{"id":765,"date":"2015-07-22T07:53:39","date_gmt":"2015-07-22T15:53:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/morganrichter.net\/blog\/?p=765"},"modified":"2023-03-06T14:21:59","modified_gmt":"2023-03-06T22:21:59","slug":"duranalysis-duran-durans-come-undone","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/morganrichter.net\/blog\/duranalysis-duran-durans-come-undone\/","title":{"rendered":"Duranalysis: Come Undone"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Like a radio tune I swear I\u2019ve heard before\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCome Undone\u201d is the second single off of the band\u2019s 1993 self-titled album, which is known far and wide as the Wedding Album, because Duran Duran had already<\/em> released a self-titled album back in 1981 and life is plenty confusing as it is, thank you very much. The video was directed by JulienTemple, who also directed the classic 1988 comedy Earth Girls Are Easy.<\/em> It\u2019s a very pretty video (just look at all those bright, colorful, exotic fish! Just look at all those bright, colorful, exotic Durans!), but I\u2019m correct in assuming we\u2019d all rather be watching Earth Girls Are Easy, <\/em>right?<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Earth<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Not that there aren\u2019t obvious visual parallels between \u201cCome Undone\u201d and Earth Girls Are Easy<\/em>:<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Earth<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
\n
\"Duran<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

This is a beautiful video, but it makes the grave strategic error of having all the Durans just hover around the London Aquarium, treating the sea creatures to a live performance and taking a backseat to the action while the actual storyline is carried out by actors. Which would you rather see: this pretty lady in chains thrashing around in a shark tank, or Simon Le Bon in chains thrashing around in a shark tank while getting his fancy, frilly Vivienne Westwood suit all soaked?<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Duran<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

It\u2019s a dumb question, right? Probably even the softest-hearted, most ardent Duranie would, on occasion, find the thought of seeing Simon Le Bon wrapped in chains and dropped into a tank of hungry sharks not entirely displeasing. Ditto for Nick and Andy. Maybe even John. (Not Roger, though. Nobody wants to see Roger eaten by sharks. That would be wrong.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The video features short vignettes of people who are, indeed, in the process of coming undone, like the chained-up lady in the shark tank. An elderly couple finds themselves stranded on a bench amidst rising flood water; a frightened child hides under a bed. This nice lady in aerobics gear is adding a shot of hooch to her protein smoothie. Her facial expressions suggest she feels wracked with guilt and shame by her behavior. No shame here, lady! I can\u2019t think of a better way to make powdered protein drinks palatable than by adding a healthy glug of vodka to the blender.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Duran<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

(In true Duran Duran style, there are at least two versions of this video out there: the original, and the version that aired on MTV, which featured a couple of very small alterations. In the original version, we see what scares the frightened child\u2014she peeks into a bedroom and catches a glimpse of a shadowy couple mid-coitus\u2014and we also see the label on the woman\u2019s bottle of vodka. Those are the only changes I could catch. I\u2019m working on a theory that during their peak MTV era, Duran Duran always deliberately tossed something<\/em> into every video\u2014bare breasts<\/a>! silhouetted nipples<\/a>!\u2014that they knew would get yanked, just to keep MTV\u2019s censors on their toes.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There\u2019s also footage of a man wearing boxing gloves whaling on a punching bag, intercut with lighting-quick snippets showing various items\u2014a football, a doll, a meaty sandwich\u2014getting blasted into pieces by bursts of water. Even meaty sandwiches come undone.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Duran<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

More people come undone: A straightlaced businessman in a stuffy suit rips off his coat and tie to reveal a bustier beneath his clothes. He then slips into a slinky red dress, sits in front of a mirror, and does a woefully inept job of applying lipstick. Pull Nick away from his keyboards and ask him to help you with that, sir. When it comes to makeup application, Nick\u2019s a world-class pro. He\u2019ll get you sorted.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"Duran<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

