The Man Who Stole A Leopard
June 2, 2017 4:28 AM Subscribe
From Duran Duran's 2010 album comes what may possibly be one of the best art-pop-rock songs of all time, The Man Who Stole A Leopard [lyrics]. Apparently inspired by the title of a 1963 Italian film, the song features vocals by Kelis and a string quartet and a very dark and well-executed personal story of obsession.
Often cross-referenced with The Chauffeur, but not for musical similarity.
Often cross-referenced with The Chauffeur, but not for musical similarity.
I was an absolute Durannie as a teenager, but I think the last record I bought by them was 1995's Thank You. Clearly I've been missing out. Somehow Simon became a better singer, even. The opening reminds me very much of some of the stuff that came out of the Arcadia project that Simon, Roger, and Nick did after Duran Duran split up, most of which was very dreamy and experimental. Thanks for this!
posted by xyzzy at 5:20 AM on June 2, 2017
posted by xyzzy at 5:20 AM on June 2, 2017
As someone who was a huge Duran Duran fan, but was so disappointed with Notorious that I stopped listening to them altogether, I was really impressed with this. Just in the first few seconds I was like, "Oh yeah, the flange is back!", one of the characteristics of their first self-titled album that I thoroughly enjoyed. The song is clearly mostly if not entirely the brainchild of Rhodes, probably one of the most underrated synth composers of all time.
I chuckled to myself listening to Le Bon's ageless voice, as his penchant for lyrics has finally approached something like a coherent narrative, which is also kinda sad, because one of my favorite things about Duran Duran is that their lyrics almost never made any sense.
Also seconding hearing shades of Arcadia there, although not as dark as they were, but as another mostly Rhodes-driven vehicle the similarities are bound to be there.
Well, now it looks like I'm buying a new Duran Duran album again.
posted by Aya Hirano on the Astral Plane at 5:55 AM on June 2, 2017 [1 favorite]
I chuckled to myself listening to Le Bon's ageless voice, as his penchant for lyrics has finally approached something like a coherent narrative, which is also kinda sad, because one of my favorite things about Duran Duran is that their lyrics almost never made any sense.
Also seconding hearing shades of Arcadia there, although not as dark as they were, but as another mostly Rhodes-driven vehicle the similarities are bound to be there.
Well, now it looks like I'm buying a new Duran Duran album again.
posted by Aya Hirano on the Astral Plane at 5:55 AM on June 2, 2017 [1 favorite]
The 80's. No matter how much we kill it, it keeps coming back.
posted by jonmc at 6:10 AM on June 2, 2017
posted by jonmc at 6:10 AM on June 2, 2017
The 80's. No matter how much we kill it, it keeps coming back.
Probably there's a Brit-Pop revival coming pretty soon. But will you be happy then? No, I think not.
posted by thelonius at 6:21 AM on June 2, 2017 [1 favorite]
Probably there's a Brit-Pop revival coming pretty soon. But will you be happy then? No, I think not.
posted by thelonius at 6:21 AM on June 2, 2017 [1 favorite]
Often cross-referenced with The Chauffeur, but not for musical similarity.
Oh I'd totally cross-reference The Chauffeur here on theme. All You Need is Now was produced by Mark Ronson, who's become a savant at making new albums sound like old classic ones.
Ronson noted that he was a very strong Duran Duran fan, and it shows in his work here. This album pretty much matches the style of Rio on a significant number of tracks, not just on "Leopard".
posted by JoeZydeco at 7:19 AM on June 2, 2017
Oh I'd totally cross-reference The Chauffeur here on theme. All You Need is Now was produced by Mark Ronson, who's become a savant at making new albums sound like old classic ones.
Ronson noted that he was a very strong Duran Duran fan, and it shows in his work here. This album pretty much matches the style of Rio on a significant number of tracks, not just on "Leopard".
posted by JoeZydeco at 7:19 AM on June 2, 2017
Excellent track, thanks for the reminder! When it came out (and I had it on obsessive repeat) I had read a different backstory:
About the title | Answering questions on Mark Ronson's East Village Radio show [10 December 2010], Nick said that when the band put working titles on songs, they prefer not use something that will stick, because they don’t want the name to influence the unwritten lyrics. However, "The Man Who Stole A Leopard" was the working title. They happened to be talking about the latest version of the Apple OS when someone asked, have you installed Leopard? Not hearing correctly, another person asked, "Somebody stole a leopard?" and they decided that was a great name for a song.
