Tumbleweeds & Crickets Chirping

[Klingoncelt]

Where has everyone gone?

If the DD messageboards get any slower they'll be going in reverse. In a way they are, whether it's me archiving the old stuff, or some brainless alt on Mark's posting in ancient threads, or yet another thread somewhere on RCM, Reportage, or the split with Andy.

I've looked around, and asked around, excluding cross-posters and alts there aren't 100 people posting on the Mothershit, LK's, Durantard, Mark's, DDcoUK, and here.

That's not good, for the fanbase or the band. When the album finally drops, there won't be more than a few dozen fans left if something doesn't first come along to renew interest.

The studio vids and radio snippets just aren't doing it anymore. What the band needs to do is release a single in early October. Even if it's a bad single, it will at least get the fans' attention, and hold it long enough for the more musically inclined to pick it apart, and for the "true fans" to remind us how lucky we are so we should buy it on iTunes, and for the stalkers to come out of hiding and entertain the rest of us.

Your thoughts?

[monk]

As you so rightly pointed out everywhere is eerily quiet, the video snippets are actually making things worse I fear, they have to stop arse licking Ronson & offering it up as a bone.

[ghost]

Well I know I haven't been and have no intention in participating in any Duran related chat, it's 'like soooo... out of the zeitgeist' right now. Seriously, that's my attitude, towards their new album even when it comes out. The new Maiden album, I heard just once, deleted it, said how awful it was and never cared anymore. Even though it was No.1 in 21 countries it stank like hell. The new Duran album already DOES suck and if fan's taste win through again, it will bomb like RCM. But I suspect that thanks to Mark's intervention that this time, they will have the 'hit' they so desperately crave. Shame it's just a pile of shit. Just don't count on some of us regular fans to fund this stage of their career.

[ghost]

When I hear a single sentence from Simon I know he lives in parallel universe, and in this particular universe it all sounds like bullshit. As soon as he and Roger said Ronson is great, it was all finished, done for. Obviously they live a lifestyle where everyone kisses ass all day long, that's how it works. No creativity comes from such an environment. At this moment, John is probably ordering a frappuchino and an Evian and wondering how great it is to be rocking out to Arcade Fire.

If I can watch a 100 great youtube videos even if its 30 years old, why would I pay for this rehashed attempt at producing 'modern' chart pop.

[Klingoncelt]

But I suspect that thanks to Mark's intervention that this time, they will have the 'hit' they so desperately crave.

If that's what they're aiming for, they're fucked. If it's a good album they'll get a minor hit and I'll be happy for them. There's no way they'll get a hit riding on Ronson's coattails, or Bowie's, or anyone else's. They're too old to act like ingenues. They have to make it on their own.


Our little group are the official bashers, the "fans" still refer to us in a negative way on other boards, but I've seen bashing from some no-longer-deluded fans that makes us look like noobs. I think the new album will be pretty good, but if the core fans aren't around to talk it up, it'll go over like the proverbial tree falling in the woods.

They should release a single soon and have a video contest.

[ghost]

That's good, a new generation of bashers! Atleast there's some people to keep the flame going now that some of us have retired.

[Klingoncelt]

[duranietillrcm]

Fuck the fans who don't like us. At least we're not mindless idiots who can't have constructive criticism about the band we once loved. I choose not to think that everything DD has done as awesome, amazing, and totally cool. In fact, the one song I hate the most (besides ALL of RCM) is All She Wants Is. I just can't get into that song. I happen to know we are the most intelligent Duranies that DD has. We are smart enough to tell the guys when they are doing something wrong and damaging their careers. I hope each member of DD reads this, even John, the bassist I once idolized. Hell I even bought a Fender bass at a yard sale hoping I'd learn how to play Tiger Tiger someday. Now I'm just disgusted at the direction the band is going, and the shit they put out as music now. Sorry boys, go back to making real music.

[Klingoncelt]

I hate All She Wants Is. It sounds like a filler song for an off-off-off Broadway musical. But that's okay, I don't expect to like every song from any band. I do, however, expect to like at least half of them, and RCM messed up the ratio.

As far as making real music, they can't. That little fanfic I wrote about Simon's writer's block was based in my honest opinion that Simon never could write much. I truly believe that the notebook he brought to the audition was filled with stuff that others had a hand in. (Maybe my opinion is clouded by having seen that sort of thing elsewhere...) I remember but can't locate an interview where they're asked about Union of the Snake and Simon says, "You'll have to ask Roger about that."

I don't much care whether or not Simon writes the lyrics start to finish. I do care that he can take others' ideas and pull them all together into the perfect verses & choruses.

He can't. That's not his fault, the problem is a severe dysfunction. Dom's input is, at best, minimal (and his contributions are untested, his ideas could suck for all we know.) So there's 1 empty space that Warren or Andy could fill. Nick has been known to contribute heavily (Medazzaland) but he needs a pretentiousness filter. Gid knows what Roger's contributing, from what little sippets we've been given, it seems he's kept on a short leash. John doesn't seem to be putting in a lot, either. He can write lyrics, I love a lot of his solo work, it's gritty and real to me. Is he helping Simon? Why do they have to outsource lyricists, then?

One of the bands I was in, everyone wrote. It could be a couple of lines, it could be a magnum opus, it could be somewhere in between. The other band members would piddle with the lyrics, tweaking them a bit, then hand them over to me to finish. Take out this line, switch these two lines, here's a better word to use on that line, the song's a little vague I'll define it more in the chorus... I think that's how the first 3 DD albums were done, too. That chemistry's gone now and they may be looking for replacement with the wrong people.

[duranietillrcm]

I think the issue with Simon now is that he's not doing the poetry thing anymore. In the first album, I think that was probably Simon's poetry put to music. Once SATRT was done, I think Simon lost his poetic edge and started making "commerical" lyrics.

[Klingoncelt]

Agreed. I miss the poetry.