The Friday Canon: DEPECHE MODE

[katstevens.livejournal.com]

MODEFAX:

Dave joined the band after hearing them rehearse in a scout-hut!

They used 'People Are People' as the theme tune for agreeable children's telly programme It'll Never Work!

Dave technically died for 2 minutes in 1996!

You get THIRTEEN ticks across all these UK Top 40 hits. Blimey!

[Poll #982839]
Rod Stewart: (link)
1. Maggie May
2. I Don't Want To Talk About It / First Cut Is The Deepest
3. Da Ya Think I'm Sexy?
=4. Young Turks
=4. You Wear It Well
6. Stay With Me [w/ The Faces]
7. Downtown Train
8. Reason To Believe
=9. Tonight's The Night (Gonna Be Alright)
=9. You're In My Heart

Comments

"Understand me...understand me"

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

Depeche are weirdly fascinating - at least in the 80s. I can't offhand think of a more rawly, embarassingly, compellingly teenage British band. The incredibly earnestly rotten lyrics, the excited discovery of kinky sex (ALLIED to said lyrics!) (though very much discovery IN A MAG), the descent into moodiness and portent ("Never Let Me Down Again" is, like, the HEAVIEST-HANDED record EVER!), all always redeemed by an ear for a hook and a real feeling and intensity. And then suddenly around 1990, after they got huge in America, it's like some kind of dam bursts and all the bottled-up intensity becomes boring rock pose "intensity" and the gaucheness (tho not the naffness) vanishes and basically they get laid and go rubbish.

Re: "Understand me...understand me"

[damnspynovels.livejournal.com]

There may be some correlation with the exit of Mr Wilder.

Re: "Understand me...understand me"

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

He left mid-90s, didn't he? I think it had already happened by then.

Re: "Understand me...understand me"

[damnspynovels.livejournal.com]

His last album was SOFAD, so it might be argued that his involvement with Depeche Mode ended in 1993 on that album's release. I'm not sure you could call Violator - Personal Jesus aside maybe - full of boring rock pose intensity, and whilst SOFAD hinted large at the future to come, it still wasn't as bombast and INXS as ULTRA turned out to be.

Re: "Understand me...understand me"

[chezghost.livejournal.com]

my favourite track on SOFAD is 'Rush' because it's the one most like their 'Violator' work.

Re: "Understand me...understand me"

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

Yeah I was putting SOFAD as the moment it all went wrong - Violator has hints but only hints really: I like it (and EtS is grebt pop) but I think it lacks the weird teenage intensity, it just hasn't replaced it with the Rock God stuff.

Re: "Understand me...understand me"

[damnspynovels.livejournal.com]

Maybe we can blame the introduction of Real Drums?

Re: "Understand me...understand me"

[blue-russian.livejournal.com]

It was amazing, though, how they absolutely BLEW UP with Violator. I was already convinced that their real career was over and it was just hardcore fans who would slowly get bored with them, and then boom! They become godlike (popularity-wise).

Re: "Understand me...understand me"

[damnspynovels.livejournal.com]

Again with the correlation, but I wonder if there can be any link made between Violator's hideously MTV friendly videos, and the introduction of Sky Television (and therefore making MTV available) around 1990.

Will admit this is probably shite considering MTV Europe was already being broadcast from 1987, but it's not like it was ubiquitous, certainly in the UK, until into the v.early 90s.

Re: "Understand me...understand me"

[carsmilesteve.livejournal.com]

haha, this is why "somebody" is SO grebt, it's like pure distilled gedge with a decent voice, and 15-odd years since my obsession with it (via 101) i can still remember almost all of the words...

and when i'm asleep
i want somebody
who can put their arms around me
and kiss me
ten-der-ly

etcetcetc

Re: "Understand me...understand me"

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

I well remember a moment of massive collective shame in 92 or so when me and my pseudo-sophisticated art-pop mates all realised we all could recite ALL THE WORDS to "Somebody".

I can't believe they dared make it a double A-Side with the only song with worse/grebter lyrics than it!

Re: "Understand me...understand me"

[carsmilesteve.livejournal.com]

and when i die, i expect to find him LAUGHING!!!

KAT! can you bring yr mode to the pub so i can rip it pls?

Re: "Understand me...understand me"

[katstevens.livejournal.com]

Oh all right :-)

I bought the Natasha Bedingfield album as well, do you want to rip that too? (Expect FULL Tash-Bed write up next week!)

Re: "Understand me...understand me"

[carsmilesteve.livejournal.com]

ooh i've you've just bought it today, no worries, another time maybe :)

Re: "Understand me...understand me"

[katstevens.livejournal.com]

Dude I have been listening to DM ALL DAY, I have had my fix now! Prob best not to borrow Tash Bed just yet though... :-)

Re: "Understand me...understand me"

[carsmilesteve.livejournal.com]

will live without the tashbed for now, yes ;)

eventually my ipod will be full of all the songs i liked when i was 18 HURRAH!

Re: "Understand me...understand me"

[carsmilesteve.livejournal.com]

next stop: that second, underrated inspiral carpets alBUM and EFFING GRACELANDS which for some reason is currently impossible to track down...

Re: "Understand me...understand me"

[carsmilesteve.livejournal.com]

also the pakenham better have some MODE on the juker ;)