Pain and Suffering in Various Tempos: The Official Depeche Mode Appreciation Thread

ITT, we discuss Depeche Mode. Their music, their influence, their, oh...let's call it "fashion." Ex-band members, current members and their solo projects, what songs we liked, which ones we didn't, how much they generally rock our feather boas and nipple rings off. Even if you're a casual fan or would simply like to know more about DMode, this is the place for you.


I'll start off by asking this: What are your thoughts on the new CD, Playing the Angel?



Have at it.

 

Don't know anything about this band, but I'm willing to learn.
When did they start? British? American?

 

I'm a big fan. (I'm going to see them in about 6 weeks.) I haven't listened to the new cd yet but will pick it up soon. I haven't been as crazy about their post-Violator stuff but still like most of it. My favorite albums are probably black Celebraion and Music for the Masses.

They started in the early 80s and one of the first synth-pop bands to make it big. They're British.

 

..eh, i'll always be a fan of the band that came out with "Violator" (what a terrific album).

"Enjoy the Silence" will forever be in my top 5 favourite songs of all-time.

I also haven't checked out the latest album yet, but i will..

 

Please do so. You won't be disappointed. Playing the Angel is a mix of everything they've ever done. I really think that, like Violator, PtA will be known as one of the band's bastion albums. Depeche have matured a great deal, and this CD shows it.

Don't know anything about this band, but I'm willing to learn. grin
When did they start? British? American?

They're British; their first CD came out in 1981. Head on over to DepecheMode.com for complete info and listen to some of their songs.

 

I'll agree with Latorski. They were a good band but a little too dark fo me. They traveled the world but always seemed like every day was the last day the earth would revolve. Maybe it is because they are British.

 

I've only heard half of the new album, but I like what I hear quite a bit. It may very well be their best since Violator.

My favorite DM albums are Music for the Masses and Violator, and Depeche Mode 101 is one of my favorite tour videos by any band, ever.

 

I became a fan almost ten years ago when I bought Violator. Since then Depeche Mode has in many ways been the soundtrack to my life.

About Playing the Angel, it is definitely their best effort since Alan Wilder left in 1995. The music is well produced and its crunchy sound keeps it from becoming too polished. The only negative thing I see is that the second half is a little uneven with perhaps too many slow tracks. Maybe the track order should have been slightly different to keep the pace from the first five tracks.

I think the music is quite catchy. Every song has some melody part that gets stuck. Unlike the tracks on Ultra and Exciter I found myself humming the melodies of several track after the first listen. In essence, this new album has stronger songs than the last two albums. I can't wait to hear "A pain that I used to be" and "John the Revelator" live. The choruses of those two songs are begging for a huge crowd to sing them loud.

Lyricwise, I'm still not sure what my verdict is. The first single "Precious" is a brilliant pondering on the suffering of children with divorced parents. There are a number of other lines that also stand out. But I actually think that in this regard Playing the Angel doesn't offer the same experience as the other albums did. Although it could be me, I was younger then and I guess it may get harder to experience the same effect again and again.

 

I love DM. I've been a fan since Violator but knew of their songs before that album. Personally I thinkk Violator is one of the landmark albums of the 90s. It's the album that made it okay for music to be electronic in the mainstream. (I am not talking synth pop here, I am talking serious electronic music). Enjoy The Silence is a masterpiece and definately my favorite DM song ever. Though the album was spotty, I think It's No Good is utterly brilliant and good enough to be on Violator no problem. I did download Precious from iTunes and I do like it. It's a bit bland and mellow to be too amazing but it is good.

 

I'll agree with Latorski. They were a good band but a little too dark fo me. They traveled the world but always seemed like every day was the last day the earth would revolve. Maybe it is because they are British.

Well, the songwriter, Martin Gore, has some childhood issues. There are reasons why their stuff is so dark and brooding. But it's also very sexual, and dark moodiness and sex seem to appeal to a lot of people.

Depeche Mode has in many ways been the soundtrack to my life.


Same here. I love music from every genre, but DM is the one band that has never failed to give me something personal, something different from all the others. I have yet to see them live (my plans to go next month to see them in Atlanta went bust) but I'm very anxious to do so.


I did download Precious from iTunes and I do like it. It's a bit bland and mellow to be too amazing but it is good.


It's a good thing Precious is bland and mellow; everything else on the CD is very traditional Depeche- dark, bitter, sad, uplifting in a depressing way... Everytime I hear the first few bars of Precious, I take a breath and use it as a launching point for the rest of the CD, which offers songs about heartbreak, death, dark personalities and such in their usual blend of minor keys and major moodiness.

