I so wanted to like Chris Stein’s, the guitarist from Blondie, autobiography, Under a Rock. Unfortunately, from my perspective, it needed both editing down and fleshing out.

The author includes a lot of details about his childhood, 30% of the book, that didn’t add much to his story. When he finally gets down to his musical experiences, the details are lacking specifics. Mostly there are one liners about meeting a famous musician or pop culture icon with little more than a single adjective used to describe them. Seldom are the conversations they had together recorded either. The author himself seems to realize the issue about needing more details, when he explains in less than a paragraph that Debbie Harry and he just grew apart and she moved out. He concluded with “Maybe you want more details but there aren’t many.” Despite “many” implying some, no other details are mentioned and he just moves on to his methadone program’s experiences.

There is also some trash talking about our current political climate that might offend some right wing readers. I don’t think it belongs in an autobiography even though he may have a point to some extent.

Overall, Under a Rock was a disappointment that seemed both overlong and bereft of the details I hoped for. 3 stars.

Thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for a digital review copy of the book.

Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan Publishers for allowing me to preview Chris Stein’s unflinching memoir Under a Rock. While I’m not a major Blondie fan, I’ve always enjoyed their poppy music, and I generally love memoirs by musicians, especially those detailing the downtown/CBGB’s music scene of the mid to late 70’s. Chris Stein’s book is a great addition to other books detailing this important time period in American music and beyond. Beyond the music, Stein has led a really interesting life, and reading about his pre-Blondie years, growing up in Brooklyn, travelling to the West Coast and going to Woodstock, as well as attending an alternative school in NYC with other musicians and artists was fascinating. His stories feature some amazing characters and incredible events. The strength of his book, though, details his time with Blondie, forming the band, starting up around the same time as the Ramones and Television, and eventually gaining popularity. Beyond being more pop oriented than some of the other downtown bands, Blondie also incorporated art in unique ways, and Stein’s background as a visual artist, both in photography and videography, probably added to the band’s integration of visual arts with their music. It’s interesting to look back on Blondie’s output and realize how much Debbie Harry’s image was associated with Blondie. However, Stein also shares that Blondie was also one of the first bands to create a video album to go along with their LP. I loved reading about Stein’s time with other musicians and artists, especially how close Blondie was with Iggy Pop, David Bowie, William S. Burroughs, and Andy Warhol. Although this larger section detailing the development and success of Blondie was the strongest of the book, it was also the most harrowing since this was also the time when Stein’s casual drug use eventually spiraled into full-blown heroin and cocaine addiction. Stein details his addictions and some of the depths that it took him to, eventually seeking out methadone treatment to manage his heroin addiction. As Stein notes in his epilogue (which you must read), it’s important not to glamorize addiction the way some artists have. He documents friends who died from overdoses, and the health struggles that he experienced as a result of his habit. The later chapters dealing with the dissolution of Blondie and eventual reformation kind of fly by. I actually had a hard time following along with his timeline of events, and it wasn’t until the section dealing with 9/11 that I kind of caught up with his timeline. In fact, this is probably the one shortcoming I found with Stein’s writing. There weren’t many transitions or connectives in the text, and this led to a kind of stream-of-consciousness thought-process on the page. I found it more with his early life and his later sections. The events jumped around and paragraphs were listed without any sense of how one event related to another—whether it was sequential, emotionally linked, or some other kind of connection. Sometimes, events that were seemingly non-events were listed without any explanation of their significance, making me question its inclusion. Nevertheless, Stein is an important musician and artist, and I appreciated learning more about his involvement in this seminal scene of music.

I’m fascinated by different time periods and the experiences of others in memoirs. I love to read about vastly different experiences than my own. This book is interesting if not a little too verbose and long in the details. If you are a diehard fan of Blondie, I do think you should read it. For me it was a lot of names and tedious descriptions of travel, seemingly every concert they ever played and who they saw and drugs. Lots and lots of drugs. While it was definitely still engaging, I do think it is best saved for the true fans.

