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Post by Tin on Jan 30, 2015 23:14:49 GMT -5
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Post by nileblogers on Jan 31, 2015 0:15:31 GMT -5
Yes throwing the die hands a few bones in between releases would be more than welcome as would mixing up the set lists a little, one fan fav album track or b side a show isn't too much to ask really is it?? Plus I agree if the band want to make an impact they need to engage with the fans way more and try to make things happen. Look at how The Charlatans have done in store record signings this week all over the UK and are in the top 3 mid week, much like Duran did with Astronaut!! Get out there boys!!
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Post by Tin on Jan 31, 2015 0:51:23 GMT -5
Interesting to see the reaction to that letter. Seems to be right down the middle on Duranada. Most people saying it's a "horrible" letter and not reflective of "duranies"
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Post by coolbarn on Jan 31, 2015 3:35:29 GMT -5
Of course the fans say it's horrible - somebody has come right out and criticised their heroes.
Doesn't matter how true it is or not, if you write an open letter to Duran Duran where most of it could be deemed 'negative' then you're going to get lambasted by those fans who can't bear to hear anything bad about the band (and there are plenty out there).
Funnily enough the same fans probably have posted over the past six months something along the lines of "gee it will be quite some time before DD14 is released and I would love to hear at least a snippet soon". You mention the word "snippet" on any Duran Duran forum in the world and you will get the majority of people saying "yes please"; you won't get many saying "Good Lord no, I want this album to be a complete surprise where nobody except the band, Katy, and Paul Adams have even heard it before it is released".
But as soon as somebody posts an open letter and says the exact same thing, then you have rabid Durannies saying how awful it is. How does that work?
The fact is there is a lot of truth in that open post to the band. I personally wouldn't have written a letter like that, and won't be losing any sleep after reading it, but it is hard to argue with much of it. But because many fans feel like they will have betrayed the band if they admit to it, they go the other way and be critical instead.
Even if deep down, in that dark place they don't care to admit, they actually know some of it is true as well.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 31, 2015 3:48:30 GMT -5
It's useless. DD lost touch with their fan base years and years ago. I made a lot of suggestions myself but we're talking to a brick wall. And who must we turn to anyway? Katy? She doesn't even bother forwarding any messages to the band, like the b i t c h is supposed to. Instead she's poking everyone's eyes out with comments how she's got to hear the new album and others didn't.
There's so much the band could do to make money and still keep everyone happy but I think they have a whole different agenda. Let's face it, their time is done and this might be one of the last albums we will ever hear from them :-(
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Post by Deleted on Jan 31, 2015 4:05:22 GMT -5
And then this members area... What the hell is that? I've been a member for a short time, nothing special going on there...
There's so much they could do... Like Metallica for instance. You can download a copy of the concert off soundboard you been to for 10 bucks. I told them ages ago to do the same.... No reply at all. I told them to give away some free bonus tracks on iTunes when you buy a whole album... no reply at all. Then I mentioned they might do something completely different like Lady Gaga did with an App you can buy containing clips and goodies... no reply either. Or do it like Beyoncé did, with a clip for every song on the album... again nothing.
Duran Duran isn't about exploring new ways to get the message across anymore nor about innovation. They got polluted by the money they made in their hey day (think back on how they produced their "hobby side projects" by staying in fancy hotels day in and out) And when they really have to work for their money like EMI wanted back then and they start whining how everyone rejected the Thank You album as you can hear on Medazzaland.
No... Duran Duran needs a change of heart and start being humble for a change. Work for your money and stop acting like b i t c h e s all the time, and lose the comments they make about their prior albums JOHN TAYLOR!
ANGRY FAN HERE
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Post by juzzab on Jan 31, 2015 8:25:08 GMT -5
I totally understand where this letter is coming from.
John mentioned recently about bootlegging being a problem when playing new songs live but I thinks he's missed the point. You only have to look at Simple Minds who in many ways were in a similar situation, they had reached a point in their career when the record company wouldn't release an album (Our Secrets are the Same - for Duran see Medazzaland) and they were on the verge of quitting. So what did they do? They decided to reconnect with their fans and they toured their asses off and whilst doing so they wrote new songs along the way which they played for the first time to their fans and they honed the songs by playing them live before going into the studio and recording them for the album. The songs Broken Glass Park, Big Music, Blood Diamonds and Let the day begin were all familiar to fans long before the Big Music album was released and rather than deter a fan from buying the new CD they helped build up the anticipation and as a result the fans were invested in the process and the album has been very successful. Prior to this Simple Minds had also done a 5x5 tour where they played 5 songs from each of their first 5 albums and the band said this helped them not only reconnect with fans but their legacy. I'd love to see Duran do a tour like this as theres so much early material that has been neglected at the expense of playing Rio and Planet Earth every time.
Ironically John Taylor has written in the past about bootlegs: "I like coming across things that I've forgotten about. That I've forgotten that we recorded". At the end of the day only a fan would go out seeking a bootleg anyway and as Simple Minds have proved playing new songs helps to whet the appetite.
p.s. still think its a shame that Beautiful Colours was left off the 'Live in London' DVD!
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Post by figital on Jan 31, 2015 11:04:43 GMT -5
>> Hopefully that will all change now with the new management.
what does that mean? did i miss something??
