You may have noticed that my taste in music so far runs toward songs with long instrumental passages. Virtuosity is, indeed, the key to my attention. I have great admiration for those who perfect that which I have never had the patience or discipline to even really begin. For that reason, and the fact that I have little patience with cliche'd lyrics, few of my favorites frequent the Top 40.

So why is Blondie at the Apollo Theatre in Glasgow on December 31, 1979, one of my most frequently rotated boots? Because this was a farooking great band, that's why. While they weren't doing anything in King Crimson's league, they had catchy songs that weren't too simple to sound smart, and they played them very tightly. Debbie Harry gets the credit for the band's success, and while she was a good singer with all that a pubescent male could want (click here for proof), she would have been a flash in the pan without a solid band behind her.

Besides, this was New Year's Eve, the last night of the 70's. The joint was crackling, and that energy shines like a diamond. The crowd was hot, the band was tight, and this recording is one hell of a party disc.

While my need for virtuosity has made me shy away from a lot of pop music, it's made me run from most punk. The main (well, only) exception is the Ramones. Most punk bands wanted to be taken seriously, but didn't deserve to be. They could hardly play their instruments at all, but I was supposed to buy this as "rebellion against corporate rock" instead of the lazy ineptitude it sounded like. I was supposed to care about their "political message", even when it was just a bunch of whining. And to top it off, I'm close minded and brainwashed because I think a band should be more than that.

 The Ramones stand out because I didn't need to take them seriously. They didn't care that one song sounded a lot like the rest, they just cranked it out. They didn't have a "message". They sang about girls, drugs, and hanging out. I could just enjoy the energy, a cathartic release when I felt like belting someone. I don't listen to them often, but every once in awhile I have a "Ramones mood." So I have their show from the Palladium in NYC, New Year's Eve 1979. A few hours after and an ocean away from Blondie's ringing in of the new year.

So this week I have a double header - the songs that each of these bands were playing closest to the falling of the ball, as well as I can determine. Enjoy, and Happy New Year!!!

Click here to hear Blondie do "Sunday Girl" with a Scottish twist at Glasgow's Apollo Theatre on Dec. 31, 1979.

Click here to hear the Ramones ask the crowd at NYC's Palladium "Do You Wanna Dance?" on the same night.

Next: The most recognizable voice of the 20th century.