First of all, I have absolutely had it with people assuming I'm a Duran Duran fan because of the way the band looks. Sure, I do think they're a bit easy on the eyes, and sure, I may at one time have had crushes on a couple of the band members (never Simon, though), but that is not the reason I became a fan of the band. I didn't even know what the band looked like until a couple of months after I got into their music! No, the reason I am a fan of theirs is because I am a fan of their music, first and foremost. I could care less what they look like when I listen to their music. I'm not going to be staring at photos of the band while I'm driving, which is the largest block of time wherein I listen to music in general. If the band is even slightly attractive, that's icing on the cake, but I'm not going to gush on about their albums if I don't absolutely adore the music independent of anyone's looks.
Secondly, I have also had it with people dismissing Duran Duran's latter-period recordings. I am sick of the Serious Music People suddenly deciding that, after years of reviews wherein Rio and Seven & the Ragged Tiger are practically declared the Worst Albums Ever Released, these are the only albums in which Duran Duran recorded good music and that everything afterward is just pants. I urge people time and time again to check out Medazzaland because I STILL don't think it's gotten a fair shake. I love the whole album, from the title track to "Big Bang Generation" to "Out of My Mind" to "Who Do You Think You Are?" to "So Long Suicide" to "Undergoing Treatment". I think it's light years better than anything Duran Duran have released before and since. I love Notorious. I love Big Thing. I think Liberty has its highlights (chief among them are "Serious" and "My Antarctica", which are both amazingly gorgeous songs). I adore The Wedding Album. I think Thank You has its highlights as well (glad to see someone else also agrees that the cover of "Watching the Detectives" is fab). You know what I think about Medazzaland. I love Pop Trash. I think all of the aforementioned post-7&TRT albums are absolute gems and I would never give them up, and I think it would be nice to see some really nice things written up about them by someone who actually has some respect among the music press, not just Fan Girl Me.
I do think the question of why the hell people have suddenly decided Duran Duran's first three albums are worthy of respect is a one worth answering. I mean, I would've loved to have seen all of these positive reviews back in 1992 when I was really starting to get into the band and looking for validation or some sense of "I'm not alone in thinking [insert name of DD album] is amazing." But what I found instead are nothing but condescending tones and people who said that the band got by solely on their looks, that they were "a bunch of Polaroids assembled together by EMI". These attitudes played a huge role in my absolute hatred of anyone who wrote for any serious music publication, which has only just very recently subsided when I found that the majority of you guys are rather nice and accomodating of me.
Also on my personal wish list -- I would love to go into a regular bookstore and buy something Duran Duran-related -- a book or booklet or a music magazine that does a respectable job with a feature story about the band (instead of the hatchet jobs I'm accustomed to seeing).
Ok, 'tis all. I feel better now.
― Just Deanna (Dee the Lurker), Friday, 1 August 2003 21:21 (twenty-two years ago)
Keep in mind that a lot of music journalists active right now are in their 20s or early 30s and grew up loving Duran Duran. A lot of these people were not writing about bands in 1992. In other words, I don't think there has been some mass re-think by those who hated on them in the '80s.
I also don't think you were ever alone in liking them, though it's quite possible that many people who loved Duran Duran came to think of them as a guilty pleasure and tucked away that part of their past.
― Andy K (Andy K), Friday, 1 August 2003 21:33 (twenty-two years ago)
It's certainly no worse than being a true blue expert on Killing Joke.
― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Friday, 1 August 2003 21:51 (twenty-two years ago)
OK expert, why don't you write the definitive story? (seriously - I would read it)
― Spencer Chow (spencermfi), Friday, 1 August 2003 21:55 (twenty-two years ago)
Yes! Me too.
DD were my introduction to pop fandom. 7&tRT and Arena were the first records I ever bought, aged 9-10, so its always been disheartening to hear them invariably dismissed in the following fashion (in this case by AMG):
"The Singles 81-85 is a package that — much like the band itself, as many of the haters would argue — is most practical as something to look at."
In less confident moments I assumed my tastes were just not sufficiently well-developed at that age, but then a listen to, say, "The Chauffeur" still manages to move me quite deeply.
I lost track somewhere after Big Thing. So, does anyone else rate the later records? And what about that pretty damn good Arcadia LP?
― Nag! Nag! Nag! (Nag! Nag! Nag!), Friday, 1 August 2003 22:13 (twenty-two years ago)
Sometimes I doubt your commitment to Sparkle Motion
― N. (nickdastoor), Friday, 1 August 2003 22:46 (twenty-two years ago)
― Leee (Leee), Friday, 1 August 2003 23:49 (twenty-two years ago)
― Leee (Leee), Friday, 1 August 2003 23:52 (twenty-two years ago)
It's certainly no worse than being a true blue expert on Spacemen 3.
― Chris Barrus (Chris Barrus), Friday, 1 August 2003 23:54 (twenty-two years ago)
― dave q, Saturday, 2 August 2003 00:06 (twenty-two years ago)
― s1utsky (slutsky), Saturday, 2 August 2003 00:08 (twenty-two years ago)
― fortunate hazel (f. hazel), Saturday, 2 August 2003 00:30 (twenty-two years ago)
― jaymc (jaymc), Thursday, 14 August 2003 14:45 (twenty-two years ago)
I think what was posted before has more significance, really. (Then again I'm not willing to pay an unknown sum to read the rest of the article, so maybe it turns out to be a rather good one about the WHOLE of the band's existence, not just the part that occured pre-Live Aid.) And this is one of those great examples of those Journalistic Hatchet Jobs that the band seems to have laid onto them. Yes, let's show the typical tired cliche of the "OH MY GAWD I am a total teenybopper even if I'm not a teenager anymore" Duranie AGAIN, because Lord knows I'm not tired of it yet.
After awhile of looking askance at the suggestion that *I* actually go out and write a book on the band, I'm starting to think that's not a bad idea after all. Hm. I'd probably need to go and interview official-type people and all. Should I actually try this out and should I ever have an interview with someone from Capitol Records, I would appreciate a volunteer to "sit with me", even if only through an AIM window, so I can get through the interview without threatening serious bodily injury to every single one of the people there at the record company.
Oh, and Killing Joke and Spacemen 3 are light years away from the universe of Duran Duran, I feel. First off, no one would ever accuse you of being a Screaming Teenybopper for ever having liked them. Secondly, you guys have your own specialized areas of knowledge that branch off beyond those two aforementioned artists. Third, no one would automatically assume that you're either an overgrown teenaged girl or a homosexual male if you mention who your favorite artist is.
Many apologies if you weren't replied to. All of you brought up things I felt I needed to address, but seeing as though my brain is severely malfunctioning at this moment this is the best I could currently do. Thank you for your insight and for making me think about this.
― Just Deanna (Dee the Lurker), Friday, 15 August 2003 03:58 (twenty-two years ago)