Here's something special for ya...
NEW: Duran Duran, Seven and the Ragged Tiger; Courtney Love, America's Sweetheart; The Go-Go's, Beauty and the Beat
Seven and the Ragged Tiger pales next to Duran Duran's first two efforts, but the style and glitz of singles like "The Reflex" make this album necessary for anyone who's had the insistent beat of Simon Lebon stuck in their head all day long. The album finds Duran Duran switching gears slightly, cranking up the synthesized aspects of the music, turning down the arty songwriting, and adding a heaping helping of danceclub culture for good measure. What results is not always as engaging as their previous work, but that hardly matters when you've got the stereo set to "10" during your annual 80s blowout party. Trust me, no one will care that "Union of the Snake" doesn't sound as driving or as forceful as "Hungry Like the Wolf" -- they'll just have another beer and get on with it. As should I!
America's Sweetheart, much to my surprise, isn't as bad as all the reviews say it is. Sure, Courtney's voice sounds a little ragged, but this hardly matters since the raggedness seems to be part of her trashy junkie-cum-celebrity persona. It's all part of the package, people! What really matters is the music and Ms. Love delivers the goods on that front without flinching for one instant. This may not be a masterpiece, and it may be more than just a little self-obsessed, but for anyone who's a fan of Courtney Love in all her sad and pathetic glory, you know that these things are not flaws, but assets. The more she spins a self-myth, the more we want her to succeed at becoming her own myth. Here's to hoping that Courtney can bring it all together again for something even more spectacular next time! Highlights: "Mono", "But Julian, I'm a Little Bit Older Than You", and "Never Gonna Be the Same".
The Go-Go's new wave reinventions of surf rock and girl group conventions made them the first successfully commercial all-female group that wasn't contolled by record companies or their producers. Listening to the album, it's easy to see why they were so hugely successful. "Our Lips Are Sealed" and "We Got the Beat" are ubiquitous fan favorites and the rest of the album is similarly hook-filled and upbeat. Even though the Go-Go's ironed out most of the punk influences from their sound before recording Beauty and the Beat, the attitude and swagger that these women radiated so effortlessly belied their origins to anyone who was paying close attention. That combination of punk attitude and pop smarts vaulted the group is number two on the singles charts (with "We Got the Beat") for three weeks and made Beauty and the Beat a cornerstone of new wave rock.
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And so another day is done...
12:47:22 PM 
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