Depeche are electro punks. They do what they want. Personally, I like the 'retro'-analogue dirrrty 'lo-fi' direction they took with Hillier. He's definitely not Wilder the Perfectionist(...Or is he???). Anyway, it takes a lot of guts (and thought) to pull off a record like PTA. It's insane!
Every new DM album sounds like the last resort of Depeche (Bye bye Depeche I said after PTA). It makes you wonder if another DM is virtually possible. Then they release Wrong...HO-LY SH**
Can't think of anohter band that gets played on radio that is as unique sa DM and each new album adds to that. That's been on e of the reaosn why I sill love DM and fantasize that they will never stop prodcing albums. I don't know how some of you have the urge to criticize the band you supposedly love. DM has accomplished anything a band dreams of and yet they keep challenging themselves and rewarding us fans!! Thanks Depeche
Sophisticated instrumentation with a velvet touch? Common!!!
These guys are probably half-deaf (tinnitus) and can only hear (produce) screeching synths.
@@@@on@
Oh yeah: don't forget your ear-plugs for the concerts, folks!
I'm #1 FAN and I'm wearing mine. It's good 4ya.
ok, so I fell for DM when S&S came out back in '81. Always bougth their albums, went to the SGR tour in '84, almost didn't buy Violator, almost didn't buy SOFAD - in both cases I thought I had lost interest in the band. Got interested again and got tickets to the Devotional tour, and now more than ever I follow the band's releases.
So, who's the more truer fan than anyone else? What is 'old-school'? Personally, it's been years and years since I last put on anything older than '84 by DM. And I rarely listen to anything from the 80's anymore.
I like when my fave artists develop - I tend to develop with them. And I find lots of new music to listen to along the way - which never really makes me think 'oh, those were days, i wish music stilll sounded like that...'
BC - never liked the vinykl album that much, it's runds much better on cd. Violator is great, SOFAD has got some of the best DM songs all time, Ultra makes me a little bored, Exciter is much better than it's reputation, and PTA - oh, i can play it through on repeat, I really like it as an album.
And yes, I'm looking forward to SOTU - and the tour, of course.
Alan Wilder? Recoil? Soundscapes with nothin not much to say - impressive at first, but musically not that inspiring. I wouldn't want DM so try to sound like Massive Attack.
Like it or not, I don't see how anyone can think of Wrong as a sell-out to the MTV / MP3 / RnB crowd. We're talking about a three minute incantation of a song with no chorus, no hook, nor any of the ear-pleasers it normally takes to make a hit. This, in true Depeche style, is as close to experimental avant garde as you can get within the realm of pop. And I think putting out a single that sounds that daring, instead of a predictable, comfy variation on a stale "Our biggest ever hit single version 17" theme, like so many bands tend to churn out within a few years of their first record, deserves much more respect than a lot of us fans seem to give Depeche. Then again, there's a French saying that goes "who loves well, punishes well"... ;-)
It IS very tempting for us old fans (I'm 36 and have followed them since 1984, and I probably have something to the tune of 250 records and CDs by them) to think about the old days where they reached the peak of their creative power and commercil success, and wish for another Violator / SOFAD / insert-own-favorite-album-here. Or to pray for Alan's return ;-). But putting (understandable) nostalgia aside for a while, we should just be grateful that they continue to surprise us and put out records with sheer moments of brilliance in them - not to mention, fantastic tours with truly world-class performances. Is there a Depeche record you feel embarrassed about (post Reward) ? Think for one second what it must feel like to be an old fan of people like the Stones, who've been beyond their best before date for 35 years, and keep putting out the most pathetically cliched, brains-out-boring records every now and then. Or think about the dozens of bleached-out pompadour hacks who were lumped by 80's press in the same bag as Depeche, and have since then been desperately trying to recapture their 5 minutes of MTV magic for the last 20 years. I'm sure you'll feel much better about even your least favorite Depeche record after that, and you'll remember why you're watching this site in the first place.
this webclip reminds me of Star Trek - all the equipment is there and Hillier is just pressing the odd button and sliding the odd dial to make it look like he's producing the music which is infact a recording! Sounds good though...
