Duran Duran: Classic or Dud?

Hungry Like the Wolf is the best song ever, and not just because I've always been convinced it's about oral sex. The video is just the most fantastic thing - I mean, wtf is going on in it? Why do they seem angry? Why are they chasing that girl, and then why is she chasing them? What's with the war paint? Why flip over a table? It's amazing, and so much better than the way overrated Rio video. I think all videos should look like Hungry Like the Wolf. I'd kill to watch Radiohead run around like that, flipping over tables and chasing war- painted girls in the jungle.

But all of the early videos were quite brilliant. Wild Boys in particular is so OTT that I would kill to see something near its like today.

Both are cute, charming, doomy, arty, angsty, made it big Stateside, owe more to Bowie than they’ll ever admit, surf the wave of current political fads (aspiration & no-logo respectively), make the old feel young.

Why are Radiohead not the new Duran?

Not enough hair products or trips to the make-up counter, no aspiring artist in the band, not enough singles.

CLASSIC for image, as everyone has already said, but DUD for Simon LeBon's voice, which only Dr. C seems to have noticed. (Gosh, what could be worse than the "Make Me Smile (Come Up and See Me)" cover?)

What does mark's post mean? I do feel like I'm jumping on a bandwagon by saying CLASSIC for image cos I've spent many years trying to distance myself from my childhood infatuations...

duran duran = roXoR also

I dug out the 12" of The Reflex a few days ago and the extended version is called the "Dance Mix". Now it would have to be something like the "Chics For Free mix".

If not, you are obviously very thick and need to check out some prime swampland real estate I'm about ready to sell to you. Either that or you've just started reading this forum.

Search & destroy? For me, I'd have to search just about every single Duran song out there, with the possible exceptions of "Shotgun" and "UMF" (off The Wedding Album) and "911 is a Joke" and "I Wanna Take You Higher" (off Thank You). Those four could be destroyed, thank you very much.

Hungry Like The Wolf is about ORAL SEX?!?!?!? Oh my god, I never knew that. Hey, I mean, I was 12 when it came out, it never dawned on my horny prepubescent brain! That makes it somehow ever better!

I think I've told the story about my Durannie friend and her super-indie boyfriend who sneered at Duran. She said "What would you say to a band who wanted to be a cross between the Sex Pistols, Chic and Brian Eno?" And he went "That would be my NEW FAVOURITE BAND EVAH!!!" and she shoved Rio at him and said "meet your new favourite band evah, suckah."

And don't forget to search for Arcadia, another fantastic album.

Because it was possibly the worst single they ever released! Come on, even at the age of 13 or whatever, I knew that.

New Moon On Monday was actually kinda ace. Yeah. I have the tendency to completely write off Seven and the Ragged Tiger, but it definitely had its moments.

Oh, and DD are ace, simply for having such an incredible body of work dedicated to their fan fiction. Maybe it's just cause I've only read good DD FF, (thanks, UMF/Lovely Blue Planet Of There) but it's of such a blatantly higher calibre that you think they must be doing something right.

(The one time that a band's fans can be held in their favour)

They spoilt it with mortifying spin off bands (Arcadia were ok - Power Station.... oh dear), their pro-Thatcher stance throughout the 80s and their ludicrous make up and dress sense.

And their mystifying arrogance (I've never encountered an arrogant Brummie in my life, have you?).

But a welcome return....

Oh, if that isn't part of what made them so classic I don't know what is. Nick Rhodes dyed for our sins!

http://www.middlemoon.com/sandra/img/nick_rhodes.gif

uuuuuuuuuhhhhhhhhh...

http://www.b3ta.my-webserver.co.uk/colossus.jpg

http://members.tripod.com/rant58/7535eb80.jpg

(Why is it so hard to find a decent picture of Peter on the web?)

This is my favorite picture of Nick Rhodes:

http://www.hanksnet.com/callingplanetearth/nick6/images/nickwht88fash_jpg.jpg

He looks simply gorgeous there.

This is my favorite picture of John Taylor:

http://www.hanksnet.com/callingplanetearth/john4/images/jtjap1_jpg.jpg

This is my favorite pic of the two of them together:

http://www.hanksnet.com/callingplanetearth/misc/images/48d53964_jpg.jpg

*licks computer screen*

PLEASE TELL ME THIS IS A COVER

I've got to stop or I'll be hitting UMF in a mo...

Pardon me, I meant "for whom the documentary was PRIMARILY made"

foh

https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/images/ic/976x549_b/p03c1nsp.jpg

Ha, I loved the fucking Power Station. They played it on rock radio! Chic! Robert Palmer! I was not much into the DD thing, but the campier they got the more I liked them.

It tickles me that when Robert Palmer bowed out of Power Station, they got Michael Des Barres in! Yeah, the same Michael Des Barres who was one of the founders of Rock Against Drugs was also in the same band as three hardcore drug fiends.

