New Romantic Nostalgia

Today I am feeling a bit of nostalgia for a time when I was a New Romantic, and the music I listened to then...

"Spellbound" by Duran Duran

For Halloween, Duran Duran recorded a spooky album of dark songs, goth songs, and some reworked DD songs with an eerie twist. And they included a rollicking version of the chilling "Spellbound" by Siouxsie and the Banshees (previously here).

https://duranduran.com/

"Five Years" by Duran Duran

I posted the audio video of this song (previously here), but now here is the official video for the David Bowie classic "Five Years" by Duran Duran. The band released the cover last month as part of "Just For One Day," pianist Mike Garson’s Bowie tribute that took place on what would have been the late legend’s 74th birthday.

"David Bowie’s apocalyptic vision in the song 'Five Years' was written almost half a century ago yet it seems ever more poignant today," Duran Duran keyboardist Nick Rhodes said. "Although it is five years since David left Planet Earth, his vast catalog of songs remain as significant and inspirational as they always have been. Mike Garson’s heartfelt celebration show was a testament to the breadth of influence that David had on other musicians. It was also a display of the deep affection and gratitude for what he gave to us all."

The import of the narrative of this song always made me cry, but the fact that David is gone, and apparently we do really only have about five good years left, makes me weep...

http://duranduran.warnereprise.com/
https://livemap.davidbowie.com/

"Five Years" by Duran Duran

For David Bowie's birthday today, Duran Duran have released a stunning cover of his song "Five Years" from the "Ziggy Stardust" album. It is a lovely, faithful cover (with one exception: DD thankfully changed a lyric to "queen"), Simon's voice sounds simply superb (maybe better than ever), and never have the lyrics been more relevant as it seems we really do only have about another good 10 years or so. Yeah, my brain hurts a lot.

Wave bye-bye!

http://duranduran.warnereprise.com/

https://livemap.davidbowie.com/

Currently listening to...

..."The Universe Alone" by Duran Duran from their 2015 release "Paper Gods."
Wow.

It's beautiful, the dying sun
The end of everything and everyone
So shall we make a clan my friend
As if we have the chance to live it all again

I'll see you in some other lifetime
On the other side of what we'll never know
Together we have walked a fine line
Now we go to face the universe alone

In plain view, the mistakes we've made
But is there anything you'd really want to change?
To win and lose then win again
To have it all then throw it all away

I'll see you in some other lifetime
On the other side of what we'll never know
Together we have walked a fine line
Now we go to face the universe alone

How beautiful the closing down
The fading out, it spins and goes around
With darkness and the heart of man
And here we are back where it all began

I'll see you in some other lifetime
The universe alone
The universe alone
The universe alone

http://duranduran.warnereprise.com/

The Poetry of Rock n' Roll: "Secret Oktober"

To observe National Poetry Month, once a week I will be featuring lyrics of rock n' roll or pop songs that also double as exquisite poetry.

And we start the month off with the lyrics from a group that, if one is old enough to remember them, might strike some as pablum pop. But Duran Duran actually have a solid lyricist in lead singer Simon Le Bon. Here are the lyrics to "Secret Oktober" from 1983, a song full to bursting with achingly lovely visuals and a rich narrative.

"Secret Oktober"
by Duran Duran

Wise on a birthday party
in a world full of surprising fireworks
and sudden silence.
Lies on a stranger's bed,
the new day breaks like a speeding train or an old friend
ever expected, but never knocking.
Holding your own in a battered car,
all night parties, cocktail bars and smile
when the butterfly escapes the killing jar.

Sure eyes awake before the dancing is over.
Wise or naked in secret Oktober.

Freefall on a windy morning shore,
nothing but a fading track of footsteps
to prove that you'd ever been there.
Spoken on a cotton cloud
like the sound of gunshot taken by the wind
and lost in distant thunder.
Racing on a shining plane,
tomorrow you'll be content to watch
as the lightning plays along the wires and you'll wonder.

Sure eyes awake before the dancing is over.
Wise or naked in secret Oktober.

http://www.duranduran.com/

"Election Day" by Arcadia

Warning: 80s flashback.

I loved this side project from Duran Duran bandmates Simon Le Bon, Nick Rhodes, and Roger Taylor in 1986. The song "Election Day" (which I played to death back in the day) still sounds unique even now with its Eastern European samples and hypnotizing, throbbing bass line. (And Nick's make-up is fantastic in this video!)

