End of Summer Special 2025 (Part 2) – The Alarm & Duran Duran

Episode 190: End of Summer Special 2025 (Part 2) – The Alarm & Duran Duran

Brian and Sarah are back and ready to continue their discussion of a couple of 'summery' songs, as the summer draws closer to an end in the Northern Hemisphere.  (For those in the Southern Hemisphere, maybe think of this as a summer preview!)

As in the previous episode, the first song selection comes from Sarah. She chose the 1987 single "Rain in the Summertime" by The Alarm.

This song was released in advance of The Alarm's third studio album "Eye of the Hurricane," which Sarah explains was a tumultuous period in the band's history. She recounts stories of the song's creation and recording which expose some of the difficulties with and among bandmates. However, the anecdotes also reveal some surprising uses of computer technology for the time.

Both hosts mention comparisons and similarities between The Alarm and U2, even down to the desert setting of this song's video. In discussing the video, Sarah can't help but bring up a pet peeve of hers when watching movies—a phenomenon Brian says is often identified with the classic film "Casablanca."

After wrapping up the discussion on Sarah's song, it's time for Brian to reveal his second selection. He chose the 1990 single from Duran Duran, "Violence of Summer (Love's Taking Over)."

With his selection, Brian shares a "hot take"-- his great love of the 1990 album Liberty. He confesses this love caused his research for the song to stray into research for the entire album, which he then had to reign in. However, since he did take the time and effort to do the work, he decides to share a few tidbits regarding Liberty as well.

1990 was an interesting time for Duran Duran—the band's lineup had changed yet again, and they were in kind of a limbo period compared to the widespread popularity and exposure they experienced in the first half of the 1980s. Brian reveals some thoughts Simon LeBon shared about Liberty and its place in the Duran Duran catalog, and both hosts talk about highlights on the album.

The discussion of the video for "Violence of Summer (Love's Taking Over)" finds Sarah rather confused about what she's seeing, at least some of the time. Brian brings up a funny story about the frequently-shirtless Warren Cuccurullo and how that affected the rest of the band. And Brian is thrilled when Sarah references Dead or Alive!

Watch the videos here:
"Rain in the Summertime" - The Alarm
"Violence of Summer (Love's Taking Over)" - Duran Duran

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