Pop Trash
Encyclopedia
"Last Day on Earth" directs here. For the 2009 song by Kate Miller-Heidke, see The Last Day on Earth
Released in 2000, Pop Trash is Duran Duran
's tenth album. The album marked their first release not under Capitol Records
/EMI
, with whom they'd been signed since 1981. It was also the last to feature the trio of Simon Le Bon
, Nick Rhodes
and Warren Cuccurullo
. The CD album went out of print in 2001.
The album artwork features a rhinestone
-encrusted car which belonged to Liberace
.
Since July 2008, the album is available for sale digitally through the iTunes Store
in the US and Europe, along with Medazzaland
.
, a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company
. Vocalist and lyricist Le Bon, increasingly unhappy with the band's situation and the departure of bassist John Taylor
, was suffering from a severe case of writer's block
during the making of this album. In his stead, keyboard player Rhodes and guitarist Cuccurullo took on more of the songwriting than usual, reworking some of their TV Mania
material into some of the songs on the album.
Pop Trash continues where Medazzaland
(1997) left off; elements of rock, synthpop and electronica fused together, with many layers of production. The album is probably one of Duran Duran's most diverse, with songs like "Lava Lamp" including flanged drums and intricate guitars, the catty "Mars Meets Venus" and bizarre "Hallucinating Elvis" full of manufactured bounce, while gentle pop ballad
"Someone Else, Not Me" featured few effects at all. Heavy guitar pieces like "Last Day on Earth" and "Playing With Uranium" are juxtaposed with softer songs filled with delicate melancholy, like "Lady Xanax" and "The Sun Doesn't Shine Forever".
This album was poorly promoted and did not sell well, although the supporting concert tour sold out at almost all venues, including a week-long stint at the House of Blues
in Los Angeles. In March 2001, the band announced they had parted ways with Hollywood Records
; Nick Rhodes said "Never was there a place that felt less like a record company: Seven giant dwarves hold up the building. You're listening to these people, and finally I had to say, 'How funny that your corporate logo is a large pair of ears, yet not one of you in here happens to have any.' "
Nick Rhodes later said that Pop Trash was the most difficult album for the band to make: "Things felt very different without John, although he departed during Medazzaland
, he had been part of the initial writing sessions and played on several tracks of that album. Our writing process became very different for Pop Trash, also Simon was having difficulty with some of the lyrics at this time, so I ended up writing more of them than I would have anticipated. We had a new label, Hollywood Records, which proved to be, at best, exasperating. As we did not use a producer either, it resulted in Simon, Warren and I having to focus all of our ideas whilst not having a clear vision of what we were trying to achieve with the album. Given that background, we actually think the record turned out well and closed that era."
At the conclusion of the supporting tour for this album, Cuccurullo was dismissed, and the band reunited with its original five members. Duran Duran went without a record deal for a couple of years, while recording their next album and doing extensive touring. They finally signed with Epic Records
, and released Astronaut in 2004, with greater success due to the reunion and promotion.
This Cd was available in México, via Sum Records-Hollywod Records, Bar code 6 10535 65452 6.
said:
Stacia Proefrock of Allmusic said:
Ultimately, the album would become the band's lowest-selling album, and their last until 2004's Astronaut.
. Le Bon also recorded versions of this song in Spanish
("Alguien Que No Soy Yo") and French
("Un Autre Que Moi"). The music video
for the single was the first to be created entirely in Macromedia Flash digital animation.
The song "Playing With Uranium" was supposed to be released as a single in Italy only, but was available only as a radio promo.
The song "Last Day On Earth" was released in Japan; it was also played during the opening of the Universal Studios Japan
theme park in Osaka
.
Bonus tracks on various international releases:
The Last Day on Earth
"The Last Day On Earth" is the 3rd single released from Australian singer Kate Miller-Heidke's second album, Curiouser, and is Miller-Heidke's first platinum-selling single...
Released in 2000, Pop Trash is Duran Duran
Duran Duran
Duran Duran are an English band, formed in Birmingham in 1978. They were one of the most successful bands of the 1980s and a leading band in the MTV-driven "Second British Invasion" of the United States...
's tenth album. The album marked their first release not under Capitol Records
Capitol Records
Capitol Records is a major United States based record label, formerly located in Los Angeles, but operating in New York City as part of Capitol Music Group. Its former headquarters building, the Capitol Tower, is a major landmark near the corner of Hollywood and Vine...
/EMI
EMI
The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
, with whom they'd been signed since 1981. It was also the last to feature the trio of Simon Le Bon
Simon Le Bon
Simon John Charles Le Bon is an English musician, best known as the lead singer, lyricist and musician of the band Duran Duran and its offshoot, Arcadia.-Early life:...
, Nick Rhodes
Nick Rhodes
Nick Rhodes is an English musician, is best known as the keyboardist of the pop rock band Duran Duran...
and Warren Cuccurullo
Warren Cuccurullo
Warren Bruce Cuccurullo in Brooklyn, New York is an American rock musician who worked with Frank Zappa, was a founding member of Missing Persons, and has been a long term member of Duran Duran. He also has some notoriety in the porn industry after making nude appearances in a magazine and...
