MacPlus512
402 Posts
17 years, 3 months ago
I just got into DM last December and really didn't know much about them until recently. I've caught up with what has gone on, etc, and found out what was popular from them and what wasn't, etc. So I have a few questions about the past from them.
When some of their classics (Enjoy the Silence, People are People, Strangelove, etc) were new, how much radio time did they get and what type of radio station did they play them on? And what was the radio play of their single "Precious", which came out two years ago? (And if anyone knows why the US airplay version had different synth effects than the European version, let me know!)
How popular were the music videos? I bought the ETS one on iTunes because I feel it's a work of art, however, it's so different from typical music videos that I'm wondering if many people liked it. (It's the one with the king, to refresh some memories)
Do any of you own the original Violator album from when it first came out in 1990? How big was the demand for it? And was there anything interesting in the liner for it? (The album on iTunes doesn't have any liner file with it, just the songs)
Anyone got a good interpretation for "Halo", the third track of Violator? And does anyone else think "Sweetest Perfection" is about a guy with OCD, the reference to "drug" referring to a medication with adverse side effects?
And finally, has anyone here seen them live? I saw a guy around town once with a DM shirt on, I commented on it, and he said that they were great in person--he had been somewhere to hear them.
When some of their classics (Enjoy the Silence, People are People, Strangelove, etc) were new, how much radio time did they get and what type of radio station did they play them on? And what was the radio play of their single "Precious", which came out two years ago? (And if anyone knows why the US airplay version had different synth effects than the European version, let me know!)
How popular were the music videos? I bought the ETS one on iTunes because I feel it's a work of art, however, it's so different from typical music videos that I'm wondering if many people liked it. (It's the one with the king, to refresh some memories)
Do any of you own the original Violator album from when it first came out in 1990? How big was the demand for it? And was there anything interesting in the liner for it? (The album on iTunes doesn't have any liner file with it, just the songs)
Anyone got a good interpretation for "Halo", the third track of Violator? And does anyone else think "Sweetest Perfection" is about a guy with OCD, the reference to "drug" referring to a medication with adverse side effects?
And finally, has anyone here seen them live? I saw a guy around town once with a DM shirt on, I commented on it, and he said that they were great in person--he had been somewhere to hear them.
First off, lemmie get this out of the way - 'Enjoy The Silence' is one of the most beautiful songs ever written.
IMO, Depech Mode's 'golden years' were between "Music for the Masses and Songs of Faith & Devotion". Violator still remains their all time top selling album. As a matter of fact, it's gotten played alot by me, lately, because I just bought the Rhino CD/DVD 5.1 audio re-release. Many people say "Speak & Spell" is their best album - It's not. Vince Clarke did not belong in DM - his songs stuck out like a sore thumb. Their first song that I remembered hearing on a top-40 radio station was "People Are People"
I was about 13 when MFTM came out. 14 when "101" came out, 15 when Violator came out - I'd never heard of them before 'Masses'... Violator is when MTV started giving Depeche Mode a good chunck of airtime. They had started gaining popularity in the US when MFTM came out, and it got a decent amount of airplay (radio and MTV) but Violator is what broke them out of the "120 minutes" part of MTV and put them in the mainstream.
I bought Violator the day it was released in March 1990, and I remember there being alot of hooplah about it. One - becuase the title of the first single (Personal Jesus) was pretty contrversal for 1989. It even remember MTV premering the video. Next up, came Enjoy The Silence. The song made them huge, and deservedly so. Then came 'Policy of Truth' while not near as popular as ETS was, still got plenty of exposure, and is my second favorite song on Violator. A few years later came "Songs of Faith & Devotion" and the first single "I Feel You" which didn't sound like the Depeche Mode we had all come to know - they started developing a more industrial/hard rock sound. While it was still a great album, it didn't have the strength ogf the all electronic DM, and wasn't around for very long.
"Ultra" and "Exciter", IMO, were both horrible albums. "Playing the Angel" is ok, but they've lost the sound that made them famous. Anton Corjbin (The artist behind the band, and director of many of their videos) is one of my idols.
"Sweetest Perfection" is about Heroin, if you ask me... During the late 80's/early 90's, it is widely known, David Gahan (The lead singer) had a really bad heroin addiction. Even though Martin Gore writes most of the music for DM, Gahans addiction was very obvious, at the time. I don't know if Gore ever got into heroin or not...
IMO, Depech Mode's 'golden years' were between "Music for the Masses and Songs of Faith & Devotion". Violator still remains their all time top selling album. As a matter of fact, it's gotten played alot by me, lately, because I just bought the Rhino CD/DVD 5.1 audio re-release. Many people say "Speak & Spell" is their best album - It's not. Vince Clarke did not belong in DM - his songs stuck out like a sore thumb. Their first song that I remembered hearing on a top-40 radio station was "People Are People"
I was about 13 when MFTM came out. 14 when "101" came out, 15 when Violator came out - I'd never heard of them before 'Masses'... Violator is when MTV started giving Depeche Mode a good chunck of airtime. They had started gaining popularity in the US when MFTM came out, and it got a decent amount of airplay (radio and MTV) but Violator is what broke them out of the "120 minutes" part of MTV and put them in the mainstream.
I bought Violator the day it was released in March 1990, and I remember there being alot of hooplah about it. One - becuase the title of the first single (Personal Jesus) was pretty contrversal for 1989. It even remember MTV premering the video. Next up, came Enjoy The Silence. The song made them huge, and deservedly so. Then came 'Policy of Truth' while not near as popular as ETS was, still got plenty of exposure, and is my second favorite song on Violator. A few years later came "Songs of Faith & Devotion" and the first single "I Feel You" which didn't sound like the Depeche Mode we had all come to know - they started developing a more industrial/hard rock sound. While it was still a great album, it didn't have the strength ogf the all electronic DM, and wasn't around for very long.
"Ultra" and "Exciter", IMO, were both horrible albums. "Playing the Angel" is ok, but they've lost the sound that made them famous. Anton Corjbin (The artist behind the band, and director of many of their videos) is one of my idols.
"Sweetest Perfection" is about Heroin, if you ask me... During the late 80's/early 90's, it is widely known, David Gahan (The lead singer) had a really bad heroin addiction. Even though Martin Gore writes most of the music for DM, Gahans addiction was very obvious, at the time. I don't know if Gore ever got into heroin or not...