 

I wish Alan Wilder was still in the band and Andy would go away to be honest. Alan had so much talent and was a total fox. Martin is the core of the band tho.. he writes the best stuff. I saw them in concert several times in the late 80's, early 90's. I haven't bought anything of theirs since Violator I believe. Is their new record good?

Oh and Black Celebration in my opinion was their best record.

 

Dave Gahan wrote three of the songs on the new CD, and I am very, very pleased with them. Everyone, seriously- go buy this CD. That includes you, Pucca. Hop to it!

 

Back in my early teens I had Speak and Spell on cassette tape. My friends and me who listened to this band was considered "weird" at that time (we also listened to Adam and the Ants ).

A little later when I was hooked on rock and Pink Floyd, I felt ashame of listening to them, so I didn't buy anything with them from that time, just listened to them on the radio from time to time.

Today I must admit I was mistaken, when I cut my interest in them

 

During the 80's their stuff was very, very different from the more traditional rock sounds, but in the 90's that changed somewhat. Regardless, I can see how fellow rock friends would look down on Depeche. Especially with songs like "Boys Say Go." Heh.

 

I don't know what it is with me and DM. I won't listen to their albums for a couple years, then I'll dig them out, be transfixed for a couple weeks, then put them away again and forget about them.

Violator is a good album and all, but my personal favorite is Songs of Faith and Devotion. It's a great combination of hard-egded rock and techno, and the emotions just drip from the songs. It felt like they put every ounce of energy they have into the record.

Pretty much I haven't bought anything of theirs since the DoubleCD Greatest Hits, but maybe I should delve into them again and see if there's anything I like.

 

Martin Gore's solo Counterfeit is really good too.

 

tee-hee...I've had similar thoughts. Alan Wilder...*sigh*

Depeche Mode has ultimately been my favorite band since I first heard them about 20 years ago. Wow, 20 years ago! As the years go by, I have noticed that there are certain discs that I gravitate to over and over again, on a regular basis. 'Some Great Reward', 'Black Celebration', 'Music for the Masses' and 'Ultra'. At the moment I do think 'Ultra' is my most listened to piece of work by them.

I picked up 'Playing the Angel' when it came out last week and I'm still getting used to it. There are a few stand out tracks, but overall I'm not sure I like it as much as their previous efforts. That said, I'd still choose to listen to it over most anything else I own by other bands. And, I'm fairly certain it will grow on me.

I was delighted to see that Dave wrote three of their new songs because I really enjoyed his solo CD, 'Paper Monsters'. Seeing him perform live in support of it was fantastic too. He just seemed so happy to be playing and singing his own music. 'Dirty Sticky Floors' is forever a favorite.

Martin's 'Counterfeit' (from 1989) is a fabulous collection of songs. Although his 'Counterfeit2' (from 2003) did nothing for me. I ended up giving it away to a friend.

I'm just very happy that the three of them came back together to record 'Playing the Angel'. Their music does mature with each new release and it's always a joy to hear it. I don't think I'll ever get enough of them. So, I guess they were right...I 'Just Can't Get Enough'.

 

I went to their big Rose Bowl concert in the 80's.

It was great, though I kinda lost contact with their stuff in the 90's.

They actually caused traffic jams and mini-riots here in LA in the 80's. They were pretty popular out here in the 80's.

 

I'm not as familiar with their earlier CDs as I am with their stuff from the 90's (what with me being all of eighteen years old, this isn't surprising). However, I'd have to list "Shake the Disease" as one of my favorite songs. Ever. By anyone. I tend to forget about the great songs off of Speak and Spell and Some Great Reward (Tora! Tora! Tora! instantly comes to mind), but every now and then I'll put on the CDs 3-5 of my 7 CD mix collection, and delve into their infancy.

They actually caused traffic jams and mini-riots here in LA in the 80's. They were pretty popular out here in the 80's.

I read about that. Yay for Depeche! Not-so-much-yay for riots.

Sad to say, I have yet to pick up either Dave's or Martin's solo records. I heard "Dirty Sticky Floors" online, but that's as far as I got. I really should look into that.


At the moment I do think 'Ultra' is my most listened to piece of work by them.

