Music Review: Duran Duran "Skin Trade"
Duran Duran
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Skin Trade
Album: Notorious
Year: 1987
For Simon LeBon, any type job requires a loss of dignity in the gawky ballad “Skin Trade.”
Dapper synths open the single, setting a haut monde tone. In the first verse, he talks a girl friend who works as an escort. She’s arm candy for the upper-class men to show off and later use to satisfy their pleasures. At first, she thought it would be easy to be a pretty face and a warm body. While on the job, she thinks of all the money she will make for pretending yet another arrogant, self-absorbed man’s company. She tunes them out as they talk to about how they could change her life, if she would let them. However, with each insincere wink, her spirit gets crushed once again. She’s only in it for the paycheck and the gossip she can tell her friends.
In the pre-chorus, she re-thinks why she’d accept the job. It was meant to be temporary. However, she has yet to find something else.
In the chorus, he can’t comprehend why one human would treat another like a number. He says its inevitable people will be used.
In the second verse, he said people indulge in escapism to forget the unfair criticisim they receive. After dealing with irate customers and pushy management, people return to the pressure to succeed in their classes. It’s considered a part of life and it pays the bills. People are powerless and have to act grateful for every paycheck, knowing they could be replaced at a moment’s notice.
In the pre-chorus, people try to understand why labor laws are broken without a thought and what purpose it ultimately serves.
The chorus is sung again.
A labored guitar has a solo, followed by a decadent trombone.
The chorus is sung again.
In the pre-chorus, LeBon says he has figured it out. It’s all about power and greed.
The chorus is sung four times to close the single.
Simon LeBon believes people are forced to sell themselves at the highest cost to get the minimum reward. The job may seem ideal the first couple days. Then, the person glimpses the chips in the façade as they encounter the politics in the workplace. They realize they are not given a chance to get out, as promised.
LeBon strives for the emotion with his strained falsetto but can’t quite reach it. He’s out of his range. While he should be credited for trying, it’s just not him.
The creamy synths are coated in deception. It appears the environment is uncorrupted and healthy. But the lyrics expose the grime many people do not get to see.
The zealous “Skin Trade” is a mismatch between genre and band.
Album: Notorious
Year: 1987
For Simon LeBon, any type job requires a loss of dignity in the gawky ballad “Skin Trade.”
Dapper synths open the single, setting a haut monde tone. In the first verse, he talks a girl friend who works as an escort. She’s arm candy for the upper-class men to show off and later use to satisfy their pleasures. At first, she thought it would be easy to be a pretty face and a warm body. While on the job, she thinks of all the money she will make for pretending yet another arrogant, self-absorbed man’s company. She tunes them out as they talk to about how they could change her life, if she would let them. However, with each insincere wink, her spirit gets crushed once again. She’s only in it for the paycheck and the gossip she can tell her friends.
“Working on the weekend baby/She's working all through the night/A jump into the deep end/Gave her the evidence she required/Take five, she's got pearls/Don't fake it when it comes to making money So she smiles, but that's cruel/If you knew what she'd think, if you knew what she was after.”
In the pre-chorus, she re-thinks why she’d accept the job. It was meant to be temporary. However, she has yet to find something else.
“Sometimes she wonders and she laughs in her frustration.”
In the chorus, he can’t comprehend why one human would treat another like a number. He says its inevitable people will be used.
“ Would someone please explain/The reason for this strange behaviour/In exploitation's name/We must be working for the skin trade.”
In the second verse, he said people indulge in escapism to forget the unfair criticisim they receive. After dealing with irate customers and pushy management, people return to the pressure to succeed in their classes. It’s considered a part of life and it pays the bills. People are powerless and have to act grateful for every paycheck, knowing they could be replaced at a moment’s notice.
“Doctors of the revolution gave us, the medicine we desired/Besides being absolutely painless it's a question of compromise/You've got steel, it's so cool/Get angry at the weekend then go back to school/So big deal, it's what rules/When it comes to making money, say yes, please, thank you.”
In the pre-chorus, people try to understand why labor laws are broken without a thought and what purpose it ultimately serves.
“Sometimes you wonder, and you ask yourself the question.”
The chorus is sung again.
A labored guitar has a solo, followed by a decadent trombone.
The chorus is sung again.
In the pre-chorus, LeBon says he has figured it out. It’s all about power and greed.
“I know the answer but I'm asking you the question.”
The chorus is sung four times to close the single.
Simon LeBon believes people are forced to sell themselves at the highest cost to get the minimum reward. The job may seem ideal the first couple days. Then, the person glimpses the chips in the façade as they encounter the politics in the workplace. They realize they are not given a chance to get out, as promised.
LeBon strives for the emotion with his strained falsetto but can’t quite reach it. He’s out of his range. While he should be credited for trying, it’s just not him.
The creamy synths are coated in deception. It appears the environment is uncorrupted and healthy. But the lyrics expose the grime many people do not get to see.
The zealous “Skin Trade” is a mismatch between genre and band.