Duran Duran Appreciation Day!

Happy Duran Duran Appreciation Day!!!!

I appreciate D2 every day, but for years, August 10th has officially been recognized as "Duran Duran Appreciation Day"... so here we go, let's appreciate!!

Duran Duran is one of my favorite bands from the New Romantic/New Wave era... I've pretty much been a fan for as long as I can remember. My earliest memories involve watching their videos for "Hungry Like the Wolf" and "Rio" on MTV... I liked what I heard and liked what I saw. Of course, as I got older, my love for D2 grew stronger: I can definitely say they are in my top 10, as far as favorite bands go.
I appreciate the fact that Duran Duran makes me happy. No matter what's going on in the world around me, whenever I put on some Duran Duran, I always feel like dancing and singing along. Always. Even their slowest/saddest songs always find a way to make me feel better, and manage to put a smile on my face. I just absolutely love this band. Simon Le Bon is one of my all-time favorite vocalists. His voice is almost perfect, if not perfect. It's so soothing... and sensual... and just absolutely fabulous. John Taylor... Mr. yummy pants!! I would say John Taylor ranks #3 on my list of all-time favorite bass players. His bass lines are luscious. (Yes, I said 'luscious' haha!) His bass lines are sexy and JT brings the funk. I like it funky! Andy Taylor (who is no longer with the band), in my opinion, is a very underrated guitar player. He helped bring the rock 'n' roll factor into the band. Nick Rhodes... oh my gawd, don't even get me started on Mr. Nick Rhodes. He's my keyboard/synth God. Seriously. He's my favorite keyboardist/synth player EVER!! And he used to be sooooo pretty!! But back to the music. He creates beautiful music, and beautiful sounds. Some of the sounds he creates blows my mind, sometimes. And he also discovered KAJAGOOGOO (another favorite new wave band of mine)!!! Nick Rhodes just wins at life. And Roger Taylor... Roger is so adorable!! Always has been and always will be. Along with Andy, I've always found Roger to be a very underrated musician, in the music world as a whole... but a total drum god in the new wave world. Highly influential. And Dom Brown... let me just say... he's been a great addition to this band, I don't care what anyone says. Yes, I miss Andy, a lot of people miss Andy... but don't disrespect Dom and take away his greatness, and all of his amazing contributions he has given to this band. Oh, and if you're still not sure, none of the 3 Taylor boys are related.

  

Everyone has a favorite member of Duran Duran. It happens... with every band. I know people feel guilty and swear up and down that they "love every member just the same"... hog wash. There's always a favorite. There's no harm in that. Who's my favorite?

 John friggin' Taylor

From a very early age, I've thought this man was a total dreamboat. As the years have gone by, the John Taylor obsession has only gotten worse. This man will forever be dreamy. Forever. I appreciate that I FINALLY got to meet him (and Roger) last year, even if it was for like 2 minutes. It was seriously one of the greatest days of my life. 1) John Taylor looked into my eyes. 2) John Taylor smiled at me. 3) John Taylor spoke to me. 4) John Taylor knew what my name was for that short time. Aaaaaand he tweeted me about 30 minutes after I met him. Epic times, man. Epic times. I just pretty much love JT. That is all. And as I stated before, he's one of my all-time favorite bass players. Also, he has fabulous taste in music!

Music appreciation: some of my fave Duran Duran tunes:

Okay, so I was nice and only bombarded you with 15 of my favorite songs... I wanted to add more, but I didn't want to scare you! I will end this blog with my final appreciation: I appreciate that they are still making music and still touring. Their most recent release, "All You Need Is Now", is absolutely amazing. If you don't own it, I highly suggest that you go buy it... they are truly better than ever. I can only hope that their next album (which will hopefully be out in 2014) sounds similar to "AYNIN", if not better. 

It's time to bring out those t-shirts, albums, DVDs (VHS/beta tapes, if you're old school!) etc, and have yourselves a total Duran Duran fest! I know I will! Represent, celebrate, and appreciate the Fab Five. :)

Peace, Love, Music, & A Duranie for life,

~ Lizzy Lepp 

P.S. - I've gotta add one more picture of John Taylor :)