With his face bordered by a stark white mane, Chris Stein gazes over the top of his sunglasses. In his uniquely New York twang, he gives concise responses to every query tossed his way during our half-hour conversation. His tone suggests a wish for distance, though this perception stems more from Stein’s lifelong penchant for walking to his own rhythm. Known for his usually withdrawn nature, the guitarist now finds himself open and candid, promoting his autobiography, Under a Rock. The book is a raw examination of his early days that led to his burst onto the pre-punk music landscape of New York in the mid-70s. This was the era when he and Debbie Harry birthed Blondie. Though the band remains operational and Harry still a confidant (and his ex) to whom Stein accords the book, unlike some of his colleagues, his 74 years are plainly visible.
Stein has stepped back from touring with Blondie in recent years due to health issues related to an erratic heartbeat. He remarks, “In the latest series of tours, I found myself seated. I rationalised, if BB King could pull it off, surely I could too! As for future tours, I’m uncertain… I do enjoy those precious moments on stage, but the logistics – accommodations, air travel, lengthy soundchecks – they’re exceedingly tiresome, even for those in good health.”
The duration between 1972 and 1975 are of key significance to Stein’s life and career. He recalls the myriad of bands he encountered including Silver Apples, Suicide and The Stooges, but the game truly changed when the New York Dolls appeared. “They were undoubtedly in the vanguard, defining stylistic standards for many. Recollecting from where I am now, I can’t say for certain that I fully grasped it back then, but their allure lay partly in androgyny, gender fluidity and their ferocious music.
“The Dolls always seemed to blend the conventionally masculine and feminine. They created a mixture of gentle melodies and antagonistic tracks, inciting a fair amount of fervour, to understate. Regrettably, they didn’t make a lasting commercial impact yet undeniably left their mark on many. America simply wasn’t prepared for the Dolls.”
In 1978, despite having three albums out, Blondie, the band spearheaded by a female vocalist, couldn’t catch a break in their homeland-the US, recalls a band member. Prior to the release of their big hits ‘The Tide is High’ and ‘Rapture’, the band had already achieved recognition in the UK and Europe. The introduction of MTV in mid-1980s, when music began to rely heavily on visual mediums, was scant assistance to Blondie, who were merely beginning to experiment with music videos. According to the band member, had visual media been more widespread culturally, they might have attained success domestically earlier.
He believes that Blondie’s poor commercial performance in the US, even though they released some of the most melodic pop-punk tracks during the time, was due to a predominantly male music industry. He recalls a 1975 incident when The Rolling Stones, without any backlash, brought out an inflatable phallus during their performances. He wonders how reactions might have been if their lead singer, Debbie, had done something comparable. Even today, pop icons like Madonna face negative criticism for their stage antics. He laments the persisting gender bias in the industry.
Discussing the technicalities of the music business, the band member confesses to a significant lack of understanding, particularly concerning financial matters. During their initial years, there was a dearth of guidance and knowledge, making the contractual world seem utterly perplexing. Regrettably, he repeatedly assigned critical aspects of their work to untrustworthy people, getting involved with the wrong set of people, which he admits was the experience of many others too.
He candidly describes his and his fellow band member Harry’s struggles with drug addiction in the 1980s. They found themselves on a dangerous path, resulting in desperate actions such as selling off a painting by their friend Jean-Michel Basquiat to fund their heroin addiction. They had purchased Basquiat’s initial artwork, ‘Cadillac Moon’, for just $200, only to sell it for $10,000 while the artist was still alive. (Basquiat passed away from a heroin overdose in 1988.)
Stein expressed his sentiments retrospectively, saying that the price initially seemed like a bargain. He didn’t realise that Basquiat would gain such meteoric success, and he wasn’t the only one. Stein believes that perhaps only Warhol anticipated it, not common people or Basquiat’s contemporaries. Stein admits his admiration for Basquiat’s talent but claims that he didn’t foresee Basquiat’s elevation to the ranks of great masters. He makes a parallel to the exceptional rise of bitcoin since 2011, suggesting it’s hard to predict everything.
Although Stein has drawn a veil over details of his personal life, declining to discuss his diagnosis with the uncommon autoimmune disorder Pemphigus vulgaris in the mid-80s, his separation from Harry or the demise of his daughter, Akira, at 19 to unintended drug misuse, his penned piece entitled Under a Rock sheds some light. In this book, he reveals his guilt about the possible misinterpretation of his anti-drug stance by his children.
According to Stein, life is riddled with hypothetical situations. He finds the depiction of this concept in PD Ouspensky’s novel, Strange Life of Ivan Osokin, intriguing. The protagonist, Ivan, foolishly believes he can rectify his past mistakes given a second chance. Instead, he ends up repeating them, proving Stein’s belief in the inevitability of time and the human predisposition to repeat conduct.
Stein’s autobiography, Under a Rock, is described as an authentic, generous memoir brimming with personal anecdotes, not all of them joyous or pleasant. Harry, who penned a laudatory description of him, called him “a wild card from the unexpected deck” – a compliment that Stein heartily appreciates. Admitting to his thrill-seeker tendencies, he presents himself as one who never retreated from chaotic situations. Under a Rock is presently available courtesy of Little, Brown.