Duran Duran: What the hell are they on about?

Hahahaha....

And since when are people listening to the lyrics in Duran Duran songs? It's all about blah blah blah blah HER NAME IS RIO, AND SHE DANCES ON THE SAND ... hmm hmm ... blah blah blah blah THROUGH THE DUSTY LANDS ... That's the reason folks don't like _Thank You_ - who wants to hear these beautiful goofs sing Dylan or Public Enemy, when they have the lyrical stylings of Simon Le Bon-bon going to waste?

To quote the LeBon - everything after _Seven and the Ragged Tiger_ is all just so much post-Chili Peppers music.

So what the hell am I talking about again?

Actually, that's a bloody good question: What were the writers of those two songs thinking when they wrote those?

I think Hungry Like The Wolf is about oral sex but everyone just ignores me. Really, though, if you actually listen to what he's saying, it makes virtually no sense, I mean the metaphors are awful. They have loads and loads of singles that sound like unadulterated gibberish, but VERY COMPLEX gibberish, like Tom said.

It's not a situation like Britney Spears or something where something doesn't make sense, but it's just cos they're being a bit lazy and it's not about what she's actually saying anyhow. I feel like I SHOULD be paying loads of attention to what they are saying, cos it's done up so importantly, but it makes fuck all sense.

Seven and the Ragged Tiger, hahahahahahahahaha. Sorry.

Perhaps the reason why the lyrics make no sense is cos I can't understand him.

What I really remember from the ad was a very normal-looking girl of about my age at the time (13? 14?) looking through the record racks and pulling out a copy of "Raw Power", then enthusiastically showing it to her (equally square-looking) sister. This little corner of advertising history still confuses me.

"Kyrie", Mr. Mister
Greek for Lord Have Mercy

Oh, the irony!

"Sussudio", Phil Collins
Actually, I heard Phil in an interview say that the title came from a guy who worked at the recording studio who had a stutter or speech impediment, so he couldn't say the word studio correctly...it came out sussudio.

What a card!

"Rio", album of the '80s?

Sounds = like raunchy sex.

Assuming Simon's referring to crotch spelunking, mayhaps he's referring to the fact that his mouth -- like, where his 'sound' comes from, and stuff -- has a particular scent to it. But who knows? He's an enigma.

Next up - an environmental interpretation of "Welcome to the Jungle".

By the same token, looking for lyrical depth and meaning in Duran Duran lyrics is an excercise in needlessness. They never claimed to be Leonard Cohen.

Unless I'm misremembering ... that was the one with the dwarves, right?

I don't even make sense right now because of my shoulder medication, or I would outline the number of ways that Duran Duran are the greatest band ever.

That's *exactly* my plan.

I don't even make sense right now because of my shoulder medication, or I would outline the number of ways that Duran Duran are the greatest band ever.

What needs outlining? Is it not a GIVEN FACT?

They seriously were one of the most crucial bands I ever heard. From them into the synth-New Ro hits of the day, then into the Pet Shop Boys, Depeche and New Order, and after that the world = Ned's musical path in partial nutshell (the other was determined by Def Leppard and love of loud guitars).

I hated Duran Duran. "Come Undone" was OK though.

PS Leonard Cohen sucks at 21 or 81.

There. I feel better now.

*tremulous pause*

"HELLO? Is it ME you're *looking* for?"

You know, no one tackled the important issue of the "Electric Barbarella" video. Am I the only one who's seen it? It was banned by MTV for being "too sexist", amusingly - it featured the boys with a blonde girl dressed up like Barbie, and they posed her for their amusement.

Oh, the covers album? Their cover of "White Lines" is brilliant. Brilliant meaning something wholly different from good. Though I kind of did like their version of "Thank You", at least better than the Led Zep version.

likely turning to drugs to ease the pain of loneliness from not finding love.

Read the lyrics carefully with this in mind.

"Kyrie", Mr. Mister
Greek for Lord Have Mercy

Oh, the irony!

Yeah, I read that "Kyrie Eleison" means "Lord Have Mercy" in ancient Greek...ever since then I've been obsessed with getting James Brown to record my Hard Funk anthem, "Kyrie Eleison, Y'all!"

