Quirk Your Enthusiasm (22)

By: Jessamyn West
August 22, 2016

One of 25 installments in a series of posts analyzing and celebrating a few of our favorite New Wave songs from c. 1977–1982. Josh Glenn’s series introduction is here, and you can listen to the QUIRK YOUR ENTHUSIASM playlist here. Enjoy!

“HANGING ON THE TELEPHONE” | BLONDIE | 1978

When I think back to Life During New Wave my most salient memories — besides my questionable fashion and hairstyle choices — was all the drama about the phone. And by “the phone” I mean the one phone number that bound every member of my family together during my entire childhood and teenage years. This number could be used to reach any of us via one of three telephones in the house, one on each floor including my dad’s shop in the basement. The number of phones doubled when my sister and I each got our own phone and my mom got one in her office. That phone number still reaches my mom, though the area code has changed, twice.

But the phone! The concerns! Would I get one in my room? Could I use call-waiting to my teenage advantage? Could I get my own number? Was my pesky little sister trying to listen in? Could I ever be the ninth caller and win tickets? Why isn’t my friend calling me back? Would I have to talk to his Mom when I called? She said she’d give him the message but did she? Why isn’t he home? What did he mean when he said that? How late is too late to call? What is that noise in the background? Why is his number busy? How long can I let this ring before I have to admit he’s not there?

Debbie Harry got it. Between this song and the racier — and, to be honest, somewhat confusing to twelve year old me — “Call Me,” she understood the pernicious influence of the telephone-as-technological-proxy in our personal lives. The wondering and the analyzing and the hang-up-and-run-to-me as the only true solution. Both songs were originally written from male points of view (original version by The Nerves is worth a listen) and Blondie didn’t even change the pronouns. “Fuck this intermediated bullshit” she’d say, “let’s have some real human interaction. Put that phone away.”

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QUIRK YOUR ENTHUSIASM: Mark Kingwell on Soft Cell’s TAINTED LOVE | Joanne McNeil on Gary Numan’s METAL | Devin McKinney on Suicide’s FRANKIE TEARDROP | Douglas Wolk on Family Fodder’s SAVOIR FAIRE | Elina Shatkin on Marianne Faithfull’s BROKEN ENGLISH | Steph Burt on Altered Images’ HAPPY BIRTHDAY | Greg Rowland on Jilted John’s JILTED JOHN | Gordon Dahlquist on XTC’s RESPECTABLE STREET | Adrienne Crew on D-Day’s TOO YOUNG TO DATE | Jonathan Lethem on The Blue Nile’s I LOVE THIS LIFE | Josh Glenn on Tim Curry’s I DO THE ROCK | Molly Wright Steenson on Missing Persons’ WORDS | Anthony Miller on The Nails’ 88 LINES ABOUT 44 WOMEN | Luc Sante on The Normal’s WARM LEATHERETTE | Mimi Lipson on Dolly Mixture’s HOW COME YOU’RE SUCH A HIT WITH THE BOYS, JANE? | Tim Carmody on Talking Heads’ LIFE DURING WARTIME | Ingrid Schorr on Ian Dury’s CLEVOR TREVER | Adam McGovern on Lene Lovich’s LUCKY NUMBER | Deb Chachra on Rough Trade’s HIGH SCHOOL CONFIDENTIAL | Tor Aarestad on Oingo Boingo’s LITTLE GIRLS | David Smay on The B-52’s’ DANCE THIS MESS AROUND | Jessamyn West on Blondie’s HANGING ON THE TELEPHONE | Drew Daniel on The Human League’s MARIANNE | Erik Davis on Tuxedomoon’s TIME TO LOSE | Dan Fox on Thomas Dolby’s EUROPA & THE PIRATE TWINS.

MORE ENTHUSIASM SERIES at HILOBROW

Quirk Your Enthusiasm (22)

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