Blondie is an American rock band founded in New York City in 1974 by singer… Read Full Bio ↴Blondie is an American rock band founded in New York City in 1974 by singer-songwriter Deborah Harry and guitarist Chris Stein. The band was a pioneer in the early American new wave and punk scenes of the mid-70s, developing their sound in famous NYC clubs such as CBGBs. With hits such as "Atomic", "Call Me". "Heart of Glass", and "Maria" as well as sales of over 40 million records worldwide, they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2006. Their original lineup consisted of Deborah Harry (vocals), Chris Stein (guitar, bass guitar), Clem Burke (drums, percussion), Jimmy Destri (keyboards), and Gary Valentine (bass guitar, guitar).
Band lore states that their name came from both a flippant reference to Adolf Hitler's dog Blondie as well as vocalist Harry's bright blond hair. Previously having been a Playboy Bunny, Harry fronted the early version of the band. initially known as "Angel and the Snakes". They built up underground fame in NYC. Blondie released their first album, 'Blondie', in 1976. The album was mildly successful and spawned the Australian hit single "In The Flesh". Gary Valentine left the band later that year, and they continued briefly as a foursome, recording 'Plastic Letters' and gaining more airplay with their track "Denis". Still in touch with their punk roots, having played in clubs such as CBGBs and hung out with rock artists such as the Ramones, the band broke out into other, more diverse influences such as older dance and pop music, particularly interested in Phil Spector's 'wall of sound' technique.
Valentine was replaced by Los Angeles-based musician Frank Infante (guitar, bass guitar) in 1977. Infante had already played guitar on one track on 'Plastic Letters'. The band went out playing live with Infante and Stein swopping between playing guitar and bass guitar throughout each concert. The band also added British born but LA-based Nigel Harrison (bass guitar), making Blondie a six piece group for the first time. Harrison was a former member of the glam rock band Silverhead.
In 1978, they released the album that would make them international stars, titled 'Parallel Lines'. The album spawned several hit singles, including the number one hit "Heart Of Glass", "Sunday Girl", "Hanging On The Telephone" (a cover of the famous power pop track by The Nerves), and "One Way Or Another". The success of the heavily disco influenced "Heart of Glass", a song sometimes censored for its use of strong language for the time and considered by the band as tongue-in-cheek, proved controversial among many fans of the band's punk background, but it managed to break them through at a massive level.
They released three more albums (1979's Eat To The Beat, 1980's Autoamerican (containing the number one singles "The Tide Is High" and "Rapture") and 1982's The Hunter) as well as a number one single "Call Me", from the score of the 1980 film "American Gigolo".
In 1980, Harrison contributed several unused Blondie songs to ex-Silverhead singer Michael Des Barres solo album I'm Only Human. In 1981, Harry released a solo album Koo Koo, Destri released a solo album Heart On A Wall. Burke recorded and played live with the Eurythmics, and Stein started a record label named Animal Records.
In 1982, health problems for Stein, declining sales and inter-band tension caused the band to split. Harry kept a low profile for a few years while she nursed (now former) boyfriend Stein through a serious illness, but then continued a solo career as an actress/singer.
Reformation plans begun in 1997 with a line-up that included Harry, Stein, Destri, Burke, Valentine, and Harrison. Infante was not invited to the reunion. Valentine and Harrison were eventually (and unceremoniously, they claim) replaced by Paul Carbonara (guitar) and Leigh Foxx (bass).
The band released No Exit in 1998, which did quite well in both US and UK charts and contained the number one hit single "Maria".
The album did not include any song contributions from Valentine or Harrison, despite them recording early sessions for the album and Valentine being assured by Stein that they would use his already recorded song "Amor Fati". Harrison and Infante later filed an unsuccessful lawsuit claiming breach of contract for not including them in the reunion.
The Curse Of Blondie was released in 2003 and, while not matching its predecessor in sales, was critically acclaimed and spawned the global dance hit "Good Boys".
Destri retired from touring in 2004. Kevin Patrick (keyboards), Destri's former keyboard tech and assistant, replaced him soon followed by Matt Katz-Bohen in 2008.
The band's 2006 induction ceremony into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame was the scene of an awkward moment between Infante and Harry, during which he asked that the former members be allowed to play along with fellow inductees Harry, Stein and Burke during the band's set, since it was the original band that was being inducted. Harry replied "Can't you see my band is up there?" prompting Infante to counter "I thought it was Blondie that was being inducted."
