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

listening to SoF&D hot on the heels of Violator is interesting. Some great songs but seem to be utterly lacking in the details, the technical and emotional flourishes that lift Violator to the next level.

"I Feel You" doesn't suffer from any of those problems, though

My #1 is on SOFAD.

As is mine

"Walking in My Shoes" and "Mercy in You" are damn good. I remember a couple of interesting remixes of "In Your Room." Otherwise the rap on this album – Achtung Baby manqué – is correct imo

Ouch.

Yeah, no fan of SOFAD here. I don't even like the tracks people are saying are good.

well that's on you

Some tracks are superb, most are good, but at least half are far too long.

Like Gahan's hair.

lol I was able to get down to 50 tracks; I have no idea where I'm going from here

Refraining from voting in this cuz my ballot would be half Catching Up With (an important cassette for me circa 1986), 1/4 Music for the Masses and 1/4 Violator.

lol I was able to get down to 50 tracks; I have no idea where I'm going from here

― I need new, hip khakis (DJP), Tuesday, April 24, 2012 10:31 AM (1 minute ago) Bookmark

don't just cut the most popular tracks or you'll get a stern lecture on the ills of 'strategic voting'

That sounds like a pretty good ballot imo. xp

Refraining from voting in this cuz my ballot would be half Catching Up With (an important cassette for me circa 1986), 1/4 Music for the Masses and 1/4 Violator.

I see absolutely nothing wrong with that (although I would recommend listening to Construction Time Again, Black Celebration, Some Great Reward, Playing The Angel and Sounds of the Universe just on general principle)

don't just cut the most popular tracks or you'll get a stern lecture on the ills of 'strategic voting'

lol, weirdly this is a band where I'm kind of burnt out on the popular tracks so me cutting them is more in the vein of "I'm tired of this song now" rather than "this song doesn't need my help so I'm voting for something more obscure"

like, the reason why "Blasphemous Rumours" is likely to not appear on my ballot isn't because I really think other songs need the exposure, it's because after playing it on repeat for five years between the ages of 14 and 19 I'm kind of sick of it and never need to hear it again

ballot sent. didn't aim for it but got a neat split of 10 from the 80s, 10 from the 90s.

holy shit you guys, "New Life"

this is fucking impossible

this craziness about some ppl's #1 DM song being on SOFAD - my world is being turned on its head. and i like that album.

holy shit you guys, "New Life"

in high school we thought we were such wits by making up lines like:

copulating
masturbating
NEW LIFE
NEW LIFE

man, I wish Dave wasn't so sharp in the beginning of "Ice Machine" because otherwise that song would be perfect

it's kind of hilarious hearing how awkward his vocals were early on compared to now, even on his rougher live outings

oh man, you know what song no one really knows but is pretty fantastic, is "Comatose":

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PpE1Zo6XUEE

I like it's called a heart too.

I pretty much don't like anything after SoFAD though admittedly I haven't given it much of a shot.

Ultra is kind of boring with a couple of highlights, but starting with Exciter they started becoming a consistent album band again; I like Playing The Angel more than most of their classic period albums and the good songs on Sounds of the Universe are worth discussing with their famous favorites.

For context, I'd probably rank the albums something like:

Black Celebration
Playing the Angel
Construction Time Again
Music for the Masses
Some Great Reward
Violator
Exciter
Sounds of the Universe
Songs of Faith and Devotion
Speak and Spell
Ultra
A Broken Frame

E, you need to get hepped to Playing the Angel in short order.

"Precious" might make mine – their best single since "Walking in My Shoes."

E, have you seen the "Hole To Feed" video?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3i0TJtnyFj0

Nobody likes Barrel of a Gun? That's an extraordinary track.

It's an extraordinary track for Ultra, IMO.

(I do like it, I just think they've done better.)

They suffered the same trouble as the Pet Shop Boys. Their deepening craft got inversely proportional to their curiosity about interesting electronic rhythm tracks.

I don't think that's true at all, actually. Sounds of the Universe alone has "Hole To Feed", "Little Soul", "Spacewalker", "Jezebel" and "Corrupt" on it, none of which are what I would consider to be standard, uninteresting electronic rhythm tracks. Playing the Angel also has a bunch of tracks that are more interesting than your standard straight unsyncopated 4/4 beat ("John the Revelator", "The Sinner in Me", "Macro", "The Darkest Star") and several of the more straightforward tracks either use nonstandard percussion sounds ("I Want It All", "Damaged People") or a lot of offbeat rhythmic flourishes ("Nothing's Impossible").

"Barrel of a Gun" seemed bizarre and unpleasant to me at the time and, revisiting it recently, only moreso now

although i heard "It's No Good" today on the local alt-rock stations '90s at noon' block and it sounded alright

"it's No Good" is so fucking AWESOME, wld fit right in on Violator IMO.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aieEZ950d1I

freeerrrrm freerrrmmm freerrrmm frerrrrm freerrrrrrm frerrrrm freerrrrrrm
frrrrrrrrrmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

The rhythm track on "It's No Good" is precisely what I dislike about the song.

What do you dislike about it?

I love pretty much all their singles and at least an additional third of their album tracks. I don't know how I could do this, but then, Led Zeppelin is pretty much all albums tracks, and it turned out OK there in the end.

god I need to stop listening to these albums, it's making my ballot expand rather than shrink ("Leave In Silence"!)

What do you dislike about it?

Because it's inert, there's more pressure on the vocals, melodies, and lyrics, none of which deliver. I couldn't have asked for anything less inspiring from a college radio stalwart in 1997.

The year of Be Here Now

Because it's inert, there's more pressure on the vocals, melodies, and lyrics, none of which deliver. I couldn't have asked for anything less inspiring from a college radio stalwart in 1997.

So... the rhythm track isn't precisely what you dislike about the song; it doesn't really sound like you like any of it!

It starts with the rhythm track though. That chugga-chugga-chugga program in 1997 was lame.

DJP that video is wild. I didn't like the song.

The one Abs posted is better.

Being reminded of the greatness of "But Not Tonight" is tipping me toward putting in enough effort to compile a ballot.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uolAT4HqH5c

do want to echo the praise for playing the angel above, doing a cursory review before putting together my ballot i was struck by how strong that album is, to my ears the best album they or any of their big pre-nirvana modern rock radio hitmaker peers put out this century (and i'm far from a depeche mode obsessive). to anyone that lost the plot w/ these guys around the time of songs of faith i'd highly recommend you give 'precious' a listen at the very least.