The End of an Era

That's it--it's over. I thought it was over years ago, but Andy Warhol's death changed everything. After that I thought "well now, NOW it's clearly over." But then again, it reared its ugly head. Third time, I have to say, has to be the charm. The BBC reported today, mere hours ago, that Duran Duran was losing it's guitarist. Surely, this is the moment when D-squared slips back into the nostalgia-filled, fluorescent memory that is 80's pop music. Right? Right?!

I give you the heartfelt words of the band itself, for your own edification:

To Our Fans

We know that there has been a tremendous amount of speculation over the past few weeks regarding Andy Taylor's continued involvement with the band and we are sorry that we've been unable to provide you with more information until now. The past five years have been an incredible journey for us all - and having the original five back together was something that we had wanted to see happen for some time. As of last weekend, however, the four of us have dissolved our partnership and will be continuing as Duran Duran without Andy, as we have reached a point in our relationship with him where there is an unworkable gulf between us and we can no longer effectively function together. Although obviously disappointed and saddened about this, we are excited about the next chapter of the Duran Duran story and look forward to seeing you all soon.

Simon, John, Nick and Roger

It sounds to me like Andy's been a bad boy. Which, given his hair in the 80's, is no big surprise. Here's one of the better pics out there on the web:

Excellent, no?

Look, here's the thing. I loved Duran Duran when I was in junior high. Like deep love. Like panicked when Simon Le Bon got rolled in a yacht during a race. Like drew their logo on my Trapper Keeper during algebra. Like collected facts that mean nothing to a 13 year old (like the name "Duran" comes from the villain in Barbarella. Did ya know that? Did ya? Glad it's still taking up room in the old noggin, pushing out other information like Foucault quotes!)

I'm all for a trip down memory lane vis-a-vis Rio, or even The Chauffeur. Hell, I'll throw out my feminist I.D. card and even give you Girls on Film. But let it go, boys. Let all the hairspray and eyeshadow and aging hipster groupies that are part and parcel of your "incredible journey" go.

Thank you, Andy Taylor, for having some damn sense.