In 2006, the band toured as the opening act for The New Cars on the "Road Rage Tour." Although Harry was more than 60 years old, the band still managed incendiary versions of their old hits, while playing with enough fire to remind the audience of their punk roots.
In 2007, the band embarked on a tour of Europe, to coincide with the DVD release of the first ever music video album "Eat To The Beat".
Harry has since resumed her solo career, releasing 2007's Necessary Evil.
On June 5, 2008, Blondie commenced a world tour to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Parallel Lines with a concert at Ram's Head Live in Baltimore, Maryland. The tour covered some Eastern and Midwestern US cities throughout the month of June. In July, the tour took the band overseas to Israel, the UK, Russia, Europe and Scandinavia, wrapping up on August 2, 2008 at Rockefeller in Oslo, Norway.
Clem Burke and Paul Carbonara both recently told interviewers that the band is working on another record, which would be their first new album since the release of The Curse of Blondie in 2003. Carbonara described it as "a real Blondie record.
Blondie undertook a North American tour of mid-sized venues with Pat Benatar and The Donnas in the summer of 2009. Following the tour, in October, the band began recording sessions for their ninth studio album with producer Jeff Saltzman in Woodstock, New York. In December 2009, the band released the song "We Three Kings" to coincide with the Christmas holiday.
The new album, to be titled Panic of Girls, which was being mixed at the time, was said to follow in 2010. Chris Stein stated that Dutch artist Chris Berens will provide the cover art. In April 2010, it was announced that guitarist Paul Carbonara had amicably left Blondie to pursue other projects and was replaced by Tommy Kessler. Panic of Girls is tentatively set to be released in 2010/2011.
In June 2010, Blondie began the first leg of a world tour named "Endangered Species Tour", which covered the United Kingdom and Ireland, supported by UK band Little Fish. The set lists featured both classics and new material from the forthcoming Panic of Girls. After a break in July the tour will resume in August and cover the United States and Canada over a course of six weeks. Blondie is then set to take the "Endangered Species Tour" to Australia and New Zealand in November and December. It was revealed that the bands album will be released on the Australian Sony label in November 2010, and elsewhere in January 2011.
Songfacts reports that Mother, the first single from Panic of Girls received its global premiere on BBC Radio on March 17th, 2011 and was made available for purchase on May 23, 2011.
In May 2017 a new album was released named Pollinator with the single "Long Time" which saw the daylight in March.
In 2021, the band released a short film along with a soundtrack EP titled Vivir en la Habana. They also released an alternate version of their song Rapture titled “Yuletide Throwdown” which featured Fab 5 Freddy.
In 2022, Blondie released a Sunday Girl EP consisting of an unreleased demo and live version
of the song as well as the previously released french version of the track in honor of Record Store Day. The band went on a UK tour with support from Johnny Marr followed by a US tour with support from The Damned titled “Against The Odds Tour”, which Chris Stein did not attend due to health problems. They also announced the release of their first archival project and box set, titled Against The Odds: 1974 - 1982, which took six years to compile, began recording their twelfth studio album and remastered their music videos in HD.
Band lore states that their name came from both a flippant reference to Adolf Hitler's dog Blondie as well as vocalist Harry's bright blond hair. Previously having been a Playboy Bunny, Harry fronted the early version of the band. initially known as "Angel and the Snakes". They built up underground fame in NYC. Blondie released their first album, 'Blondie', in 1976. The album was mildly successful and spawned the Australian hit single "In The Flesh". Gary Valentine left the band later that year, and they continued briefly as a foursome, recording 'Plastic Letters' and gaining more airplay with their track "Denis". Still in touch with their punk roots, having played in clubs such as CBGBs and hung out with rock artists such as the Ramones, the band broke out into other, more diverse influences such as older dance and pop music, particularly interested in Phil Spector's 'wall of sound' technique.
Valentine was replaced by Los Angeles-based musician Frank Infante (guitar, bass guitar) in 1977. Infante had already played guitar on one track on 'Plastic Letters'. The band went out playing live with Infante and Stein swopping between playing guitar and bass guitar throughout each concert. The band also added British born but LA-based Nigel Harrison (bass guitar), making Blondie a six piece group for the first time. Harrison was a former member of the glam rock band Silverhead.
