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willgalltall's review against another edition
5.0
A very interesting look at New York during the 70s and 80s by Blondie's lead guitarist, Chris Stein.
What Chris proves here is that he is very much an artist himself. The photos in this book say so many words, and the descriptions and side stories from Chris are really interesting, and help to give you an even better idea of that time.
I read this in a day, as there isn't all that much writing involved, but the focus is more on the photos that I will refer to again in the future.
I also own Chris' other book, Negative which I will read, and I believe he is also in the process of writing a memior, that will match perfectly with this and Debbie Harry's 'Face It'.
What Chris proves here is that he is very much an artist himself. The photos in this book say so many words, and the descriptions and side stories from Chris are really interesting, and help to give you an even better idea of that time.
I read this in a day, as there isn't all that much writing involved, but the focus is more on the photos that I will refer to again in the future.
I also own Chris' other book, Negative which I will read, and I believe he is also in the process of writing a memior, that will match perfectly with this and Debbie Harry's 'Face It'.
thunderhead's review against another edition
4.0
Photography I can get lost in, anecdotes from Stein and of course snaps of the most striking woman to ever walk the face of Earth. What’s not to love?!
msand3's review against another edition
4.0
Stein's photos capture the rundown, grimy NYC of the 70s. His reflections include stories of witnessing robberies, being mugged constantly, and hanging out with Warhol's crew. It's odd to nostalgically glorify such a dirty, crime-filled, teeming city -- what Stein terms “the decay and the danger,” which he admits to missing when he briefly moved away from the city -- but it certainly fostered great music and art. The photos are real and gritty, but rarely bleak. Amid all the squalor, Debbie Harry’s image occasionally appears, especially toward the end, like a goddess descending into the dreary realm of imperfect mortals. Her natural beauty and cool grace radiates from each photo and is such a stark contrast to the grittiness in the surrounding pages. Whereas the first half of the book focuses more on the city and anonymous people on the streets, the second half shifts to shots of punk personalities and some full color portraits of Harry in various locales throughout the city. The book ends with a few photos and reflections on 9/11, which Stein seems to suggest marked the official end of the old NYC.
In terms of the brief bits of text scattered throughout the book, Stein's captions are sometimes informative, but many photos are left to speak for themselves. Jon Ronson's foreword is amusing. He sounds like a fan who got a surprise chance to write an essay for the book and mostly just gushes about how cool it is to be writing about NYC and Blondie in the 70s, as someone who didn't get to experience it firsthand. (Full disclosure: I'm a Ronson fan, as well as a Blondie fan, so I understand his pleasure and enjoyed his foreword just for that reason.)
Not really an essential book in terms of photography or cultural studies, but an enjoyable way to spend a couple hours for fans of Blondie or music fans in general.
In terms of the brief bits of text scattered throughout the book, Stein's captions are sometimes informative, but many photos are left to speak for themselves. Jon Ronson's foreword is amusing. He sounds like a fan who got a surprise chance to write an essay for the book and mostly just gushes about how cool it is to be writing about NYC and Blondie in the 70s, as someone who didn't get to experience it firsthand. (Full disclosure: I'm a Ronson fan, as well as a Blondie fan, so I understand his pleasure and enjoyed his foreword just for that reason.)
Not really an essential book in terms of photography or cultural studies, but an enjoyable way to spend a couple hours for fans of Blondie or music fans in general.
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