|   Depeche Mode -- Lose Out...... | audiobill
Dec 1, 2002 11:20 AM | | Every time I see a "Best of" list by any of the music rags, I cringe that Depeche Mode is left off of the lists.
Help me, RRers. Why is this?? Are they too dance & indie-hipsters don't dance?? Do they have lyrics that are too meaningful for the dance-hipster/lists?? Or were they too popular in selling music to be considered "quality"?? Or are they simply out of the "cool" radar, just waiting to be the "lost group" that makes a comeback in hipness, some time in the future??
I just don't get it??
Lmk, if you have an opinion on this one.
Btw., they don't "suck hippo balls" -- just thought I'd intercept that one.
Cheers,
audiobill |
| I dunno... | Masonjar
Dec 1, 2002 2:23 PM | | I think they just lose out to the other "big" 80's bands like the Smiths, New Order and the Cure. Also, I think maybe Depeche Mode are a band (at least in my experience) that I've grown out of more than the other ones.. maybe they're a little more "high school" if you know what I mean? Not to mean that they can't be appreciated by an older audience, I still love to spin <i>Black Celebration</i> and <i>Music for the Masses</i> especially, both have some really great, dark moments, but in a way they were also the favorites of umpteen depressed, misfit teenage girls who cried along with "Blasphemous Rumors" ..
know what I mean?
-jar |
| One word-synthesizer | Jim Clark
Dec 1, 2002 5:49 PM | | As should be painfully obvious to all that spend time with music, synths get the short end of the stick just about every time. From their POV there isn't any musicianship involved with synths, especially for bands based entirely on programming. Plus, from what I gather, they just don't like the sound which is fine. By its very nature the name elicits thoughts of unnatural or not real (synthetic). For me, a better definition would be to create a complex whole from simple elements. Now that is synthesis.
Lists are often used to make someone feel important and relevant. I'm pretty secure with what I like and am generally surprised when something I like makes a list. It doesn't happen often unless I'm somewhere predisposed to leaning towards synth bands. Go to the forums at Electrogarden. Depeche Mode will make the list every single time. No big deal either way, we know what we like. Most lists also have a hidden agenda anyway. the recent Pitchfork list is a perfect example. What was portrayed originally as a 'best of the 80's' quickly became a list of most influential records on modern day indie rock, according to staff writer Rae (not that it wasn't obvious enough). There's nothing wrong with this but I think it would have been nice to label it for what it was. Lists can be fun but I doubt seriously if most bands get upset by not making the cut. In the end what really matters is getting people to listen to their music and on that front Depeche Mode is well accounted for.
To my knowledge, the indie hipsters don't dance. It's not allowed in the trendy coffee shops anyway. Besides, the sunken chests of that crowd creates a serious Vo2 max deficiency. And even if they did manage to work up a sweat, their painted on goatees would run. ; )
jc |
| Whoa!! Great answer.... | audiobill
Dec 1, 2002 6:06 PM | | Jim:
You may very well be onto something.
Painte goatees, aside, I really believe in what you say about the etymology of the word synthesizer; indeed, it may be somewhat of a "block" to many who abhor synths without really listening to the music.
I especially enjoyed what you stated about synthesis -- certainly, it applies to the masterworks of DM.
Furthermore, I'd like to thank you for the introduction to the new site of Electrogarden -- always looking for new music sources.
Cheers, Bill |
| Wow, you are one bitter dude. | Stone
Dec 1, 2002 7:02 PM | | But I understand your point completely. These lists often really don't represent what was listened to and important back then (and is still important to many of us who were big into music back then too).
I really do like the synth stuff from the 80s a lot (and I bet many people who were listening to "alternative" back then do). Although admittedly, I'm not as fond of stuff like <i>Speak and Spell</i> and that ilk as I once was. Still, that stuff is a lot of fun in my opinion, and I've always thought that <i>Black Celebration</i> is a great album.
Are you a fan of Erasure too? Man, I used to listen to <i>Wonderland</i> (and their other stuff too), and especially "Oh L'amour" a lot. Vince Clarke wrote some great pop tunes (as a member of Depeche Mode, Yaz, and Erasure).
Stone (a dancing guy who's often accused of being an indie hipster) |
| You're right. Seemed funny at the time | Jim Clark
Dec 2, 2002 6:30 AM | | But in retrospect, it comes across as hateful and I'm sorry for that. Should have left it at no dancing at the trendy coffee shops. I hate to tell you this Stone, but you're not an indie hipster. Near as I can tell, you are an educated punk rocker that branched out.