Their only album "So Red The Rose" was a fairly artistic affair by pop music standards, with guest appearances by guitarists David Gilmour (of Pink Floyd) and Carlos Alomar (who was Bowie's guitarist), Herbie Hancock, Sting (who sang backing vocals on "The Promise"), Grace Jones (who performed the spoken-word portion on "Election Day"), bass player Mark Egan (of the Pat Metheny Group), and percussionist David Van Tieghem (who has played extensively with Laurie Anderson).

http://www.duranduran.com/

Currently listening to...

...Duran Duran's kick-ass homage to Bowie's "Boys Keep Swinging".

And for good measure, here is the legend himself singing the song from his phenomenal 1979 "Lodger" album.:

http://www.duranduran.com/
http://www.davidbowie.com/

Secret Oktober

Video by JEF. All photos by JDG and JEF.
Song: "Secret Oktober" by Duran Duran

The New Romantics

New Romanticism was a music and fashion movement in the early 1980s. Grown out of a reaction to the hardness and anger of punk, the New Romantics, male and female, were eager to wear make-up, dress up in exotic clothing, look glamorous, and dance. The movement expressed itself in many ways. The look was inspired by many different eras and cultures such as the Victorians, the Goths, the “Noble Savage” (which is how Native Americans were thought of in England in the early 1800s, when engravings and accounts of Native cultures were making their way back to the UK), Pirates, the Edwardians, 1920s-30s glamour, film noir of the 1940s, and a touch of space-agey science fiction. Musically, the sound was the opposite of punk: taking the opulent sound of electronic/ synth-pop as a base, some bands added elements such as horn or string sections. The music was richer than punk, more ornate…and certainly dance oriented. Some groups chose to emulate a somewhat tribal sound to accompany the “Noble Savage” look.

Adam and the Ants had two drummers to recreate a sonorous, thrumming African percussion sound. Here, in “Stand and Deliver,” Adam is seen in his Levantine Pirate/ Highwayman/ Fierce Indian Warrior incarnation, hence the tri-corner hat, braided vest, cape and adorned braids in his hair. The white stripe under his eyes is a mark used by Apache warriors going into battle.

“Prince Charming” featured a dandified version of Adam’s previous incarnation, only this time with brocade, satin, velvet and gold lamé. The Native American war paint is still there, but is now “prettified” with the more feminine eye make-up. The sound is still inspired by tribal music and the legendary British bombshell Diana Dors makes a cameo appearance as his Fairy Godmother.

Ultravox, fronted by the amazing tenor Midge Ure, featured a cold, rich, mysterious dance sound. In this highly cinematic video for their nearly-operatic song “The Thin Wall,” the New Romantic interest in the 1930s and 40s can clearly be seen.

The puppet master and creator of Bow Wow Wow was Malcolm McLaren, the musicality came from Leigh Gorman the bass player, and the charm came from lead singer Anabella Lwin (born Mayant-Mayant Aye in Burma) who was only 14 when the band started. The look was conceived by fashion genius and McLaren’s partner, Vivienne Westwood, who exclusively used pieces from her tribal, swashbuckling, heroic collection “Pirate.” Musically, they share a lot with Adam and the Ants (Bow Wow Wow was once Adam’s band) in terms of a percussion-heavy sound based in Native/ African cultures.

Duran Duran were merely one of the biggest musical acts of the 1980s but their roots are firmly in New Romance. Donned in pirate shirts, ruffles and sashes, they were the house band for the Rum Runner nightclub in Birmingham. With a slick and sleek synthesizer sound and Nick Rhodes’ heavily mascara-ed eyes, they were an exciting phenomenon. First up is the original video for “Planet Earth” which has a great example of a couple performing a particular New Romantic dance style that was immensely popular. Next is an alternate video for "Planet Earth" featuring footage of Duran playing their first gig at the Rum Runner back in 1980!

Visage and its clothes-horse front man Steve Strange, with his penchant for drawing hieroglyphs and unusual symbols on his heavily made up face, were at the epicenter of it all. He ran Blitz, a London nightclub—seen here in this video for the eponymous song “Visage”—where all the fashionable New Romantics gathered, and were therefore known as Blitz Kids. A sweeping, Romantically lush dance sound, bolero hats and white gloves… ah, glamorous...