If you’re talking about iconic new wave music acts and don’t mention Blondie, are you sure you’re even talking about iconic new wave music acts? Blondie is a band that’s technically still around (as of 2025), though they were at their most prolific in the second half of the 1970s and the first half of the 1980s. That’s a time when new wave was at both its newest and waviest, and few bands/artists were doing it as well as Blondie.
Some of the band’s songs have a punk edge, some are very poppy, and then on a couple of occasions, Blondie indulged in a bit of disco. Oh, and there’s also Debbie Harry rapping on “Rapture,” which… well, it’s not great. But it’s novel for the time, and the non-rap parts of that song fare better. Anyway, here’s a rundown of the band’s best tracks, all of them from the band’s golden years, yet still proving timeless in terms of quality.
10
“Union City Blue”
From ‘Eat to the Beat’ (1979)
“Union City Blue” wasn’t written for a movie, but it was inspired by Debbie Harry appearing in a movie called Union City (and Harry has been quite prolific as an actress, on top of being Blondie’s lead vocalist). The song itself might well be one of the band’s more underrated tracks, especially since it appeared on an album with two main standout tracks (more on those in a bit), but it deserves recognition.
It’s poppy and kind of dreamy in its sound, with a hook of a main melody and simple yet evocative lyrics. It’s just good, solid pop/rock, and it sounds undeniably Blondie. Even if you’re not super likely to hear it on the radio, if you did, it’s unlikely you’d mistake it for any other band other than Blondie… in a good way.
Blondie: Eat to the Beat
- Release Date
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October 1, 1980
- Runtime
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44 minutes
9
“In the Flesh”
From ‘Blondie’ (1976)
While plenty of great Blondie songs are more upbeat and energetic, the band was still capable of putting out a great ballad when needed, as shown by “In the Flesh.” This is one of their slowest songs, yet it remains one of their best, clocking in at just two and a half minutes and feeling like a successful sort of throwback to the kind of pop music that had been popular in the 1960s.
It was only the second single Blondie ever released, coming off their self-titled debut album, and it only ended up being a success (at least initially) in Australia, of all places. And, apparently, its exposure there was something of a mistake, or at least unexpected. Anyway, if it led to Blondie getting a little more airplay and popularity, it was ultimately for the best.
8
“Hanging on the Telephone”
From ‘Parallel Lines’ (1978)
Like “In the Flesh,” “Hanging on the Telephone” is straight to the point and pretty short in duration (actually under two and a half minutes in length). Unlike that other song, though, this one is about as far from a ballad as you can get. It kicks off Parallel Lines, which is – without contest – the best Blondie album, and it does so with style.
With “Hanging on the Telephone,” Parallel Lines hits the ground running and scarcely slows down, making for 40 minutes of near-perfect pop/rock/new wave goodness. It was originally performed by a band called The Nerves, but Blondie’s repurposing of the song basically made it forever associated with Blondie. It’s got some of Debbie Harry’s most infectious vocals of any song of theirs, and it cuts straight to the point. It will never not be anything but wholly energizing.
7
“(I’m Always Touched by Your) Presence, Dear”
From ‘Plastic Letters’ (1978)
It’s hard to know exactly what to say when trying to summarize what makes “(I’m Always Touched by Your) Presence, Dear” one of Blondie’s very best songs. It’s perfect pop music, again. It’s the kind of thing that your ears just intrinsically know is great, even if your brain might well fail to explain or put into thoughts just what that intrinsic greatness is, specifically.
The only thing that can be criticized is the odd title, since if you don’t factor in the part that’s in brackets, “Presence, Dear” is a really odd name for a song. Reading up on it, it’s done to touch on supernatural/paranormal stuff, which… sure? Either way, it’s a great song with or without it being considered ghostly, having a sweet melody and romantic lyrics that feel broad, but thankfully not clichéd.
6
“One Way or Another”
From ‘Parallel Lines’ (1978)
You might never have listened to a Blondie album in full (get right on Parallel Lines like, this minute, if that’s you), but you’ve almost definitely heard “One Way or Another” in one way or another, be it on TV, in a movie, or on the radio. This is one of the definitive Blondie songs, without a doubt, and proved that “Hanging on the Telephone” was no outlier or fluke, given this is the second song on Parallel Lines, and it might well have even more forward momentum than the opening track did.
Debbie Harry goes even harder with the vocals here than she did on the album’s opening track, successfully playing the role of a terrifying stalker in a way that’s still kind of tongue-in-cheek, and maybe even darkly funny. The music and lyrics (particularly in the chorus) are more likely to get stuck in your head than pretty much any other Blondie song, but such ear-wormy stickiness is okay when the song’s as much of a banger as “One Way or Another” is.
