Catching Up with Depeche Mode.

 A pair of Depeche Mode pieces.

1) A thinkpiece on their legacy these days.

2) A review of their 2023 show in Nashville.

What I've been doing as of late.

Things which I have been up to over the past few months.



Oh yeah, and Lady Bird. I reviewed that.

Goblin, y'all! Goblin! With awesome YouTube mixtape attached.

A review of The Killing of a Sacred Deer, which is awesome, and people who dis it as having anything to do with Michael Haneke are mistaken.

For the sixteenth consecutive year, I attended the New York Film Festival.

A piece on the transcendent guitarist Mdou Moctar.

Adam Gold and I compiled our personal fave Depeche Mode tracks.

Aww shit! I was on a podcast talking about Depeche Mode.

A review of the Safdie Brothers' Good Time.

A review of the new It, wherein I was actually physically assaulted by a drunk person during the press screening.

The twenty-five best Depeche Mode songs of all time.

Two and a half days until I finally see Depeche Mode live.

I’ve been trying for twenty-one years.

That’s right, if my wanting to see Depeche Mode in concert were a living thing, it would be old enough to legally buy alcohol.

So here’s what I think are their twenty-five greatest songs. A couple are official videos, most are various and sundry live versions, and two of them could not be found anywhere in YouTube land. But taken together, it should give you an idea of both why I love this band and what an amazing pop history they’ve made over the past twenty-eight years.

25) Love in Itself


24) Freelove (Deep Dish Freedom Vocal)

I specifically used this mix because I don’t think the album version is as strong of a song. It’s altogether drearier, and it doesn’t pop the way this remix does. So hats off to you, Sharam and Ali of Deep Dish.

23) Any Second Now (Voices)


22) Get The Balance Right


21) In Sympathy

Easily the best song off their newest album Sounds of the Universe, and it’s already been dropped from the setlist of this tour. Dammit.

20) I Sometimes Wish I Was Dead


19) Dangerous
For some reason, Warner Music is very particular about this track. I haven’t the slightest idea why, but for some reason, you can’t find a YouTube of this song (as performed by Depeche Mode) anywhere. It was only the B-side of the biggest-selling 12” single (1989’s “Personal Jesus”) in Warner history…

18) Condemnation
(Martin vocal)

Normally, Dave Gahan sings this song, but there aren’t any extant versions of that on the YouTube. So you can easily hear his take on the song on any of the albums (and it’s one of Dave’s best songs that he sings), but Martin’s version is just beautiful.

17) Leave in Silence


16) Precious
I do this song at karaoke sometimes, because someone has to.

15) But Not Tonight


14) If You Want

Written by unheralded genius Alan Wilder.

13) Somebody

The song that would have caused Junior High mixtapes to be invented had they not already existed.

12) Halo


11) New Life


10) It Doesn’t Matter


09) Shout


08) Blasphemous Rumours

You never outgrow this song. I’ve talked about its fascinating grammatical complexity before, but it also reflects the basic roots of any conflict with religion. Seeing them perform it before a pop crowd just makes it all the more surreal. And effective.

07) Behind The Wheel/Route 66 (U.S. Version)
Ivan Ivan (the madman behind I-Square Records in the 80s) did an amazing megamix of Behind The Wheel and Route 66 for the U.S. It can be found on the domestic 12” single, an extravagantly-priced CD promo, and on a 1988 Sire Records CD sampler called Just Say Yo. It is magnificent, even if you just have my word to take for it.

06) Stripped


05) Never Let Me Down Again


04) Fly on the Windscreen


03) Everything Counts


02) Enjoy the Silence

Again, no official video to be found. So this is my favorite of the remixes. It doesn’t really give you all the lyrics (or any of them, for that matter), but if you haven’t heard “Enjoy The Silence,” then there’s something wrong with you.

01) Shake The Disease

How the sound went down this year.

So another year, another sprawling playlist for birthday shenanigans. We started around 8:30 PM, then ran until about quarter til' five this morning.