By the same token, looking for lyrical depth and meaning in Duran Duran lyrics is an excercise in needlessness.

Welcome to the internet!

Been busy with some personal stuff recently...

the video was a bad stumble for them though... a concert with a big wave of water hittng the audience? fuck off.

he means the *film* 'barbarella'.:)

I'll be damned, but that actually makes sense.

Anyhow, yes, Duran Duran is the freak Freinkenstan, which is definitely an evil notion in my concept, but there is also a sparkling notion, which is why they are great. That also sounds like the lyrics to their next song.

I'm loaded on cold meds right now, sorry.

Simon LeBon looks like my exboyfriend, minus the facial hair, in the View To A Kill video. It's freaky.

"Shake up the picture the lizard mixture

With your dance on the eventide "

No, I'm not being sarcastic.

Yes, I am a fan.

Yes, I do know what the title "Seven & the Ragged Tiger" is about.

No, I'm not going to explain right now -- I don't feel like it.

I did bring up Medazzaland, several times! Electric Barbarella was the lead single off of Medazzaland! It is a good album though. Even the Oasisy bits.

Anthony, you are insane.

This is a beautiful sentence. :-)

Never say never, bud.

"Ordinary World" and "Come Undone" make sense.....sorta.

(Best parts of Rio = not the singles)

(please no, I'm begging you Ally, no!)

"Duran Duran" yes was the name of the space villain in Barbarella but the amazing truth is --

the script writer named the space villain Duran Duran after an old Latin jazz record heavy on the mambo by the two Duran brothers.

(duran, duran -- it might not really be amazing but it's true)

This is where I point out the greatness of "Hold Back The Rain" which is one of my favorite songs, period - especially if you can find the vastly superior originaly US vinyl mix which cranks up the keyboard sequencing and the guitar feedback.

Some New Romantics looking
For the TV sound

And I always thought that that was prescient, like they were aware of the importance of video to promote their music.

And I always thought that that was prescient, like they were aware of the importance of video to promote their music.

The line goes, "Like some new romantic looking for the TV sound", but the "new romantic" bit was just thrown in there, really. They certainly didn't intend on being a part of the "New Romantic" scene, but they were thrown in there because they happened to be a band of males who wore makeup and were known for their fashion sense, even during those days when they were traveling the U.K. in a van, which they lived in because the band's total daily stipend at the time was limited to £100. (This happened during their stint as the opening act for Hazel O'Connor.)

Anyway, I think most of what Simon wrote (we're talking lyrics here) during those early days (i.e., the debut album and the Rio period) was either a tribute to unrequited love, a chronicle of what success did to the band, or a general summation of internal feelings that, if overanalyzed, loses its impact. *

Oh, and fans of melody in music would be tickled pink to read this quote from Nick Rhodes, as it's found in their "official lyric book":

We've got really strong melody lines. I think that's something that Disco's lacking. In general, melodies have been missing over the past couple of years.

*: Just in case you're wondering, examples go as follows:

unrequited love: "Last Chance on the Stairway" (about a missed opportunity with an attractive female)
chronicle of success: "Sound of Thunder" (about how dizzying success can be, poss. inspired by the band's finally getting a record contract)
general summation of feelings: "Rio" (inspired by the band's first trip to the U.S., as Blondie's support act)

*sighs happily* I love when I can do these kinds of posts.

And yes, I am a massive Duran fan, as you know. ;-)

And the Barbarella bit being a cutesie reference to where they got their name form of course.

As a premise for a song it's pretty disgusting but it's got such a damn catchy hook, and I forgave Duran Duran for being sexist a VERY long time ago, 'cause let's face it, they were the prettiest band wot ever penned their own choons.

(Were Duran Duran the prettiest band wot ever penned their own choons? Discuss)

http://www.spacemen3.co.uk/images/pn/pn310.jpg

Birmingham vs. Northampton: FITE!!!

Is it just me, or does Simon look a tad bit like Christopher Walken in the "Union of the Snake" video? Hmmm... maybe it's just the hair.

I can't believe my earlier inputs to the thread. Obviously I needed some practice with actually and truly reading through what was once posted and not just going off on tangents.

