I lived for two short years in Illinois and went through one single tornado warning – where the sirens go off and you quickly retreat to the basement – and that was enough for this born and bred Californian. It scared me in a way that no earthquake ever could, likely because let’s face it – with an earthquake you have no time to do anything but react. The preparation should have already happened. This was so different – I don’t think I’ve ever felt adrenaline quite like that and the (small) tornado didn’t even touch down closer than 5 miles from my house at the time. My heart goes out to all of the people in Oklahoma, and if you’re so inclined and have the resources to do so – please donate to the Red Cross, who will be out there taking care of those folks long after the media packs up, leaves, and our attentions go elsewhere to whatever newsworthy event comes next.
So forgive me if my attention isn’t solely on Duran Duran.
The music world also took a bit of a beating yesterday when it was announced that Ray Manzarek, the keyboardist (and genius) of The Doors died yesterday at the age of 74. He had been battling cancer of the bile-ducts (not something any of us want to die from). So many people assume Ray’s career was solely contained within the albums that The Doors completed. Hardly. He not only produced for Echo and the Bunnymen as well as X, he was an accomplished writer (he penned his memoir, Light my Fire: My Life with The Doors in 1998, along with two novels, one of which named The Poet in Exile explored the myth that Jim Morrison faked his death), and he wrote, performed and collaborated with many other notable jazz, rock, blues and spoken poetry artists in the years before his death. Far be it from me to suggest that he was better after The Doors than during…. but he lived a very full life and music has lost yet another tremendous talent.
While I’m thinking of horrible diseases, I am reminded that while yes it’s true Duran Duran is going to be in the playground of the rich and apparently famous this week (Cannes) they are performing in support of a truly wonderful cause. I am not one to tout much that celebrities have crowned as important – many times I find these charitable causes to be nothing more than another reason to have one’s name in the media with no real substance, but in this case – I think it’s incredibly worthy. amfAR is an AIDS research foundation, in existence since 1985. I am sure most Duranies remember when AIDS was basically a death sentence. No one really knew much about it other than it plagued the gay community. So much has been learned since then, and yet there is still plenty to be done globally. amfAR is committed to the goal of an AIDS-free generation, and with galas such as the one in Cannes where Duran Duran will be performing, funding proper research can happen. I’ve seen many fans comment that the tickets are incredibly high (they are) and that it’s a shame we “regular people” cannot attend (it is)…but I must say that I’m pleased to see the band give their time to such a worthy cause.
Lastly, is it just me…or does anyone else smell a bit of desperation in the air? It’s the aroma of stale perfume, mixed with just the right tinge of anxiety, along with a wafting of Duranies being roasted over an open fire. I do believe my friends, that the natives are getting restless. It’s the “dead zone”…the time between albums. The time when I start feeling as though I should really learn how to tap dance and begin to entertain everyone (with laughter of course, because me in tap shoes?? Uh, no.) before bad things happen.
How do I sense that sort of “energy” in the air? Well to begin with – anytime @thisistherealJT starts tweeting about Lady Antebellum and Duranies say NOTHING about the song choice and start right in with the “OMG John, THANK YOU for coming back to Twitter…please RT me. PLEASE!”…. that’s a sign of desperation. When the very next day another mysterious tweet happens, like “Hogdzrxyf” and people are trying to figure out the code… well…that’s another sign. I won’t mention what my friend and I suggested to Mr. or Ms. Hacker – I mean, if you’re gonna hack, maybe send out something better than just gibberish, you know?? Lastly, after these tweets appear, there seems to be a significant uptick in the speed of the @dailyduranie twitter feed due to the speed with which Duranies are typing “Where is John? Oh man, did I miss him already?” Never mind that it was pretty clear the man was not REALLY tweeting (oh wait, we’re still thinking that last message was code, right??)