Thank you to NetGalley and St Martins Press for the ARC!

"Debbie Harry defined iconic band Blondie's look. Chris Stein - her performing partner, lover, and lifelong friend - was its architect and defined its sound. "Parallel Lines", their third album, catapulted to #1, sold 20 million copies, and launched singles like "Heart of Glass", "Hangin' On the Telephone," and "One Way or Another", providing the beat when Bianca Jagger and Halston danced at Studio 54 and the soundtrack to every 1970's punk-soundtracked romance.

Chris Stein knows how to tell a story. Under A Rock is his nothing-spared autobiography. It's about the founding of the band, ascending to the heights of pop success, and the hazards of fortune.

Famous names march through these pages - Warhol, Bowie, Jean-Michel Basquiat, and more - but you can get famous names anywhere. What you can't get anywhere else is a plunge into the moments that made a giant 1980's artistic sensation. Stein takes us there in this revelatory, propulsive, distinctive memoir."

A deep dive into a band that has always fascinated me.

Stevie and Lindsey. Tony Kanal and Gwen Stefani. Chris Stein and Debbie Harry.

Famous couples. Famous bandmates. Famous couples who broke up and continued to be in a band together.

Under a Rock is Chris Stein's love story. To Debbie, to Blondie, to music. While some part do tend to repeat and go on a bit too long, this is a excellent memoir of a world-class musician and artist.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Oh wow! I loved this! This makes up a million times over for Debbie Harry’s “I’m pretty vacant and I don’t care”, memoir. It’s exactly what I was hoping it would be. This was a book about him and his weird, crazy life. Sure he was in a band, that’s part of the story.

This was really well written, with the occasional ramble. It was so much fun and really interesting. Loads of details. My favorite memoirs have all the little things, like what someone had for lunch details. This fit the bill.

I will happily recommend this book to anyone! It was so great!

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC, all opinions are my own.

St. Martin's Press provided an early galley for review.

At age 74, Stein has experienced a lot of life. As a Blondie fan from almost their start, I was interested to read his story and about the music. To get to that point, though, there was quite a bit of wading in miscellaneous details as we make our way through his rollercoaster life up to his early 20's. While interesting in spots, it might have been less of a slog if it had been delivered with a bit more energy and structure.

I also would have appreciated the detailed focus when it came to discussing the making of the albums and the tours during the band's peek periods. While we get some of that, it also seemed very quick and fleeting. The focus would shift to drugs or random people (some famous, some not) and cats. I found myself quick scanning at parts rather than reading, and I found I did not feel like I had missed anything.

Stein has written other books previously. Maybe one of those might have more of what I am looking for than what this one presented.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me this ARC of ‘Under a Rock’ by Blondie guitarist Chris Stein. This was another great music memoir. I am just an average Blondie fan, but love all things music. Stein really dived deep into his childhood and live before Blondie. Super interesting read for any music lover.

#NetGalley #UnderARock
Thanks to Net Galley for sending this e-book ARC for review.
Most people know of Chris Stein as a member of Blondie, or Debbie Harry's boyfriend throughout most of their time in the band. This book shares more, taking a deep dive into his childhood and years before Blondie. Growing up in the 1950's NYC, spending time in a mental hospital, attending Art school, touring with Blondie, TV appearances, movies, Chris has had such a wild and tense, as well as fun and memorable life.
My favorite part is when Chris shares stories of the bands travels and how they came up with and decided album covers, and the stories behind the songs. I really enjoyed this book, learning more about Chris Steins' interests and hobbies, as well as learning more about the band, Blondie. He is very open and engaging, humorous and intelligent, these stories entertain and capture the spirit of Chis Stein. Everyone will enjoy this.

