Fanzine Week 3: Day 4
It’s lovely to have the opportunity to discuss the mood boards I make. It’s kind of hard to explain how they are made. It's basically what comes to my mind when I hear or see something.
I was 12 years old when I heard Ordinary World on MTV. I was completely mind blown! Somehow, the universe had a plan for me. My uncle had just gotten married. After blasting my new found love for this amazing song to everyone I crossed paths with, his new wife says she and her sister just happened to have boxes of Duran Duran stuff in their garage since they had grown out of them. Okay. So, I'm wondering what could be in those boxes? This stuff is a decade old or so. I had seen the videos, Rio, Hungry Like the Wolf, Girls On Film and The Reflex on VH1 and MTV. I remember waiting and waiting for the video channels to play just one!
The boxes finally arrive! A brand new world opens for me! I'm learning about these 5 men referred to as "teen idols" and this phenomenon they call "Durandemonium." I find these vinyls in the boxes. Albums and singles. I play them on my Dad's record player in repetition. One by one, I'm blown away! I feel like something special just happened to me... And, only me because the feelings I had inside were indescribable. I somehow knew my life would never be the same. I felt transported to a different time. I was experiencing Durandemonium... an era later!
Upon looking through a magazine from the boxes, I see a photo of a band with a gothic look. A photo of them in black with a white piano in the middle of the street. "Arcadia?" Who were they? I ask my aunt what happened to the group because it's 3-person line-up now instead of 5. She explains to me what she understood had happened. She told me about The Power Station and Arcadia. I pulled that centerfold out and promptly hung it on the wall!
These side project albums seemed unattainable pre-Amazon, pre-eBay. I lived near a Rose's (an outlet store of sorts). They happened to carry bins of cassettes. I rummaged through these bins regularly, always on the hunt for Duran Duran cassettes. After what seemed to be an eternity, I see it!... Oh, my God!... Could it be?!... Squeal!... It is!... There was the elusive album I was so intrigued to hear based on that mysterious photograph.
I take So Red the Rose home. I'm sort of hugging it in my hands on the way there. It is precious to me already. I go upstairs and listen to it alone.... I feel like I've been transported to a castle upon hearing Lady Ice and seeing the unique artwork on the album for the first time. I can still see a beautiful lady in a tower, waiting, looking around a courtyard. But, she's "frightened", so she doesn't show her face. When I think Arcadia, I see truly gothic imagery. I like where it takes me. So Red the Rose brings beautiful thoughts and colors to my mind. I enjoy making mood boards that reflect those feelings.
I had thought of making one for Arena at some point. For this one I was drawn more to the fans. I was asked by Adam to complete this specially to illustrate the Cherry Lipstick album review. This was good, because I love a challenge. I immediately thought to look through fan pics and live photos with a blue color scheme because that's what Sing Blue Silver brings to my mind. I could hear Tiger Tiger in my head making it.
Mood boards are generally what a subject brings to you visually and emotionally. So, when I decided to make one for Medazzaland, I was picturing Simon holding that orb in a Medazzaland group photo. Then, the pink from Barbarella came to mind. To me, entering Medazzaland made me think of a fantasy world. We could buy tickets at a ticket booth. Then, we could go to an indescribable place. Honestly, I almost used a photo from American Horror Story's Freak Show because we have no idea what awaits us there. I was motivated by the tune of Medazzaland.
Red Carpet Massacre comes at ya hard! That's why I didn't hold back on the bitchy cat fight theme used in my mood board. The photos Nick took of his lady friends basically set the mood! That album tells it like it is. Although, my favorite track is Falling Down, which definitely seems mellow, the mood for the album screams the color red and has a catty feel to me.
My love for Duran Duran has remained and grown with each album. I love each song and can find no fault with any of them. When people said they'd stop making music, I just knew they wouldn't. I appreciate each new album as much as the last. I cherish my actual Duran memorabilia as much as a family photo. I'm in it for the long haul.
(and of course the Cherry Lipstick mood board above was created specially for Fanzine Week)
Cherry Lipstick Catch Up #5:
We love concert reviews and 'cos we've been going so long we've printed a lot of them. Here's one from December 1997 by John Cutcher:
It's a period of Duran's history that is getting a little bit lost now, but for 4 years (1997-2001) Mr John Taylor was not actually in Duran Duran. This merchandise catalogue from 2000 probably represents the high water-mark of his solo career.
As you can see, he'd built up an impressive roster of music and had developed his own trade-mark clothing range. There is the slight issue of the name ('Terroristen') which suggests the more innocent days before 9/11 (still a year away at the time of this brochure). He's looking assertive and confident in this picture and there was nothing to suggest any imminent return to the fold. He was certainly ahead of his ex-band in the innovative use of his website, Trust The Process.
and finally... Fliss has been inspired by J.R. Kiss on Day 1 and found her Duran Duran fan club cards:
"not 1 but 2 fan club membership cards & a rather pale but cute handy sticker from the Big Thing era."
