#why do i have this absurd desire to downplay the 1 thing in my life that has real meaning to me

[millionsknives]

looking at my 2024 art in review… i’m a really good artist, aren’t i

[dippedanddripped]

Debbie Harry doesn’t believe in harbouring regrets. “I have made many, many errors, but nobody leads a perfect life,” she reflects down the telephone from New York. “So, should I regret anything? No. It is a waste of time. It really is a waste of time.”

Dial back to the turn of the 70s and the life that Harry led before fronting Blondie – prior to her image being burned onto the retina of popular culture – was colourful to say the least. “I was so desperate to live life,” she says of her time spent hanging with the outcasts and artists of downtown New York. “I was jamming in as much experience as I possibly could and I don’t know if I could have done anything differently. I learned a lot.”

The old Bowery music venue CBGBs has long passed into music folklore as the place that called the likes of Television, Patti Smith, and the Ramones their house bands. It was also where punk and new wave progenitors Blondie cut their teeth before they sashayed into the wider world with the protean panache that would make them a household name. Classic singles such as “Heart of Glass”, “Call Me”, “Atomic”, and “Rapture” have been responsible for more worldwide rug-cutting than an industrial carpet tool. To imply that they were merely a solid singles band is to do them a cardinal disservice, however.

And although they’ve always cocked their attention to the things ahead of them, Harry and her Blondie cohorts have spent a lot of time looking back just lately. Harry’s long-awaited autobiography, Face It, hit the shelves last year, and Blondie co-founder and one-time partner Chris Stein published Point of View: Me, New York City, and the Punk Scene, a photography book featuring personal snaps taken during the band’s pomp in the 70s and early 80s. “We can’t keep on touring and doing club dates the way that we used to. It would be physically impossible,” Harry concedes. “Living through this pandemic has certainly made us take a long look at the value of what we’ve got with our body of work.” Asked if it is a process of attempting to frame their legacy, she admits it’s something that they “have to do”.

This deep-dive into their canon has culminated in a mouth-watering archive set, Blondie: Against the Odds 1974-1982, slated for release next year. Coming in four formats, it promises to include extensive liner notes, “track by track” commentary by the entire band, a photographic history plus rare and unreleased bonus material. The group will also go out on the road – coronavirus permitting – for an autumn Against the Odds UK tour with Garbage.

The artist born Angela Trimble was put up for adoption only a few months after she was ushered into the world in the summer of 1945. A loving New Jersey couple took her in, rechristened her Deborah Harry, and raised her as their own. She grew up in a suburb that she “never left”,  was voted best-looking girl in her high school yearbook, and oscillated within a social circle that consisted of “many of the same people” throughout her childhood. “I was somehow shy within that,” she recalls, “(but) somebody once said to me that being shy was an ego trip and a light went on in my head. I thought, ‘Oh, uh-huh, let’s have none of that!’”

Harry travelled by bus as a curious teen to nearby Greenwich Village, imbibing the febrile inner-city atmosphere. In 1965, she graduated from junior college with an associate of arts degree and New York’s allure became too enticing to resist. She decamped to the bright lights of the city and made ends meet with a succession of odd jobs, including secretarial work for the BBC, waiting tables and an infamous nine-month stint as a Playboy Bunny.

The period was a traumatic one, too, with Harry enduring an ex-lover-turned-violent-stalker and a near-miss with serial killer Ted Bundy (although Bundy’s identity is contested by others). In her memoir, she writes candidly of the time she was raped by a man wielding a knife while on her way home from a concert with Stein. Music offered a vessel for her creativity, and she spent time as part of girl group The Stilettoes and folk ensemble Wind in the Willows before her meeting with guitarist Stein which set the foundations for Blondie. Their classic lineup was completed by Gary Valentine (bass), Jimmy Destri (keys), and Clem Burke (drums).

“Somebody once said to me that being shy was an ego trip and a light went on in my head. I thought, ‘Oh, uh-huh, let’s have none of that’” – Debbie Harry

Although they self-identified as punks, the parochial and nihilistic mandate as promulgated by the genre’s militant diehards never fit Blondie comfortably. The group looked outwards from the moment they started, drawing inspiration from their cosmopolitan city. Their sound was a melting pot pulling at the seams of culture’s fabric, and they would weave their own patterns from it.

