For the month of October, I’m selecting a song each day from the decade that has the most meaning to me: the 80s. It was the decade that I grew up in. The period of time where I discovered my love for music — and explored many different genres. For the next 31 days, I’ll highlight a handful of songs that I truly loved and that were representative of the decade. #31DaysOf80sSongs
Duran Duran had to live with the pretty boy image for far too long. That image has prevented many critics and music listeners from taking them more seriously and appreciating what they have to offer. But that original lineup was something. Simon Le Bon is a vastly underrated singer and songwriter. John Taylor practically invented his own rhythmic, often frenetic stylings on bass that could be heard decades later in Carlos D’s muscular bass lines with Interpol. And Nick Rhodes, Andy Taylor and Roger Taylor are talented musicians and arrangers in their own right. It all came together — and they all shined — on one of my favorite Duran Duran anthems growing up: “Union of the Snake”.
I still remember seeing the video on MTV and being reeled in by the images and the music. Every band member had his moment to shine on the track, yet none of the instrumentation feels excessive. The breakdown and musical arrangement at the 2:16 mark, in particular, is one of Duran Duran’s finest studio moments and one of the most imaginative musical expressions of the decade. On it, you’ll hear each member playing off of each other in a call-and-response structure, culminating in a sax solo by session player Andy Hamilton. While all the band members seemed to create a unified sonic boom on anthems like “Rio” and “The Reflex”, “Union of the Snake” marched to a different beat by thrusting each member into the spotlight at different points in time.
“There's a fine line drawing my senses together, and I think it's about to break.”