. The CD album went out of print in 2001.
The album artwork features a rhinestone
Rhinestone
A rhinestone or paste or diamante is a diamond simulant made from rock crystal, glass or acrylic.Originally, rhinestones were rock crystals gathered from the river Rhine. The availability was greatly increased around 1775 when the Alsatian jeweller Georg Friedrich Strass had the idea to imitate...
-encrusted car which belonged to Liberace
Liberace
Wladziu Valentino Liberace , best known simply as Liberace, was a famous American pianist and vocalist.In a career that spanned four decades of concerts, recordings, motion pictures, television and endorsements, Liberace became world-renowned...
.
Since July 2008, the album is available for sale digitally through the iTunes Store
ITunes Store
The iTunes Store is a software-based online digital media store operated by Apple. Opening as the iTunes Music Store on April 28, 2003, with over 200,000 items to purchase, it is, as of April 2008, the number-one music vendor in the United States...
in the US and Europe, along with Medazzaland
Medazzaland
Medazzaland is the ninth album by British pop rock group Duran Duran. It was released by Capitol Records on in the U.S., where it reached #58 on the Billboard album chart. It was never officially released in Europe....
.
History
The band left Capitol in 1998 and signed with Hollywood RecordsHollywood Records
Hollywood Records is an American record label owned by Disney Music Group, a subsidiary of the Walt Disney Company.-History:Hollywood Records was founded in 1989 by then-Disney CEO Michael Eisner with the idea of expanding the music operations of the company and to develop and promote...
, a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company is the largest media conglomerate in the world in terms of revenue. Founded on October 16, 1923, by Walt and Roy Disney as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, Walt Disney Productions established itself as a leader in the American animation industry before diversifying into...
. Vocalist and lyricist Le Bon, increasingly unhappy with the band's situation and the departure of bassist John Taylor
Nigel John Taylor
John Taylor is an English musician who is best known as the bass guitarist and co-founder of pop rock band Duran Duran....
, was suffering from a severe case of writer's block
Writer's block
Writer's block is a condition, primarily associated with writing as a profession, in which an author loses the ability to produce new work. The condition varies widely in intensity. It can be trivial, a temporary difficulty in dealing with the task at hand. At the other extreme, some "blocked"...
during the making of this album. In his stead, keyboard player Rhodes and guitarist Cuccurullo took on more of the songwriting than usual, reworking some of their TV Mania
TV Mania
TV Mania was an electronic band founded in 1995 that consisted of keyboardist Nick Rhodes and guitarist Warren Cuccurullo, both of Duran Duran and producer/multi-instrumentalist Anthony J. Resta...
material into some of the songs on the album.
Pop Trash continues where Medazzaland
Medazzaland
Medazzaland is the ninth album by British pop rock group Duran Duran. It was released by Capitol Records on in the U.S., where it reached #58 on the Billboard album chart. It was never officially released in Europe....
(1997) left off; elements of rock, synthpop and electronica fused together, with many layers of production. The album is probably one of Duran Duran's most diverse, with songs like "Lava Lamp" including flanged drums and intricate guitars, the catty "Mars Meets Venus" and bizarre "Hallucinating Elvis" full of manufactured bounce, while gentle pop ballad
Ballad
A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of British and Irish popular poetry and song from the later medieval period until the 19th century and used extensively across Europe and later the Americas, Australia and North Africa. Many...
"Someone Else, Not Me" featured few effects at all. Heavy guitar pieces like "Last Day on Earth" and "Playing With Uranium" are juxtaposed with softer songs filled with delicate melancholy, like "Lady Xanax" and "The Sun Doesn't Shine Forever".
This album was poorly promoted and did not sell well, although the supporting concert tour sold out at almost all venues, including a week-long stint at the House of Blues
House of Blues
House of Blues is a chain of 13 live music concert halls and restaurants in major markets throughout the United States. House of Blues first location was in Cambridge's Harvard Square. It was opened in 1992 by Isaac Tigrett, co-founder of Hard Rock Cafe, and Dan Aykroyd, star of The Blues Brothers...
in Los Angeles. In March 2001, the band announced they had parted ways with Hollywood Records
Hollywood Records
Hollywood Records is an American record label owned by Disney Music Group, a subsidiary of the Walt Disney Company.-History:Hollywood Records was founded in 1989 by then-Disney CEO Michael Eisner with the idea of expanding the music operations of the company and to develop and promote...
; Nick Rhodes said "Never was there a place that felt less like a record company: Seven giant dwarves hold up the building. You're listening to these people, and finally I had to say, 'How funny that your corporate logo is a large pair of ears, yet not one of you in here happens to have any.' "
Nick Rhodes later said that Pop Trash was the most difficult album for the band to make: "Things felt very different without John, although he departed during Medazzaland
Medazzaland
Medazzaland is the ninth album by British pop rock group Duran Duran. It was released by Capitol Records on in the U.S., where it reached #58 on the Billboard album chart. It was never officially released in Europe....
