Only Five To Blame

May 7, 2023 2:16 PM

I don't know who exactly is going to watch all three hours of this, aside from me. Duran Duran: Only Five To Blame is a pop culture time capsule of a single band's career. A non-narrative documentary told entirely through popular media appearances, this is the chronicle of a band in their infancy, through into meteoric fame, across breakups and reformations, and finally into the literal present, ending on New Years Eve 2023. It's an astonishing chronological collage demonstrating the enduring capacity of a collection of art school lads from Birmingham and the power of massive egos to keep rock alive in the 2020s.

This bills itself as part 3 of a longer documentary, but honestly, this one is where the gold is at if you want a career tracing, mind bending retrospective of nearly 45 years of music making.

posted by hippybear (26 comments total)

I don't know who exactly is going to watch all three hours of this

ME. I WILL WATCH IT.

Thanks for this.
posted by cooker girl at 2:20 PM on May 7, 2023 [11 favorites]

I don't know who exactly is going to watch all three hours of this

Me. Because my wife will make me.
posted by Keith Talent at 2:21 PM on May 7, 2023 [4 favorites]

Me ofc
posted by toodleydoodley at 3:28 PM on May 7, 2023 [1 favorite]

Me because I can never get enough of the Fab Five. Curious how this ranks against other recent documentaries.
posted by inthe80s at 3:28 PM on May 7, 2023

I sold the Renoir and TV set
Don't wanna be around when this gets out

I have a nostalgic soft spot for Duran Duran. I hated them at the time, it was de rigueur, but now?

Bring it.

(they covered Grandmaster Melle Mel's "White Lines (Don't Do It)" when they played at Rock in Rio Lisbon last year. It was ridiculous, in a nice way)
posted by chavenet at 3:44 PM on May 7, 2023 [1 favorite]

Curious how this ranks against other recent documentaries.

It can see into the future, which has to be an advantage.

New Years Eve 2023
posted by biffa at 4:11 PM on May 7, 2023 [6 favorites]

I read the first sentence and knew this was a hippybear post!
posted by supermedusa at 4:17 PM on May 7, 2023 [5 favorites]

I was a teenager during their run in the 80s so their 2-3 singles per year were a pleasant addition to the soundtrack of the times.

Summer of '85 was my gap before starting college so "A View To A Kill" certainly added to the general good feelings of that summer, like I suppose "Live and Let Die" did for people of the previous generation.

Like most of the superbands in my CD collection, as they petered out toward the end of their career they put out a single – "Ordinary World" in their case – that seemed to eclipse the combined quality of all that they'd recorded before.
posted by Heywood Mogroot III at 4:47 PM on May 7, 2023 [4 favorites]

"the power of massive egos to keep rock alive in the 2020s"

This statement made me feel old. (Of course I am old, but I didn't feel it until I read this).

I didn't realize that rock wouldn't even be alive today if it were not for some behind the scenes hard work of massive egos
posted by eye of newt at 5:32 PM on May 7, 2023

I will finally see them this summer after, what, thirty-five years of fandom?

This will make an excellent prep session. Thank you, OP.
posted by Capt. Renault at 5:38 PM on May 7, 2023 [1 favorite]

Me me me me me! I am so glad that you posted this!
posted by rednikki at 5:47 PM on May 7, 2023

The other day my best friend texted, "Bop, bop, bop, bop, bop, bop, bop, bop" and I knew exactly what she meant.
posted by JanetLand at 6:33 PM on May 7, 2023 [4 favorites]

Heywood Mogroot III: Like most of the superbands in my CD collection, as they petered out toward the end of their career they put out a single – "Ordinary World" in their case – that seemed to eclipse the combined quality of all that they'd recorded before.

While I’m a big fan of early Duran Duran, if I had to pick their best song I’d probably either opt for Planet Earth (Night Version) or the live recording of The Chauffeur as their peak, I agree that Ordinary World and Come Undone from the Wedding Album are both incredible songs. As far as spurs for pop career revivals go, there can’t be more unlikely choices than a body building former Frank Zappa backing guitarist, but Warren Cuccurello turned out to fit perfectly into the band dynamic. There’s just no way they’d have had top ten hits in the middle of the grunge era if not for his somewhat oddball sensibilities.
posted by Kattullus at 12:02 AM on May 8, 2023 [2 favorites]

Both of those links go to Planet Earth, here's one for The Chauffeur live (there are a bunch on YT)
posted by chavenet at 1:10 AM on May 8, 2023 [1 favorite]

Thanks, chavenet!