I would describe myself as a casual Blondie fan. I bought Parallel Lines and Autoamerican albums when they first came out in the late 70's/early 80s and have enjoyed hearing the hits on classic rock stations. I have not read any other Blondie biographies and I thought hearing about the band from a founding member would be fascinating. Some of it was very fascinating, especially when if focused on the band or the music. Unfortunately, there were long meandering narratives focused on innocuous incidents or who was scoring what drugs at which parties. I would have really liked to hear more about song writing and song selections for the various albums. There was a little more detail about the early albums but the later albums barely warranted a paragraph sandwiched between stories of rescued kitties or descriptions of New York neighborhoods. I would recommend this for hard core Blondie fans only.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an advanced reader copy

To be honest, I didn't finish this book. I am definitely not the intended audience, so I think that was the problem.

I thought it would be interesting to read about a rock'n'roll relationship, like Daisy Jones & the Six in real life. The writing style and minutiae were not up my alley. If I were a Blondie fan (which I'm a bit too young for), I would probably have a totally different take.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

My thanks to Net Galley and St Martin s Press for allowing me to have this arc.

If you were a fan of Blondie and the early NY music scene, this is a must read. The author, Debbie Harry's musical and life partner at the time paints a clear and nostalgic picture. Very enjoyable.

I highly recommend Chris Stein's memoir to anyone interested in New York City music history. The book reads as if dictated by the author and then edited. Stein's down-to-earth voice well for the reader. His writing is entirely unpretentious and often funny. Readers will enjoy the many stories about Stein, Deborah Harry, and many other New York City music people.

My favorite era of music is 70's. I've never been what you'd call a Blondie fan, but did buy the single 45 disc of "Heart of Glass". I also read at least one biography about Blondie in recent years and knew that Deborah Harry was in a very long intimate relationship with fellow band member Chris Stein- so of course I was interested in reading his memoir. However, it wasn't quite what I expected. I was initially swept away by his wide swath of remembrances growing up in the fifties which gave me a warm feeling. However, he continued in a never-ending stream of consciousness with a lot of minutiae I couldn't care a flip about. It reminded me of another rock bio I read (and abandoned) last year for the same reason ("Scattershot" by Bernie Taupin). This was a very self-indulgent and somehow remote plethora of memories that just didn't resonate with me and left me cold.

Thank you to the publisher St. Martin's Press who provided an advance reader copy via NetGalley.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher St. Martin's Press for an advance copy of this memoir about a man who found his soul mate, changed music, and can look back and see what he did right, what he did wrong, and his own legacy.

Over the years I have read a lot of memoirs about people in the entertainment business. Most are books that are written by others to help make money. Or they say they are telling the real story, and its more of an airing of grievances. Or a settling of scores. Or just plain hagiography. Few of these reflect on events, how situations could have been better handled, how an argument was allowed to fester ruining things later. How a friendship could have been saved, or even a life. Under a Rock: A Memoir by Chris Stein of the band Blondie is one of these books. Stein tells of his life, the things he did wrong, did right and got away with. Stein also talks about music, what he loved, and what he had a hand in creating with his soul mate Debbie Harry.

Chris Stein was born in Brooklyn in 1950. As a child he loved movies, music, comics, and roaming the city and seeing what he could. Stein's father passed away when Stein was young, a hole that messed him up for quite a while. Soon he was growing his hair long, hanging out with early hippies, and taking drugs. Tossed out of school for his long hair, Stein was able to get into art school, where an interest in photography began. Soon his roaming instinct took him to San Francisco, Europe and to a cheap room in Manhattan. Stein was getting more into music, and soon was hanging out with many of the early players who would create the music that would be called punk. The New York Dolls, meeting Iggy Pop, member of the Ramones before the were the Ramones. Everything came together when he met a young woman, Debbie Harry who was interested in music and even more interested in Stein. One day after dyeing her hair Harry was catcalled in the street. Instead of being annoyed she thought it would be a great band name. Blondie was born, and musical history was made.

