Michael Stipe vs. Debbie Harry

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Blondie wouldn't be Blondie with Debbie and R.E.M. wouldn't be R.E.M. without Michael, yet both of them transcend the bands they're known for. You vote now on whatever criteria you choose.

Poll Results

OptionVotes
Debbie Harry 40
Michael Stipe 18


Johnny Fever, Monday, 17 November 2014 21:11 (eleven years ago)

Debbie all the way. Such a better songwriter. Stipe got some cool films made, which is maybe the most important thing in his favor in my estimation, but that doesn't beat Heart of Glass.

Οὖτις, Monday, 17 November 2014 21:15 (eleven years ago)

Our Rush Rush.

holla back for a dope nakh (how's life), Monday, 17 November 2014 21:18 (eleven years ago)

Or

how's life, Monday, 17 November 2014 21:19 (eleven years ago)

I think I'd probably go with Debbie just because Blondie didn't even start until she was 30. THIRTY! That's an advanced age to be starting a new band, even now, but especially then. So she fucking rules.

Johnny Fever, Monday, 17 November 2014 21:31 (eleven years ago)

Anyone who votes for Stipe in this poll is someone super-boring that I don't want to have sex with.

the incredible string gland (sic), Monday, 17 November 2014 21:56 (eleven years ago)

This was actually a pretty big debate between me and my brother-in-law, whose tastes at the time were REM and Replacements while mine were Blondie and B-52's. I've gotten to like some REM over the years, but this isn't anywhere near close.

Deliciously hard yet very accessible (Dan Peterson), Monday, 17 November 2014 22:04 (eleven years ago)

Debbie duh

example (crüt), Monday, 17 November 2014 22:06 (eleven years ago)

TS: "Radio Song" vs "Rapture"

da croupier, Monday, 17 November 2014 22:07 (eleven years ago)

This would probably be a less one-sided poll elsewhere on the internet.

Johnny Fever, Monday, 17 November 2014 22:09 (eleven years ago)

blondie definitely had the better crossover single on their third album

da croupier, Monday, 17 November 2014 22:15 (eleven years ago)

What was R.E.M.'s third album crossover single? Can't Get There From Here? Driver 8?

Johnny Fever, Monday, 17 November 2014 22:16 (eleven years ago)

I think I like Blondie more than REM, but I just find Michael Stipe endlessly charming and hilarious and mesmerizing so I have to vote for him

soref, Monday, 17 November 2014 22:17 (eleven years ago)

i was referring to the one with the horn section, johnny.

da croupier, Monday, 17 November 2014 22:18 (eleven years ago)

I think there's something just naturally funny about Stipe, in a good way. I mean, just look at him!

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=michael+stipe&safe=off&biw=1600&bih=799&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=i3RqVN3NJsL3av3lgMAG&sqi=2&ved=0CAYQ_AUoAQ

he reminds me a little of Buster Keaton sometimes, he has a kind of silent movie comedian face

soref, Monday, 17 November 2014 22:22 (eleven years ago)

and Can't Get There From Here is my favourite 80s REM single

soref, Monday, 17 November 2014 22:24 (eleven years ago)

This is like polling Jesus vs Mohammed in a baptist church

my jaw left (Hurting 2), Monday, 17 November 2014 22:35 (eleven years ago)

lol u right

There are many more R.E.M. songs I love than there are Blondie songs tbh, but Debbie oh Debbie.

Johnny Fever, Monday, 17 November 2014 22:44 (eleven years ago)

maybe michael stipe v david byrne would have been a fairer fight? voting debbie, some arty alt rock dork vs coolness personified doesn't seem like much of a contest

john wahey (NickB), Monday, 17 November 2014 22:52 (eleven years ago)

Voted Stipe: Parallel Lines is the only Blondie I own, and I like it, but I've listened many times to every REM album (+ Chronic Town[/i) up through [i]Monster.

