Danse Macabre

In which Duran Duran release a danse album.

It’s Halloween 2023 and I’m listening to Danse Macabre, the new Halloween-themed album from Duran Duran. I got a sneak preview last Tuesday at a listening party hosted by Waterloo Records.

Before the listening party, I had been telling Erin about some health problems I had been having. I’m not prone to headaches, but I had been getting a headache every day for five or six days. Other than the headaches, I was not feeling out of the ordinary in any way. I did not have vertigo, nor did I feel dizzy or lightheaded. And yet I was having trouble driving my car smoothly and I was walking into door jambs. Always on my right side. I had also become clumsy, spilling my drinks, dropping my laptop bag, and the like. Though I was secretly concerned that I had suffered a stroke, we agreed that it was probably an ear infection or something caused by my seasonal allergies, which often cause sinus infections in me, and which were scheduled to appear at any moment.

We went to El Caribe for dinner and afterwards, as we walked out to the car, Erin held my arm and with some concern said we didn’t have to go to the listening party, if I didn’t feel up to it — she had seen me exhibiting some of the symptoms I had described to her earlier. She said I wasn’t walking right.

We were already halfway there, so I decided to press on. We went knowing we would find some of the local Duranies we run into on occasion, especially the fabulous ladies from the Cherry Lipstick Smile podcast. Sure enough, they were there and we all got to hear the album in its entirety.

I found Danse Macabre to be a pleasant surprise. It’s not Duran Duran’s best, nor is it meant to be. It’s just bloody good fun and that playfulness shines through. Based on a special Halloween-themed concert they performed in 2022, the album contains reimagined songs from their catalog, covers of songs from other artists, and three new songs, all meant to invoke the spirit of Halloween.

The next morning, I drove to a private ER that was on the way to my office. I assumed I would get some antibiotics, maybe a referral, and then I would be off to work by mid-morning. Instead, they gave me a CT scan and soon after, the doctor came in and told me that I had a traumatic subdural hematoma that was putting pressure on my brain — enough pressure to push my brain off-center.

He said an ambulance was on its way to transport me to a trauma hospital on the other side of town. When I asked if we could stay in North Austin, they said I needed to go to South Austin, because that’s where the best trauma unit was located and a team was waiting for me. Five minutes earlier I was Slacking work and telling them I would be in around noon. Now I was being rushed into brain surgery. Surreal does not begin to describe what was happening to me.

We got to the hospital and within minutes the surgeon walked into my room. She was already in scrubs and ready for the operation. She introduced herself and we had a short and funny conversation about how I would definitely not be flying to Argentina the following Monday. She assured me that only bad things would have happened to me if I had gone on that trip. Then she said that they should not expect to see me at work for at least six weeks. I squeaked in protest and she said, “We’ll see.” And then they rolled me away to the operating room for a literal brain drain.

I woke in a haze from the surgery with two holes and eight staples in my head. I heard kind voices telling me everything had gone well. They moved me to the trauma ICU, where Erin was waiting for me. Once I got settled, I shared the story of my adventures that morning and we let everyone know what had happened. The rest of the day I was on Dilaudid and contraband Cheez-Its. The day after that I was on Tylenol. The day after that I was on nothing. A nurse practitioner that I call Brain Bro took the drain tube out of my head and stapled that hole closed. Nine staples now. The next day I went home.

On the way home, Erin drove me back to Waterloo Records to pick up the new Danse Macabre vinyl, which I have listened to during my recovery. Here are some thoughts I have around the tracks:

• Nightboat – I saw Duran Duran open their show with Nightboat in Austin and Las Vegas this year, so it was no surprise that it rose from the grave like a zombie to open this album. I was never that big a fan of Night Boat, but it’s still a rush of 1980’s New Wave nostalgia and I really like this restrained version of the song.
• Black Moonlight – This new dance track is the banger of the album. Thank you Nile Rogers for another flawless groove. Play that fucking bass, John!
• Love Voudou – I’m sorry, but I never liked Love Voodoo and the reimagined version doesn’t fix that. It’s a skip for me.
• Bury A Friend – Andy Taylor’s guitar drives this cover of Billie Eilish’s excellent song and makes this a winner for me.
• Supernature – While not my favorite, this Cerrone cover is a good choice for this “Halloween party” setlist and slides behind Black Moonlight as the grooviest song on the album.
• Danse Macabre – The first twenty seconds of this song are haunting and beautiful. It sounds like darkness descending. One imagines candlelight and shadow playing off the glistening skin of a beautiful coven in flagrante delicto, a lustful orgy for the pleasure of their cloven-hooved master. And then, Rappin’ Simon™ leaps from the corner like an unwelcome jump scare. I don’t hate this song, but I would welcome a 12″ Night Version or better yet, an instrumental mix. I love you, Simon!
• Secret Oktober 31st – Unsurprisingly, my favorite track on this album is this reimagined version of Secret Oktober, one of my favorite Duran Duran tracks of all time. Only found on the b-side of the 7” single Union of The Snake, Secret Oktober sounded like a demo track, with only Nick’s synthesizer and Simon’s voice meeting for a secret birthday party. The new version has a lush new arrangement that includes a beautiful music box opening and all members of the band playing, including original guitarist Andy Taylor.
• Ghost Town – This cover is not as special as the Specials’ original. Skip.
• Paint It Black – Great song, good choice for the album, and a decent cover. But the band was so preoccupied with whether or not they could cover it, they didn’t stop to think if they should cover it. Simon LeBon has one of the best voices I have ever heard, but it is a very particular kind of voice. Mick Jagger also has a very particular kind of voice. To my ear, never the twain shall they meet. It’s like an opera singer trying to sing a punk song. This is the problem with many of Duran Duran’s covers.
• Super Lonely Freak – Having bloody good fun can go too far and this is where the lads drive their dad’s Porsche 928 into Lake Michigan. This mash-up of the beloved songs Lonely in Your Nightmare and Superfreak, only serves to ruin both songs in one go. Even taken on its own, I did not care for the new version of Lonely. And Superfreak sounds like a 6th Street frat boy cover band on a Tuesday night. Hard skip.
• Spellbound – This cover of the 1981 Siouxsie and the Banshees’ song is one of my favorite tracks on the album. Energetic and appropriate!
• Psycho Killer (feat. Victoria De Angelis) – Technically, this is the best cover on the album. Picture perfect. The band must have felt so as well, because it’s the third single they released from Danse Macabre.
• Confession in the Afterlife – This is a good song, but it sounds like a bonus track from Future Past and tonally doesn’t match-up to the rest of the album.

The band deserves a massive amount of praise for delivering far more treat than trick this Halloween on what must have been a recording and touring schedule that most bands would have found impossible. They delivered a cheeky, fun album in celebration of the most wonderful and spooky season. Where is the deconstructed version of The Chauffeur, the most haunting song in Duran Duran’s catalog? Good question. There are probably many good questions we could pose, but should we? Because of the niche focus and the fact that the album is mostly covers, the band had to know that it wouldn’t be a mainstream hit. So to my mind, this was a treat for the fans and I accept it.

I recently had a check-up and my surgeon says that everything is on track and looking great. I’ll have another check-up in December and if everything looks as good as it did this last time, she says I can go live my life and do whatever I want.

A doctor once posed that in the form of a question to my late father, saying “Jim, how hard we fight this (cancer, among other things) comes down to what you want to do with the rest of your life. What is it that you want to do?”
“I want to do what I want to do,” my dad said.
“And what exactly do you want to do?” asked his doctor.
“Nothing.”

That is a goddamned funny answer and I respect my dad for saying it. If you knew him, it would make perfect sense. Of course he didn’t really mean “nothing.” What he really meant is that he wanted to be left alone to drink coffee and read books. The apple didn’t fall far from the tree and I can relate. But I also want more. A lot more. Like most of the other dances with death I have had (usually by doing stupid things with cars and motorcycles), this event happened so fast that I didn’t have time to be scared. Until later. I look around me and this feels different somehow. The threat is inside me. It’s darker. A bête noire. But I’m still alive and I want more. I peer through the dead of night and I feel my grip on this life tighten.

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