5:55AM Music Post... That I Started at 3:30.
So, after the first few days of almost constant listening, I narrowed my list of favorite Depeche Mode songs down to one CDs worth of tracks that, so that if I could only have one CD, they'd be the song on it. I'm listening to them a lot now, because the next step is to make them disappear, so I'm not going "Oh that was a nice two seconds of 'A Question of Time', but 'Stripped' is up next, so let's just hit the >> button." The second stringers won't get a chance as long as the superstars are still hanging around taking up all of the playing time, so sometimes you gotta bench ‘em... for the good of the team. This is gonna get long, so I divided the list in half, because I’d like to actually finish typing this before the sun comes up.
I'm surely approaching Obnoxious New Super-Fan territory, but I have no one to share my newfound obnoxious superfannishness with (I considered constantly posting videos to facebook like everyone else does, but I feel it may get a bit too English Guys In Leather Outfits for my friends), so here I am. And unlike TV shows, which I have been known to turn on at the drop of a hat, once I find a great band, I'm pretty much down til the end (or a horrible line-up change), so I won't be back in six months going, "Depeche Mode? What was I thinking!" (And if I am, we will just act like that last sentence never existed. Also, I will be crazy, so don't pay me any mind.)
To make one CD (80 minutes worth) of music takes about 16 songs. These great eight are the great eight that are not as great as the even greater other eight. They're in no particular order, except the last one, which, when this started, was actually on the other list.
It’s No Good (from Ultra. 1997)
This one kind of snuck up on me. Like, I looked at the play counts on iTunes and it’s actually got the most plays of anything since this started a week ago. Weird, but that must mean I like it, right? I love a good lyricist, and Martin Gore consistently brings his A game. I like how I’ll just be listening to a song and then catch a snippet of a lyric and be like, “Wait, is he saying what I think he is?” Here he’s saying, “You can say you’re gonna go, but I know you’re gonna be back.” It’s a slightly aggressive love song, is it not? You think it's all sweet and nice, and then you realize it's not that nice. That kind of sounds like the band itself. Warner Brothers won’t let me embed the video, but it’s worth a trip to ye ol' Youtube for that shiny green suit alone. Video Here.
Stripped (from Black Celebration. 1986)
Here we have a song from that slightly awkward period where they were transitioning from ultra dorky to “Leather, leather and, what’s that? More leather, you say?” It’s like band puberty, leather-clad, awkwardly-dancing puberty. What’s amazing is that I had no idea this song was so old. Listening to them as a group like this, with everything just thrown together, I find myself placing songs mentally, and ending up decades off. I thought this was from the late 90s. It does not help that Dave Gahan’s voice changed once very early on and has been pretty much consistent(ly great) ever since. This one’s both quiet, and big. Does that make sense? (No.) Like, the verses are really gentle, but the music is … I’d call it airy, but that only means anything to me. It’s like it was recorded in a big room, so all of the sounds could breathe and bounce around and echo off of things. Any clearer? No? Let’s just move on.
I Feel You (from Songs of Faith and Devotion. 1993)
Warner Brothers' "No embed code for you!" strikes again! This is one of those songs that must be played loud. I’d be blasting it now, but it’s 3:30. This one’s got a slight bluesy-country twang to it, and I imagine this is what Lynyrd Skynyrd would sound like if they went balls-to-the-wall and just rocked out. (That's another thing I appreciate. The fact that one group can make music that reminds me of Skynyrd and Devo and it not be weird at all.) This one’s kind of “big” too. I’d bet good money that this would be a-ma-zing live. Video Here
Photographic (from Speak & Spell. 1981)
And here’s where we take a turn and end up in the deep, deep 80s. I’m talking Super 80s. This one snuck up on me. The first time I heard it, I paid it no mind, then the next day I woke up all “Doo-doo-doo-doo-dooooo. I take. Pictures. Photographic. Pictures”. That’s one very effective earworm. As far as the video, I spy highwater pants, oversized suits and awkward dancing. Amazing and dorky. So 80s. It’s very new wave, very Devo.It reminds me of something you’d have heard in the dance scene in “Sixteen Candles”. I love it. Love. It.
