Debbie Harry Sees Parallels

Seeing as this week's Chronicle cover pays tribute to Blondie's third album, 1978's Parallel Lines, we asked the group's iconic frontwoman Deborah Harry for her thoughts on bands such as the Dikes of Holland acknowledging the New York punk and New Wave innovators. "That's how we put ourselves together: Admiration or trying to learn from whatever we liked. That's how most bands do it," reasoned Harry by phone in advance of Blondie's double bill with Devo at Stubb's Sept. 18. "You just follow your instincts and try to incorporate them into your sound." Enthused that Dikes of Holland boast a female focal point, Harry's amused about the Parallel Lines homage. "Bands just covering material is one thing, but a band that does their own music and cites their influences, it's very flattering."