5
“X Offender”
From ‘Blondie’ (1976)
Alongside “In the Flesh,” “X Offender” is a top-tier song from Blondie’s debut album, and, like “In the Flesh,” certainly feels indebted to 1960s pop music. That introduction, for example, feels indebted to the spoken-word intro of “My Boyfriend’s Back” by The Angels, but not in a bad way. When “X Offender” takes off, it does feel like it does interesting things that set it apart from its influences.
It’s got some stuff musically going on that makes it feel more new wave than ‘60s pop, and lyrically, it is a good deal more explicit than most pop music was allowed to be in the 1960s. It is, after all, about a prostitute being arrested and expressing a romantic interest in the officer who takes her in. It was Blondie’s first song, and a hell of an opening statement (in line with The Beatles, in the first song on their first album, kicking things off with the lyrics: “Well, she was just seventeen, if you know what I mean”).
4
“Call Me”
Released as a single in 1980
“Call Me” rips. That’s it. That’s the commentary. That’s all you need to know… okay, if you want more, it’s the best Blondie song that didn’t appear on one of their studio albums, without a doubt. Instead, it was written for the movie American Gigolo, starring Richard Gere, and honestly, it ended up being too good for that film.
Like, American Gigolo is not a terrible film. It’s fine, for what it is. But when it kicks off with a song like “Call Me,” there’s nowhere to go but down, quality-wise. This song just moves at a ridiculous pace, having perfect (and simple) lyrics, and a legendary hook. It’s hard to resist just about every second of a song that’s so masterfully poppy and rocking simultaneously, and it’s an undeniable high point within Blondie’s discography as a whole.
3
“Atomic”
From ‘Eat to the Beat’ (1979)
“Atomic.” Blondie made it magnificent, tonight. Listen to it tonight. That song is beautiful, oh, tonight. Uh-huh, listen to it tonight, tonight, make it right. “Atomic.” Oh, oh, “Atomic.” Oh, oh. Oh, oh, “Atomic.” Oh, oh, “Atomic.” Oh, oh…
It’s wild how few words there are actually featured in “Atomic,” which is a song that reaches almost five minutes in length if you listen to the original album version (which you should, because single edits can go jump off a cliff, generally speaking). It’s ridiculous how well this song works. It says nothing but sounds like everything, and maybe that’s enough. It ebbs and flows in an intoxicating way, and Debbie Harry makes so few words feel like so much. It’s not just one of Blondie’s best songs overall, but arguably one of the greatest tracks any artist put out in the 1970s (which is when it was first heard on Eat to the Beat, but it wasn’t released as a single until early 1980, admittedly). Also, gotta love the way a cover of it was used in Trainspotting, too… and then Trainspotting 2 used another Blondie song…
2
“Dreaming”
From ‘Eat to the Beat’ (1979)
The Trainspotting sequel from 2017 featured “Dreaming” by Blondie, which was well-utilized there, but it also stands as an astounding song in its own right. Though Eat to the Beat isn’t as good as Parallel Lines, the fact that it’s an album that houses both “Atomic” and “Dreaming” makes it pretty easily qualify as Blondie’s second-best album overall. And “Dreaming” is the track that kicks the entire album off in style.
It does have an appropriately dreamy – or even euphoric – feel, and is also an undeniably great showcase for Blondie’s late drummer, Clem Burke, who passed away in 2025 after being the band’s main drummer since 1975. The drums here are crazy, in the best of ways, almost overshadowing everything else “Dreaming” has to offer, including Debbie Harry’s vocal performance. Thankfully, everything ends up working in harmony; like a dream, you could well say.
1
“Heart of Glass”
From ‘Parallel Lines’ (1978)
The most disco Blondie song is also the best Blondie song and, while we’re at it, why not also call “Heart of Glass” the greatest disco track ever made? There’s no one who can stop that from being said, and it’s possibly even a rather agreeable opinion. Like “Atomic,” the longest version of this song is by far the best, with an almost six-minute length that unfolds masterfully and never wastes a second, even while it probably works to put you in something of a trance.
“Heart of Glass” is just one of those impeccable songs that feels however you want it to feel, depending on your mood. It’s fast, but not so fast that it’s purely energetic. It is just mellow enough to also relax to, but then you could probably also dance to it if you wanted. The lyrics are all about love, sure, yet can feel bitter, funny, or sad, depending on how you’re feeling at the time. It’s a song with everything, for any time. It’s perfect.