I haven't listened to the radio show to confirm that's what was said, though.
For some reason the news report at the end always calls to mind for me the dogs barking and general mayhem sounds in the also-excellent Pet Shop Boys' Suburbia.
posted by mireille at 7:44 AM on June 2, 2017
About the title | Answering questions on Mark Ronson's East Village Radio show [10 December 2010], Nick said that when the band put working titles on songs, they prefer not use something that will stick, because they don’t want the name to influence the unwritten lyrics. However, "The Man Who Stole A Leopard" was the working title. They happened to be talking about the latest version of the Apple OS when someone asked, have you installed Leopard? Not hearing correctly, another person asked, "Somebody stole a leopard?" and they decided that was a great name for a song.
I haven't listened to the radio show to confirm that's what was said, though.
For some reason the news report at the end always calls to mind for me the dogs barking and general mayhem sounds in the also-excellent Pet Shop Boys' Suburbia.
posted by mireille at 7:44 AM on June 2, 2017
Both Pet Shop Boys and OMD are in the same boat as Durran Durran, producing new stuff that's admittedly uneven but still has the old spark - literally figuratively so with the former's Electric and the latter's English Electric, both of which I really enjoyed. More so than, say, Gary Numan's current career - I'm happy he's still out there and hoofing the stage, but that brand of industrial metal doesn't do much for me.
(I met OMD at a Bletchley Park open day, when they were setting up for a concert in the evening and I was bumbling about in the collection with someone who was also most active in electronics in the 80s, albeit in Bulgarian trade missions hem-hem. They were having a wander through the backrooms too, I walked around a Cray and boom - there they were. I went from jaundiced old hack to squeeing fanboy in microseconds. It was wonderfully embarrassing.)
posted by Devonian at 8:13 AM on June 2, 2017 [4 favorites]
(I met OMD at a Bletchley Park open day, when they were setting up for a concert in the evening and I was bumbling about in the collection with someone who was also most active in electronics in the 80s, albeit in Bulgarian trade missions hem-hem. They were having a wander through the backrooms too, I walked around a Cray and boom - there they were. I went from jaundiced old hack to squeeing fanboy in microseconds. It was wonderfully embarrassing.)
posted by Devonian at 8:13 AM on June 2, 2017 [4 favorites]
I don't care how good this is, it doesn't make up for their cringe-worthy Public Enemy cover.
posted by lumpenprole at 8:57 AM on June 2, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by lumpenprole at 8:57 AM on June 2, 2017 [1 favorite]
Yeah, they're never living that down. But as raised by Jack Black's character in High Fidelity: "Is it in fact unfair to criticize a formerly great artist for his latter day sins?" Depends on the severity of the sin, I guess, and them covering not just 911 Is A Joke but also White Lines (!!!) is understandably hard for people to forgive. FWIW, when I saw them in concert in 2005, they played no covers and put on a helluva performance.
posted by Aya Hirano on the Astral Plane at 9:10 AM on June 2, 2017
posted by Aya Hirano on the Astral Plane at 9:10 AM on June 2, 2017
Definitely hearing Arcadia in this track and enjoying it a lot more than I expected.
posted by KingEdRa at 12:05 PM on June 2, 2017
posted by KingEdRa at 12:05 PM on June 2, 2017
I've known and loved this song since immlass but it on a CD as one of the last, late, lamented Metafilter Swaps. Among other things I've always loved is the way the newscaster pronounces "controversy." I don't think I knew until then that the English pronounce it differently than Americans do.
Derail: can we start doing the swaps again?
posted by pasici at 5:26 AM on June 3, 2017
Derail: can we start doing the swaps again?
posted by pasici at 5:26 AM on June 3, 2017
Thank you for this!! I've never stopped listening to them, and their recent work is always half great/half disappointing.
In my opinion, the song Paper Gods is one of their best in years.
posted by greermahoney at 1:33 PM on June 3, 2017
In my opinion, the song Paper Gods is one of their best in years.
posted by greermahoney at 1:33 PM on June 3, 2017
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posted by michaelh at 5:15 AM on June 2, 2017