Electronic music and indie rock do seem to have some stuff in common. Basically ignored or unnoticed outside of the mainstream, they fill a niche and appeal to a much smaller audience. Both have their good and bad acts but mainly stuff that I like and some stuff I don't like. Actually, without knowing the official definition of 'indie', much of the electronic music I listen to may qualify as indie. It's not like A Different Drum, Metropolis, and Nilaihah Records are major labels.
Yes I have most of the Erasure stuff and today still enjoy some of it. To me some of it sounds dated, some of it seems to me to have made it this far at least. Actually I just finished a comp with 2 Erasure tracks on it but am considering cutting it to one.
jc |
| Oh, I wasn't offended or anything... | Stone
Dec 2, 2002 10:02 AM | | And what I said was really in jest, but your post did come off as kind of bitter. And like I said, I understand where you're coming from. A lot of the synth-based industrial stuff seems to get ignored too (like Front 242, Front Line Assembly, EN, etc.).
I know I'm not an indie hipster. I don't play the part at all except for listening to the music and going to the record store once a week or so.
I see you were at my old stomping grounds over Thanksgiving (Homer's and Drastic Plastic). I've spent a lot of time in both stores, although I've only been in DP a few times in its "new" (maybe 10 years now?) location - it used to be around the corner on 13th Street. I'm gonna try to get down to the Old Market when I'm home around X-mas. Did you eat anywhere down there? There are some good restaurants in that part of town.
Stone |
| No food, and not too many CD's | Jim Clark
Dec 2, 2002 12:49 PM | | Leftovers were the order of the day.
Didn't spend too much time in either record store either. big difference between going with myself and having my wife with me. Also, I've become a bit spoiled with the prices of CD's online, especially used. Nothing new, I've always been fairly cheap it just comes in handier now. There were some things I would have liked to just pick up but 15.99 seems steep to me. I'll let you know when we will try to go up for christmas. With basketball going on for the boys I don't know if we will make it up for sure.
jc |
| Which album, though? | - Davey -
Dec 2, 2002 10:50 AM | | I guess you are probably referring to the Pitchfork list, but the only 80s DM album I would rate that highly is Some Great Reward. To make a top 100 albums of the decade I would probably want it to have been pretty high on my 1984 list. Would it be in my top ten albums of 1984? No, maybe top 25 or so. And I was a pretty big fan too. Sure, in 1984 it probably would have been high on my list, but not today. I just don't think Depeche Mode stands the test of time very well. But New Order does, or at least holds up a lot better than DM for me (and apparently for the indie hipster elitists at Pitchfork, too :-)).
What's your favorite DM album today? I'd have to go with Violator, although I remember thinking it was a little weak at the time. The trouble with Some Great Reward is all those big radio hits. I can't imagine ever wanting to hear Blasphemous Rumours or People Are People or Master and Servant again! But others obviously feel differently ;-)
I've been listening to the new Beth Gibbons album a lot recently. Maybe I'll give it the hook and put some Violator in the rack. Let me show you the world in my eyes.... |
| <i>Never again</i> is what you swore the time before, dude. (nt) | Masonjar
Dec 2, 2002 11:08 AM | | |
| New Order: 1; Depeche Mode: 0 | Stone
Dec 2, 2002 11:29 AM | | On the PFM list. New Order didn't make a strong showing either (only PC&L made it). Where is Low Life and Brotherhood on that list? Graceland is better than both?? Ummmm, okay. |
| Agreed... | audiobill
Dec 2, 2002 6:05 PM | | Violator stands the test of time best.
A fan today, however, could do one better and buy the two remasted discs that are a compendium of their best tracks. That's what I've done & they seem to work well as "albums" in their own right.
BTW, that Giant Sand Comp you kindly included with your "Mixer" is sheer pleasure & pain (in a good way). In fact, it is playing right now, Davey, as I type this. You must have one helluva GS collection. The comp now has an hounoured place right beside "Chore of Enchantment".
Also, FYI, I just picked up (finally!!) Steve Winn's "Here Come the Miracles" -- Man, do these guys rock!! Stone would be well served by playing this 2-disc set loud. Costs a pretty penny (paid $27 cndn., but worth every penny).
Cheers & thanks for the GS/Mixer comps..... audiobill |
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