The "ragged tiger" in the album title Seven & The Ragged Tiger symbolized the success that the band (yes, all five members, plus the two managers, the Barrow brothers) had been actively chasing and was just then catching up to. Running "ragged", if you will.

There was actually once a song *called* "Seven and the Ragged Tiger", which the band recorded during their 7&TRT sessions, along with a few lucky fans who got to sing along with Simon as well as record a copy of the song from their own tape recorder. This low-quality taped demo song, which ended up being transformed into "The Seventh Stranger" by the time of the album's completion, ended up on a few bootleg b-side compilations from the late '80s and early '90s and could now be had on .mp3 format, if you're willing to search hard enough for it.

Medazzaland, which remains my alltime favorite album no matter how many other albums I listen to, is another album title one might have problems with in terms of what its meaning might possibly be. Okay, story time -- Simon LeBon needed to have dental surgery in the middle of the Medazzaland recording session, so he went and had the surgery done and when he came back to where the album was being worked on (probably Warren's London home -- they had a home studio set up), he was a bit out of it. When asked what was the matter with him, he mentioned that he was still feeling the effects of the anaesthesia he had been administered, and mentioned that the name of it was Midazolam. Warren remarked, "Dude, you're in Medazzaland," and that ended up being the name of the album.

Anyone need anything else Duran-related clearing up? I can answer a wide range of questions here. My mind is a library of information on this one musical artist. Please help me find some use for it.

Interesting, though -- the "UOTS" video has that Russell Mulcahy feel to it, but it's not one of the Russell Mulcahy videos. With most Duran videos, you can pretty much tell who was behind the scenes. The Lol & Creme videos ("Girls on Film", "The Chauffeur") were quite strange and slightly exploitative but also quite fun to watch and nice in how risque they were (both showed full breasts, featuring the nipples -- I don't think the full-length version of "Girls on Film" will *ever* be shown on MTV, but might get shown on a music video program on HBO should one ever materialize). The Mulcahy videos were adventurous and very cinematic. The Julien Temple videos... well, c'mon, they were Julien Temple videos, of course they were going to be offbeat and weird! (btw, these would be the ones for "Come Undone" and "Too Much Information", at least as far as Duran were concerned.) The Nick Egan ones ("Ordinary World" and "White Lines") were very '90s, which satisfies me greatly.

I'm serious as a heart attack here. Anyone with any questions, please. I need this stuff to be useful to someone.

Did we ever get an answer on what was the "proper" version of the first self-titled album? Cause the re-release with Is There Something I Should Know is an abomination, as far as I am concerned.

Of course I would mean Godley & Creme. Kevin (?) Godley and Lol Creme. Ack.

Dee, I kiss you! For every half-baked asshole misogynestic music geek jerk who has insinuated that "girls don't know shit about music, they're just teenboppers who look at the hott boys" and shit, I would love to just refer them to your tremdendous and amazing detailed knowledge of the music of Duran Duran.

Kate, hon, thank you for that. First of all, I wanted to kill everyone in the music press for a rather lengthy period in my life because all I was reading in re: Duran in the mainstream press was about their former teenybopper hero status in the early - mid '80s. I love Duran Duran because of their music first and foremost, and then secondly because of their highly entertaining, original, and innovative music videos. It's just an added bonus that they happen to be attractive. If they weren't as attractive yet still came out with the same great music and groundbreaking videos, I would still consider myself a huge fan of theirs.

Did we ever get an answer on what was the "proper" version of the first self-titled album? Cause the re-release with Is There Something I Should Know is an abomination, as far as I am concerned.

Now it's time for me to kiss you! I think "ITSISK?" is a halfway decent song, sure, and I kinda like it, but stuck in the middle as it is in the 1983 re-release of the 1981 debut album is just horrid. I do believe the actual original release of the debut album had just "Girls on Film", "Planet Earth", "Anyone Out There", "Careless Memories", "(Waiting For The) Nightboat" (which I do believe was just called "Night Boat" then), "Sound Of Thunder", "Friends Of Mine", and "Tel Aviv". There wasn't the appearance of, IIRC, the track "To The Shore" until the second release of the album, which was still back in 1981 so it can still be considered an "original" release of the debut.

