The Curse of Blondie is the eighth studio album from the American rock band Blondie. It was released in October 2003, and peaked at #36 in the UK.
The band departed from bankrupt Beyond Records and signed with Sony Music. The Curse of Blondie had the working title Phasm 8, which was also the name of the tour they were doing before the release. Craig Leon, who had also produced their previous hit album No Exit, started work on the album, but it was four years in the making as the only demo tapes of the album had disappeared from luggage at a UK airport, and so had to be re-recorded. Leon ultimately did not produce the album, which was largely helmed by Steve Thompson with Jeff Bova producing only one track, "Good Boys".
The album incorporates a rock-inspired arrangement style more reminiscent of Blondie's earliest recordings. Rhythms played include mostly rock ("Golden Rod, "Rules for Living", "End to End", "Hello Joe", "Last One in the World", "Diamond Bridge") and then dance-pop ("Good Boys", "Undone", "The Tingler"). Other incursions are Japanese traditional music ("Magic (Asadoya Yunta)"), reggae ("Background Melody (The Only One)"), jazz ("Desire Brings Me Back", "Songs of Love (For Richard)") and rap ("Shakedown"). The track "Hello Joe" is an homage to Joey Ramone, and includes a reference to "Blitzkrieg Bop" ("hey ho, hola Joe instead of hey ho, let's go).
Beatsteaks is a punk rock band from Berlin, Germany, formed in 1995.
Peter Baumann, Stefan Hircher, Alexander Rosswaag and Bernd Kurtzke founded Beatsteaks in 1995. Shortly afterwards, Arnim Teutoburg-Weiß joined the band as singer and additional guitarist. In 1996, the band won a local music competition in SO36 and played as opening act for the Sex Pistols at a concert in Berlin. This was also the band's tenth live performance.
In 1997, the band recorded their first album 48/49, named after the number of their rehearsal space. It contains several songs in German, while the more recent albums are in English. In 1999 they released their second album, Launched, on the American punk label Epitaph Records. Thomas Götz had joined the band on drums, while on bass, Torsten Scholz replaced Alexander in 2000. This was followed by tours with Bad Religion, Die Ärzte and Die Toten Hosen, bringing the band to a wider audience.
In 2002, they released their third album Living Targets. From this album, Beatsteaks released their first two singles Let Me In and Summer. At the end of 2002, the band played a concert at the Columbiahalle in Berlin and recorded an EP "Wohnzimmer". Ticket holders for the Berlin concert each received a 'free' copy of the EP.
I saw you taping thunder from your balcony
Saving the sounds
Don't trust your memory
I see you catch the lightning
Hold it up so you can see
Through the open windows
Looking down at me
Let's wake the roosters
Nighttime's gonna go
We'll walk and talk years of
Before the light begins to show
Let's wake the roosters
Nice to know you Joe
Let's wake the roosters
Hola Joe
Catch the sunrise in a glass
If you turn your back you'll miss it
Coming up real fast
Set your trap for nighttime
You lie down in the dark
Listen to the thunder
Listen to my heart
Let's wake the roosters
Nighttime's gonna go
We'll walk and talk yeaars of
Before the light begins to show
Let's wake the roosters
Nice to know you Joe
Let's wake the roosters
Hey-ho ola Joe
Caught you in the rain
It took you by surprise
I'll take you home and dance with you
Until your clothes are dry
Place your finger on my pulse
I'll keep the sign of you
Keep it nice and close
And when I feel the Breath of spring
On my face
I know the silent sound of you
Won't be erased
Let's wake the rooserts
Nighttime's gonna go
We'll walk and talk years of
Before the light begins to show
Let's wake the roosters
Nice to know you Joe
Let's wake the roosters