I Said I'd Write A Ballot, But I Never Got The Time -- ILM Artist Poll #18 -- DEPECHE MODE (voting thread)

oh that "Dream On" mix is GREAT, I hadn't heard it before

― I'M THAT POSTA, AAAAAAAAAH (DJP)

It was on several 'chillout' compilations back in the day. It was the highlight of many of them imho.

I like that it was remixed by "Dave Clarke"

― crüt

What? I don't get it... are you referring to other dave clarke? this is the remixer:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dave_Clarke_%28techno_DJ%29

I guess he's saying it's appropriate: DAVE Gahan + Vince CLARKE.

An underrated SOFAD tracK. "When this world is trying it's hardest to leave me unimpressed" is such a classic Gore line.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NOfuB3e5rR4

yep, love that one. altho not enough for it to appear on my ballot.

These kind of ballot wars really make me...not question my own fandom, but wonder if I'm somehow off kilter for loving every album for its various strengths, and never thinking they've made a bad album.

I don't think they've made a bad album. I just personally can't get into their post-Violator effort as much as their earlier albums. I think the thing you touched on upthread about "But Not Tonight" being their last upbeat song has something to do with it.

I also don't think there's such a thing as being an "off kilter" fan - everyone likes different combinations of things.

see: Dan putting A Broken Frame at the bottom of his albums list whereas I'd list it at #2 or #3

"Upbeat" isn't an adjective that comes to mind when I think of Depeche Mode, tbh; I think The Cure is more reliable upbeat and chipper than they are. (This probably goes a long way towards explaining why DM's early twee side grates on me so much.)

the sinister edge is what seems to be missing from their later albums, for me - plus the interesting electronic details as noted by alfred upthread. something like 'sister of night' i just find really wimpy, and they continued moving in that direction.

Re that early twee side, is there another major band with their trajectory, where they really found their identity only after the original songwriter left?

the sinister edge is what seems to be missing from their later albums, for me

This makes zero sense to me; I think the one constant of Depeche Mode albums since Construction Time Again is an overabundance of sinister edge! (In fact, that's one of the things that makes Playing the Angel so great.)

I don't see Vince Clarke-era Depeche Mode any "less" Depeche Mode than what came afterwards, to be honest. It all very much sounds like Depeche Mode music to me, even if their gradual evolution into what most people would call the 'typical Depeche Mode style' is very apparent from album to album.

xp that's on the playlist for tomorrow; surface impression of 'sounds of the universe' today was that it was definitely lacking in edge. could be it's mostly the electronic depth i'm missing tho. all the songs on violator sound like incredible machines, the thrill i get listening to them is not dissimilar to what i get reading sci-fi. everything after that, even if they're good songs, they just sound like regular old songs. i could imagine any band performing them, any band having written them even.

To me, the difference between the later albums and the earlier albums is that on those later albums Depeche Mode have more of an idea of who they are and what they do. They're aware that they've forged a 'Depeche Mode style', and they make their music with that kind of thinking in mind. Whereas on the albums from when Gore took over as songwriter on A Broken Frame up until Violator, they seemed to have less of idea, and it made the results more interesting. Songs Of Faith And Devotion, I guess was an attempt to consciously try and do something different, but since Alan Wilder's departure they've been quite content to make what I'd call 'typical Depeche Mode music'. There's some great songs on Ultra, Playing The Angel and Sounds Of The Universe (I find Exciter very bland), but they seem to have settled into a groove of making music that is more reminiscent of their Violator era, while in places retaining some of the grit of Songs Of Faith And Devotion... and of course, the usual lyrical crutches: sin, suffering, pain, misery, devotion, God, religion, knees...

Then there's this video from 2009, not sinister at all! (Granted, video != song necessarily but come on.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IvfcnpJRf0Q

xpost:

In other words, they know what works, and they're not as big on fucking with the formula to the same degree as what they used to. A lot was made of Dave Gahan making contributions to the songwriting on Playing The Angel and Sounds Of The Universe, but because Dave himself has been in Depeche Mode since the beginning, it's pretty inevitable that he's going to be heavily influenced by Martin's songs, and it doesn't really offer that much of a 'new' dimension to Depeche Mode albums. 'Suffer Well' especially sounds like a typical Depeche track.

I don't see Vince Clarke-era Depeche Mode any "less" Depeche Mode than what came afterwards, to be honest.

I love the Vince Clarke singles, myself. It's just an interesting thing to me, that the guy who wrote like 90 percent of the material leaves, and that opens space for the band to become this whole other thing.

I honestly don't see how you can't be overwhelmed the relentless sci-fi machinism of stuff like "In Chains", "Hole To Feed", "Wrong" and "Corrupt"

Our friend comes as close as anyone to explaining what happens to bands at a certain age.

I love the Vince Clarke singles, myself. It's just an interesting thing to me, that the guy who wrote like 90 percent of the material leaves, and that opens space for the band to become this whole other thing.

― something of an astrological coup (tipsy mothra), Wednesday, April 25, 2012 3:28 PM (1 minute ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Yeah, I know what you mean. But what's interesting to me about Vince leaving the band, and knowing what Depeche Mode would turn into, is that the evolution was still quite gradual. You'd think there's be a massive leap between Speak & Spell and A Broken Frame, and there isn't really. That's not to say there aren't noticeable changes, because there are, but it's not like they went from, say, 'Just Can't Get Enough' directly into 'Blasphemous Rumours', y'know? It's like they had to get stuff like 'A Photograph Of You', 'The Meaning Of Love' etc. out of their system first. And not to mention the lyrical content of Construction Time Again, which is a side of Martin's songwriting that he hasn't really touched upon since.