*laughs* I just realized I typed the exact track listing of the debut album without even so much as glancing at the album. Ok, I think I listened to that album a bit in my adolescence. ;)

(I did actually buy the 1983 re-release, just cause it had ITSISK (and an alternate cover in which Nick looked hott, but we shan't discuss that) on it.)

Oh gosh, you're so right hon. Nick looks gorgeous on the cover! So does John and Roger, in fact. Even Simon (heh, never was a Simon girl) and Andy look cute on this cover.

*laughs* I feel like a teenybopper now.

Sigh, that's a shame, because that is the version that I remember (and influenced so much of my adolescence, I mean... life!) and that is the version that I really want. I should borrow the singles box set thing off Catty and see if I can't just BURN the version that I remember.

Aw. I know just what you mean about everything. Except transfer those feelings onto Rio, because that was the first album of theirs that I owned and listened to and because the most popular U.S. version of that album featured nothing but David Kershenbaum remixes on the first half of the album. (In fact, if I can actually *find* these versions on .mp3, I might just take your lead and burn my own version of Rio, chucking the CD version... heh, which just happens to be the U.K. version of the album, sans the remixes.) At any length, that is a good idea and it's going to be super-easy for you to compile the songs so it shouldn't be too much of a problem in the end. I mean, like I said earlier, there are at least two compilations that have the "Night Version" of "Planet Earth" (it's very disco-ey, isn't it?), and the rest of the tracks are the same ones that can be found on the CD of the 1983 re-release of the debut album, so it'll be no problem.

Now only if I can hunt down David Kershenbaum and get him to press for the version of Rio that he did those remixes on to be released in CD format, I will be a happy girlie.

Thanks for sharing all your information! I have a quick question that you might be able to help me with. I've been looking around the 'net for a translation of the French spoken at the beginning of the NMoM video... I can get the general feel of it, but I'm years and years out of my French courses in college. Do you know, or know where I might find out, what they're saying?

And on the topic of the NMoM videos... in the ( forgive me, I don't know the official names of the versions ) edit that has Simon shooting the arrow and the silhouettes of the chained woman getting beaten up by the military type guy, the woman who is part of the resistance group runs off to alert the police about the uprising, then is back waving the flag whilst Simon grins at her. Was she a traitor who changed her mind? Or was that part of the plan? It really muddies up the plotline.

In the long, more filmic version, this never happens. And I'm wondering if anything was ever said about why they edited the video to include the silhouettes and the confusing statement about the woman informing the police... it only makes things much more confusing.

Help me, Dee-bi Wan, you're my only hope. :)

Cheers ( and thanks! ), deb

*ahem*

But you were interested in finding out why the woman went to the police and then went back to the revolutionaries? I just finished seeing the version of the video you were talking about and it looks to me as though she was setting the police officers up. Perhaps it may have looked as though she was betraying the revolutionaries by talking to the police, and it may have looked as though some of the revolutionaries were practically running for their lives, but I saw the revolutionaries actually running to hide, as if the plan was to point the officers in a particular direction where the revolutionaries were going to be lying in wait, and then when they were to go to this one preplanned area, the revolutionaries were going to have them surrounded, thus beginning their takeover of the regime.

*laughs* Does this make any sense at all? I hope so, because I feel like I'm starting to ramble on, like I normally do whenever I'm talking about this band.

Thank you so much for the info on the NMoM vids... I have a feeling I might be searching around for "Dancing on the Valentine". Is there a big difference in length between the longer ( "hidden" ) edit on Greatest and Dancing?

Thanks also for the links to the YLB and LK sites... next day off I'll try them both out. :)

I'm beginning to wonder how much money they spent on shooting this video... and what exactly they were planning on doing with the 20 minute version of it. Was it more of a "we're having fun, keep the cameras rolling" type of thing, or a fully scripted concept that just didn't seem to fit?

Hope you're having a smashing day, and thanks once again. :) - deb

Speedy, you might want to check your reflection in the mirror. I think you've got a huge wad of brown gunk on your nose. Is it from any of the mainstream music press people you've been enslaved t-- I mean, hanging out with?

If it's not too much trouble for you, I *would* love to know the times on the different edits. It would help me decide how much energy and money to expend on tracking down "Dancing on the Valentine". Thanks everso! :)

And, just another quick question, if it's not a bother. I recently heard a small portion of an acoustic performance of "Wild Boys", do you know if they ever performed that song, in its entirety, acoustically?