The Three Degrees – Set Me Free
Beck vs Scissor Sisters – I Don’t Feel like Losin’
The Outfield – Your Love (Remix)
The Last Mister Bigg – Traffic King
Zsa Zsa ‘La Boum’ – Tu Veux ou Tu Veux Pas (12” Version)
The Wesley Willis Fiasco – Girls on Film
Pete Shelley vs Abba – Does Your Homosapien Know?
Black 47 – Bridie’s Song (Funky Céilí)
The Dead Milkmen – Bleach Boys
P!nk – Funhouse (Digital Dog Mix)
Ginuwine – Pony (Booty Mix)
The Wonderland Disco Band – Wonder Woman Disco
Meat Loaf – You Took The Words Right Outta My Mouth (Hot Summer Night)
Björk and Antony – The Dull Flame of Desire (Modeselektor’s Remix for Girls)
Prince – Moonbeam Levels
SSQ – Synthicide (Extended Version)
Donna Summer – Take Me
Abba – Lovelight
The B-52’s – Girl From Ipanema Goes To Greenland (Shep Pettibone Remix)
Roxette – The Look (Elaste)
Notorious B.I.G. – Juicy (Three Bad Brothaz Electromix)
Samantha Fox – I Wanna Have Some Fun (Have Some Dub)
Fever Ray – Triangle Walks (Rex the Dog Mix)
Lil Wyte featuring Juicy J – Fucked Up
New Order – Blue Monday (Paul Dakeyne DMC Reorder)
Jane Child – All I Do (TG Mix)
Propaganda – Dr. Mabuse (ReEdit)
The 2 Live Crew – The Fuck Shop
Big Moe featuring DJ Screw, Z-Ro, and Tyte Eyes – City of Syrup
Siouxsie & the Banshees – This Wheel’s on Fire
Pet Shop Boys and Phil Oakey – This used to be the future
TLC – What About Your Friends
The Monkees – As We Go Along
Kings of Leon – Use Somebody (Christian Luke Reboot)
Matt Berry as Dr. Julian Sanchez – One Track Lover (Synthia Remix)
June Pointer – Little Boy Sweet (from National Lampoon’s Vacation)
Amanda Blank – Super Freek (Remix)
The McGregor Brothers - Autotune the News 2
Pink Floyd – Brain Damage (Hani Remix)
Depeche Mode – It Doesn’t Matter
P!nk – Please Don’t Leave Me (Digital Dog Mix)
George Duke – Say That You Will
The Eagles – The Disco Strangler (ReEdit)
The Little River Band – Help Is On Its Way
BG and Big Tymers – Ecstasy and Hennessey
Baby D – Let Me Be Your Fantasy (Ruffer Mix)
Loleatta Holloway – Love Sensation (12” Version)
The Bloodhound Gang – Mope
Connie Stevens - Sixteen Reasons (Why I Love You)
My Life With The Thrill Kult – A Girl Doesn’t Get Killed By A Make-Believe Lover… ‘Cuz It’s Hot
Buju Banton and Nadine Sutherland – Wicked Dickie
New Order – Touched By The Hand of God (12” Version)
Patrick Swayze – She’s Like the Wind (Aquaflex Remix)
Teddy Pendergrass – Only You
Q. Lazzarus – Goodbye Horses
Jeremih and R. Kelly – Birthday Sex (Remix)
La Roux – Armour Love
Röyksopp featuring Robyn – The Girl and The Robot
The Waitresses – Square Pegs
The Brothers Johnson – Strawberry Letter 23
They Might Be Giants & The Doc Severinsen Orchestra – Birdhouse in Your Soul (Live)
Eurythmics vs Tone-Loc – Here Comes The Wild Thing Again
The Walker Brothers – Nite Flights (4amix)
Tina Turner – Save The last Dance For Me
Shirley Ellis – Rubber Dolly (The Clapping Song)
Akasa – One Night in My Life (Rhythm Stick Remix)
Ol’ Dirty Bastard – Cold Blooded
Neil Diamond – I Am, I Said
Terri Gibbs – Somebody’s Knocking
Imogen Heap – Hide and Seek (Jethro East and Lee Davey Remix)
Shona Laing – Soviet Snow
Roxy Music – Mother of Pearl
David Bowie – Across The Universe
The Hudson Brothers – So You Are a Star
10,000 Maniacs – Don’t Talk
Right here is when we took a break and popped in Depeche Mode's Devotional DVD.
Depeche Mode – Behind The Wheel
Depeche Mode - Stripped
Depeche Mode - Condemnation
Depeche Mode - Judas
Depeche Mode – Mercy in You
Depeche Mode – I Feel You
Depeche Mode – Never Let Me Down Again
Depeche Mode - Rush
Depeche Mode – In Your Room
Depeche Mode – Personal Jesus
Depeche Mode – Enjoy the Silence
Depeche Mode – Fly on the Windscreen
Depeche Mode – Everything Counts
And back to the mix as things wound down.
Nina Persson and Nathan Larson – The Bluest Eyes in Texas
Pat Benetar – We Live For Love ‘84
Ellie Warren – Satellites
Paul Simon – Diamonds on The Soles of Her Shoes (Tangoterje Dub)
American Fade – I’m Alive (Let’s Move On) (Disconet Version)
Darren Hayes – Casey
Londonbeat – No Woman No Cry
Patti Smith – Break It Up
Peppermint Rainbow – Will You Be Staying After Sunday
OMD – Souvenir (Moby Mix)
eo – High
TV On The Radio – Family Tree