Harry agrees that their eclecticism was down to good fortune in coming from the “metropolitan area of New York” where they ingested “a lot of musical influences”. Taken as a whole, their catalogue bears this out. Blondie never stood still musically – yet never sounded like anyone else – and they loaded their songs with more hooks than a fisherman’s trawler. 1976’s punchy, eponymous debut married surf-rock textures with 50s girl-group sensibilities, and their palette had expanded exponentially by the time of seminal third album, Parallel Lines (1978). Eat to the Beat and Autoamerican followed, by which point they could boast flirtations with disco, rocksteady, funk, hip hop, and more within their enviable output.

When asked to pick one track that encapsulates the essence of Blondie, Harry opts for their 1981 US number one single “Rapture”. “What happens in ‘Rapture’ is very comprehensive,” she says. “It took a form of music that was, or still is, very modern and can be very political. Rap and hip-hop songs back then didn’t have their own songs. Rappers would just rap on somebody else’s music. (‘Rapture’) was crafted specifically for that rap. Until then that hadn’t been done. It was a breath of fresh air.” It stands as one of the things in her career that she feels “very good about”.

Blessed with the sort of features that could sell sand to the Saharans, Harry’s appearance caused a stir from the band’s earliest days. “That’s part of showbiz,” she says to me, trying to downplay it. “We always had an eye for that, the entire band. We always had an idea of making a look that represented our sensibilities and links to British pop and mod.” Maybe so, but it was Harry alone who was immortalised by Andy Warhol in one of his iconic silkscreen prints, and who posed for era-defining photographers including Robert Mapplethorpe and Anne Leibowitz.

Did the disproportionate attention she attracted ruffle feathers within the Blondie camp at the time? “Yes and no,” Harry remembers. “We were all happy that it was working. I suppose there was a certain amount of competition or jealousy but ultimately, no. I think that’s a better question for Clem or one of the other members in the band. Of course my relationship with Chris was so close that he was very happy about everything.”

The band’s wheels eventually came off after their muddy and unfocused sixth album, The Hunter, dashed against the commercial rocks in 1982. They had to abandon their subsequent tour after Stein became gravely ill with a rare autoimmune disorder, pemphigus vulgaris, that proved extremely difficult to diagnose. Blondie had no option but to bow out of the public eye, and they broke up quietly.

15 years later, with Stein fully recovered, the group reconvened and released a critically acclaimed and commercially successful comeback album, No Exit. They even topped the UK charts with lead single “Maria”, but faced tussles with erstwhile members at the time too. Former bassist and co-writer on “One Way or Another”, Nigel Harrison, and guitarist Frank Infante attempted to sue the rest of the band over their omission from the reformed lineup. And when Blondie were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2006, Infante grabbed the microphone to express his ire publicly.

Fast-forward to 2020 and the settled iteration of the band are working on a new album with John Congleton, who produced 2017’s Pollinator. Does Harry have a formula when it comes to songwriting these days? No, as it happens. “When a phrase or a sentiment makes me respond emotionally or physically, I write it down and I save it,” she explains. “At a certain point, I’ll sort of review things. A lot of times I like to just work with a rhythm track. Just a drumbeat or some kind of drone-y rhythm, a groove. Other times people will give me a rough sketch of some chord changes – an idea that they’ve got. I seem to work in a lot of different ways.”

Thanks to her effortless chic and timeless looks, Harry’s relationship with the fashion industry has been a mutual love-in since forever, and she recently announced a revival of her partnership with ethical fashion designers Vin + Omi – the duo responsible for her profane ‘STOP FUCKING THE PLANET’ cape worn at the Q Awards in 2016 and throughout Blondie’s Pollinator tour. They have teamed up for a new sustainable clothing line entitled HOPE, and her enthusiasm for the project is palpable. “I love Vin + Omi,” she says. “They are so creative and adventurous. They have this desire to prevail and do things that are smart and modern in terms of recycling and making energy count. I think that is brilliant.”

As a fledgling bee-keeper, the plight of the bees is also something close to Harry’s heart. It was one of the reasons why 2017’s Pollinator was, well, named exactly that. “You’re either being stung by a bee or you’re going to eat its honey,” she chuckles softly, marvelling at the absurdity of the contrast. “But bees and water are two issues we cannot escape from. We should be concerned with finding better ways of living, using our resources in the best way possible.”

