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Bubbatunes At 100

bub100 – Deborah Harry – Debracentryk
November 27, 2007

Deborah + Century + Eccentric = Debracentryk

That’s right we’ve come to our 100th Bubbatunes compilation CD and what a journey it’s been, which is why we are going back to the beginning for inspiration. Way back in 1999 when I did the first Bubbatune with artwork and all the little jubilant casings we looked to my idol of idols Deborah Harry for the inspiration and launched out – Debravacious: The Singles as bub #1 so it’s only fitting we take Deborah and give her the prize of being our 100th CD so I present Debracentryk; a collection that goes fittingly well with her singles collection as this time around we are checking out her album cuts.

Similar to the Stevie Nicks collection Mindscape and Cyndi Lauper’s Cynsational, our newest collection is meant as a companion piece to Debbie’s greatest ‘hits’ collections, none of which are better than our bub 1 by the way.





With the release of her fifth solo album Necessary Evil just a few months ago I thought it was high time we took a look at Debbie and all she has to offer when working without the boys of Blondie (well except for Chris who appears on all of her albums).

Beginning in 1981 when Debbie and Chris hooked up with Chic’s Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards, Debbie was off on her own when she was on her own. When the album that resulted Koo Koo came out in the summer of 1981 no one seemed quite prepared for what they had on their hands. The cover was a HR Giger art piece with Debbie’s face firmly entrenched with needles representing the elements, I’m sure Chrysalis Records who had opted to use the tag line “Get Debbie Harry alone…” was dumbfounded to find out Debbie would be on the cover scantily clad and cooing. Just one look at the cover and you knew you were headed into a different world than Blondie – for Debbie, if anything has always had her hand in the imprints of different styles be it art, fashion or music.

When Koo Koo emerged I have to admit I was one who didn’t know what to make of it. I was a huge Blondie fan and this whole new look didn’t make much sense to me as a little kid but the singles “Backfired” and “The Jam Was Moving” were fun enough for me to get through it. More recently, Koo Koo with its Chic R&B vibe and Debbie and Chris’ eternally strange look at things has become my favorite of the Debbie solo albums. Sure, it only took about 25 years but hey, she was way ahead of her time.

From Koo Koo, we get our opening cut – the micro beating “Military Rap” with Debbie’s fast rap-like delivery. The song is a complete riot though also quite sarcastic and seething when thinking that it could be used as a war protest song even today. The ultimate lines, “Go now pray later/ it’s a lay away plan/ free vacation in Iran/ stop and see the Middle East/ miles and miles of lovely beach/ get that Coppertone tan/ on radioactive sand…” It’s excellent.

For our adventure into Debbie solo land we ended up with at least four songs from each of her solo works so Koo Koo delivers three more little ditties – super funk fun is found in the cop on a trail new wave “Under Arrest” complete with some cool male back ups, “Jump Jump” opens up the solo album with a ride through more funk and R&B from the production of Chic, but the writing credits are give to Debbie and Chris so you know it’s some strange place you’re headed to. For years I’ve tried to figure out what exactly the song is about but I’ve decided to just give it up and funk to it – besides any song with a grown man giving a dog bark is okay by me.

A lot of her fans absolutely love “Chrome” which is probably one of the strangest songs on Koo Koo if for only the insane lyrics and the strange thundering island drum beats at the end but it is really good and not so ‘experimental’ that it doesn’t work.

Like I said, Koo Koo has really grown on me and it was hard to decide what tracks to put on as “Surrender”, “Now I Know You Know” and “Oasis” all have great things going for them. One of my all time favorite Debbie songs “Inner City Spillover” was almost chosen but it’s on the bubbatunes Deborah Harry rare collection Debralicious in a different (though very close) form so I thought I’d be more original.

