Artist: Duran Duran

I happened to be reading a comparison of the worst holiday seasons based on a number of economic factors since the Great Depression and, according to this study, 1982 was the bleakest Christmas of the past eighty years. At the time, I was fourteen and blissfully unaffected by unemployment rates that exceeded those of recent vintage. Our small town was home to the headquarters for two industry-leading corporations. There were six very wealthy families, six poor ones, and everyone else resided solidly in the middle class. (really, there once was a socio-economic stratum called [...]

Do you remember the eighties, asks Nick Rhodes. It's pretty clear given the age profile of the crowd here, that everyone does. Duran Duran would have been important to many of us here, many years ago, as important as Top of the Pops was, and roller discos and emigration and all that stuff that we remember so fondly. Duran were the biggest, smoothest band on earth. Even Goths were allowed like 'Save A Prayer'. It could be argued that after four years the ride was over, and the decent tracks they've released since them comprise the exceptions, rather [...]

Twitter was abuzz with praise during and after Duran Duran's performance at the O2. Many of the sentiments echoed were along the lines of "Who needs X-Factor?" when these old boys still have the hits and the show to do the business. The setlist culminated in 'Wild Boys', 'Girls On Film' and 'Rio'. Check back here later for what writer Dara Higgins thought of the show...

The photo guy has to have his best of list, right? The five photos featured are my favorite moments shooting music this year. I want to share some background about them, what was going on when they happened. These aren't the "best" photos I have taken, but they are all my best memories captured. Thank you, 2011 Live Music, and thank you Austin Town Hall for inviting me to be part of the team. Break it for the rundown and a gallery of other favorites… [...]

For those of you who haven't seen the stupendously funny Goodnight Burbank , please go and watch it now or check out the promo video below to see what you've been missing. Hayden is the creator and star of the superb hit internet TV show. You can check it out now on Hulu if you are in the states. We interviewed Hayden back in 2009 so check that out too. Hayden is a regular tweeter so look for him on twitter @haydenblack. Here are his Top 5 [...]

Photos by G. 2011 was a better than normal year for good tunes. In no particular order, here's a list of 21 songs that made my world a lot groovier. I don't think that all of the tracks were released as singles, and if they were, many of these gems were probably not played in a mainstream way (like the radio). That's sad, especially when over-produced pop songs that sound good on ONE LISTEN ONLY are played ad nauseum to the masses while they open their mouths wide for something to suck on. [...]

Duran Duran - Save A Prayer (after disco rough edit)

• Duran Duran - Save A Prayer (after disco rough edit)

Reports that MTV has "banned" Duran Duran's 'Girl Panic!' video have been all over the internet this week, stating that the network has refused to air the nine-minute film directed by Jonas Akerlund due to explicit sexuality and overt use of product placement. Sound familiar? Back in 1981, The 'Girls On Film' video was banned [...]

Mtv ha avuto una reazione esagerata a questo video. Non c'è niente di troppo controverso. Paragonato ad altri video pop, è tutto più addomesticato. Il video è stato bannato per il plateale product placement ma questo è il modo di fare video oggi. Su Youtube, il video è stato già visto 4 milioni di volte. E' un video spensierato, c'è divertimento, fuga, eccitazione. Il video di "Girl Panic", l'ultimo singolo dei Duran Duran , è stato censurato per le immagini troppo volgari, almeno questa è al scusa ufficiale che i principali network televisivi hanno avanzato. [...]

Fans of Depeche Mode, Duran Duran, Talking Heads, and David Bowie will want to have a listen and grab "Murder 1" from Australian-born, now NYC-based duo Wazu . The track combines elements of glam, grunge, electronic, pop and goth to create a dark, danceable atmosphere and comes from their upcoming self-titled EP, which drops on January 10th, courtesy of Anti-Language Recordings. Wazu is comprised of Matt and Rizz, who wrote and performed together in several influential Syndey bands (Open The Gates, Captains) before they decided to venture out on their own as a duo and see what [...]

