Double Elvis.

This episode contains content that may be disturbing to some listeners.

Please check the show notes for more information.

Disgraceland is a production of Double Elvis.

The stories about Blondie are insane.

The band got its start in New York's fertile punk scene in the late 70s, a time when fear and violent crime had a stranglehold on the

city. Two members of the group were mugged on the street. One of them, Debbie Harry, was then

raped at knife point by her attacker. Debbie Harry also barely escaped with her life after she

unknowingly accepted a ride from a serial killer. Debbie and Blondie were

loved and desired by many good and bad, including producer Phil Spector, who once held them

captive inside his lavish Hollywood mansion. But Blondie didn't need Phil Spector to make great music,

some of the coolest genre-bending music of all time.

Unlike that clip I played for you at the top of the show, that wasn't great music.

That was a preset loop for my Melotron called Robert Stack Attack, MK, K, 1.

I played you that loop because I can't afford the rights to a clip from Le Freak by Sheik.

And why would I play you that specific slice of, ah, freak out cheese, could I afford it?

Because that was the number one song in America in January 1979, and that was the month that Blondie released Heart of Glass.

A song that out-punked punk,

pissed off some of their most devoted fans,

and proved they were capable of surviving just about anything.

On this episode,

Fear and Violet Crime,

...