‘X Offender’: Blondie and the 1976 song that kickstarted new wave
And while we’re at it, what the hell is ‘new wave’ anyway?
Author: Andrew Clayman
Andrew Clayman is an ageing music writer, amateur shortstop, and semi-pro historian who left his sweet home Chicago to chase the dream in Leeds. Quite conceivably the only person to have interviewed Henry Rollins and Zooey Deschanel on the same day (not together), his other interests include birdwatching, car boot sales, and asking people if they’ve ever listened to the band Close Lobsters.
Articles by Author: Andrew Clayman
Chess Records: A brief history of Chicago’s legendary blues label
From Muddy Waters to Chuck Berry to Etta James.
Revisiting the poetic imperfection of The Beatles’ 1969 rooftop concert
“I hope we’ve passed the audition”.
“America’s ‘OK Computer'”: The Grandaddy album that got AI right 25 years early
One of the great, gloomy records of the year 2000.
Did Elvis Presley actually reach his peak in the 1960s?
Two years of military service didn’t dampen interest in ‘The King’.
The Story Behind The Song: Living Colour’s 1988 ‘Cult of Personality’
“It paved the way for a group like Rage Against the Machine”.
Lush at Lollapalooza ’92: Memories from the only women on alt-rock’s biggest bill
On the road with the Chili Peppers, Soundgarden, Pearl Jam, and Ministry.
“Human sacrifice”: Frank Zappa’s uncomfortable comments on the groupie phenomenon
“One of the most amazingly beautiful products of the sexual revolution”.
How Kurt Vonnegut foresaw America’s broken democracy
“We have constructed a collapse-proof government”.
The five most disastrous rock festivals of the 1970s
In the wake of Woodstock, the era of the fly-by-night fests began.
Bicentennial 1976: 10 big gigs from America’s previous milestone birthday party
Giant venues, giant stars, less embarrassment.
The family tragedy that inspired Anthony Burgess to write 1962’s ‘A Clockwork Orange’
“However we pretend that life is all roses and honey, it can be pretty evil on occasions.”