Chris Stein has lead an amazing life, and knew many amazing people, who make appearances in this book. David Bowie, Mick Jagger, Iggy Pop, Andy Warhol. People who Stein learned from in different ways. The book is very well written with a nice style, one that really lets his voice show, and one that even Stein is amazed that all of this stuff happened too. There is a lot of sadness, the loss of people close to him, including his daughter, which for some reason hit me very hard in the writing. Stein is older and is able to look back at many of these things, bad music deals, fights in the band, disappointing people, and relate them in way that shows he wishes he had handled it better, and has learned a lot from his mistakes. Stein has a lot of interests and shares many of them, music of course, photography, even a bit about the occult. And of course much about the biggest character in the book the City of New York. Oh and Ms. Harry, of course.

Recommended for fans of the band, and music of the time. Also for those who love to read about New York when it was fun and dangerous. This is a really well-written tale about a young man, finding his soul mate, making music, and staying friends.

Note: Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, and Chris Stein for the advanced reader copy of the book. This review will also be posted on NetGalley. What follows is my unbiased review of the book.

After reading Debbie Harry’s memoir Face It, when I saw Chris Stein’s memoir available on NetGalley, I simply had to read it. There are no great reveals here that weren’t covered in Debbie’s memoir, but Chris seems to have a better memory of happenings during the punk scene in New York City.

Chris was a City boy, having been raised there by parents who were once part of the Communist Party. His youth would seem to be completely alien to how we parent today, with a lot of freedom to venture out and figure things out for himself. He tells his story in a stream-of-consciousness style, with the memories flowing as he remembers them. I was actually surprised he was able to remember so much and in such detail. I don’t think I could have done it, and I didn’t have the drug issues he did.

The punk scene in New York was unique, and the band Blondie came out of that. However, they were not known necessarily as a punk band. Chris shows how they grew out of the scene, surrounded by so many punk icons and playing at CBGBs and Max’s Kansas City. I loved all the details about The Ramones, having grown up in the late 1970s and 1980s and been a fan of theirs. David Johanssen and the New York Dolls figure prominently as does David Bowie. Chris and Debbie were also part of Andy Warhol’s Manhattan scene.

He’s honest about the drug use and abuse that cost him so much, almost including his life. It started with pot but grew into just about every drug available throughout the 1970s and 1980s. He doesn’t get into the whys of his drug abuse; it was just something they did. He wasn’t trying to escape, or if it was a means of escape he doesn’t admit it. For much of the ten years prior to Blondie finally hitting it big, Chris and Debbie lived in abject poverty in a Manhattan that doesn’t exist anymore. The buildings they resided in have been gentrified and cleaned up. I don’t know that this new Manhattan can produce characters like Chris details here. It’s become much more like the suburbia I grew up in in many ways, with much higher prices.

His relationship with Debbie Harry ran its course and died out eventually around the same time the first incarnation of Blondie died out. They remain close friends. Chris says she’s the closest friend he’s ever had. When they started touring again and were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, there was friction among the original members. Some of that is due to lawsuits and some of it is just time changing things. Chris and Debbie are still the core of the group that has been touring and making records.

I found Under a Rock to be an easy read for the most part. The style of writing might be hard for some as at times there’s no clear separation from one story to another. Having known the New York he writes about is a big help, I think. The tragedy for him comes in the epilogue, which I guess he wrote after the book was finished. Although he takes the reader up until the current time, the epilogue contains the information that he and his wife lost his older daughter to an overdose in 2023. Having lost a child to drugs myself, I felt his pain as he brushed the surface of grief and the guilt he has over his own drug use and whether he impressed how bad it was on his daughter.

I really enjoyed this read and I recommend it to people who are interested in the history of rock music, particularly the New York music scene in the 1970s. There’s also a good deal in here about rap and hip-hop as the first time Chris and Debbie heard it they were astounded they hadn’t come upon it before. Really, Under a Rock covers so much territory that it’s a must-read for any music historian.

An exciting historical document that made me laugh out loud. Stein has a compelling narrative voice and eye for detail, and he conveys New York's 60s-80s music scenes well.