Also (2010). 29 years later. Again, LOVE. I like to include the old videos because they’re hilarious they belong with the songs. And I know no one watches these things. But if you only watch one, watch this one. I have watched way more of these guys' live videos this week than is normal, this is probably my second favorite. I love when older bands take it back and do one of the old songs and are still into it.
Get The Balance Right (Single. 1983)
Going back over the list, this is probably the least of the lot. If something had to go, this would be the one. I like it, but it’s more about the music than the lyrics. I need an instrumental. I feel like I did not muster enough enthusiasm for this one. I really do like it though.
In Sympathy (from Sounds of the Universe. 2009)
This is the first song I ever actually knew was by Depeche Mode, and I heard it for the first time last June, on a fanmix that bore its name. This is another one I always play loud. I love the energy it has, especially in the chorus and the part at the end after the lyrics are done and the music just takes over. It would be a great club song. If I was a dancer, I’d dance to this.
Only When I Lose Myself (Single. 1998)
This is the second DM song I knew. I also got it in June ‘11. It was one of those songs I heard once at my old job and scrambled around trying to get enough of the lyrics down to figure out who it was, what it was called, and where I could get more. I just remember being near the service desk and stopping whatever it was I was doing and thinking, “Paper. Paper. I need Paper!” I wish I could describe exactly what it is, but this is one of my favorite types of music. I read an article long ago, I have no idea where, that talked about how people gravitate towards certain musical tempos and how it had to do with heartrate or something. I’m gonna find it. Anyway, this is like the perfect tempo, another example of A+ lyrics and, as I will discuss later, that voice...
Personal Jesus (from Violator. 1990)
This was on the top list, but it got bumped down because I was watching a different video, got overtaken with enthusiasm, and had to make a switch. This is the song I should have known, but did not. I knew the Marilyn Manson cover, but did not know this. I looked it up last week, and my original reaction was “Well don’t they look silly” and I stopped it. Then I was listening to the song on its own and was struck by the lyrics. I already knew the music was great, but once I stopped head-nodding to the beat and air drumming, I was like, “Wait. That sounds slightly creepy.” Once I actually caught on to the fact that it was written using this blatant religious imagery to portray what is really a screwed up relationship, I was like “Okay, I like what these guys are doing and I need to hear more.” I looked it up to see what it was about, and then listened again. And here we are.
http://youtu.be/u1xrNaTO1bI Can’t Embed. Watch this instead. It's from last May.
I'm surely approaching Obnoxious New Super-Fan territory, but I have no one to share my newfound obnoxious superfannishness with (I considered constantly posting videos to facebook like everyone else does, but I feel it may get a bit too English Guys In Leather Outfits for my friends), so here I am. And unlike TV shows, which I have been known to turn on at the drop of a hat, once I find a great band, I'm pretty much down til the end (or a horrible line-up change), so I won't be back in six months going, "Depeche Mode? What was I thinking!" (And if I am, we will just act like that last sentence never existed. Also, I will be crazy, so don't pay me any mind.)
To make one CD (80 minutes worth) of music takes about 16 songs. These great eight are the great eight that are not as great as the even greater other eight. They're in no particular order, except the last one, which, when this started, was actually on the other list.
It’s No Good (from Ultra. 1997)
This one kind of snuck up on me. Like, I looked at the play counts on iTunes and it’s actually got the most plays of anything since this started a week ago. Weird, but that must mean I like it, right? I love a good lyricist, and Martin Gore consistently brings his A game. I like how I’ll just be listening to a song and then catch a snippet of a lyric and be like, “Wait, is he saying what I think he is?” Here he’s saying, “You can say you’re gonna go, but I know you’re gonna be back.” It’s a slightly aggressive love song, is it not? You think it's all sweet and nice, and then you realize it's not that nice. That kind of sounds like the band itself. Warner Brothers won’t let me embed the video, but it’s worth a trip to ye ol' Youtube for that shiny green suit alone. Video Here.