Help is coming, she hopes, through the election of Joe Biden, who is “firmly attached” to the idea of helping the environmental cause – and she believes his ideas can help the economy, too. “I’ve been saying for quite a long time that solar and wind power are renewable (energies) that can create jobs,” she says. It’s a far cry from her feelings towards outgoing President Trump and his “daily infusion of bullshit” and “thunderstorm of endless diatribes”.

“One of the most exciting things about rock’n’roll was that it was about breaking the rules, and (‘WAP”) is certainly a part of that. It’s titillating and aggressive and it is part of what is exciting about popular music. The nature of what we try to do is to shock and entertain at the same time” – Debbie Harry

What strikes you when you speak to Harry for an extended period is not only her warmth, but her unexpected humility for someone so staggeringly famous. I reference a Bob Dylan BBC interview from the 80s in which he observed with sadness how his fame had the ability to change a room’s energy and how he missed seeing people act naturally around him. She paws the comparison away, saying she’s nowhere near famous “to the degree of Bob Dylan”, whom she calls “such a megastar”. This could sound like false modesty coming second-hand, but in person it feels like a sincere statement, even if it is a little bewildering coming from an international icon. She will concede, however, that she has “definitely noticed and felt something like that” and has often wished she could simply be “a fly on the wall”.

There is also an inquisitiveness that makes the conversation a more two-way affair than your quote-unquote typical ‘interview’. She fires questions back at you, not as a deflection tactic, but to expand and explore a topic further. This happens when conversation turns to Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion’s ubiquitous “WAP”. A recent interview had her fangirling over the track, but Harry’s feelings no longer appear to be as clear-cut and she wishes to discuss the song further. “I love it and hate it at the same time,” she now shares. “One of the most exciting things about rock’n’roll was that it was about breaking the rules, and (‘WAP’) is certainly a part of that. It’s titillating and aggressive and it is part of what is exciting about popular music. The nature of what we try to do is to shock and entertain at the same time.” She pauses. “I don’t know. Everything is revealed and maybe sexual explicitness has come of age.”

Pushed about what she dislikes about “WAP”, she says she would “hate it” if any young girl or woman was hurt by the song’s message. “I think that, in a way, men have to know that women think like this, and that there is this component,” she says, “but I would hate it to mean that everyone should be treated like this. I don’t think anybody should be hurt by sex”.

Harry has long championed the LGBTQ+ communities. When she refers to her dearly departed friend and Hairspray co-star Divine as a ‘drag queen’ in Face It, she acknowledges the term in some instances is no longer accurate or politically correct. I suggest that it can often seem as though the evolution of our language is speeding up in the digital age – by necessity, of course – and ask her if online culture fills her with concern when it comes to using the right terms. “Yeah, (because) in many cases it can be a slip of the tongue, especially for an old dog like me! Things do move so very, very quickly. It is hard to keep up,” she observes. “Fortunately, I have a lot of godchildren!”

Speaking of younger generations, Harry likes to think she’d have coped with social media if she were coming up today, but is thankful that she had her “dark cocoon” in which to “bloom out of”, a place where she was able to “ripen”. “When you’re under the harsh glare of constantly being analysed, that shapes you whether you want it to or not,” she says. “It’s a germ or a seed that’s planted in your mind. It can take surprising turns and it can affect your growth. For good or for worse, who knows?”

“When you’re under the harsh glare of constantly being analysed, that shapes you whether you want it to or not. It’s a germ or a seed that’s planted in your mind. It can take surprising turns and it can affect your growth” – Debbie Harry

One thing that remains is her fierce level of self-criticism. “I always want to do better,” she declares matter-of-factly. “I’ve always been very critical of everything. I hear things or look at them and say, ‘Oh God, it should have been that (instead).” Maybe this hypercritical inclination is what still drives her forward. “I honestly don’t like resting on my laurels. I like working and I like creating. I always beat myself up about not being more creative or more prolific.”

When looking at the bounty of projects she has lined up, no one in their right mind could put Debbie Harry and laurel-resting in the same sentence. Aside from the new album, archival set and fashion project, the paperback edition of her autobiography will be released with a brand-new epilogue in April of next year. (Just don’t ask her what’s in it – “I don’t remember what I wrote. I’ll have to look it up!” she says with a laugh.)

The signs are that the musician is done looking into the rear-view mirror, though. Time may be passing, the tide may be higher, but Debbie Harry is doing more than merely holding on. Her eyes are locked to the future and she’s positively thriving.