Don’t even get me started on what happens when LeBon decides to get online. I’ve gotta say, at least he’s entertaining – and you never know what he’s going to tweet. Simon doesn’t need to do a sales job on anyone, he’s happy to say whatever he feels like (I love that!), and he doesn’t even need you to respond. That said, from what I can tell – he gets thousands of responses anyway. Thank goodness for Simon, because otherwise I am certain that Duranies would be feasting on one another, and no first-borns would be safe.
That my friends, is Duranie Desperation. Thank goodness we don’t really have much of a message board these days, otherwise the carnage could be supreme.
It’s OK. Admitting the problem is the first step. You’re desperate. Say it with me: “I am desperate”. We can do this. Granted, this may take time (I think we’ve got some time…it’s not even summer yet people!) Embrace the desperation, I say. Feel it wash over you. Know that you are not alone. You’re not. I just said it with you.
Let’s just refrain a bit from roasting one another in obvious sacrifice with the hopes of getting the next album quicker…at least…just yet. 😉
I just hope that band gets us some news somehow…otherwise this stench could be bad come mid-summer! 😉 Might need a CONVENTION to get through it….
-R
(one thing is certain – I need new songs to steal lyrics from for my titles!)
Great music doesn't just happen overnight, that's why even though I am not a patient person, I have learned how to calmly wait for the next new album. Not patiently, not frustratedly, not even stubbornly, but gladly, excitedly wait for the next album. I love Duran Duran's music, but I also have an appreciation for the fact that it takes time to create great music, not to forget all of the hard work, and effort that goes into each album. Personally I've never understood why fans of any band get so frustrated, and impatient while waiting for the next new album. Becoming so desperate for any news, or information about the band, and their new album that they start turning on each other, and generally behaving badly towards one another. For me the times between albums has always been a time of excitement, and expectation, wondering just what are they going to come up with this time. Maybe it's just my early childhood training coming into play here, because it seems to me that far to many music fans don't quite understand how much work really goes into writing, and producing an album. Even though my Mother was not in the music business she did know a quite a bit about it, and when I was a little kid she taught me most of what she knew. Whenever we would sit on the floor in front of the stereo, and listen to music, she would tell me everything she knew about the artist, the songs, and even the time period in which the album was written. From both my Mother, and my own research I have continued to learn as much as I can about the music industry, and most especially what goes into producing an album. Sometimes I forget not everybody was raised like that, but at the same time it still surprises me that even as adults most music fans do not make the effort to learn more about something they claim to care so much about. This is the only reasonable explanation I can come up with for their inability to calmly await the next album from their favorite band. I love Duran Duran's music, and honestly I NEED music in general just to stay reasonably sane, but I'm not going to get frustrated to the point of being hateful to others just because the band is going to be in the studio a while working on a new album. What I am going to do is be excited, to enthusiastically tell everyone I know that my favorite band is working on a new album, and to talk my friends' ears off about the band. My theory is that maybe if more fans really understood just what it takes to produce an album, and how much hard work it is, they might be a little more patient, and less inclined to turning on each other.
i so agree about the duranie desperation. i said this on my twitter account, but i couldn't believe people were actually retweeting jt's gibberish tweet. i know some people will retweet anything their favourite celeb tweets, but come on. i also am surprised the best jt's hacker could do was buy a lady antebellum album and send the gibberish tweet. he (or she) didn't try to mess with fans and say dd's music sucked or he's leaving the band or anything? i guess whoever the hacker is just picked a random account rather than specifically targeting his account. maybe he had some easy to guess password like gela4ever or something.
and yeah, don't even get me started on the people who beg for retweets. not people who try to actively engage in conversation with a celebrity, but just saying “can i get a rt” seems so lame. you got one, so what? i'm not an elitist hipster who's too cool to care about these things, i try to talk to the celebs i follow in the hopes i'll get a response. maybe it's me trying to make up for being too chicken to talk to anyone remotely famous in real life. 😉 i just stupidly smile and shove a record in front of them and ask them to sign it.