It's about time Blondie got some of the respect they so richly deserve for their innovative, exciting and still influential music, being part of New York's fledgling punk scene in the early 70s and for being a genuine classic rock band up there with the best of them. This documentary is a good starting place if you're new to the Blondie story and their origins in the New York punk scene at CBGBs. Apart from fascinating contributions from the band (including Debbie's warm, self deprecating sense of humour) and a lot of good archive clips, photos and soundtrack, there's also good contributions from such luminaries as John Waters (who directed Debbie in "Hairspray"), Joey Ramone (a long time friend from the early days, singer for the other seminal New York punk band The Ramones) and biographer and friend Victor Bockris. There's even a mention of Dbbie's solo career, acting and work with The Jazz Passengers and a mention of Jimmy Destri's little known solo album. Then forthcoming comeback album "No Exit" coverage help kept it from being just a belated retrospective. As John Waters states to some of us Blondie were and continue to be as important as a cultural impact on music as the Beatles and Rolling Stones were. I hope they continue to get some of this kind of respect and recognition, as too many people lazily dismiss Blondie because of their success without really knowing anything.
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