Duran Duran Gets Their Sexy Back

November 26, 2007

Duran Duran defined the music and aesthetic of the 1980s with their synthy pop-rock, immaculate sense of fashion and larger-than-life videos. Now, more than 25 years after they first hit the international pop scene, Duran Duran returns with a new album that once again perfectly blends both style and substance.

Their new record, titled “Red Carpet Massacre,” features a contemporary, fresh new sound that was engineering with the help of experienced hitmakers like Timbaland, Justin Timberlake and Nate "Danja" Hills.

Timbaland in particular was essential in bringing new life to Duran Duran. On songs like "Falling Down," "Skin Divers" and "Nite Runner," he applied his big beat production style to Duran Duran's stylish brand of pop rock to serve up a futuristic, hip hop infused new sound that is both hit-worthy and still possess Duran Duran's signature sense of cool and class.

"He's like Tom Ford coming into Gucci," bassist John Taylor explains in a candid interview with Arjan for OutZoneTV.com.

"We had a thing, we had a brand - Duran Duran. Everybody loves Duran Duran. But how do you get across to young people? How can you be something more than just 'we love you guys, we love your hits from the '80s' and whatever. You gotta let somebody in sometimes and let them just what they call in fashion 'refresh the brand.' Take the qualities that you're known for and give it a fucking shake up you know. [Timbaland] is not afraid of doing that."

“Red Carpet Massacre” follows 2004’s much-anticipated reunion CD “Astronaut” that featured all of the group’s original members. Even though the record didn't match the success of their glory days of the '80s and early '90s, Taylor refuses to call the record a disappointment.

He explains that even though the project lacked "confidence and focus," it did give the group the opportunity to get reacquainted.

"[With 'Astronaut'] we were just trying to get back together. We were trying to recreate some kind of magic that we once had," Taylor says. "With ‘Red Carpet Massacre’ we just had to leave the past behind and just go blindly into the present. We made a record that we are just really excited about on a whole number of levels."

Work on this new album started immediately after their last world tour finished. Record label execs liked the collection of new songs they came up with, but suggested the help of an outside producer on one or two songs. “They started throwing names at us,” Taylor remembers. “The only guy we really liked was Timbaland."

It took the group about four months to get studio time booked with him in New York. The producer had a full agenda following his success with Nelly Furtado and Justin Timberlake. As soon as Justin Timberlake got word of the collaboration he wanted to be a part of it as well. "That was such a crazy, fucking week in Manhattan," Taylor laughs.

Guitar player Andy Taylor missed the studio session and eventually ended up leaving the group. "By the end of the week, we got new Timbaland-produced songs and we didn’t have a guitar player anymore," Taylor says. "But what we had was a new sound. Over the next few weeks we decided to just dump the album that we had and start afresh with this new sonic architecture and continue as a quartet with a very on point production style."

The group continued working with Timbaland protégé Nate Hills. "He came to London and he worked with us for several weeks. And then we went back into the studio with Justin Timberlake at the very end, after he heard all the songs we had. He said 'I want to do another song with you, an 'Ordinary World' type ballad.' So we went back into the studio and cut one more song."

"The challenge for us was not to let it go too far. It had to be Timbaland meets Duran Duran, not Timbaland meets Simon Le Bon. Because for the most part hip-hop producers are really only used to working with a singer. So it took us quite a few days to sorta say 'No, no, no. We play our own bass.' (...) There were big adjustments we had to make, but we figured it out."

The group has always had a large contingency of gay fans, which is not surprising to Taylor. “We took our image seriously. It was not a macho presentation. It was a presentation that had its roots in glamour. And there was an ambiguity to it I suppose. The sound and the look and the subject matter all made it sort of appealing to a gay audience. It was certainly not threatening. We have an audience that a gay man or woman is going to feel comfortable in."

Duran Duran
Red Carpet Massacre
Epic Records
Available now

Celine Dion: "Taking Chances" ... Sorta

November 13, 2007

Kathy Griffin wasn’t joking when she talked about the Celine Dion megastore in Las Vegas during one of her stand up shows. Last week, I visited the store that is located right on Caesars Palace's glittery casino floor. I was amazed by all the clutter and stuff that was inspired by the Canadian singer, from earrings to photo frames and from fleece hoodies to play cards. Celine is serious business.

This year, Dion is celebrating the final year of her impressive five-year residency in Las Vegas that formally comes to an end on December 15. Las Vegas has proven to be a fitting home for Dion. Both are over the top, slightly tacky and love to entertain the masses.

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Back In The Zone: Britney's New Album

November 02, 2007

The last two years haven't been exactly rosy for Britney Spears.

Not only did she turn from "Miss American Dream" into a single mother of two, but she is also in the middle of a fierce child custody battle, faces persistent rumors about substance abuse and deals with critics that go as far as to question her sanity. And if that wasn't enough, all of Spears' drama is captured by the prying lenses of paparazzi photographers who have made profitable careers out of documenting her every move.

But despite her trials and tribulations, the fallen pop princess has found time to work on her much-anticipated new album, titled "Blackout," which landed in stores earlier this week.

"Blackout" is the entertainer’s fifth studio album that follows 2003's smash "In The Zone." Spears teamed up with a group of crafty writers and producers who infused her music with fresh urban-pop stylings and even some electronic ingredients that, dare I say, are unexpectedly cutting-edge for a mainstream pop record.

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