Duran Duran “Meet El Presidente” 1987. Last week I fulfilled yet another big life wish, spinning a 3 hour set of Duran Duran (plus side projects) vinyl records at Wiggle Room. I had intended to spin this song but it didn’t make the cut as I started to run out of time. “Meet El Presidente” was the third, and final, single from the Nile Rodgers produced Notorious; it hit #24 in the UK but just went to #70 in the US. If I’m being honest, I don’t really even remember it from ’87 (though my daily listens had skewed heavily punk by that point). The single version is a different mix than the album’s with a more pronounced Latin groove (think Miami Sound Machine). And because I don’t remember hearing the single back in the day, the LP version is a bit more familiar. Both are smooth, funky and highly danceable. The b-side, “Vertigo (Do the Demolition),” has a more slow-burn funk with a big 80’s production sound that, apropos its title, has a bit of an industrial flare.