Generally, critics seem to agree that Blondie’s best album was Parallel Lines, released in 1978. It featured a number of hits, most famously “Heart of Glass” but also “One Way or Another.”
The Midnight Special YouTube channel has recently started uploading a bunch of clips from the show, and I watched the performance of “One Way or Another”, curious to see if it was actually live (though The Midnight Special has a reputation for showcasing live performances, sometimes you would get a mix of live vocals/recorded instruments or recorded vocals/live instruments or just a big old bag of fake everything). In this case, the song is actually performed live and just over a minute in, it cuts way from the band to a couple dancing in that funky 70s way they did back then. And I thought, “Is the guy wearing see-through pants?” and the answer is yes, yes he is. I did not expect this.
It looks supremely silly, of course, and it’s also a cop out because he is not wearing underwear underneath, but what appears to be a pair of shorts or a swimsuit. He could have at least worn a Speedo.
As someone who was already a teen back in 1979, I can verify that see-through pants were not a big thing. Big hair was a big thing.
Here’s the video, so you can see him shake his booty in full glory (two other things: He and the woman act like they’re “fighting” each other, but it was the 70s, so who knows if they were acting or high on, uh, life. Yeah. Also, the song takes kind of a weird turn for the last minute and a half):