This is the version I meant, off Arena.
posted by Kattullus at 1:25 AM on May 8, 2023 [1 favorite]

Contemporary reviews of Rio:
The Guardian: "melodic, disposable pop to a best-selling formula...the lyrics are best ignored... why do bands with no lyrical skill insist on printing their ghastly efforts inside record sleeves?"
Record Mirror: "thoroughly competent and yet bereft of the soul, passion and wit that makes a great record"
NME: "a sweet, lumpy pudding of a noise...what they've done is spin out the formula, quite efficiently...in its own blandly unambitious way, I guess, it's a perfect record. In other ways, it's boring as hell."

Duran Duran have certainly earned the right to talk about the sniffy reviews they received from cloth eared dudes the "serious pop music press" with a little pride.
posted by rongorongo at 1:35 AM on May 8, 2023 [4 favorites]

This is so much fun! I made it about an hour and a half in and had to stop because it was so disjointed and almost repetitive (how many variations on interviews asking the same questions can there be?) And maybe also because as it got further in they started playing more of my less-favorite songs. I’ll probably dive back in, though. But what a time capsule!

There was definitely a feeling at the time (especially depending on what music you follows) that you weren’t supposed to like them. So there was always a sense of guilty pleasure when their videos came on. But how could you not fall for them?

Cherry ice cream smile…
posted by Mchelly at 4:58 AM on May 8, 2023

The original video for The Chauffer - featured in the background of the live performance above - fully deserves its own shot-by-shot review on Duranalysis. Non UK viewiers and those not around in the era, should be aware that video was not going to show up on Mike Read's Saturday Superstore or Top of The Pops. To recreate it you will needs an Austin Princess Venderplas imousine like this - with our without champagne glasses and ball-bearings. 2011's Girl Panic! video - featuring... whatever Cindy Crawford got up to in the Savoy Hotel - is a kind of update.
posted by rongorongo at 5:13 AM on May 8, 2023 [2 favorites]

I saw them in 1983 when they played at the Sports & Entertainment Centre in Melbourne. My friend's father took us as we were too young to go alone; we all had a blast but he spent the entire concert quietly freaking out that the bleachers were going to collapse from the weight of so many hysterical teenagers!
posted by mydonkeybenjamin at 5:39 AM on May 8, 2023 [1 favorite]

Trivia: Neil Gaiman's first book was Duran Duran: The First Four Years Of The Fab Five (1984)
posted by cheshyre at 7:37 AM on May 8, 2023 [6 favorites]

I love them, but their Austin City Limits performance (from last year maybe?) seemed pretty tired and dare it I say it - boring. I think they have earned some retirement time.
posted by The_Vegetables at 7:55 AM on May 8, 2023

I do not know WHEN I will have time to watch this, but you better believe I will figure something out.
posted by Lyn Never at 8:41 AM on May 8, 2023 [2 favorites]

I love them, but their Austin City Limits performance (from last year maybe?) seemed pretty tired and dare it I say it - boring. I think they have earned some retirement time.

Interesting as I had the opposite impression. I thought Simon's voice was sounding great and the sound was really strong overall, e.g. here.

They don't move in the same way they used to but then they're all in their 60s now ... !
posted by mydonkeybenjamin at 5:28 PM on May 8, 2023

Haven't had time to watch the documentary yet so I don't know if this clip is in there or not ... but if you're a John, Nick or Roger fan and want to see something that will make you smile, take a look at this (short 1983 clip from Countdown Australia).
posted by mydonkeybenjamin at 5:40 PM on May 8, 2023

"Interesting as I had the opposite impression. I thought Simon's voice was sounding great and the sound was really strong overall"

Same here. I thought the Austin City Limits performance was fantastic.
posted by jonathanhughes at 7:16 PM on May 8, 2023 [1 favorite]

Traveling to attend both shows at Red Rocks in August. Very excited.
posted by fluffy battle kitten at 6:16 AM on May 11, 2023