Depeche Mode

[Tom]

i realize it is well within the realm of possibilities that I may be the only Depeche Mode fan here. however, they are a really great band, even if you don't think you'd like 'that kind of music' you guys ought to give them a shot.

Violator is the best album they've made IMO. but i'm pretty excited about their new album "Playing the Angel." It is being streamed for free at Myspace right now.

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fusea...55513F960162250

from what i can hear on these crappy computer speakers it is classic DM music. their last album "Exciter" was anything but exciting; but PTA seems like a great return to form.

basically this is the album Billy Corgan must have been trying to make with "The Future Embrace."; but he didn't quite hit on the high emotional or musical level that Depeche Mode do here.

so, am i the only Depeche Mode fan here or are there others lurking?

[Escuchame]

I like Depeche Mode, though not as much as Duran Duran, their more metrosexual counterparts.   LOL.

DM has always been more of an acquired taste, mostly because they opt for darker, bleaker motifs than the comparatively happier DD.

The new stuff, though, sounds great.

[Tom]

i've listented to PTA several times now online. i REALLY like it now. the only downpoints are the 2 songs that Martin Gore sings. it isn't that he's a bad singer per se, it is just that Dave Gahan sounds MUCH better for this type of music.

"Playing the Angel" has just bumped "Why Should the Fire Die" out of my top 10. it is that good.

the lyrics remind me of classic Depeche Mode. man, they are always searching for redemption. i get the feeling they've had bad experiences with the church. the new song "Sinner In Me" is powerful stuff.

most music in this genre seems to lack depth, but Depeche Mode nearly always serve up some food for thought lyrically.

[Tom]

ok, this is seriously the last time i'll beat this dead horse. but here's one last effort to get you guys to check it out:

http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&s...10:uqjw7i55g72r

not that All Music Guide is always right, but they are more often right than they are wrong. as many of you already know. at least, i trust them more than Pitchfork anymore.

[Aaron]

David Gahan rocks my face off

[bloop]

I don't know Andy Kellman too well - I pay more attention to who wrote it than which outlet (I have those I tend to trust at pitchfork and amg, so I can't really pick one).  In this particular review, Kellman seems to be talking around the album rather than about it - like he's talking about it in strictly the sense of its place in the band's other work.

So, in general, I like AMG, and I may even agree with that rating if I get a chance to hear it myself, but I don't much care for it as a review.

[Tom]

one thing i'd like to add to discussion of the new Depeche Mode album:

I loathe and despise Martin Gore's lyrics to "John The Revelator." i had no idea what he was saying until i read the lyrics. seriously, those are about the most awful things i've ever heard in a song.

i knew he wasn't a Christian, and you can tell he is searching; but he's clearly crossed a line here. IMO

i'd reprint the lyrics, but i don't want the earth to swallow me up. suffice to say, this is a track i'll avoid buying or hearing again.

[bloop]

i'd reprint the lyrics, but i don't want the earth to swallow me up.

For the sake of discussion, I'll risk it:

John the Revelator
Put him in an elevator
Take him up to the highest high
Take him up to the top where the mountains stop
Let him tell his book of lies

John the Revelator
He's a smooth operator
It's time we cut him down to size
Take him by the hand
And put him on the stand
Let us hear his alibis

By claiming God as his only rock
He's stealing a God from the Israelite
Stealing a God from a Muslim, too
There is only one God through and through
Seven lies, multiplied by seven, multiplied by seven again
Seven angels with seven trumpets
Send them home on the morning train
Well who's that shouting?
John the Revelator!
All he ever gives us is pain
Well who's that shouting?
John the Revelator!
He should bow his head in shame

By and by
By and by
By and by
By and by

Seven lies, multiplied by seven, multiplied by seven again
Seven angels with seven trumpets
Send them home on the morning train
Well who's that shouting?
John the Revelator!
All he ever gives us is pain
Well who's that shouting?
John the Revelator!
He should bow his head in shame

By and by
By and by
John the Revelator
By and by
John the Revelator
By and by
John the Revelator

I really did like the tune to this song when I reviewed the album.