Maps of Music

Pollinator (2017)

Where the lyrics of Pollinator take you, and where it was really made.

Most of this Blondie album was written by other artists, and the title comes from that collaborative process.

Key places

Recorded at Magic Shop, New York City (2017)

Recording site Record Plant Studios — The album was recorded at Magic Shop, a studio in New York City. The point is set at city-centre level, not at the exact studio building. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Pollinator: eleventh studio album by the American rock band Blondie
• Released 5 May 2017 by BMG Rights Management
• More than half of the tracks were written by outside artists, including Sia, Johnny Marr and Charli XCX
• The remaining tracks were written or co-written by Blondie members
• Album cover designed by visual artist Shepard Fairey

Background

• Returns to a more band-oriented sound after electronic experiments on the previous album Ghosts of Download
• Recording many songs written for the band by others inspired the album's title
• Outside writers include David Sitek of TV on the Radio, Johnny Marr, Sia, Nick Valensi of The Strokes, Charli XCX, Adam Johnston (An Unkindness) and Dev Hynes
• Chris Stein said the band asked outside writers because there was much good music around, not because it was running low on ideas
• Release officially announced on 23 January 2017
• Cover and track listing unveiled on 30 January

Recording

• John Congleton produced the album with the band
• Blondie and Congleton curated the submissions from outside writers
• Rich Costey mixed the album
• Recorded at Magic Shop in New York City

Cover

• Designed by Shepard Fairey

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Formation

• Formed in New York City in 1974 by singer Debbie Harry and guitarist Chris Stein.
• Originally billed as Angel and the Snake, then Blondie and the Banzai Babies, shortened to Blondie by October 1974.
• The name came from truck drivers who catcalled "Hey, Blondie" to Harry.
• Became regular performers at Max's Kansas City and CBGB, part of the mid-1970s new wave scene.
• Debut album Blondie (1976) was not a commercial success; the band signed with Chrysalis Records in 1977.

Members

• Core members: Debbie Harry (vocals), Chris Stein (guitar), Clem Burke (drums), Jimmy Destri (keyboards).
• Other former members included Gary Valentine, Frank Infante, Nigel Harrison, and Fred Smith.
• Clem Burke died of cancer on April 6, 2025.

Career

• Breakthrough came in Australia and the UK with Plastic Letters (1978) and the hit single "Denis".
• Parallel Lines (1978) became their most successful album, selling about 20 million copies worldwide; "Heart of Glass" topped the UK and US charts.
• Further hits included "Call Me", "The Tide Is High", and "Rapture", the first rap-featuring song to reach US number one.
• The band disbanded in 1982 after The Hunter, reformed in 1997, and had their sixth UK number one with "Maria" in 1999.
• Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2006; has sold over 40 million records worldwide.
• Pollinator (2017) peaked at number four in the UK; a new album, High Noon, is scheduled for February 26, 2027.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Metacritic: score of 71 out of 100 based on 22 reviews, generally favorable
• Critics mostly noted the large number of outside collaborators and the small number of Harry-Stein compositions
• Critics praised Congleton's production and Debbie Harry's vocal interpretation
• Rolling Stone's Jon Dolan wrote that each collaborator put a reverent spin on the band's garage rock, with 71-year-old Debbie Harry having a catty good time
• Robert Christgau gave an A- review and pointed to the tension between Harry's age and her youthful attitude
• AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine highlighted the balance between engaging modern sounds and staying faithful to the band's identity
• The Guardian's Dave Simpson celebrated Burke's drumming and Harry's warm delivery
• Pitchfork's Maura Johnston highlighted the closing track 'Fragments' as part 'Is That All There Is' and part defiant wave goodbye

Records

• UK: debuted and peaked at number 4, the band's ninth Top 10 album
• UK: 24,206 copies sold as of July 2017
• UK Independent Albums Chart: debuted at number 1, stayed in the top 50 for 16 consecutive weeks
• United States: Billboard 200 peak number 63, the band's highest-charting album in their native country since 1999
• Billboard Top Independent Albums: debuted and peaked at number 4
• Australia: peak number 29
• Lead single 'Fun' reached number 1 on Billboard's Dance Club Songs

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · es.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• In summer 2017 Debbie Harry performed in full honey bee regalia on the co-headlining US tour with Garbage, a costume meant to comment on the dwindling bee population
• 'Fun' became Blondie's most successful single in years and reached number 1 on Billboard's Dance Club Songs chart
• 'Tonight', featuring Laurie Anderson, appears on the CD edition as a hidden track after 'Fragments'
• 'Fragments' is a song originally written and performed by Adam Johnston, who records as An Unkindness, and it drew much attention during the Australian tour
• This was the final album during Clem Burke's lifetime before his death in 2025

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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