man enough to rock?

I don't know why I thought about this recently. I think it came up when talking to my friend Becky from elementary school, talking about the old days when I started thinking about music I liked when I was younger. Then this theme came to mind.

Remember back in the 1980's, when all the kids where into hair metal and Michael Jackson? Remember that one kid who liked Duran Duran and the New Romantics bands and wasn't afraid of synthesizers or MIDI who seemed odd? That was me. I loved Duran Duran. I've tried to analyze why I had such love for their music, I think it was the hooks. And early to mid 80's Duran Duran was filled with it. They were one of those few bands who, if they had a greatest hits collection, I'd love every song and more than likely, the deep cuts. I remember when I got 2nd place on DB's Delight and got a $10 gift certificate for a local music store, I went and bought "Seven and the Ragged Tiger" an album that was released four years before. Rather unhip consider most of the cool kids were listening to Beastie Boys' "License to Ill", an album to this day I still don't like.

So, this passed without any real thought until around the time I graduated from high school. I think I may have seen a video for "Metal Mickey" or "The Drowners", but when I first heard Suede, I absolutely loved them. A band with a lead singer that played with androgyny not only in his looks but his lyrics ("The Drowners") or sexual deviance ("Pantomime Horse", "Animal Nitrate"). I found it to be a brilliant album and I couldn't tell any of my friends that I loved it. Considering I was living on a military base with oppressive conservative values, saying I liked a British band with such values was a no-no. Also my friends, who were pretty opened minded, would've found the band not as interesting as, say, Rage Against the Machine or Beck.

I can't really think of any bands that I like now that really play on androgyny, although Marilyn Manson has been known to do it from time time. However, Suede and Duran Duran didn't go into full androgyny, but both messed around with the concept, although Suede seemed to do it with much less makeup and more of the way Brett Anderson presented himself.

I just felt the need to get this off my chest. Also, I haven't posted on here since last August. Hopefully this amused you.