BE MY ICON

Four slags past their prime and Nick Rhodes

The fourth installment of "Can You Picture That?" is now up, having previously been delayed by the scheduling conflicts of other columns. Its focus is two DVD releases of old Duran Duran material (shall we say, "vintage"?) and the newest Faye Wong romantic vehicle, Leaving Me Loving You.

Special Confessions Duran2 Bonus: I recently rediscovered their Medazzaland album. When it came out in 1997, I had written it off as their worst album, starting fine and then tumbling off into nothing by the end. I think this was largely down to the bile I had for "Electric Barbarella," which was hailed as a comeback, even though I still think it's the worst single they've ever released, a self-parody that they tried to dress up in retro futurism. I must say, though, with several years of space between myself and the last listen, I find myself really liking Medazzaland. The front half is a glam rock album, and the back half is actually analogous to Bowie's Berlin period. "Out of My Mind" should have been a big hit, and "Who Do You Think You Are?" is a buried treasure worth digging up. Give it a second chance, if you're so inclined. Just skip track 3. (And the album cover, which is an all-time low for the band.)

Gravitation volume 6 is in comics shops this week, and so I imagine is already in bookstores (though, not on Amazon for some reason). I am starting volume 9 next week, so they're catching me. Also in stores tomorrow is the trade collection of Scooter Girl, which I am very proud of. (Click on the pic above to order from the Oni store.)

You can also now order Grosse Pointe Girl, a new novel about female adolescence by my friend Sarah Grace McCandless, with illustrations by Christine Norrie, a total Hon. Amazon says it ships in 24 hourse, and you can actually read my review of the previous--slimmer, with no drawings--edition here.

I find it amusing that my old employer (and, technically, current on a freelance basis) Dark Horse is going into prose publishing. Even moreso that the current press release doesn't indicate who the author is of their first book. We know who is writing the screenplay, though. Read into that what you will.

Current Soundtrack: Duran Duran, Medazzaland; Blur, The Best of Blur

golightly@confessions123.com * The Website