Pop Trash
click the image to get it in cd-cover size
| Release Date: |
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| Label: |
Hollywood Records |
| Rating: |
4.5 |
Description: Imagine how startling it must be for Simon LeBon and Nick Rhodes to realize that the older sector of once devoted, poster-kissing Duranies have aged enough to be soccer moms. The last two remaining members of the '80s superband hit and often missed throughout the '90s, but with
Pop Trash, grown-up fans will find a reinvigorating pop album that strikes a nearly perfect balance between hip factor and maturity. The band backpedals from the overtaxing techno of the 1997 sleeper release
Medazzaland, but retains a few well-chosen synth overlays and combines them successfully with the oceanic balladry from 1993's
The Wedding Album. "Someone Else Not Me" and "Pop Trash Movie" reclaim the beautiful soundscapes of
The Wedding Album's "Ordinary World," while the heavier tracks work diet industrial ("Mars Meets Venus") and heavy-metal riffs with weird time signatures ("Last Day on Earth") into proper Duran Duran bombast. There are moments when the band overruns the age-appropriate mark: "Lady Xanax," an ode to the anxiety-relieving medication, symbolizes a tempering of their fast and furious lifestyle, but then again, who has time for street drugs when you have to get the kids home in time for dinner?
--Beth Massa
Tracklist of Pop Trash
Reviews:
A Damn Good Piece of Work!!!
This is to Astronaut as Revolver was to Sgt.Pepper. A real sleeper that grows deeper w/ every listening; yes, DD can be deep & it's on this CD. I bought it on the buzz from Astrnt & found a better collection of songs w/ more flow between tracks. And it's darker tone reveals a not-so-flattering reality, after all it's about Pop Trash & to an extent, maybe their state of mind during this project. And another thing, this ain't DD. It's Warren Cuccurllo & the 2 guys from Duran Duran.
I was skeptical but...
This album proved to be a terrific buy. It is full of beautiful songs such as "Someone Else Not Me", "Starting to Remember", "Pop Trash Movie" which was written for Blondie but the band couldn't go through with it, "Kiss Goodbye" which seques into "Last Day On Earth". "Starting to Remember" is one of Duran Duran's best songs ever, as far as I'm concerned. The lyrics were written by Nick but they have a little bit of Simon in them, like "How to begin, do I shed a skin" and "Open up the door, let demons walk". I also like the songs "Hallucinating Elvis" and "Mars Meets Venus". The lyrics are interesting but they are mostly written by Nick, which is not a bad thing. I just am used to Simon's lyrics. It doesn't feel like Duran Duran with the knowledge that Simon took a back seat with the writing for this album. And that's the reason I don't listen to it as much as my other Duran Duran albums.
Love my boys
Anyone expecting Rio and Hungry Like the Wolf may not be hyped up by this CD, but it is one of my favorites. I have the CD and the tape (for my car which does not have a CD player). I drove from North Carolina to Virginia and listened to this one until my tape player overheated. I saw the boys three times in concert while they promoted this album and they were super! And my friend and I were on the front for one of the shows. Simon has got it all and was rockin'. I love "Playing With Uranium" (my favorite) and "Last Day on Earth" but the whole thing is a gem. I have heard "Hungry Like the Wolf" until I can't take it anymore, and would gladly trade hearing that to "Playing With Uranium". I've been with the guys since the beginning (saw them live in 1984) and I do love John, Andy and Roger, but this one is great, even though those three are missing. Sad that this one will get lost in the shuffle as time goes on.