Hope I'm not being too much of a bother. :)

- deb

If it's not too much trouble for you, I *would* love to know the times on the different edits. It would help me decide how much energy and money to expend on tracking down "Dancing on the Valentine". Thanks everso! :)

The version that's on "Dancing On The Valentine" is 5 minutes and 29 seconds long. (Thank God for digital counters that reset easily!) Please hang on for the "Greatest" version, which might actually not be that different. Hm. You know, I do also know that I've seen the OTHER longer version of the video, the one without the silhouettes and the arrow slinging and "is she really betraying the resistance?" question, on VH1 Classic. Hm. I'll have to investigate this further.

*sighs* You know, I just looked up information on the "Greatest" DVD and DAMN IT I WANT IT. Wah. I want for birthday present. Birthday just under month and a half away. MUST HAVE IT.

And, just another quick question, if it's not a bother. I recently heard a small portion of an acoustic performance of "Wild Boys", do you know if they ever performed that song, in its entirety, acoustically?

Oh no, it's no problem! I do know that for at least one stretch of the tour Duran did in support of The Wedding Album, they did only all-acoustic shows, so I did know that they must've performed an acoustic version of "Wild Boys" (seeing as though that's one of the songs they always seem to perform live), so I looked it up on this one site and ta-da, there's a bootl-- I mean, "unofficial release" that has it! It's simply titled Unplugged and contains an unplugged version of "Wild Boys" from their 1993 concert in Buenos Aires, Argentina. I don't know if you'd have any luck in finding this because it's an "unofficial release" and it's not even found in the place that would most likely carry it (a highly specialized e-commerce site out of Russia), so here's what I suggest you do: Go over to the aforementioned LK forums, go to the "Buy/Sell or Trade" board, and post that you want the Unplugged bootl-- I mean, "unofficial release" that came out of Italy in 1994. OR you could go to the main "Duran Duran" board and post that you understand that the "acoustic" version of "Wild Boys" is something you'd really love to hear and hopefully a kind woman from Hawaii named Laurie will help you out. Laurie is an angel and a half -- very generous, and very Ned-like in her Duran release completistness. She has practically anything Duran that was released, either officially or unofficially, and will probably have this acoustic version of "Wild Boys" somewhere in her own collection. That is, if she still posts there. :)

btw, thank you for making me feel useful around here. :)

I'm going to have to triple-check ASAP on which one is the second version and which one is the fourth version. But not now. I'm about to fall asleep right here on my computer chair. Ack.

Thank you, once again. :) I'm sending positive "Greatest" vibes your way, to help speed up the process of your receiving it! :)

You know, I've become fixated on "the chauffeur" as of late. It's always been one of my favorite songs by them, but for some reason I can't seem to take it out of my player...

abientot, deb

You know, I decided this afternoon to gift myself, so courtesy of Amazon.com, I will have a very happy birthday along with a very merry Christmas. :) Thank you so, hon.

You know, I've become fixated on "the chauffeur" as of late. It's always been one of my favorite songs by them, but for some reason I can't seem to take it out of my player...

Ooh, "The Chauffeur" is such a fun song to sing along with! "When the sun drips down very heady behind, the front of your dress all shadowy-lined, the droning engine throbs in time with your beating heart" (note: I type all that out purely from memory) -- oh God, I'm going to have to listen to that now. I found it highly unique and wonderful that the DVD includes the "The Chauffeur" video -- complete with the breast footage, I'm sure. Isn't that the weirdest video? Hm. I just wish they'd put in the "Do You Believe In Shame?" video -- that's my favorite video of all time. Oh well, they *did* include that Rum Runner video footage (the alternate "Planet Earth", from what I've read), which is ultra-mega-cool.

¡Hasta luego!

Yay about the "Greatest" DVD! I've been busy taking screencaps to make myself some new desktops for my computer. :)

You know, the video for "The Chauffeur" is gorgeous. The black and white images, the car on the road... I'm with it all the way until the blonde woman starts her "interpretive dance". That always pulls me out of the moment, because it just doesn't seem to fit in with the cinematic feel of the rest of the video.

