Has anyone checked out A Diamond on the Mind on PBS yet? My local PBS channel aired it last night. After a busy day campaigning for local candidates, I planned on sitting on the couch, grading and reading for work. I figured putting A Diamond in the Mind on would provide a great soundtrack, allowing me to be productive and focused. Well, it didn’t work quite as well as I hoped.
I turned the channel at about 9 pm, with grading pen in hand. I soon realized that I had no idea what the format of this airing would be. Would they just show the whole concert? Would there be commercials? I remembered hearing or reading about how new interviews with Simon and Nick would be part of it. I decided not to worry about it and got to work.
The concert started with Planet Earth, A View to a Kill and The Reflex. Right away, I recognized that this was not the regular order of songs during the All You Need Is Now Tour. No, the shows began with Before the Rain. My immediate reaction to this realization was hardcore eye-rolling. Really? Are we just going to air the “hits”? Is that how this was going to go? Why?!? Then, the PBS people popped up to start talking about making a pledge. Who were these PBS people? Women. Are they assuming that women watching would relate to these women talking? Do they think that only women are watching? I’m not sure but it did make me wonder. Then, if that was not bad enough, they commented that the viewers should contribute because PBS is not our parents’ PBS but ours. Duran Duran is our music, the music for our generation. If we want to see music like this on the channel, we need to donate. Now, of course, PBS included some gifts for people’s contribution. One level had a 10 song CD (not sure what songs were included–probably the hits). The next had a DVD copy of A Diamond in the Mind and the CD. Finally, someone could get both of those along with Classic Hits: Rio and Mad World (book by Lori Majewski about 80s hits).
As I saw this sales pitch over and over again, I found myself cringing over and over again. First of all, I have never felt so old in my life. Are we really at the age that our music is acceptable to those who are middle-aged and old? I tend to think of PBS performers to be boring and unchallenging. It isn’t threatening, generally. I don’t really want Duran Duran to be in the camp. I appreciate that PBS is trying to broaden their usual audience and even that they offered some Duran items. Of course, those items did not make me jump since I already have the items they offered. It is the thought that counts, right?
Beyond showing mostly the hits and offering some Duran products, they also featured an interview with Simon and Nick. While I always appreciate interviews, I found myself a bit frustrated that the focus was on the past. There were a lot of questions about Rio or other famous songs from their past, including A View to a Kill and Ordinary World. While I get that they think the majority of the audience would want to focus on the songs that they know, I wish that there were questions about what the band is doing now. Wouldn’t the fans who only know of 80s and 90s Duran want to know that the band is still around? Couldn’t PBS advertise Duran as much as Duran was used to advertise them? I don’t think I heard anything about the concert we were watching even. Sigh.
At the end of the night, I did not get much grading done. I found myself distracted by this PBS viewing. Did anyone else see it? What did you think?
-A
I forgot actually, I am going to see if they are airing it again. None of us want to admit this but the fans tend to now be in their 40’s and heading towards or past 50. I cringe at this because many years ago 50 was old but not anymore. Advertisers often think we are now old and they think anyone passed 35 isn’t important anymore. Plus the previous generation are dying off and there will be a time not so long in the future where Gen X (which is where most of us fall) will be the “old” generation. I first felt old a few years ago where kids I knew as children started finishing college, getting married and having kids.
Well let’s just say that I think PBS Detroit is the only PBS that decided to NOT show this concert. I checked the page with all the local cities and nothing for Michigan (I live in Windsor, ON, Canada, so I do get the Detroit one). I was VERY frustrated with the fact that everyone in the US would see this except for me but now, after reading your comments about it, I am not sure that I do have to keep my frustration. Like you, I don’t want to see JUST the hits, I want to see more than that, and I had no idea that the purpose of the show was to pledge… well I guess I could just watch on YouTube the interviews and pop my DVD to watch the concert and I don’t have the frustration that you had and felt being old….
I accidentally discovered this airing on my PBS station. I missed the very beginning, but probably viewed 3/4 of the show. I hated the commercial interruptions, but I realized they were trying to fund raise.
At first I was shocked PBS was now targeting Duran Duran fans as the new and current generation of PBS, but then I realized they are right. We are the audience they want to attract. If they want to attract our generation, they need to show what we want to see – and that includes Duran Duran. Many of us are grandparents now (even Simon is a grandparent), so although I may still feel young and still feel like attending concerts, I am entering a new phase where I am not the youngest in the room any more.
I also thought it was great they would choose Duran Duran to represent our generation of music. How fabulous and thank you to whatever Duranie in power at PBS making that decision! So often Duran Duran is overlooked or discounted in some way – I appreciated they were now being used as the representative of the music I enjoyed in the 1980’s and continue to enjoy today.