Blondie: Against the Odds 1974-1982 will be released next year; Face It is out now via Harper Collins

[johnbenjamin9578-blog]

Starting a Photography Business

When you're a keen digital photographer, and you have the desire to spend your working life doing something you take pleasure in such as photography, it would certainly be a pity if you did not seek it, even more, wouldn't it? You do not need to sign up with an organisation or pay thousands of dollars to get begun either. You merely require the passion to learn as well as continue. A lot of great photographers who rely on their trade to endure don't also know they have these traits since they love what they do and also they simply can not quit.

It holds true that there is riches to be made in photography and I'm not going to downplay that or present to the opposite because, in every situation, it's been up to the individual. Definition - it depends upon exactly what setting of digital photography they pick, how much time they take into business, do they have a commercial curved, are they extra creative than common and so on. All these points come into play when success in a photography business or studio is examined.

I don't want to create any false hopes by that last paragraph because success will certainly call for some hard work, resistance as well as patience. These next thirty tips need to assist you along the way. There is, even more, detail offered on this subject matter at the web link below this page.

Where can I get info on developing a digital photography organisation?

1. Constantly do some considerable study before starting out a job with your very own photography team so that you recognise the benefits and drawbacks included. Some suggestions include signing up for an excellent publication about the photographic market such as Professional Photographer, Video Camera Arts and Photo District Information. Besides that, the web is the biggest resource of information and also can provide you with a myriad of profession changes or even more info on starting a digital photography organisation.

At which degree do you intend to begin your digital photography service?

2. This is the trickiest question that a person interested in starting a service experience. It is essential to choose just what kind of photography organisation you desire so that the appropriate requirements as well as (often) money can be muscled up.

When is the best time to begin a fully-fledged digital photography service?

3. After picking just what you need and also any added needed equipment that is required to establish the necessary facilities, you will consider your primary tool - the camera meticulously, be it digital or film. You should also think about meticulously a reliable, top quality COMPUTER as well as real appropriate software application to adjust your pictures with only impacts. If the business is being carried out on a large scale then possibly a creating laboratory should be intended as well as established.

oWhat type of locations will generate actual revenue to your organisation?

4. A newly developed service in digital photography calls for a particular area or a beat (working locally), as in journalism. For example, wedding digital photography, sporting activities related photography or developing photography. As soon as produced, an organisation could likewise be expanded into much more fields.

Building a digital photography profile

5. It is always crucial to assemble a good pattern as for digital photography is concerned. A portfolio needs to include a collection of outstanding photographic job that you believe to be impressive. Make certain that pictures are uncommon in character and also are from varied fields. Your profile should have the ability to thrill the client in the initial conference.

6. Don't keep all the photographs that you have in your ownership. Only keep your best operate in the folder so that you don't shame on your own or find yourself needing to clarify pictures that aren't relevant.

7. Showcase spontaneous photos that you believe are of top quality. You would certainly be surprised how many individuals respond positively to people's expressions when they excel shots.

Standard apparatus called for

8. A canvas background of at minimum 7-9 foot as well as the background shades must be either navy or white as minimal needs to begin with; a well-branded workshop lights system such as that of Norman & Speedtron; accredited image adjustment software application such as Photoshop, Corel Paint Shop, etc

Exists a requirement for establishing a makeup studio as part of your picture workshop?

9. Make-up and also digital photography often go together. Wherever makeup is involved it is often referred to as digital technique photography because the powder is capable of entirely changing a person's individuality, as well as occasionally significance to a product in the case of marketing digital photography.

What type of photo-editing software program offered out there?

10. Photo-editing software through which individual results and also complete changes to a photo are feasible as well as could also usually save the requirement for a re-shoot.

11. Some of the photo-editing software that is prominent includes Photoshop CS; Photoshop Light area, iPhoto, I View Multimedia, MediaPro, ACDSee, Corel and also Picasa.

Are storage and therapy of pictures crucial in building photography service?

12. Never embrace laxity while managing or archiving photographs. You will regret it later. Storage space, as well as access effectiveness, will certainly either boost or irritate your workplace. Frequently old photos come to be more valuable with time.

Exactly how can be pictures be preserved quickly beside the traditional approach?

13. Today's cams are highly functional and also will certainly enable downloads as well as transfers from highly shocking tools including your mobile however pictures can additionally be kept on a CD's, USB's and also DVD's also.

Choosing a Video camera

14. Stay with w ell well-known brand name. The degree of large pixel offered and top quality of the zooming facility needs to be explored very carefully. I have my favourites, but there are several equally like mine.