In 1978, they released the album that would make them international stars, titled 'Parallel Lines'. The album spawned several hit singles, including the number one hit "Heart Of Glass", "Sunday Girl", "Hanging On The Telephone" (a cover of the famous power pop track by The Nerves), and "One Way Or Another". The success of the heavily disco influenced "Heart of Glass", a song sometimes censored for its use of strong language for the time and considered by the band as tongue-in-cheek, proved controversial among many fans of the band's punk background, but it managed to break them through at a massive level.
They released three more albums (1979's Eat To The Beat, 1980's Autoamerican (containing the number one singles "The Tide Is High" and "Rapture") and 1982's The Hunter) as well as a number one single "Call Me", from the score of the 1980 film "American Gigolo".
In 1980, Harrison contributed several unused Blondie songs to ex-Silverhead singer Michael Des Barres solo album I'm Only Human. In 1981, Harry released a solo album Koo Koo, Destri released a solo album Heart On A Wall. Burke recorded and played live with the Eurythmics, and Stein started a record label named Animal Records.
In 1982, health problems for Stein, declining sales and inter-band tension caused the band to split. Harry kept a low profile for a few years while she nursed (now former) boyfriend Stein through a serious illness, but then continued a solo career as an actress/singer.
Reformation plans begun in 1997 with a line-up that included Harry, Stein, Destri, Burke, Valentine, and Harrison. Infante was not invited to the reunion. Valentine and Harrison were eventually (and unceremoniously, they claim) replaced by Paul Carbonara (guitar) and Leigh Foxx (bass).
The band released No Exit in 1998, which did quite well in both US and UK charts and contained the number one hit single "Maria".
The album did not include any song contributions from Valentine or Harrison, despite them recording early sessions for the album and Valentine being assured by Stein that they would use his already recorded song "Amor Fati". Harrison and Infante later filed an unsuccessful lawsuit claiming breach of contract for not including them in the reunion.
The Curse Of Blondie was released in 2003 and, while not matching its predecessor in sales, was critically acclaimed and spawned the global dance hit "Good Boys".
Destri retired from touring in 2004. Kevin Patrick (keyboards), Destri's former keyboard tech and assistant, replaced him soon followed by Matt Katz-Bohen in 2008.
The band's 2006 induction ceremony into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame was the scene of an awkward moment between Infante and Harry, during which he asked that the former members be allowed to play along with fellow inductees Harry, Stein and Burke during the band's set, since it was the original band that was being inducted. Harry replied "Can't you see my band is up there?" prompting Infante to counter "I thought it was Blondie that was being inducted."
In 2006, the band toured as the opening act for The New Cars on the "Road Rage Tour." Although Harry was more than 60 years old, the band still managed incendiary versions of their old hits, while playing with enough fire to remind the audience of their punk roots.
In 2007, the band embarked on a tour of Europe, to coincide with the DVD release of the first ever music video album "Eat To The Beat".
Harry has since resumed her solo career, releasing 2007's Necessary Evil.
On June 5, 2008, Blondie commenced a world tour to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Parallel Lines with a concert at Ram's Head Live in Baltimore, Maryland. The tour covered some Eastern and Midwestern US cities throughout the month of June. In July, the tour took the band overseas to Israel, the UK, Russia, Europe and Scandinavia, wrapping up on August 2, 2008 at Rockefeller in Oslo, Norway.
Clem Burke and Paul Carbonara both recently told interviewers that the band is working on another record, which would be their first new album since the release of The Curse of Blondie in 2003. Carbonara described it as "a real Blondie record.
Blondie undertook a North American tour of mid-sized venues with Pat Benatar and The Donnas in the summer of 2009. Following the tour, in October, the band began recording sessions for their ninth studio album with producer Jeff Saltzman in Woodstock, New York. In December 2009, the band released the song "We Three Kings" to coincide with the Christmas holiday.
The new album, to be titled Panic of Girls, which was being mixed at the time, was said to follow in 2010. Chris Stein stated that Dutch artist Chris Berens will provide the cover art. In April 2010, it was announced that guitarist Paul Carbonara had amicably left Blondie to pursue other projects and was replaced by Tommy Kessler. Panic of Girls is tentatively set to be released in 2010/2011.
