Bil Sabab Power Hour: Duran Duran - Violence of Summer

"Violence of Summer" is a song by british pop group Duran Duran. It was released in 1990 on their sixth album titled "Liberty". It is a bit of a dark horse in Duran Duran catalogue. The song got lost in the shuffle because it turned up in the wrong time and yet it is one of the most affecting songs in the bands body of work. There is this careless "whatever" feel that drives the song. It just doesn't care about anyone's opinion and rolls and rolls and rolls.

Sonically it is rather sophisticated heady mix. You can hear a lot of diverse influences mashed together seamlessly. First and foremost it is 60's bubblegum pop. The song starts off with stupefying piano intro before kicking into the main part which adds healthy dose of 80's New Romantic New Wave groove. The best way to describe it is snappy. High-pitched organ breaks are timeless - they stick in your head for a long time after listening to the song. Vocal melody is surprisingly distinct and memorable - to the point it doesn't matter what the words are doing there.

Which is interesting because lyrically "Violence of Summer" is beyond comprehension. Simon Le Bon is the master of delivering exquisite word salad that sounds just right in the song but evaporates upon further inspection outside of it. That's a skill you want to master. It is not that lyrics actually don't make any sense. They make, sort of - it is a song about a girl, whose edgy and cool and hangs out with bad boys and a pretty boy whose all nice and clean and just hangs around. They seem incompatible but a chance meeting at the party turns everything upside down inside out and backwards. And then they run away because "love's taking over".

It is typical teenage pop song. But somehow it just jumps out of it into something more subversive and abstract.

"Violence of Summer" was a lead single from an album that nothing to offer. "Liberty" was advertised as a throwback to classic sound after a couple of albums that experimented with new sounds and genres. Unfortunately it wasn't up the snuff for the most part. But "Violence of Summer" was top-notch. It is fair to say that it is the best song off the album. The problem is that there is not much competition. But it holds up pretty well compared to the hits.