15. Most of the cams are compatible with computers as well as printers and also because we currently make use of memory sticks, we are complimentary to run unencumbered.

What sort of a website does an individual have to have?

16. Your collection of photos should be correctly categorised under different groups. The visual look of your site will certainly do marvels for your business so take think about setting up one with semi-automation where the maintenance and effort are provided for you like photo stock plus.

17. Bear in mind to continually update as well as keep your site to make sure that each time people come across your website, they will locate find something brand-new and fascinating.

Copyright of your photos

18. Copyright is the right protects the individual that has or who took the photographs. A quick workout if you are aiming to use some stock homes for business purposes.

Why is a calling card valuable?

19. In every service, going to cards are handy. It is very beneficial in for people to contact you after your initial conference. It should consist of all your call information. If you're a photographer, a brilliant impressive visuals or a photo of on your own with your equipment is best. Your get in touch with number or email should be easy to read. I have seen cards that have huge names and photos, and the phone are so small they are difficult to read. Absurd! Make your contact number the largest point on the card - that's what most individuals will utilise it for.

Which points must ceremony while you prepare to construct a wedding celebration digital photography service?

20. Wedding Photography is virtually an additional art unto itself. There are numerous things to remember for a genuinely useful wedding celebration shoot. I have prepared one more write-up to handle this in even more detail and also it's everything about-- Wedding event Photography.--

Advantage of job photography

21. Task photography is that branch of digital photography where an individual is involved or consigned to catch shots of something outstanding and remarkable, such as in the case of marketing or portrait photography; this could supply you stable earnings after you've learned the ropes.

Advantage of stock digital photography

22. Stock digital photography is that branch of photography where there is a collected supply of photographs which can be sold to interested purchasers, developers, adverting companies, etc. This can be a slow haul but if your photos are well considered, it can be the resource of a recurring income.-- My favourite is stock photos--.

Other places where you can market your photo collection?

23. Art programs are the best platform where your creativity, as well as job, will certainly be valued since at such areas you will discover some particular niche clients that have an eagle eye natural ability. Such areas have been known to bring immediate popularity.

24. Winter Park Art Show at Orlando, Oklahoma City Festival of the Arts, Old Town Art Show; Chicago, Boston Mills Art Program; Peninsula, Ohio, Comparable art programs are held in different parts of the world, and also they are simple to discover on the web. Simply do a Google look for "photography art program" and also the name of the nation you are in after adding the plus sign such as this; "photography art program"+ Sweden

Prices to be charged from the clients

25. In the first phases of your service, don't aim to bill inflated quantities or else it will certainly provide the incorrect impression, and you will certainly probably shed a valuable long-term customer. Walk slowly. Ring various other digital photographers as well as research. Five calls need to do it.

Marketing your photography service

26. You must aim to market your working from appropriate locations. Photographs could likewise be published over the internet. Magazine over the internet will boost customer enquiry. Don't forget to look for suitable regional markets and obtain the snaps printed in a neighbourhood journal or paper as well as continually present your call number plainly - regularly!

27. Developing as well as making successful a company is a challenging phone call but if you take on a correct advertising and marketing strategy. Today, Advertising is one of the most popular mediums of promoting. Ads can be positioned on sites, on the internet telephone directories, papers and publications, etc. Research the ideal mediums before you enter. Occasionally good deals obstruct of acknowledging the right advertising and marketing automobile.

28. You can create a website of your very own to properly promote your digital photography business yet one thing that needs to be born in mind is always remembering to consist of a testimonial area as well as gauge the reaction of individuals going to the internet site. Let them make remarks.

Career potential customers in picture journalism

29. People curious about establishing a photography business could start their career by ending up being a photo reporter. Appealing and beautiful photos can be supplied to newspapers, publications, websites and also the photography organisation is flourishing to such a degree that even international media companies will use you bad money in return for rare and top quality pictures.

30. Mainstream photographers are participated in TELEVISION, parcels and also copy services, newspapers, publications as well as illustration photography. There are much more jobs likewise associated with photography compared to there ever before was previously, and because of the diversity and also versatility of electronic photography, even more regard has been attached to this profession. Several of the avenues in digital photography in addition to business are Journalism, Graphic Arts, Advertising and marketing, DTP works, Publications as well as Movie development.

Go and make on your own a warm beverage, as well as a, have a long Consider where you're posting likely to begin, that is if you have not already started.