62 Comments
10 March 09 at 11:47pm
1
Depeche are electro punks. They do what they want. Personally, I like the 'retro'-analogue dirrrty 'lo-fi' direction they took with Hillier. He's definitely not Wilder the Perfectionist(...Or is he???). Anyway, it takes a lot of guts (and thought) to pull off a record like PTA. It's insane! Every new DM album sounds like the last resort of Depeche (Bye bye Depeche I said after PTA). It makes you wonder if another DM is virtually possible. Then they release Wrong...HO-LY SH**
11 March 09 at 3:21am
2
electro,techno,funky-tribe))breakbeat)))))dj.Ereck)))))
11 March 09 at 7:46am
3
Can't think of anohter band that gets played on radio that is as unique sa DM and each new album adds to that. That's been on e of the reaosn why I sill love DM and fantasize that they will never stop prodcing albums. I don't know how some of you have the urge to criticize the band you supposedly love. DM has accomplished anything a band dreams of and yet they keep challenging themselves and rewarding us fans!! Thanks Depeche
11 March 09 at 10:47am
4
This is not on the album? And Wrong was not only on the album but even chosen as the first single? That actually frightens me.
11 March 09 at 9:24pm
5
Sophisticated instrumentation with a velvet touch? Common!!! These guys are probably half-deaf (tinnitus) and can only hear (produce) screeching synths. @@@@on@ Oh yeah: don't forget your ear-plugs for the concerts, folks! I'm #1 FAN and I'm wearing mine. It's good 4ya.
12 March 09 at 10:33am
6
ok, so I fell for DM when S&S came out back in '81. Always bougth their albums, went to the SGR tour in '84, almost didn't buy Violator, almost didn't buy SOFAD - in both cases I thought I had lost interest in the band. Got interested again and got tickets to the Devotional tour, and now more than ever I follow the band's releases. So, who's the more truer fan than anyone else? What is 'old-school'? Personally, it's been years and years since I last put on anything older than '84 by DM. And I rarely listen to anything from the 80's anymore. I like when my fave artists develop - I tend to develop with them. And I find lots of new music to listen to along the way - which never really makes me think 'oh, those were days, i wish music stilll sounded like that...' BC - never liked the vinykl album that much, it's runds much better on cd. Violator is great, SOFAD has got some of the best DM songs all time, Ultra makes me a little bored, Exciter is much better than it's reputation, and PTA - oh, i can play it through on repeat, I really like it as an album. And yes, I'm looking forward to SOTU - and the tour, of course. Alan Wilder? Recoil? Soundscapes with nothin not much to say - impressive at first, but musically not that inspiring. I wouldn't want DM so try to sound like Massive Attack.
12 March 09 at 10:36am
7
should have spell-checked a little there, sorry.
12 March 09 at 8:51pm
8
Like it or not, I don't see how anyone can think of Wrong as a sell-out to the MTV / MP3 / RnB crowd. We're talking about a three minute incantation of a song with no chorus, no hook, nor any of the ear-pleasers it normally takes to make a hit. This, in true Depeche style, is as close to experimental avant garde as you can get within the realm of pop. And I think putting out a single that sounds that daring, instead of a predictable, comfy variation on a stale "Our biggest ever hit single version 17" theme, like so many bands tend to churn out within a few years of their first record, deserves much more respect than a lot of us fans seem to give Depeche. Then again, there's a French saying that goes "who loves well, punishes well"... ;-) It IS very tempting for us old fans (I'm 36 and have followed them since 1984, and I probably have something to the tune of 250 records and CDs by them) to think about the old days where they reached the peak of their creative power and commercil success, and wish for another Violator / SOFAD / insert-own-favorite-album-here. Or to pray for Alan's return ;-). But putting (understandable) nostalgia aside for a while, we should just be grateful that they continue to surprise us and put out records with sheer moments of brilliance in them - not to mention, fantastic tours with truly world-class performances. Is there a Depeche record you feel embarrassed about (post Reward) ? Think for one second what it must feel like to be an old fan of people like the Stones, who've been beyond their best before date for 35 years, and keep putting out the most pathetically cliched, brains-out-boring records every now and then. Or think about the dozens of bleached-out pompadour hacks who were lumped by 80's press in the same bag as Depeche, and have since then been desperately trying to recapture their 5 minutes of MTV magic for the last 20 years. I'm sure you'll feel much better about even your least favorite Depeche record after that, and you'll remember why you're watching this site in the first place.
14 March 09 at 2:25am
9
Bravo MJ!
15 March 09 at 9:31am
10
this webclip reminds me of Star Trek - all the equipment is there and Hillier is just pressing the odd button and sliding the odd dial to make it look like he's producing the music which is infact a recording! Sounds good though...
18 March 09 at 9:09pm
11
He's not producing anything. He's mixing (or at least preparing the automation of a mix). And it's not Hillier :-).