The main band that comes to mind with regards to different songwriters and different periods of success is Fleetwood Mac, who were very successful in the UK in their Peter Green incarnation, then had a period of transition, and then became this whole other thing with Lindsey Buckingham & Stevie Nicks while also managing to be even more successful than they had been beforehand, and on a worldwide scale.

xxp idk it just sounds like a pale echo of violator machinism to me? i can't really pin down in words or thoughts even exactly what it is i think they've lost (yeah maybe nabisco manages it in that review) but i guess i could be glad that other people think they still have it :)

the 'wrong' vid is indeed amazing and it's one of the few later tracks that still have something of that edge. imo.

Genesis or Pink Floyd, maybe? Seems like the sort of element that really enhances these polls, actually.

Yeah, Pink Floyd is another good example. I don't think it's as extreme a change as Fleetwood Mac going from a UK blues band to morphing into Californian soft-rock titans, but it's still a very good example.

New Order too.

Nabisco's piece there is terrific. These polls have been great for encouraging me to discover bands' later stuff. It's nearly all surprisingly good, but definitely all 'suffers' from what he's identified, that there's lots to admire but what you really love are the big hooks and poses from your and their youth ... and who's got the time to admire pop music anyway?

Paul Simon's the exception, actually - he's as loveable as he ever was. Possibly because the hooks and the poses were never the whole point - it was always the words, and they're as great as always. I guess it's easier to find a fresh perspective in words than in music.

It's nearly all surprisingly good, but definitely all 'suffers' from what he's identified, that there's lots to admire but what you really love are the big hooks and poses from your and their youth ... and who's got the time to admire pop music anyway?

... People who actually like music?

That's the point though isn't it? These bands already have their fans, and might attract ILM types I guess, but they're unlikely to blow up among the general public thirty years into their career.

Except the ILM audience, based on feedback I'm reading in this thread, is rejecting their newer output on grounds of it not being shiny and new enough, almost in spite of how shiny and new their more recent output may actually be.

late period Mode really *plods* IMO. there's not much snappiness, vigour, pep, whatever. it all just sorta.. goes on a bit. i guess one exception is
I Feel Loved. i wish there was a load more of that.

Meantime, there is going to be a new album and the official website released this clip today:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=sFr8EVxNV3w

^^cool! Saw the band live for the first time at the end of Tour of the Universe in Düsseldorf. They're so great live. Played a couple of albums (don't have/know all of them) during last week's commute, Playing the Angel has a career highlight in the form of "Precious", what a transcending couple of minutes. Great remixes, too: the aforementioned Villalobos remix, Michael Mayer's Balearic remix of "Precious", Robag Wruhme's "Lilian".

late period Mode really *plods* IMO.

yeah, this is my big problem. the rhythm tracks lost their punchiness; the melodies lost their playfulness and emotion.

Voted

jesus that was impossible; voted

for those curious, here are the ten tracks that ended up at 21-30, just missing my ballot:

Here Is The House
The Things You Said
Wrong
Policy of Truth
And Then...
New Life
Everything Counts
Dream On
Something To Do
The Sun and the Rainfall

four of those are in my 21-30 too, tough luck lads

Doing my ballad right now - three of those are going to be in it

well, I just knew I was voting for at least three of those when I was making my shortlist, and then I started ranking songs and they kept sinking down and down and I was all "nooooooooo but I love that song I wanna vote for it"

I almost submitted a 50 song ballot because there were 50 songs I could have easily voted for; culling was torture

I just voted. Half my ballot ended up being Music for the Masses + Violator era stuff, despite me enjoying pretty much all of their albums.

so i have my 20 songs, just need to put them in order. surprised at how many singles i selected.

i also have a great Depeche Mode story, will try to get dates and post in the roll out thread.

Not a huge DM fan but I love Violator, Music for the Masses plus bits and bobs of the earlier stuff - managed to put together a 20 I'm happy with, hoping the results might point me towards some songs I might have missed.

OK so I did vote. This poll was fun because in actually thinking about DM, I realized how much of their stuff I like and how much I had absorbed over the years without really noticing. My ballot is very heavy on singles, but across a wider span than I first thought.

Also crüt will be happy because "Flexible" is on there.

(I love the almost-country-western vibe of "Flexible," like Martin Gore had a Wall of Voodoo tape in his car or something. Also somewhat prefigures "Personal Jesus," imo.)

if we'd had 50 song ballots, "Flexible" would have been on mine at 40

i've said this before, but i really think that these polls for really long-running and/or prolific acts should allow for more than 20 songs per ballot -- i did 40 for the Timbaland poll and will prob do at least that many for Jay-Z.

even if 25 became the standard low end of the spectrum i think that'd be an improvement.

If/when we actually get to my Dylan poll, I'm definitely allowing at least 40. Maybe 50.

Going to do a ballot this weekend. I've been listening to DM on Spotify all week and it's very gratifying how many friends have been making comments about loving them.

xp crüüüüüüüüüüüttt...

Ballot sent. It looks a bit weird to me: the tracks I assumed would be right at the top ended up in the lower reaches of the top ten.

Just to be clear before sending my ballot...one Gore solo and one Gahan solo track are okay, right? I mean, they probably won't make the results anyway, but I can't not vote for them.

Oh if had included their solo stuff I still wouldn't have a ballot