What's next for DDTTRH

It's the end of 2015, and I have some announcements to make in terms of DDTTRH.  Plus, I want to clarify my position on this effort as its changed dramatically since 6 years ago when it started.  And this is really for the benefit of those who have not followed us during this entire time and have not experienced this effort.  Can you believe its been 6 years?  Here are some key points...

• DDTTRH is a shadow of what it used to be.  It no longer has a Facebook site, no longer are there artist interviews.  My last blog post on this effort was in June 2014!  You can still read some of the old interviews...they are on this blog site for now.  
• DDTTRH no longer has a full staff that supports it, its pretty much just me and a couple others (a skeleton crew) looking over what remains.
• Our Twitter presence (@DDTTRH) still remains.  And yes, Nile Rodgers and Scissor Sisters still follow us.  There is also a Project page at http://ddwwinfo.net/ddttrh/.  

• We no longer have a list of supporters that people can look at.  And officially, we will not do that ever again.  First, name-dropping is tacky and it was extra work and unnecessary.  If you want to know who supports us, read the petition, look through our old blogs, see who follows us on Twitter.  Or, just tweet me @DDTTRH and I can let you know.

How the band views the Rock Hall has been made abundantly clear to us.  I speak of the iHeart Radio interview a while back (when the band answered my question about the Rock Hall--see our blogs) and also the recent Yahoo News Article that featured Simon.  I'd like to quote here what Simon said from it... https://www.yahoo.com/music/the-pressures-off-duran-duran-dont-need-the-153052592.html

"“I have a problem with the institutionalization of rock 'n’ roll,” Le Bon tells Yahoo Music. “I don’t like going places where you’ve got to wear a black tie. I just feel like saying, 'F— off!’ I think the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in itself is not a bad thing, but I don’t feel that I have to be placed alongside Jerry Lee Lewis, James Brown, the Rolling Stones, U2, and all those other guys for me to have validity. The validity that counts to me is those kids that are going be standing outside in the car park [at our concert] this afternoon. You sell one single record, and it means 100 Rock and Roll Halls of Fame.”

Given all of this and the current position we are in, it makes sense to make the following changes...

• No longer will DDTTRH mean 'Duran Duran to the Rock Hall'.  I have decided to take the Rock Hall out of our name permanently.  To me, it's just not meaningful anymore.  In the interest of keeping the acronym, it will now mean 'Duran Duran to Timeless Rock History'.
• We may be looking to hand off the petition to someone else, or take what is there and share it with interested parties in a creative way.  For now it will remain open.  Of course we would love to continue hearing messages of support.  Feel free to to continue to message us @DDTTRH on Twitter or direct your friends directly to the petition.
• There will no longer be contests for DDTTRH.
• The Top 10 Reasons and supporting work we've done for DDTTRH (formerly known as 'Duran Duran to the Rock Hall') and its petition will be left out there in some form, either on the petition itself or on a site of its own (apart from DDTTRH).  Further, if we decide to share anything about our Rock Hall work, we will do less of looking to Duran Duran's fan-base and look more to the outside.  I sense that the focused Rock Hall effort caused more friction and division with fans than I ever wanted and I want to move away from that. 
• Nothing DDTTRH does again will be in a bold huge way (I just won't do that anymore)...but I plan to do things more methodically, strategically, and deliberately (with the new purpose in mind).
• DDTTRH's purpose will remain as follows:
• Ongoing research into how Duran Duran has influenced the Media
• Raising awareness to the band and it's impact on the music industry
• DDTTRH will still remain a project of DDWW, and the project will keep its broader focus. We may mention the petition every now and then on @DDTTRH, but no longer will it be a main focus.
• As a matter of housekeeping, next year I will be cleaning up the DDTTRH blog site.  I basically will be removing blogs that are no longer relevant to this new direction.  I may also look to move a set of blogs to a more permanent place and close down this site permanently.  This will be hashed out next year.