Stripped (from Black Celebration. 1986)
Here we have a song from that slightly awkward period where they were transitioning from ultra dorky to “Leather, leather and, what’s that? More leather, you say?” It’s like band puberty, leather-clad, awkwardly-dancing puberty. What’s amazing is that I had no idea this song was so old. Listening to them as a group like this, with everything just thrown together, I find myself placing songs mentally, and ending up decades off. I thought this was from the late 90s. It does not help that Dave Gahan’s voice changed once very early on and has been pretty much consistent(ly great) ever since. This one’s both quiet, and big. Does that make sense? (No.) Like, the verses are really gentle, but the music is … I’d call it airy, but that only means anything to me. It’s like it was recorded in a big room, so all of the sounds could breathe and bounce around and echo off of things. Any clearer? No? Let’s just move on.
Click to viewI Feel You (from Songs of Faith and Devotion. 1993)
Warner Brothers' "No embed code for you!" strikes again! This is one of those songs that must be played loud. I’d be blasting it now, but it’s 3:30. This one’s got a slight bluesy-country twang to it, and I imagine this is what Lynyrd Skynyrd would sound like if they went balls-to-the-wall and just rocked out. (That's another thing I appreciate. The fact that one group can make music that reminds me of Skynyrd and Devo and it not be weird at all.) This one’s kind of “big” too. I’d bet good money that this would be a-ma-zing live. Video Here
Photographic (from Speak & Spell. 1981)
And here’s where we take a turn and end up in the deep, deep 80s. I’m talking Super 80s. This one snuck up on me. The first time I heard it, I paid it no mind, then the next day I woke up all “Doo-doo-doo-doo-dooooo. I take. Pictures. Photographic. Pictures”. That’s one very effective earworm. As far as the video, I spy highwater pants, oversized suits and awkward dancing. Amazing and dorky. So 80s. It’s very new wave, very Devo.It reminds me of something you’d have heard in the dance scene in “Sixteen Candles”. I love it. Love. It.
Also (2010). 29 years later. Again, LOVE. I like to include the old videos because they’re hilarious they belong with the songs. And I know no one watches these things. But if you only watch one, watch this one. I have watched way more of these guys' live videos this week than is normal, this is probably my second favorite. I love when older bands take it back and do one of the old songs and are still into it.
Get The Balance Right (Single. 1983)
Going back over the list, this is probably the least of the lot. If something had to go, this would be the one. I like it, but it’s more about the music than the lyrics. I need an instrumental. I feel like I did not muster enough enthusiasm for this one. I really do like it though.
In Sympathy (from Sounds of the Universe. 2009)
This is the first song I ever actually knew was by Depeche Mode, and I heard it for the first time last June, on a fanmix that bore its name. This is another one I always play loud. I love the energy it has, especially in the chorus and the part at the end after the lyrics are done and the music just takes over. It would be a great club song. If I was a dancer, I’d dance to this.
Only When I Lose Myself (Single. 1998)
This is the second DM song I knew. I also got it in June ‘11. It was one of those songs I heard once at my old job and scrambled around trying to get enough of the lyrics down to figure out who it was, what it was called, and where I could get more. I just remember being near the service desk and stopping whatever it was I was doing and thinking, “Paper. Paper. I need Paper!” I wish I could describe exactly what it is, but this is one of my favorite types of music. I read an article long ago, I have no idea where, that talked about how people gravitate towards certain musical tempos and how it had to do with heartrate or something. I’m gonna find it. Anyway, this is like the perfect tempo, another example of A+ lyrics and, as I will discuss later, that voice...
Personal Jesus (from Violator. 1990)
This was on the top list, but it got bumped down because I was watching a different video, got overtaken with enthusiasm, and had to make a switch. This is the song I should have known, but did not. I knew the Marilyn Manson cover, but did not know this. I looked it up last week, and my original reaction was “Well don’t they look silly” and I stopped it. Then I was listening to the song on its own and was struck by the lyrics. I already knew the music was great, but once I stopped head-nodding to the beat and air drumming, I was like, “Wait. That sounds slightly creepy.” Once I actually caught on to the fact that it was written using this blatant religious imagery to portray what is really a screwed up relationship, I was like “Okay, I like what these guys are doing and I need to hear more.” I looked it up to see what it was about, and then listened again. And here we are.
http://youtu.be/u1xrNaTO1bI Can’t Embed. Watch this instead. It's from last May.