EveningStar (Sund4r), Monday, 17 November 2014 22:57 (eleven years ago)

Chris Stein vs Peter Buck

Master of Treacle, Monday, 17 November 2014 22:59 (eleven years ago)

rem has definitely had more significance personally and would probably have to vote for them over blondie, but stipe's given me enough "ugh" moments over the years (printing lyric sheets after saying they're no more important than the bass tabs, reading said lyric sheets from a laptop on screen while facing sideways, presenting at the vh1 fashion awards, adding "COOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL" to "man on the moon" etc) that i'm inclined to go with harry

da croupier, Monday, 17 November 2014 23:00 (eleven years ago)

sic's assessment is a truth bomb imo

mattresslessness, Monday, 17 November 2014 23:00 (eleven years ago)

Chris Stein is cooler than Peter Buck but Michael Stipe is cooler than Debbie Harry

soref, Monday, 17 November 2014 23:01 (eleven years ago)

it's not really about quantity for me. one of them does ravishing beauty, the other sang shiny happy people xps

john wahey (NickB), Monday, 17 November 2014 23:01 (eleven years ago)

would probably vote buck, mills, berry over stein, whoever plays bass for blondie & clem burke respectively, with clem and bill being the closest finish

da croupier, Monday, 17 November 2014 23:03 (eleven years ago)

Will vote for dork over coolness personified every time.

EveningStar (Sund4r), Monday, 17 November 2014 23:05 (eleven years ago)

Gonna hold you to that on TS: Urkel & The Fonz

da croupier, Monday, 17 November 2014 23:06 (eleven years ago)

Clem vs Bill in use of hi hat patterns

Master of Treacle, Monday, 17 November 2014 23:08 (eleven years ago)

they are both good celebrities for the GIS era, I think. hours of fun to be had looking at old pictures of them

soref, Monday, 17 November 2014 23:09 (eleven years ago)

Oh, well, DH obv wins that particular contest.

EveningStar (Sund4r), Monday, 17 November 2014 23:10 (eleven years ago)

I'll keep the money
you can have the fame

guess that bundt gettin eaten (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Monday, 17 November 2014 23:13 (eleven years ago)

I just heard an imaginary version of Blondie doing "It's the End of the World as We Know It" in my head and it was the fucking best.

Johnny Fever, Monday, 17 November 2014 23:16 (eleven years ago)

with those Clem Burke fills

guess that bundt gettin eaten (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Monday, 17 November 2014 23:16 (eleven years ago)

Do the uninformed regard Stipe = REM to anywhere the same extent Harry = Blondie?

Master of Treacle, Monday, 17 November 2014 23:17 (eleven years ago)

I probably like more REM songs than Blondie ones overall but like that actually matters because Debbie Harry is one of the ten best pop stars ever.

Matt DC, Monday, 17 November 2014 23:18 (eleven years ago)

i don't think they've ever had to say "REM IS A GROUP" but i'm sure plenty of people see REM as "that guy and some dorks behind him."

sic's assessment is a truth bomb imo

i dunno, there are lots of possible reasons one would prefer a blonde bombshell to a fashion-forward henry fonda type and i wouldn't say they all improve one's fuckability

da croupier, Monday, 17 November 2014 23:18 (eleven years ago)

I guess I could've chosen Robert Plant or Roger Waters and/or David Gilmour, as I've heard people refer to them as "Led Zeppelin" and "Pink Floyd" respectively.

Johnny Fever, Monday, 17 November 2014 23:21 (eleven years ago)

or is Stipe a lispless Franklin Pangborn

guess that bundt gettin eaten (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Monday, 17 November 2014 23:22 (eleven years ago)

Gonna hold you to that on TS: Urkel & The Fonz

lol

EveningStar (Sund4r), Monday, 17 November 2014 23:26 (eleven years ago)

adding "COOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL" to "man on the moon"

This was always so rad imo.

timellison, Monday, 17 November 2014 23:31 (eleven years ago)

http://31.media.tumblr.com/fefc606610e03e0a7a337eaac18b3d30/tumblr_mut3ltJOvw1rqyxf8o1_500.gif

Don A Henley And Get Over It (C. Grisso/McCain), Tuesday, 18 November 2014 00:40 (eleven years ago)

michael stipe is not a henry fonda type

mattresslessness, Tuesday, 18 November 2014 00:42 (eleven years ago)

he's a billy corgan type

mattresslessness, Tuesday, 18 November 2014 00:42 (eleven years ago)

ok that's wrong. he's definitely not a henry fonda type though. stop fucking with me!

mattresslessness, Tuesday, 18 November 2014 00:43 (eleven years ago)

Ha, I forgot that Harry was in Videodrome. That brings her up several notches.