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trevgreg
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Post by trevgreg on Jan 31, 2015 12:02:40 GMT -5
We have seen U2 do this to success repeatedly. They have kept their fans in such high numbers partly because of this tactic. Brilliant rarity releases and alternative mixes. They give their fans something to talk about between official albums, they keep the interest going.As someone who has my foot in both camps, I have to comment on this one. A lot of U2 fans, surprisingly, are not happy with either their own fan club offerings or how it operates. I certainly wasn’t arguing with releases that had rarities or mixes on it that I didn’t own before, but many already had and said that it was a lackluster offering since most of them had been released before. The one that had a pretty good consensus on it was their U22 release where they included one live version of nearly every song they performed live on that tour, as voted by the fans. They then followed that up with a book or two and a CD containing other tracks that didn’t make the original live release. Even then, I’m still surprised that a lot of them complain about the offerings, even though it’s in a tier that is slightly above what DDM’s does (that includes their arguments over set list variation, fyi). You get at least one thing mailed to you each year, whether it’s a CD package or a book/poster variation. And if they’re vinyl release of an early gig coming up as the new one is any indication, that’s not going away anytime soon. In terms of it keeping the interest going for U2 fans, I’m not quite sure that’s the case. People were still frustrated about the time being taken in releasing some new material, and while stuff like that was fun, it wasn’t necessarily a be all, end all when it came to buying a new album or not. As for DD’s fan club, I suppose there is a bit there to be desired. New t-shirts and Katy’s Kafe mp3’s can be fun, but I wouldn’t object to the idea of releasing an old show or different versions of older tracks. I suspect they’re not happy with releasing demos most of the time just because they’re just that… demos. But they have done a few things in the past like releasing that Rome show during Simon’s vocal problems or two remixes off of AYNIN. If they made that a semi-regular thing or had a yearly release of live or officially-sanctioned alternate versions of older material, I’m sure some of this frustration could be alleviated that way. As the writer stated, Reportage is a potential source for this sort of thing and probably one that would kill all the comments otherwise. But the band has pretty much made it clear by this point that completing it isn’t a priority over creating new material. John mentioned recently about bootlegging being a problem when playing new songs live but I thinks he's missed the point. You only have to look at Simple Minds who in many ways were in a similar situation, they had reached a point in their career when the record company wouldn't release an album (Our Secrets are the Same - for Duran see Medazzaland) and they were on the verge of quitting. So what did they do? They decided to reconnect with their fans and they toured their asses off and whilst doing so they wrote new songs along the way which they played for the first time to their fans and they honed the songs by playing them live before going into the studio and recording them for the album. The songs Broken Glass Park, Big Music, Blood Diamonds and Let the day begin were all familiar to fans long before the Big Music album was released and rather than deter a fan from buying the new CD they helped build up the anticipation and as a result the fans were invested in the process and the album has been very successful. The one thing I’ll say about this idea is that Pop Trash had quite a few songs from it played on the Let It Flow tour and before its official release, and the album ultimately sold less copies than any of the preceding albums before that. The band did attempt that to some extent again with Astronaut, and along with the force of the reunion, it's a little hard to predict if it sold more copies solely because they liked the songs live or because the 5 guys were back together. I’m not saying that it couldn’t go another way the second time around, but it’s not exactly a guarantee either that everyone seeing them is going to connect with the songs or buy the album as a result. And the label/promotion situation seems to be part of the reason why they're delaying things at the moment. Maybe I'm in a minority too, but the 'surprise' factor certainly is a thing that I consider a positive in some respects too. I can only speak for myself, but nowadays I try to avoid leaks until an album comes out from someone I'm a big fan of. That's not to say that a leak or occasional song would hinder things, and if you were to go to a live gig before a release where they played new stuff, it couldn't really be avoided then. But I do appreciate opening the CD a bit more and hearing it with fresh ears, rather than thinking "Oh, there's so-and-so" or "why did they mix the guitar too low on this song, it was so much better live." I think there's advantages and disadvantages to both. Some people like hints on what's to come, which is fine. Some people like when bands like the Smashing Pumpkins say what their next two albums will be called months before either is released or completed, which is also fine. But I think the surprise factor is still something that can be fun, even if the wait for new material can get a bit frustrating. And while at it, also from the letter... Also, during live concerts I don’t want to see Duran Duran degenerate any further into the nostalgia act which you have done so well to avoid for many years. There were elements of Duran Duran slowly slipping into a 1980s tribute act to themselves during the last tour. When a fan was invited to sing the opening line of The Reflex. Not good. And again the sharp edge of the band was blunted every time Simon Le Bon declared that Duran Duran was ‘the band that makes you party’.When is audience participation not good? Should we assume that the random male was going to be able to sing the opening line of Read My Lips or something? I won’t get into the set list arguments again right now, but every time Simon yelled that ‘party’ line at the end of a show in 2011-12, it set the audience off like a bomb. DD plays plenty of their serious side during shows and I go to concerts to have a good time, so I don't really see where either of those things were a bad thing.
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Post by poptrash on Jan 31, 2015 12:32:13 GMT -5
>> Hopefully that will all change now with the new management. what does that mean? did i miss something?? Threee? Paul Adams?? Wait... I thought Paul Adams used to work at Left Bank. Not sure if it is said that Threee, where he works now, is representing DD. I could be wrong of course.
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