It should also be noted that prior to working on Koo Koo the boys of Chic had just done Diana Ross’ smash Diana album which contained “Upside Down” and “I’m Coming Out” and there’s a lot of those funk elements on the Koo Koo tracks, but it’s funny that Diana remixed her album because she thought the Chic boys drowned her vocals out and on the songs from Koo Koo I’ve always felt that Debbie’s vocals were so right up front she was practically in the room…. Strange isn’t it…

After Koo Koo, Debs went back to Blondie for one ill reviewed album and sort of retired for awhile when Chris got sick around 1983. She did however come out of hiding a couple times; first in late 1983 with the “Rush Rush” single from Scarface and then again in 1985 with the Jellybean Benitez produced “Feel The Spin” from the Krush Groove soundtrack.

Then came a major overhaul – in late 1986 Debbie was back with a solo album, an Andy Warhol painted canvas behind her, punked out hair and new dance vibe beats for a new generation. Rockbird was just what I needed in 1986 and I always thought it was a great album; it’s a tad kooky and a tad eccentric but ummm so is Debbie.

Rockbird came out with only 9 songs on the album, three of which were singles (and are on Debravacious) and 2 I’m not particularly fond of (“Beyond The Limit”, “You Got Me In Trouble”) and four more that were perfect fits for Debracentryk.

The keyboards and sax that drive “I Want You” were the perfect way to open up her 1986 ‘comeback’. The song is hilarious and strange, fast, furious and over the top. It’s exactly what I love to hear over and over again. I can’t tell you how often me and my pal Melsie played the song – I believe we even made a pseudo video when her parents got the first video camera I had ever seen.

“Buckle Up” is similar to “I Want You” with its jive talking pumped up melodies. It’s always been a crime to me that it wasn’t considered by the powers to be as the anthem for buckling up for safety when they launched a major campaign that year. How do I know it was a major campaign you ask.. well because I saw Regina (“Baby Love” – remember??) doing a ‘Buckle Up’ song on TV for the Safety Commission right around the time I was listening to Debbie’s song…. What a rip.

Anyway, Debbie’s “Buckle Up” isn’t really about driving a car anyway though I do believe it uses metaphors of such to get some other point across. Again, I think Deb is just too much for the mere mortal to understand. Perhaps someday she’ll write liner notes and tell us all what she was really thinking when she wrote some of these songs. All I know is the song is fun and great to sing along with.

The title track from the album is another fast jaunt through Debbie’s fun little mind trap but this time it’s all done for pure fun (I think) and the fact that she can write a song with so many references about zoos and birds and rocking out is testament to the genius she is.
“some said the jaybird to the cockatoo/ want a commitment from inside the zoo/ say hey birdbrain why be sly/ tell me how a rockbird can learn to fly…” See, isn’t it fun?

The last selection from Rockbird is a little more conventional – the pop/rock hybrid set to the sweet coos of our girl “Secret Life” – “listen while I tell you of a secret life/ lives entwined like vines/ man and wife…” It’s a great little pop song.

Anyone who has followed Debbie was right there when she unleashed what is often quoted as her fan’s favorite solo work Def, Dumb & Blonde. Changing her moniker from Debbie to Deborah Harry made it a tad noticeable that she was changing direction. Where her first two albums were a little on the dare I say eccentric side, this was a full on courtship of all styles she loved and she gave her all.

When Def Dumb & Blonde was released in its incarnations – vinyl, cassette and CD – you got the luxury of added songs. The original vinyl has 11 songs and from that set I put on my ultimate favorite from the album – her rocking Ian Astbury of the Cult sing along “Lovelight.” The lyrics are phenomenal, the mix is incredible and the vocals are great.

Also included from the original 11 is the subtle and beautiful “Calmarie” – a song I figured absolutely had to be on a Debbie album track compilation.

Def Dumb & Blonde – the cassette added two more tracks, both of which were too good to pass up for our compilation – “Bike Boy” a rocking frolic through love of leather and “Comic Books” are both Debbie (or Deborah) at some of her rock sided best.

With the compact disc version came even two more songs, the tropical fest “I’ll Never Fall In Love” (not included) and the ultimate in punkiness for the solo girl, “Forced To Live” – one of my all time favs.

Quite a few years (in recording terms) passed before that day in 1993 when I walked into the music store and found out our girl had another solo album – I wasn’t using the internet way back then. Debravation came out of nowhere as far as I was concerned and I have to tell you I was very excited when I stumbled upon it.