EveningStar (Sund4r), Tuesday, 18 November 2014 00:44 (eleven years ago)

Bring her up a few more:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aH2ResrRr_A

Junior Dadaismus (James Redd and the Blecchs), Tuesday, 18 November 2014 00:52 (eleven years ago)

Family Fodder - "Debbie Harry" vs P - "Michael Stipe"

Master of Treacle, Tuesday, 18 November 2014 01:04 (eleven years ago)

Her age was sort of mentioned above, but it still weirds me out that Harry is just a couple years younger than Mick Jagger.

dlp9001, Tuesday, 18 November 2014 01:42 (eleven years ago)

I'd rather spend time with Debbie Harry, but I'd rather listen to R.E.M.

clemenza, Tuesday, 18 November 2014 02:04 (eleven years ago)

Stipe is lame Debbie is dead cool, voted Stipe

rip van wanko, Tuesday, 18 November 2014 02:10 (eleven years ago)

stipe seems like an ok dude, but still voted debbie.

(The Other) J.D. (J.D.), Tuesday, 18 November 2014 02:27 (eleven years ago)

Debbie Harry without a doubt.

2010, 2012 and 2014 World Series Champions San Francisco Giants (Bee OK), Tuesday, 18 November 2014 02:32 (eleven years ago)

Debbie, hands down.

Pict in a blanket (WilliamC), Tuesday, 18 November 2014 02:32 (eleven years ago)

Blondie is one of the best bands ever

REM has some good tunes

Debbie easy

The Complainte of Ray Tabano, Tuesday, 18 November 2014 02:35 (eleven years ago)

Voted Debbie Harry. She is sexy and rocks. Michael Stipe has his feelings.

nicky lo-fi, Thursday, 20 November 2014 19:19 (eleven years ago)

if I was told that Debbie Harry had become the new singer for REM I would be excited to hear that, but if I found out that Michael Stipe had become the new lead singer of Blondie that wouldn't sound appealing at all

soref, Thursday, 20 November 2014 21:02 (eleven years ago)

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

System, Friday, 21 November 2014 00:01 (eleven years ago)

i really don't understand the basis of the poll

REM a much more important band for me than Blondie however

things lose meaning over time (Dr Morbius), Friday, 21 November 2014 03:32 (eleven years ago)

dear debbie harry, i love you but i've chosen stipe

Guayaquil (eephus!), Friday, 21 November 2014 03:48 (eleven years ago)

I can agree with saying both transcended their bands, but I'd add they were much more reliant on them than what one would think by looking at their photoshoots. Many of Blondie's best stuff came from Destri or Stein, and R.E.M. stopped being worthwile the moment they became the Michael Stipe band. R.E.M. especially, right from the start they had this tight sound where Stipe's voice was just a part of the picture, and the fact that they were such a compact unit is one of the reasons why they were able pull out the transition from indie rockers to stadium-fillers so successfully.

cpl593H, Friday, 21 November 2014 12:07 (eleven years ago)

I'd also argue there's very few other prominent frontmen as dependent on their bands band as Stipe. And it's not that there's anything wrong about it, it makes sense when your band is as good as R.E.M. was.

cpl593H, Friday, 21 November 2014 12:11 (eleven years ago)

I guess I could've chosen Robert Plant or Roger Waters and/or David Gilmour, as I've heard people refer to them as "Led Zeppelin" and "Pink Floyd" respectively.

Very surprised to hear that anyone sees Plant this way. I thought that if anyone was seen as a leader within the band, it was Page.

EveningStar (Sund4r), Friday, 21 November 2014 20:48 (eleven years ago)

By people, I mean one of my mother's friends when I was in high school.

Johnny Fever, Friday, 21 November 2014 20:49 (eleven years ago)

(Actually, she's responsible for both instances.)

Johnny Fever, Friday, 21 November 2014 20:49 (eleven years ago)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v216/sexymollusk/shinyhappynewflesh_zpsa804b335.jpg

Punny Names (latebloomer), Friday, 21 November 2014 21:12 (eleven years ago)

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

System, Saturday, 22 November 2014 00:01 (eleven years ago)

In your face Stipe

paolo, Saturday, 22 November 2014 13:14 (eleven years ago)


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