"The Fake Sound of Progress" featured many references to 1980s pop-culture. In addition to the Duran Duran reference in the band's name, there was an image of Venger from the "Dungeons & Dragons" TV series on the album sleeve notes, as well as song titles like "Shinobi vs. Dragon Ninja" and "Kobrakai". The first song's title was a reference to the video games "Shinobi" and "Bad Dudes vs. Dragon Ninja", while the second was an alternative spelling of Cobra Kai, the name of the karate dojo in the "Karate Kid" movies. Another reference is the use of the VF-1 Valkyrie in Battroid mode from the 1982 anime "The Super Dimension Fortress Macross" as part of the album illustration.