A gallimaufry of guesstimation.

So, in a grand shift from my usual literary trickle, I'm practically hosing the internet down with material this week, with reviews of Pascal Laugier's film Martyrs here and my takes on the new albums by Pet Shop Boys and Depeche Mode.

Enjoy.

The forty-sixth* single from the Mode.

Depeche Mode - "Wrong" (official music video)


* forty-seventh if you include Little 15.

International pop music interlude: Depeche Mode

In somewhat of a depressed mood as per the death of Estelle Getty. The following song always tends to brighten my spirits.

Depeche Mode - "Shout" (Live in Hamburg, 1984)

Dog show.

I've loved Rex the Dog's sound since his sorta-released remix of Depeche Mode's "Photographic." Since then, he's done staggeringly awesome mixes of The Knife's "Marble House," Goldfrapp's "Happiness," and even an inventive mashup that uses his "Photographic" 'Dubb' and welds it to Kelly Clarkson's "Since U Been Gone" in a masterful and gloriously dance-y way.

So, next month in the UK, Rex is releasing his first artist album, The Rex the Dog Show. Thanks to the folks at Popjustice, here's the video for the first single. It's got a visually distinctive style and a degree of playfulness we don't normally get from dance videos. Check it out.

I Can See You, Can You See Me?

Rex the Dog - "I Can See You, Can You See Me?"

You can also check out his superb minimix from BBC Radio 1. Fun stuff for a sweltering summer afternoon.

A question of grammar: "Blasphemous Rumours"

I've always been a huge Depeche Mode fan, going back to hearing "People are People" on the radio in Kettering/Dayton/West Carrolton, Ohio in the summer of 1984. And there's been a question that's picked at the back of my brain for over twenty years now, and I'm still no closer to solving it.

In their masterpiece "Blasphemous Rumours," the chorus goes

"I don't want to start any blasphemous rumours
but I think that God's got a sick sense of humour
and when I die
I expect to find him laughing"

The way Dave Gahan sings it is with an emphasis on the "that" in the second line, which carries with it an interesting variance in meaning.

Looking at the text of Martin Gore's lyrics, the diagram of the line would indicate that God has a sick sense of humor. Simple enough. But the way that Gahan emphasizes that 'that' seems to imply that the sick sense of humor belongs to 'that' God, implying that there are other options. To make this philosophy explicit would have been grammatically unwieldy (I don't want to start any blasphemous rumours/but I think that that God has a sick sense of humour) and counterproductive to the rhythm of the line.

But the fact that emphasizing one word can add a dense layer of philosophical theory to a pop song makes me positively giddy inside.

I always thought I would outgrow this song's bemused frustration with religion... Nope. XTC's "Dear God," also a great song, hasn't aged quite as well for me. But I'm glad to know that controversial explorations of spiritual issues still stir up the same emotions today as they did when I first heard them.

What are your thoughts?