Those who are very dedicated fans, or were much more involved in the punk scene, and are far more familiar with the atmosphere of that time and place, may not glean anything new from this memoir, but I’m sure the trip down memory lane will be worth your time. This isn’t a question, but in 1978 or 1979 I was a very closeted trans kid watching Blondie on Top of the Pops with my friends. The inevitable question arose about who would like a date with you. I drew a deep breath and said: “I want to be Debbie .” There was a stony silence as I outed myself. I finally came out as trans three years ago so I owe you a lot … rachaeltyrell

Face It by Debbie Harry review — the face that launched a

As an adopted person, I have always had a heightened sense of curiosity and feeling different. Can you relate to that? DavidMcr And while reading this book, I couldn't believe that it's already been 20+ years since Blondie regrouped in the late 1990s and recorded the album No Exit (an album that now appears to be out of print). Time flies when you're sleepwalking through life in pointless meetings and unsatisfying relationships. (Thankfully, one of those scenarios has changed over the years. Hint: It's not the pointless meetings.) That’s not really my intent, but I’ve been told I come off sounding that way. Still, these are my personal thoughts and I’m going to be straight up honest about them.I think it's the same as having a flu shot basically, another way of looking after yourself,” she wrote in her memoir Face It.

Face It: A Memoir by Debbie Harry | Goodreads

meh. Debbie Harry is 74 and I'm sure she's lived a colorful and interesting life, but the only real interesting parts of this seem to be made up (she claims to remember being three months old, as a child she "had bedroom eyes" and always "received a lot of sexual attention", she says she was almost kidnapped by Ted Bundy--which has been debunked several times, she's claims to be psychic, she was raped at knifepoint but it didn't really bother her because she was more worried about their stolen equipment, etc. I'm sure there were more, but I can't think of everything right now. In The Drama of Celebrity, Sharon Marcus writes, “The more singular a celebrity, the easier they are to replicate.” The ultimate proof of Debbie Harry’s singular influence can be seen in her musical progeny, who are legion. Madonna, Courtney Love, Lady Gaga, Babes in Toyland, Bikini Kill, Shonen Knife, Sleater Kinney, Pussy Riot, Angel Olsen and countless others didn’t need to mail Debbie Harry examples of their fan art. All they had to do was open their mouths, and sing. Although I was a little underwhelmed by the book, and I may have made it sound worse than it really was, I’m still glad I read it. There are plenty of interesting, juicy bits of information, lots of sex and drugs, and it was fun to hear Debbie talk about her hair colors and fashion styles over the years. Her work as an actress was far more accomplished than I realized and I enjoyed hearing about her movies, although I don’t think I’ve seen anything she played in. I think Debbie has lived quite a colorful life and deserves her place in music history and as a pop culture icon.

At the time, however, I think us girls did get it. No one else could be Harry. Now ordinary girls look at beautiful celebrities and feel inadequate or try to emulate them. With Harry we just bathed in her light. You never know what you are going to get when you start reading a memoir, but it is always hard to write a review for one you feel a little underwhelmed or disappointed with.

Face It: Debbie Harry Has Had A Happy and Lucky Life Face It: Debbie Harry Has Had A Happy and Lucky Life

I enjoyed this a lot because I can answer yes to all of these questions. I was pretty young in the 1980s so I did not get into that scene during its heyday. But, in the 90s, my friends and I were all about late 70s and 80s alternative music. I listened to a lot of Blondie and many of the other acts she talks about in this book. I regret that I never got to see CBGBs or witness the late 70s music scene in New York – even though it sounds like it was not an “if” but a “when” I would have been mugged or beaten up! It is amazing how harrowing and interesting day to day life was for Harry as she spent her formative years in New Jersey and New York City – and she mentions several times that this was before they cleaned it all up.And of course when I saw this in the bookstore, I couldn't resist - is there any person on this planet cooler than Debbie Harry? Did "cool" as a concept exist before Debbie Harry? The answer is no, friends. No it did not. (Did anyone else watch the Zoe Kravitz-led reboot of High Fidelity? There's an unexpected Debbie Harry cameo in one of the early episodes and that one brief scene is worth the entire price of admission alone.) Harry’s response is typically modest: “I just got on with it. As much as possible, I found a way to do what I had to do.”