Friday, August 10, 2012

Off Road: The 80's Called And Screamed, "Oh My God It's Duran Duran!"

Did you know that today is a holiday celebrated by a large, diverse group of people the world over?  Yep, August 10th is a big one for a whole lotta people, and not just because it's National S'Mores Day.  Duran Duran Appreciation day celebrates the day Simon LeBon didn't drown when his yacht capsized in a race.  Trust me, teenage Duranies all over the US were glued to Mtv for any updates in the summer of 1985.  There was a People cover story, too, which I think I still have up in the attic.  Today there's a Facebook page and the band thanked their fans for their appreciation by releasing a free new single on their website today.   

Not only does Duran Duran love their fans, they also love their influences and in 1995 released the HUGELY panned tribute album Thank You.  Did I say hugely?  In 2006 Britain's Q Magazine named it the Worst.Album.Ever.  Ouch.  Some of the other artists whose music they covered had a slightly different take (and the others at least liked the checks).  Lou Reed, for example, can be REALLY touchy about who covers his work (like the time he stopped Susan Boyle from performing one of his songs on America's Got Talent) but he thought that their version of "Perfect Day" was "the best cover ever completed of one of my own songs" and said so for the press kit that went out with the album. Take that, critics.  Anyway, today is the perfect day to appreciate my favorite band and I have the perfect way (wait, how did a Scritti Politti reference get into a Duran post?).  Plus S'Mores.  Have a perfect day, whatever you're doing.

 



6 comments:

  1. Lou Reed had every reason to approve of D squared's version of his song. Well done guys and Happy Duran Duran day everybody!

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    1. Happy DDAppreciation Day to you, too, Jeannie!

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  2. It's always good to have a reason to celebrate something! I'll gladly listen to Duran Duran while eating a S'More. :D

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  3. That facebook page was really interesting -- connected me to a review of a bio of Andy Taylor from the LA Times -- really informative.

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    1. A really excellent book to pick up about rock fandoms is "I'm With The Band: Confessions of a Groupie" by Pamela DesBarres. She's totally open about her life and really funny, too.

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