From her fourth solo album I went all over the map in sounds – the R&B guitar sounds of “Stability” with its awesome lyrics, “Must I take pills for stability (yes you must!)”, the ravey short laced “Lip Service” with its ode to Edgar Allen Poe right in the middle of a pop song (genius!), and two of my favorites – the upbeat and completely nurturing “Keep On Going” – “when you are down/keep on going/ determination will change your life/ don’t look around/ no/ keep on going/ if you believe that you’ve had enough/ then you must keep on going/ don’t ever give up…” It’s so simple yet so inspiring.

The final song from Debravation is the intensely super cool, overlooked, should have been a hit single “Communion.” Taking religious ceremony and turning it on its backside, Deborah coos and croons through her dance/rock infection – “I’ve touched some objects of faith/ more precious than pieces of eight…” “had my own revelations/ ideas about fate/ but for communion let’s go to my place…” The first time I heard that I just about died. I thought it was the coolest thing I had ever heard and that’s before we even get to the bridge or chorus – “so as the body/ so as the blood/ sacred as the soul is to love/ don’t be mistaken if you don’t understand/ divinely simple/ part of the plan…” and then the kick of all kicks – “Take! Eat! This is my body/ I give it to you/ Take! Drink! This is my blood/ do it in remembrance of me/ so you don’t forget me…”

“Communion” is most definitely one of the best songs she ever wrote or recorded and like I said, it should’ve been a single and it should’ve been huge! The album version actually runs a tad long at about 7 minutes but I somehow found a great 7” remix that is shorter yet still doesn’t lose any of its punch.

It took over fifteen years for Deborah to re-emerge as a solo artist but it wasn’t like she was gone from us, as Blondie had re-formed, made two albums and toured endlessly. Plus the woman is in every other independent movie ever made so we did get our fix of the gal, but when she’s put to her own notches to work on a solo music project, you really have to pay attention… and I did.

Necessary Evil came out in October steam headed by the brilliant catchy “Two Times Blue” and though it was released as a limited single I still feel it’s really an album track, plus it came out way after our Debbie singles collection so I had to include on Debracentryk.

Also from the new album come three more gems of out and out Debbie-ness, now working with the duo of Super Buddha on almost every song. The super cool duet with Miss Guy “Charm Alarm” has some of the best imagery of cool New Yorkers hanging and sassing - “I’m drinking my drink of glamour and damage/ seduction and piss elegance…” I love it! Performance wise the duo sound like a sequel to Debbie and Iggy’s “Well Did Ya Evah!” – yeah it’s that cool.
Our girl tones it down a bit on the beautiful ballad “If I Had You” which is the Leivas’ favorite song on the album and just too great of a performance to pass on.

But she goes full on crazy in “You’re Too Hot” which only has the lines – “Don’t touch me! You’re too hot!” repeated over and over while the music continues to get more intense. The song is actually a prequel to “Dirty & Deep” which follows it on Necessary Evil but it’s so eccentric and fun it totally works all on his own – oh and a lot of fans claim it to be their favorite on the new album.

So you see for those who don’t know, they would think Debbie was just a member of Blondie (some would claim she is the only member and is really named Blondie) but I have set out to do our girl a little justice and show her extremely cool solo side in all its glory – on those hidden gems found inside the sleeves of five super cool solo releases. And a final PS - if you are in the LA area Debs is coming to our world for two shows and I will be at her performance on the 6th so see you there!

Deborah Harry – Debracentryk (bub100)
Track List:
01. Military Rap 02. Lovelight 03. Keep On Going 04. I Want You 05. Two Times Blue 06. Jump Jump 07. Stability 08. Under Arrest 09. Secret Life 10. Lip Service 11. Charm Alarm 12. Comic Books 13. Buckle Up 14. If I Had You 15. Bike Boy 16. Communion (7” Edit) 17. Chrome 18. Rockbird 19. Forced To Live 20. You’re Too Hot 21. Calmarie

Labels: bub100, Bubbatunes, Debbie Harry, Deborah Harry

posted by swivek @ 8:27 AM