, he had been part of the initial writing sessions and played on several tracks of that album. Our writing process became very different for Pop Trash, also Simon was having difficulty with some of the lyrics at this time, so I ended up writing more of them than I would have anticipated. We had a new label, Hollywood Records, which proved to be, at best, exasperating. As we did not use a producer either, it resulted in Simon, Warren and I having to focus all of our ideas whilst not having a clear vision of what we were trying to achieve with the album. Given that background, we actually think the record turned out well and closed that era."
At the conclusion of the supporting tour for this album, Cuccurullo was dismissed, and the band reunited with its original five members. Duran Duran went without a record deal for a couple of years, while recording their next album and doing extensive touring. They finally signed with Epic Records
Epic Records
Epic Records is an American record label, owned by Sony Music Entertainment. Though it was originally conceived as a jazz imprint, it has since expanded to represent various genres. L.A...
, and released Astronaut in 2004, with greater success due to the reunion and promotion.
This Cd was available in México, via Sum Records-Hollywod Records, Bar code 6 10535 65452 6.
Critical reception
Critics were generally unexcited by the album. Rob Sheffield of Rolling StoneRolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
said:
Stacia Proefrock of Allmusic said:
Ultimately, the album would become the band's lowest-selling album, and their last until 2004's Astronaut.
Singles
The lead single "Someone Else Not Me" peaked only at #53 in the UK, and didn't chart at all in United States. However it made the top 10 in LatviaLatvia
Latvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden...
. Le Bon also recorded versions of this song in Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
("Alguien Que No Soy Yo") and French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
("Un Autre Que Moi"). The music video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
for the single was the first to be created entirely in Macromedia Flash digital animation.
The song "Playing With Uranium" was supposed to be released as a single in Italy only, but was available only as a radio promo.
The song "Last Day On Earth" was released in Japan; it was also played during the opening of the Universal Studios Japan
Universal Studios Japan
, located in Osaka, is one of four Universal Studios theme parks, owned and operated by USJ Co., Ltd. . The park is similar to Universal Orlando Resort, since it contains many of the same rides. Most visitors are Japanese tourists or tourists from other Asian countries such as Taiwan, Hong Kong,...
theme park in Osaka
Osaka
is a city in the Kansai region of Japan's main island of Honshu, a designated city under the Local Autonomy Law, the capital city of Osaka Prefecture and also the biggest part of Keihanshin area, which is represented by three major cities of Japan, Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe...
.
Track listing
- "Someone Else Not Me" – 4:48
- "Lava Lamp" – 3:54
- "Playing with Uranium" – 3:51
- "Hallucinating Elvis" – 5:26
- "Starting to Remember" – 2:38
- "Pop Trash Movie" – 4:54
- "Fragment" – 0:49
- "Mars Meets Venus" – 3:07
- "Lady Xanax" – 4:53
- "The Sun Doesn't Shine Forever" – 4:51
- "Kiss Goodbye" – 0:41
- "Last Day on Earth" – 4:27
Bonus tracks on various international releases:
- "Un Autre Que Moi"
[ FrenchFrench languageFrench is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
version of "Someone Else Not Me"] – 4:19 - "Alguien Que No Soy Yo"
[ SpanishSpanish languageSpanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
version of "Someone Else Not Me"] – 4:16 - "Prototypes" – 6:17
Singles
- "Someone Else Not Me"
- "Playing With Uranium" (Italy only)
- "Last Day On Earth" (Japan only)
Personnel
Duran Duran are:- Simon Le BonSimon Le BonSimon John Charles Le Bon is an English musician, best known as the lead singer, lyricist and musician of the band Duran Duran and its offshoot, Arcadia.-Early life:...
- Vocals - Warren CuccurulloWarren CuccurulloWarren Bruce Cuccurullo in Brooklyn, New York is an American rock musician who worked with Frank Zappa, was a founding member of Missing Persons, and has been a long term member of Duran Duran. He also has some notoriety in the porn industry after making nude appearances in a magazine and...
- Guitar and bass - Nick RhodesNick RhodesNick Rhodes is an English musician, is best known as the keyboardist of the pop rock band Duran Duran...
- Keyboards
Other credits
- David CampbellDavid Campbell-Politics:*David Campbell , Governor of Virginia*David Campbell *David Campbell , South Belfast M.P.*David Campbell , former New South Wales Transport Minister...
- arranger (strings) - Sally Boyden - Backing vocals
- John Tonks - Drums, Electric Percussion
- Steve AlexanderSteve Alexander (drummer)Steve Alexander is a Welsh drummer. Starting out with the Irish band Shook Up!, he earned a living as a session drummer, working regularly in London's recording studios on film, TV and commercial sessions and playing with the BBC Radio Orchestra...
- Drums - Greg Bissonette - Drums
- Luis ConteLuis ConteLuis Conte is a Cuban percussionist.-Early years:As a child in Cuba, Conte began his musical odyssey playing the guitar. However, he soon switched to percussion, and that has remained his mode since....
- Percussion