Way back in junior high, I loved Duran Duran. If you think Justin Bieber fans are dedicated, they are lightweights compared to the Durannies. To this day, I can still remember every word to every Duran Duran song from the 80s, yet I have to double-check my own zip code.

Well, Duran Duran is still around. Their new album, called All You Need Is Now, was produced by Mark Ronson.

Simon Le Bon (squeeee) and Nick Rhodes talked to Time magazine about the past and future.

Ronson has called All You Need Is Now “an imaginary follow-up to Rio”–your hit 1982 album. Whose idea was that?

Le Bon: Mark comes from a fan’s perspective. He said that he was a little disappointed as a kid because [our third album] didn’t really seem to fulfill our promise. Mark wanted to get back to the sense of experimentation from our first two albums. He would say, “No, that’s too normal, too normal. I want you to be more out there.”

Do you feel that your audience has changed over the years?

Rhodes: The Internet has changed the way people consume music. Kids now are likely to have some of our music, some Beatles, some Kanye. They mix it all up a lot more.

Do you have second thoughts about your early fashion choices?

Le Bon: People ask this question a lot. And I look at them and think, O.K., maybe it looks strange now. But at the time it was cool.

Rhodes: I’ve still got all my clothes from the videos. Museums are calling me up all the time.

The band is named after the villain in the movie Barbarella. Does Jane Fonda know?

Le Bon: Absolutely. I saw her recently, and she said, “At first, I thought you were having a laugh at my expense. But later on, when I was in a more humorous relationship, I saw the funny side of it.”

[Time, print edition, January 10, 2011]

I doubt I’ll buy the new album. I listened to the new single All You Need Is Now on the official site, and the chorus sounds a little like vintage D2 but the rest is sort of annoying. I prefer to remember Duran Duran as they were in the Save a Prayer video.

Note by Kaiser: Simon Le Bon 4 Eva. I still think he looks incredibly hot.

Photos courtesy of WENN.