This video had the dubious honor of being deconstructed by Beavis and Butt-head in the second season of their eponymous MTV series. Despite the high potential for catastrophe here, Beavis and Butt-head remained on good behavior while keeping up their running commentary on the video (sample observation: \u201cWe should start a band and call it \u2018Butt-head Butt-head\u2019\u201d). You dodged a bullet there, Durans.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"Duran<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Here\u2019s Simon talking about the genesis of the song on the BBC special Wild Boys: The Story of Duran Duran<\/em>: \u201cI wrote a song for Yasmin, and it was \u2018Come Undone\u2019\u2026 I actually wrote it on the 29th of October, which is her birthday, and that was my kind of, \u2018Here, happy birthday to you\u2019.\u201d Okay, so Simon wrote a pretty song as a gift for his wife. Very nice! Never mind that \u201cCome Undone\u201d is a song about going all to pieces (\u201cCan\u2019t ever keep from falling apart at the seams\u2026\u201d<\/em>), whereas Yasmin Le Bon has always seemed like the epitome of calm and cool. Key quote from Yasmin, taken from VH-1\u2019s Behind the Music <\/em>episode about the band, on how she deals with overly-aggressive groupies targeting her husband: \u201cI would walk up behind him and just grab him by the balls and just stand there holding them like, \u2018See these? They\u2019re mine. Just remember.\u2019\u201d I like you, Yaz. You\u2019ve got style<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Yasmin<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Oh, hey, Warren. \u2018Sup?<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Duran<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Like many Duran fans, I never quite know what to think about Warren Cuccurullo, or about Duran Duran\u2019s Warren era in general. I mean, the band turned out some fantastic songs\u2014\u201cElectric Barbarella<\/a>\u201d, \u201cCome Undone\u201d, \u201cOrdinary World\u201d, \u201cOut of My Mind\u201d\u2014 during this time, which is certainly due in good part to Warren\u2019s influence. Still, the presence of wild-card Warren always adds a weird precarious element to the videos from this era: You can\u2019t help thinking the balance within the band might soon become unstable, like everything could burst apart into a cloud of smithereens and glitter at any moment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Smithereens and Glitter<\/em> is a fabulous potential title for Nick Rhodes\u2019s future memoir, which I fully plan on ghostwriting, whether Nick wants me involved or not. I\u2019ve ghostwritten before; I\u2019m not afraid to do it again. Call me, Nick\u2014we\u2019ll hash out the details.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Speaking of Our Nick, here he is, looking all pale and lovely. He somehow manages to squeeze in a quick mid-video wardrobe change. He starts out looking elegant and faintly underfed in this dark suit and fancy patterned shirt.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Duran<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

By the end of the video, though, he\u2019s clad in an iridescent green mock turtleneck. Look, the song is over four minutes long. You can\u2019t expect him to wear the same outfit that entire time. He\u2019s got standards<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Duran<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

This pair of mysterious drumstick-holding hands are almost certainly not attached to anyone who actually played drums on this track. The drums for \u201cCome Undone\u201d are credited to the album\u2019s co-producer, John Jones; a key part of the drum line is sampled from the 1974 song \u201cAshley\u2019s Roachclip\u201d by The Soul Searchers<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Duran<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

The female vocals are provided by veteran backing vocalist Tessa Niles, who does not appear in this video. You know who does<\/em> appear in this video? John Taylor! You know who didn\u2019t actually perform on the track? John Taylor! Yeah, John was faffing about in Los Angeles whilst his band mates were writing and recording this song in London; the bass line on the album track comes courtesy of Nick\u2019s synthesizers. At least John showed up in time to look willowy and inhumanly beautiful in the video.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Between the synth bass and the sampled drums, \u201cCome Undone\u201d could\u2019ve turned into a chilly, soulless Frankensong. Instead, it\u2019s lovely and melancholy, with a video to match.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Like a radio tune I swear I\u2019ve heard before\u2026 \u201cCome Undone\u201d is the second single off of the band\u2019s 1993 self-titled album, which is known far and wide […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":766,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-765","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-duran-duran"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/morganrichter.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/765","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/morganrichter.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/morganrichter.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/morganrichter.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/morganrichter.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=765"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"http:\/\/morganrichter.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/765\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1564,"href":"http:\/\/morganrichter.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/765\/revisions\/1564"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/morganrichter.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/766"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/morganrichter.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=765"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/morganrichter.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=765"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/morganrichter.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=765"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}