I no longer have cable, or even listen to top 40 radio, but I saw on yahoo's home page today that the original members of Duran Duran have an album coming out. I went over and caught their new video, which is passable. Nowhere near the brilliance of their early Russell Mulcahy vehicles, but it's nice to see Simon, Nick and the three Taylor non-brothers back together again.
Let me tell you something about Duran Duran. I wouldn't be where I am today, if it weren't for them. (As if working out of a home office to demanding, undeserving clients is so great. I kid, I kid. I love my clients. Just not their taste, sometimes).
Here's the backstory. It's 1983 in a small, conservative Christian central Texas town. I'm thirteen years old, surrounded by the ordinary. If you were there in the early 80's, you'll remember. There was no satellite television, no cell phones, no internet, no infotainment, no celebrity culture. The closest thing you got to discussions of celebrities were Siskel and Ebert, in their original form, on their show At the Movies on PBS. PBS!
But everyday, accessible technology was making its presence known. Because my dad was (and still is) somewhat of a technophile, we were early adapters. We owned a microwave, and had one of the first VCR's in our town. He paid at least a 1,000.00 for a huge, silver JVC. He would go help neighbors set up their systems, as they would slowly acquire this new, strange technology. We even joined a video store in the next town over. It was something like $30 to join, and then movies were $5 to rent.
My sister and I were latch-key kids. We'd come home at 3:00, and my Mom would get home around 5:30 from work. My dad worked the 3-11 evening shift at the hospital. So for over two glorious hours, we were unsupervised. Of course my sister, being older and more responsible, would do her homework. I would watch a lot of tv. We didn't have cable just then, but we had a few good local stations. The ABC affiliate would play classic movies from 3:00-4:30 in the afternoon, which were always great. (This was even before talk shows dominated daytime!). But one day I clicked over to a local independent station, and saw Richard Blade hosting what looked like a very awkward, 80's version of American Bandstand. Kids would dance, Richard would kvetch about this "new wave" of music, and between song sets, he would play music videos.
I didn't think much of this show, until one day, while channel surfing, I caught Duran Duran's Rio video. Now most would argue that Hungry Like the Wolf was the best video, but Rio was always my favorite. I was fascinated. Who were these guys? What were they doing on this island? Why did it look like a movie? What was this plot going on? How could they be looking so impossibly sexy, sunkissed and carefree? Even then, I knew that I was seeing something entirely new: a new artistic expression. The song on a radio, paired with this kind of imagery, brought in a whole new dimension, allowing for the artist to drive their own visual and concept of the song. Or maybe John Taylor just looked hot crawling up the beach. Six one way, half a dozen the other.
Thus began the downward spiral. I talked my dad into getting cable (it was pretty easy). And then overdosed on videos: MTV, WGN's Nighttracks, even USA today's Radio 1990. I'd watch it all. And I would read anything I could on Duran Duran. I'd hang out at the local B. Dalton's and read teenybopper magazines like Tiger Beat, along with serious magazines like Rolling Stone and Circus.
Suddenly, my ordinary was supplanted by a visual feast. Duran Duran videos offered serious cinematography, exotic locales, and attractive leading men that dressed well. Their Rio album cover was stylistically designed. Magazine articles on Nick Rhodes described him as having gone to art school, liking Andy Warhol, and quoting him using words like "aesthetics." Back then, those things were alien concepts to a 13-year old in Texas. I would learn to dream about places like New York, London, Sri Lanka and Antigua. I would write Duran Duran fanfic with my friend Julie, thus fueling my desire to write. Even though I was shy, I worked up the nerve to interview a touring Christian band for our high school newspaper. (The editor liked the piece, but the faculty member thought it "too trendy." I was trying to emulate the quick, arcebic tone of Star Hits, my favorite pop music 80's magazine.) I began to notice the difference in designer v. non-designer clothes. And how a fedora could add polish to any outfit. There was something different about Duran Duran. Something polished, sleek and crafted that just made me take notice.
to be cont.