That CD, as well as Violator, was the first taste I had of Depeche. It's No Good, Barrel of a Gun, and Useless remain favorites, and Home is one of my favorite Gore songs. I find myself singing Sister of Night a lot after hearing it, too. It's a powerful CD, and I think I subconsciously compare a lot of DM's other songs to the ones on Ultra.

I picked up 'Playing the Angel' when it came out last week and I'm still getting used to it. There are a few stand out tracks, but overall I'm not sure I like it as much as their previous efforts. That said, I'd still choose to listen to it over most anything else I own by other bands. And, I'm fairly certain it will grow on me


I had the opposite effect- it instantly struck me as downright awesome. Grabbed me by my imaginary balls and didn't let go for a minute. It's weird, though; some songs, like Damaged People and I Want It All I think I don't much care for, but as soon as they come on, my finger refuses to hit the "next" button. With that having been said, Lilian is my new favorite DM song.

So- has everyone gotten their copy of Playing the Angel yet?

 

This happens to me too. Although I find them rather bland I just can't skip them. It does say something about the ability Playing the Angel to work as whole. It will be interesting to listen to this album on vinyl (I have ordered a copy and am hoping it will arrive next week).

The first four albums do have their moments. Some Great Reward remains a masterpiece, although I rarely listen to it nowadays. But I still love "Stories of Old" and its darker take on love. Hearing "Blasphemous Rumours" live next year would make my day. The three albums that preceeded Some Great Reward are more uneven. My favorite track on Speak and Spell is "Puppets" for its lovely sounds and melody.

About Gahan's and Gore's respective solo efforts, I think they show what they're both good at as well as not so good at. Paper monsters has some good tracks, but there are also a number of ones that could have had more work done on them. I think the album is saved by Dave's singin and it does feel like these songs mean a lot to him.

Finally, "Shake the Disease" is one of my favorite tracks of 1981-1985 era. Martin Gore did a wonderful acoustic version of it during his solo tour in 2003. I hope they will include at least one reworked piano-based rendition of one of their songs. The live versions of "Sister of Night" and "It doesn't matter two" from the Exciter tour sounds even better to me than the album versions.

 

Live versions almost always sound better than the studio recordings, if only because of the excitment and energy you feel from the audience; somehow, that translates onto the recording.

Have you heard Martin's acoustic "Personal Jesus"? That's a foot-stomper if I ever heard one.

The first single "Precious" is a brilliant pondering on the suffering of children with divorced parents.

I meant to ask earlier, but where did you find this info? I listened to the song again after reading this and it made it twenty times better, now that I actually know what's trying to be said. And also much sadder.

 

Yeah, I have and I like it too. It's an excellent B-side, one of their best.

About the meaning of "Precious", a feew weeks ago BBC conducted an interview with Dave Gahan. Gahan explicitly said that Gore's writing about his fear of what him divorcing his wife will do to their kids. To me "Precious" is both extremely sad and yet uplifting. It's hopeful because he's asking his children to "keep room in your hearts for two", in other words he doesn't want his kids to take sides.

 

Thanks for the info, emilsson.

Until everyone gets a chance to pick up and listen to PtA, how about a discussion of previous albums: We can start from the beginning with Speak and Spell. I mentioned this before, but I'll reiterate how much I enjoy Tora! Tora! Tora!. And my love for Just Can't Get Enough goes without saying, as does Boys Say Go. Strange how I love the peppy, gay stuff as well as the depressing goth stuff. Interesting dynamics, but, whatever; it's just Depeche.

 

I see Speak and Spell as a good first effort. Obviously, it differs a lot from later albums which has much to do with Vince Clarke writing most of the songs. In fact, this album shares many things with Clarke's later group Erasure and it's amazing that Clarke already in 1981 was capable of writing such fine melodies.

The music has stood the test of time quite well, although some parts sound dated. I've already mentioned "Puppets" above as my favorite track of the album. The message of this song comes off as quite sinister and manipulative. I used to like "Photographic", but after hearing the live version available on the limited 12" of "Love, in itself" I think the album version is simply too slow.

The award to most unfitting title goes to "I sometimes wish I was dead" because that song is probably the most cheerful and cheesy tune Depeche Mode has ever recorded (It's included on the LP and the European CD rerelease of Speak and Spell.

 

Next up: A Broken Frame

I would say this is the CD I am least familiar with. A Photograph of You has some lovely lyrics, but it always reminds me of The Cure's "Pictures of You." Shouldn't Have Done That is the only other song I kind of know, but even now I can't remember how the melody goes. I really need to brush up on my early Depeche.