In June 2010, Blondie began the first leg of a world tour named "Endangered Species Tour", which covered the United Kingdom and Ireland, supported by UK band Little Fish. The set lists featured both classics and new material from the forthcoming Panic of Girls. After a break in July the tour will resume in August and cover the United States and Canada over a course of six weeks. Blondie is then set to take the "Endangered Species Tour" to Australia and New Zealand in November and December. It was revealed that the bands album will be released on the Australian Sony label in November 2010, and elsewhere in January 2011.
Songfacts reports that Mother, the first single from Panic of Girls received its global premiere on BBC Radio on March 17th, 2011 and was made available for purchase on May 23, 2011.
In May 2017 a new album was released named Pollinator with the single "Long Time" which saw the daylight in March.
In 2021, the band released a short film along with a soundtrack EP titled Vivir en la Habana. They also released an alternate version of their song Rapture titled “Yuletide Throwdown” which featured Fab 5 Freddy.
In 2022, Blondie released a Sunday Girl EP consisting of an unreleased demo and live version
of the song as well as the previously released french version of the track in honor of Record Store Day. The band went on a UK tour with support from Johnny Marr followed by a US tour with support from The Damned titled “Against The Odds Tour”, which Chris Stein did not attend due to health problems. They also announced the release of their first archival project and box set, titled Against The Odds: 1974 - 1982, which took six years to compile, began recording their twelfth studio album and remastered their music videos in HD.
I Know but I Don't Know
Blondie Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I know but I don't know
I know but I don't know
I know but I don't know
I know but I don't know
I give but I don't get
I will but I won't yet
I lose but I don't bet
I'm your dog but not your pet
I know but I don't care
Then I know but I don't see
Now I see but I don't know
I care but I don't care
I could but I won't be
You can but not with me
It's all a mystery
We're locked out without a key
Now I know, I don't know
Now I see but I don't know
I care but I don't care
I know but I don't know
Now I know that you don't know
And I see that you don't see
I care but I don't care
I don't care that you don't know
I know but I don't know
I know but I don't know
I know but I don't know
I give but I don't get
I will but I won't yet
I lose but I don't bet
I know but I don't care
Then I know but I don't see
Now I see but I don't know
I care but I don't care
I could but I won't be
You can but not with me
It's all a mystery
We're locked out without a key
Now I know, I don't know
Now I see but I don't know
I care but I don't care
I know but I don't know
Now I know that you don't know
And I see that you don't see
I care but I don't care
I don't care that you don't know
Blondie's song "I Know but I Don't Know" is a song about feeling trapped, confused, and disconnected. The repetitive lyrics, "I know but I don't know," convey the feeling of being certain about something but not fully understanding it. The verses describe situations where the singer is caught between opposing forces - giving but not getting, losing but not betting, being someone's dog but not their pet. The chorus adds to this confusion by saying "I care but I don't care," and "I see but I don't know."
The lyrics suggest that there is a struggle going on within the singer - a yearning for clarity and understanding, but an inability to find it. The metaphor of being "locked out without a key" adds to this feeling of being stuck and unable to move forward. The final verse adds another layer to this by suggesting that the singer has realized that others are also lost and confused, but this revelation does not necessarily bring comfort or resolution.
Line by Line Meaning
I know but I don't know
I am aware of something, but I am also ignorant about it
I give but I don't get
I offer something but I don't receive anything in return
I will but I won't yet
I promise to do something at some point, but not right now
I lose but I don't bet
I experience defeat, but I am not actively engaging in the competition
I'm your dog but not your pet
I am loyal to you, but I am not under your complete control
I know but I don't care
I am aware of something, but it doesn't matter to me
Then I know but I don't see
I understand what's happening, but I can't witness it firsthand
Now I see but I don't know
I can observe something, but I don't fully comprehend it
I care but I don't care
I have some level of concern, but it's not at the forefront of my mind
I could but I won't be
I have the ability to do something, but I have no intention of doing it
You can but not with me
You have permission to take an action, but I am not involved
It's all a mystery
The situation is unknown or inexplicable
We're locked out without a key
We cannot access what we need without a specific, missing element
Now I know that you don't know
I have realized that you lack understanding
And I see that you don't see
I have observed that you are unaware of something
I don't care that you don't know
Your lack of awareness about something is not important to me
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: Frank Infante
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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Kc
on Accidents Never Happen
Judging from the cultural framework at the time i read it as lies being exposed for the middle income layers of the society who ere led to believe that if they follow certain codes they will be happy and prosperous but so many fail so accidents nver happen is a mockery