As always, if you want to help with any of our DDWW projects, feel free to reach out to me at Kirk DDWW or Christian DDWW on Facebook.

If you want to know what I've learned from this effort, please read my posts about The Epiphany, my Lessons Learned blogs, or reach out to me personally at Kirk DDWW (Let's talk sometime!).  

I'm honestly done trying to prove myself to Duran Duran fans and show them that my heart's in the right place.  I know there will be people that hate me and like me for what I did or am doing with DDTTRH...whatever.  For me its been an amazing journey and it's been well worth it.

Still Notorious-ly yours,

Kirk

DDTTRH response to 'Pressure's Off - Duran Duran Don't Need the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame'

If you haven't read this article, you should.

https://www.yahoo.com/music/the-pressures-off-duran-duran-dont-need-the-153052592.html

The Rock Hall is mentioned in it.  Here is our response:

"The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in itself is not a bad thing...", said Simon LeBon. That's all I needed to hear! I know how humble Duran Duran is. It makes me love them more! The only reason I do what I do is because I want this for them and I know many other fans do as well. And its not because we want to "institutionalize" them...but to give them a place where they can be enjoyed for years to come. To me, the Rock Hall is a museum...and its in museums that they keep records of precious things. To me, Duran Duran is precious and is worthy of being shown to the world for many years to come.

This said, we will make sure to ask that if Duran Duran is ever inducted, that black ties be optional.

Kirk Harrington
DDTTRH, a Project under Duran Duran Worldwide

10 Reasons Why Duran Duran Should Be in the Rock Hall

This will eventually be put up on our official site, but we at least wanted to share it to you here.  This is our official DDTTRH Top 10 Reason why we think Duran Duran should be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.  This list is important because the Rock Hall will be announcing its nominees soon and we want this list to be the basis of our DDTTRH project promotions for 2016.  We put a lot of work into this, we hope you like it!  Special thanks to those who contributed towards this, namely Kirk Harrington, Andrew Golub, Christian Helwig, Tracey Elena, Pranav from Radio Creme Brulee (Editor and Contributor, and Josie Beaudoin (Editor and Contributor).

10 Reasons why Duran Duran should be in the Rock Hall

10.  Their musical and commercial footprints are global.  Their success is not limited to specific geographic regions in the world.  

9.  Pioneers of the location "music video" shoot (e.g. videos shot in Sri Lanka for the "Rio" singles). They took a purely auditory stimuli such as music and gave it an exotic visual cloak of escapism.  They had essentially taken the medium of the music video one huge step further fairly early in the evolution of this new art form.   

8. They are consummate live entertainers. They have the physical presence, the charisma, and the raw talent, not to mention the years and years of experience, to put on a fantastic, engaging, dynamic live performance that energizes a crowd and gets them off their chairs and on their feet. This is not something automatically granted to everyone in a rock band. It is a skill that requires work and effort to hone and refine, and Duran Duran has it. 

7.  Their recent chart success of “Paper Gods” (and its entering of the US top 10 Billboard album chart) suggests a relevance of the band that transcends generational boundaries.  How many bands can say they’ve done this 35 years after they have formed? 

6.  They were one of the bands that fused all the best elements of '70s music into something new for the '80s. Their mixture of glam, disco, punk and avant-garde heralded a new era in music. 

5.  They have had hit songs throughout their 35+ year career, reaching beyond Hungry Like the Wolf and Rio.  Examples from the Top 5 music markets (US, UK, Japan, France, and Germany) include I Don’t Want Your Love (1988), Ordinary World (1993), Come Undone (1993), Electric Barbarella (1997), (Reach Up for the) Sunrise (2004), What Happens Tomorrow (2005).  There is a breadth and depth to their work that has touched on about every human condition…inspiring countless fans over the decades.