Bad fan alert... I don't think I've ever seen the video for "Do You Believe In Shame". Does it have a storyline, or is it a performance video?

Hope you've been having a smashing day... - deb

Fabulous idea, hon. I'll have to do the same with some of the newer studio photos of the band.

You're totally OTM in re: the "The Chauffeur" video, btw.

Bad fan alert... I don't think I've ever seen the video for "Do You Believe In Shame". Does it have a storyline, or is it a performance video?

I don't think you're a bad fan for stating that! I imagine it got very little, if any, MTV airplay back in 1988, and the only reason I know what the video looks like is because I was able to acquire a compilation of various "obscure" videos of theirs, including the one for "Femme Fatale" and one very rare performance bit for "Friends Of Mine". The "DYBIS?" video does indeed have a storyline, though it's kinda hard to follow. You'd have to watch it in order to figure it out. But be warned -- if you're a John fan, watching the video is kinda painful, because it was shot right when John was experiencing the worst of his cocaine addiction and so he was painfully thin at the time. If you're a Nick fan, though, you can take heart in knowing that this is the video he looks the hottest in. (But still, seeing John look like that IS sad.)

Hope your day is merry too, sweetie.

So do you use cocaine, yourself?

Because I was a vegetarian once for six months and my guts have never been the same.

You gone too far this time
But I’m dancing on the valentine
I tell you somebody’s fooling around -
With my chances on the dangerline
I’ll cross that bridge when I find it
Another day to make my stand, oh..
High time is no time for deciding
If I should find a helping hand, oh..

So why don’t you use it
Try not to bruse it
Buy time don’t lose it

(chorus)

The reflex is an only child, he’s waiting in the park
The reflex is in charge of finding treasure in the dark
And watching over lucky clover isn’t that bizarre
Every little thing the reflex does leaves you answered with a
Question mark

I’m on a ride and I want to get off
But they won’t slow down the roundabout
I sold the renoir and the tv set
Don’t want to be around when this gets out

(chorus) (chorus)

The reflex is an only child, he’s waiting by the park
The reflex is in charge of finding treasure in the dark
And watching over lucky clover isn’t that bizarre
Every little thing the reflex does is an answer with a
Question mark

(chorus) (chorus)

The reflex is an only child, he’s waiting by the park
The reflex is in charge of finding treasure in the dark
And watching over lucky clover isn’t that bizarre
Every little thing the reflex does leaves me answered with a
Question mark

Oh, the reflex what a game he’s hiding all the cards
The reflex is in charge of finding treasure in the dark
And watching over lucky clover isn’t that bizarre
Every little thing the reflex does leaves you answered with a
Question mark

Telegram force and ready
I knew this was a big mistake
There's a fine line drawing
My senses together
And I think it's about to break

If I listen close I can hear them singers
Voices in your body coming through on the radio
The Union of the Snake is on the climb
Moving up it's gonna race it's gonna break
Through the borderline

Nightshades on a warning
Give me strength at least give me a light
Give me anything even sympathy
There's a chance you could be right

The Union of the Snake is on the climb
It's gonna race it's gonna break
Gonna move up to the borderline

1) Fuck me backwards I'd forgotten they'd called an album SEVEN AND THE RAGGED TIGER!
-- Tom (ebros...

2) eutopia's brief appearance (how could we be so remiss as not to explain that the name Madonna is in the West associated with the opposite of Sexual Indecency??)

3) dee's full-on enlightenment project! People who Hear Everything and Comment Impartially are fine, but fangirl- and -boyism is to me essential ILM.

*searches for thread calles "Spandau Ballet: What the hell are they on about" to talk about worn chairs*

But their brilliant music means they deserve not to get too much critizism for it anyway :)

That's a pretty awesome turn of phrase!

I thought it was Chap Stick.

Not that makes it that much less insane of a lyric.

(Disclaimer: Never actually heard that particular DD song, except maybe once or twice. But I like all the other ones mentioned and enjoyed seeing the actual lyrics laid out. Deliberate throwaway nonsense beats ill-informed political bullshit or redundant clichés, easily.)

Thanks, Simon.

La-la-la late bar

I light my torch and wave it