is (she is very tough, and had to be). There's a lot of name-dropping, but not much in the way of stories. Harry isn't going to say anything bad about anyone and anyway she doesn't remember much of the early CGBG days, has only nice things to say about most of the members of Blondie (there's a bit about two former members behaving badly in 2006) and she's too guarded to say anything about how she felt about any of it along the way.
I'm sure that people who loved Blondie will enjoy this, but it's dull stuff.
The book itself is a lovely object. The paper is the kind of thick, matte paper that photographs look good on and there are pictures. Mostly, there is fan art; drawings of Harry sent to her through the years and which she kept. It's a nice, surprisingly sentimental touch from a woman intent in making sure we all know how tough she is (she is very tough, and had to be). There's a lot of name-dropping, but not much in the way of stories. Harry isn't going to say anything bad about anyone and anyway she doesn't remember much of the early CGBG days, has only nice things to say about most of the members of Blondie (there's a bit about two former members behaving badly in 2006) and she's too guarded to say anything about how she felt about any of it along the way.
I'm sure that people who loved Blondie will enjoy this, but it's dull stuff.
sarah16's review against another edition
informative
medium-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug use
Moderate: Rape