4.  Duran Duran's influence has been felt across generations of music, video, and fashion, inspiring artists from nearly every genre and becoming a pivotal part of cultural history. (drops mic)

The fact that they were invited to perform at the “Fashion Rocks 2014” event is testimony to the fact that their contribution to fashion remains a milestone of pop culture history. 

3.   They have won several awards and made music history throughout their career.  Notably:

1983:  The band are awarded Best Album (Rio) and Best Group, and Simon is awarded Best Male Vocalist, at the British Rock & Pop Awards.

1984:  Grammy for ‘Best Music Video/Short Form’ for “Girls on Film / Hungry Like the Wolf – Video 45″.

1985:  “The Reflex” is named International Hit of the Year at the Ivor Novello Awards in London.

1986:  Casey Kasem’s American Top 40 announces Duran Duran as the most successful duo or group from England based on the Billboard charts. Duran Duran were ranked first, followed by The Police, Culture Club, Wham! and The Rolling Stones.

1993:  The band is honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

1993:  A world-first Enhanced-CD produced by AMXstudios [Alasdair Scott and Malcolm Garrett] premiered at the EMI Records world conference in Brighton, 1993. “Universe” featured a revolutionary audio mixer, allowing users to remix “Ordinary World” on their CD-ROM enabled computers.

1994:  Received the ‘Best Song Musically & Lyrically’ Ivor Novella Award for “Ordinary World”.

2000:  The UK Pop Trash tour features the world’s first use of “augmented reality” technology in a live concert. Duran Duran works with a computer graphics producer to create advanced 2D and 3D visual effects, which allows animated characters to appear live on stage with the band.

2001:  During a ‘Close Up Tour’ show in Anaheim, California, the first fully immersed video and audio recording of a rock concert is conducted. The live rock experience is captured using a unique 360-degree panoramic video and 10.2 channel audio recording system. This pioneering recording is coordinated by producer Jarrell Pair with audio/video researchers working with Dr. Tom Holman, famous for creating Lucasfilm’s THX audio standard.

2003:  For the first time in history, Ticketmaster’s servers crashed for 30 minutes due to the demand of the band’s August 27 Webster Hall, NY, USA show.

2003:  Received the ‘MTV Lifetime Achievement Award’.  Also received the ‘Q Lifetime Achievement Award’.

2004:  Won the Brit Award for ‘Outstanding Contribution to Music’

2005:  Received the Ivor Novella Award for ‘Outstanding Contribution to Music’.

2008:  Duran Duran make history by becoming the first band to ever play at the Louvre Museum (home of the Mona Lisa) in Paris. They perform under the I.M Pei glass pyramid as part of the biggest fundraising event ever held on the Paris museum’s premises.

2008:  MTV viewers voted the band’s legendary clip for their hit single “Rio” ‘The Greatest Video Of All Time’.

2011:  GQ Lifetime Achievement Award

2015:  Q Icon award

2016:  Golden Note Award, ASCAP, London

2.  Their music has influenced multiple generations of musicians, including some of the most popular bands and artists of the past couple decades.

Examples of artists that have cited them as having been influenced by Duran Duran include Justin Timberlake, Pink, Rob Thomas, Scissor Sisters, Smashing Pumpkins, Mark McGrath, Gwen Stefani, Garbage, Moby, and Dido.  < DDTTRH research>

They can and have and continue to work with anyone and everyone, collaborating with all sorts of musical artists (from opera singers to rappers) and award-winning producers (like Mark Ronson). And for them, it works, because they have the versatility and style to pull it off. 

1.        Showcasing an almost stubborn commitment to making music through some rather dark years (commercially speaking) - which also saw the band shrinking to a three-piece (featuring only two original band members) and resurrecting themselves both creatively and commercially through new musical endeavors. This is how artists evolvement happens. It sets an example for a future crop of musicans and instructs them not to throw in the towel even if the critics have labelled them as being "washed up". Nothing tastes sweeter than a comeback against all odds.  

They are such an enduring band. They've been together, lineup changes notwithstanding, consistently for 35 years.