I would say I'm a middle-of-the-road Blondie fan - not diehard, but I know all of their singles and grew up listening to the band. I don't know a lot about the members, but I knew that Debbie Harry and Chris Stein were together and that they had a connection to Andy Warhol. I thought this would be an interesting read and it certainly was that. Stein talks not only about his time in the band but his life before and since the band's inception.

I expected it to be a bit more polished but it of course is an unedited copy. I'd be interested to see if it turns into a more finished product or remains a stream-of-consciousness type of story. Either way, this book was both hard to read and hard to put down at times.

Chris Stein, the longtime guitarist for Blondie and boyfriend of Debbie Harry, is a real New Yorker, having been born and raised in the city, like myself. For that reason alone, I love this book. We're about the same age and he remembers his time growing up in a city that's disappeared much as I do. It's fun to hear him reference the same places I used to visit. He makes an interesting observation that I've long thought but never put into words--that the New York city of the late '70s was closer to a time 100 years before than it was to the 30 years to come. He's so on the money with that comment.

As for the story of his band Blondie, that's fun to read about also. Chris was a pure punk guy who did every drug known to man and lived the life of a hard rocker before he became rich and famous. His travels around the city with very little money harken back to a time that might not still be possible but, in my heart of hearts, I think it still is. Chris didn't exist on much and, if you're willing to live that type of wild life he did, I bet you still can do that.

Here's the crazy part. I read this book not long after reading Barbra Streisand's memoir and their early lives in the city mirror each other in some ways. She too didn't have a full time apartment. She took lived on the kindness of strangers while polishing her talent. And of course, she made it just as Chris did.

Creation stories are the best and my guess is, if you're even slightly interested in late '70s New York--the last unvarnished era of the city before social media and snarky behavior took over--you'll love this memoir as much as I do.

Blondie's album Parallel Lines was one of the first (if not THE first) albums I received as a kid and I wore it out on my little turntable so I was excited to be approved for this ARC. Unlike a lot of popular bands/musicians at the time, Blondie has only grown in stature and legend since its chart topping run in the late 70s, early 80s. It is often credited with having the first number one song to feature rap.

Chris Stein was a founding member and his long-term girlfriend was none other than lead singer/icon Debbie Harry. (If you're a Debbie fan please check out her amazing memoir, Face.) It's absolutely astonishing to me that Chris, drug-addled as he was most of the time, has such a sharp memory for his entire life, starting with his childhood in Brooklyn (I had no idea I live about 5 minutes from where Chris Stein grew up on Coney Island Ave! Hi neighbor!) and ending with his post-Blondie/present life.

The most interesting part for me was Chris and the band's poverty-filled grind living in the enormous, rat-filled lofts of 70s downtown NYC - lofts that now sell in the millions. It's a real snapshot of old school NYC with its burgeoning punk scene, composed of CBGB bands like The Ramones, Television, Patti Smith and Blondie. Blondie was considered the "joke" band- it has a sexy blonde girl lead singer and its songs were more ballad-y and accessible. It would go on to be the most popular group. The times are so tough that Debbie is r*ped by an intruder to their loft while Chris is tied up in another room. They are repeatedly robbed. People overdose and die. Their cats kill huge rats. All stuff that would have sent most people running back to the burbs and who could blame them? (A moment of silence for poor kitty Sunday Man, who disappears from Debbie's sister's house. I was worried about the 3 cats the entire book).

Sadly, like most bands, bad business decisions and drugs conspired to rob these creatives of their money and Chris Stein ended up basically broke (though I'm assuming he's not now? Hard to tell.)

Occasionally the book veers into continual name dropping (X came over, then Y dropped by, then Z said hello, and I ran into A on the street... etc) and I did not recognize the majority of the names. So I found myself skipping over various portions.

If you love Blondie, music, or the 70s NYC punk/New Wave scene, this memoir is required reading. I just reviewed Under a Rock by Chris Stein. #NetGalley

Thank you Chris Stein, NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.