Wow, who would have expected such a passionate defensive of a documentary which wouldn't have shocked me had the words 'Pear Tree Productions' appeared at the end

But good to know the fan club liked it

lol

those fucking Beatles!

I agree, The Beatles have had their fair share of terminally boring documentaries.

I couldn't possibly comment on the Duran Duran one because I haven't seen it.

The Anthology series would have been considerably livened up by a section on Nick Rhodes' polaroids

Wat? Pamela Des Barres was in Duran Duran?

Anthology and The Compleat Beatles are the only good ones!

(xpost)

I believei n shame!.

wow, never realized American Science wasn't a single... that was an oversight.

such awful manners!

I would've rather seen "American Science" be a single than "Skin Trade", because as much as I enjoy "Skin Trade" I find "American Science" a far superior song. But the #1 gem of Notorious is absolutely "Hold Me", which is way too good to be a single. In fact, I feel DD excels with their album tracks and b-sides, not their singles (though I will forever defend the great ones such as "The Reflex", "Ordinary World", and "Union of the Snake").

Notorious isn't my favourite album of theirs, but I think the production on it has held up very well and it sounds to me that Nile spent a lot of time working with Simon on the vocals for that record.

"American Science" sounds like a Power Station leftover: the use of horns is what I hate about mid eighties use of horns.

I never thought the Reflex was as good as New Moon on Monday.

Definitely not

"American Science" sounds like a Power Station leftover: the use of horns is what I hate about mid eighties use of horns.

Nah, it's too poppy to have fit with the Power Station ethos, in spite of the brief Andy Taylor rock guitar riff in the song. Also, re: your remark about the "mid eighties use of horns", you're crazy.

I never thought the Reflex was as good as New Moon on Monday.

Could it be simply that you've never listened to NMOM as much as you've listened to "The Reflex"? Also, while the Nile Rodgers dance remix of "The Reflex" is a little on the cheesy side, the original album mix is pure gold. It's definitely better than NMOM, though not as good as "Union of the Snake", the best single from 7&TRT. BTW, I have very fond associations with that album because my late dad actually sat down with me when I was about 13 - 14 and listened to the album to experience his little girl's favorite musical artist, and had nothing but complimentary things to say about the second half of the album.

you're crazy

well, sure. What do you mean? I dislike the use of horns as a garish sound effect -- they work quite well, on the other hand, on "Notorious."

I dig the horns throughout the album: title track, "American Science", "Skin Trade". Lot more tasteful than many of their contemporaries, though I kind of dig tacky horns in the right mood too. The production of Notorious comes off less dated than any of their other 80s albums nowadays, I find

this is a "dated"-free zone, son.

Don't get me wrong, Rio still slays Notorious, even if Rio sounds more of its time. Maybe that's a better phrase to use, I didn't mean "dated" to sound too pejorative

I've been biting my tongue on this since late 2018, it's surreal + exciting to be able to share with you that I've produced the next @duranduran album, which features the ace @grahamcoxon on guitar.

Here is a taster of what we've been up to:
'INVISIBLE' https://t.co/1R89ke287e pic.twitter.com/fPCaqKF4Ov

— erol alkan (@erolalkan) May 19, 2021

Surprised how much I'm enjoying the new album. I can't remember the last album they did where I didn't really want to skip a single song. The song with Chai keeps getting stuck in my head.

Yeah it's quite good, like they balanced out their addiction to guests with creating a pretty solid front to back listen.

Haven't listened to the new album yet but have enjoyed all the singles they released from it beforehand

I'm loving Future Past. The previous one (Paper Gods) has it's moments but I find it often very in-your-face(-not-in-a-good-way) poppy & like an older band way too desperately trying to sound contemporary. I'm relieved the new one doesn't have that at all. It's very consistent in its high quality. Simon sounds amazing!
Graham Coxon is featured on 9 of the 15 tracks (deluxe edition) and shares songwriting credit. Can they please make him a fulltime member of the band, at least for as long as Blur isn't doing anything?

Can't totally agree with kitchen person's comment though, as 2010's All You Need Is Now might actually be my favourite Duran Duran album.

DON’T SAVE A PRAYER FOR ME NOW
SAVE IT TILL THE MORNING AFTERRRRRRRR

They've gone goth on us

https://duranduran.com/2023/71443/

Ghost Town, Paint It Black, Spellbound, Psycho Killer... Those who forget the lessons of Thank You are doomed to repeat them

Joking of course. I'll certainly listen to it if the preview singles don't put me off.

The spectre of Thank You looms large - one of the worst albums I've ever purchased. Cool to see Andy and Warren contributing again, certainly makes me more intrigued to check it out

I don't hate Thank You. It's partly silly in a way I can still enjoy and I also think there's some good stuff on there. It makes me happy to hear that Andy and Warren both feature on the new one.

they sounded pretty great from outside the Grandstand at the fair last night, now wishing I'd gotten a ticket

Alas, this would have been the perfect context for a cover of Japan's "Ghosts".

chic opened for them in Sacramento, it sounded pretty sweet. Simon still sounds great.