And yes…we should be having vodka right now. In fact, maybe we are!
Okay, okay, reality is, there’s no Vodka Friday video this week. This is largely my fault, and not because I drank too much vodka (although, that certainly would be a much more interesting story and excuse). I am a bit on the overcommitted side at the moment, and additionally, I’ve noticed that while there are some people who like watching or listening to the VF each week, we need to revamp and retool our topics.
So, Amanda and I are going to work on some new ideas for better, more engaging content. She is going to finish her school year, as am I with my youngest. June 4th cannot get here fast enough.
We’re hoping to come back at some point in May or early June. If you’re thinking “Oh, they must be trying to time this to the new single, or album news…” You wouldn’t necessarily be wrong. We’re also kicking around the idea of doing Vodka Friday episodes a bit less often so that way, those of you who don’t listen quite as regularly are able to get through the videos and podcasts a little more easily and not get behind.
As I reflect over the past nine months or so, I can also see that our VF videos aren’t always that funny. We’ve been very serious at times, and what I think we originally felt would be lighthearted conversation, didn’t always remain that way. We’ve learned over the years that many of the people who read Daily Duranie don’t always enjoy the in-depth, soul bearing, types of conversations. Whether there is an honest effort to preserve Duran Duran as a sort of escapism, or a lack of wanting to really think, or just a plain old feeling of discomfort, there is a certain segment of the fandom population that just wants us to keep the band on the same “idol” pedestal they’ve been on since we were pre-teens. The shallow topics of how cute they were, how hot they might still be, and the very VERY basics about their music are what many crave. From my own point-of-view, it’s been a little frustrating. Truly, we just want more than that. We like to encourage thinking beyond the obvious, and want to provide the fan community freedom to be more than one dimensional. Our fandom – at least as far as I’m concerned – isn’t just about how cute Roger looked in 1983, or discussions over sparkly pants worn by Simon. Not that either of those two subjects are terrible, but there’s more than that! At least, as Amanda and I see it. It’s about the music, the band, and…ourselves. We’re complicated people, with multi-dimensional lives. Our childhood experiences shaped our fandom, even as adults.
Yet, often it has been those “deep thinking” types of blogs, and now podcasts and videos, that would get the least amount of attention – at least, response-wise. As Amanda and I put it, often it is like hearing crickets after we hit “publish”. Granted, we can’t (and don’t) assume that just because people aren’t commenting, or engaging, that they’re not reading or listening. We recognize that not everyone consumes, absorbs, or responds, to the content in the same way.
Even so, we also have to remain true to ourselves. Amanda and I have learned the most about our own fandom as well as one another when we’ve given ourselves the freedom to be honest and “throw open the stage curtain”. It was our hope, or my hope anyway, that other fans would be able to identify with what we were saying and that maybe it would help knowing they weren’t alone. I’m not sure how effective our chats were, at least on that front. We really can’t tell. I can respect though, that perhaps we shared things with the internet populace that were better left unsaid.
Regardless, the point of Vodka Friday was to have the discussions we might not otherwise. We will take the note that we need to keep them light, funny, and somewhat unedited. (keep dreaming on that – I have an editing tool and will use it when necessary!) We’re going to take some time, revamp, and improve! If you have any ideas for what you might like to see us talk about going forward, please let us know!
-R