One second. Sometimes that's all a photographer gets - and hardly in ideal conditions. At worst (and most likely), a photographer may be squeezed between 15 others in the pit, mere feet away from pyrotechnics, finding support from stress-rattled knees, while focusing on a spastic frontman and sheltering oneself from a downpour, which may or may not involve a hailstorm. Truth: A great photographer handles the unenviable task of capturing that one moment everyone goes home thinking about. Half-truth: There's probably a statistic somewhere that discusses what the job does to the heart. If not, there should be a study. Double-truth: [...]

Photos by G. Chris Glover of Penguin Prison "Penguin Prison" by Penguin Prison . While most of the albums on this list are in no particular order, my favorite record of the year is definitely the self-titled album "Penguin Prison." In early 2010, I caught Penguin Prison in concert as an opening act and before the set was over, I became an instant fan. Lead singer and PP brainchild Chris Glover is so talented. Every song on his debut record could (and should) be [...]

Drop Out Orchestra Have been on a roll with their series of edits of classic tracks like Daft Punk's Around The World and Rick Astley's Never Gonna Give You Up. Both were almost complete re-works taking things in a very cosmic direction. the Swedes don't disappoint with their latest edit of Duran Duran. I'm not sure how I feel about their latest work they feel a bit like U2 with their best days several decades behind them. Sonically beyond rescue even with the help of super-producers like Mark Ronson and Brian Eno, respectively. Duran Duran should get Drop Out Orchestra to help with [...]

Naomi Campbell, Helena Christensen, Cindy Crawford, and Eva Herzigova as members of Duran Duran video directed by Jonas Akerlund

Friday Five : \'frī-(,)dā,-dē 'fīv\ : On the sixth day of every week, I hit the shuffle button on my iTunes, then share the first five tracks and thought for each track. Sometimes there is a playlist involved, occasionally we'll have a guest, but most of the time it's just me. The rest is up to you, our friends and readers! Fire up your media player of choice and share the first five random track of your shuffle in the comments. The Five: " Girls on Film " by The [...]

This isn't a list of my favorite tunes, though some most certainly are. I don't listen to these songs every day, and in fact, if my iPod were to land on a few of them, I might actually press skip. But at one point, they were all songs to learn and sing for the simple fact that they spoke to me for some particular reason. So while they might not add up to the soundtrack of my current life, they're a partial document of my past, which is just as pivotal as my present and my future to who I [...]

Video For Duran Duran Girl Panic! video is 9 mins of sexy, sophistication.

Lately, I've been dwelling on something -- in this blog, in the gym, on the street and pretty much anywhere I never venture without my iPod: great singers who either fell short of finding a sizable audience or ones whose heydays were far too brief. In my quest to give a few of them a little bit of their due, I posted a video by Shara Nelson -- whose stunning voice made Massive Attack's "Unfinished Sympathy" one of the most powerful musical statements of the '90s -- on my Facebook wall. [...]

J'avais déjà parlé de l'amour de nos amis alémaniques pour la langue française. Mais je n'avais pas encore pu dénicher un artiste suisse allemand chantant en français et digne d'être chroniqué. Cette semaine, au milieu d'une pile de CDs dont la majorité m'a fait saigner des oreilles que notre producteur nous a laissé comme une dernière chance avant de les jeter au feu, j'ai finalement trouvé une perle. Et ça plane pour moi, puisque j'ai déterré Play Patrik , le Plastic Bertrand bernois. Ce n'est pas simplement une impression personnelle. C'est un peu son objectif. [...]

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A down and dirty Durantime with two things on my mind: 1. What's up with the facial hair, Simon? A sighting at Heathrow as the band were departing for Sao Paolo this evening showed less Le Beard, more Le Stache. Is it Movember? A shaving mishap? Only time will tell. 2. In just three days, [...]