Ouch.

Luckily, the guys in Depeche Mode are now about 80 and can take this criticism without even flinching :)

anyway... I'm listening to

Guns N' Roses - Shotgun Blues. :)

Next on will be Tool - Undertow

Hey! I like "Love, In Itself"! It would be my favorite early DM single if it weren't for "Everything Counts"...

Was it a "big hit" like the 'Sounds' guy said?

Actually, it's one of their lower charting UK hits--went as high as 21. I like that song though. There is a jazzy version of it on the single (called "Love, In Itself 4") which makes Dave sound like a lounge singer.

I'm just surprised that after 20 years, they have never had a #1 single on either side of the pond. I think their highest charting hit here in the States was "Enjoy the Silence" (#6). In the UK, it was "Barrel of a Gun" (#2).

Seeing that "Enjoy the Silence" is their best song ever (especially after getting rid of that GOD DAMN FUCKING AWFUL PIECE OF SHIT ORIGINAL ENDING), that would make sense. :)

I seem to remember "Personal Jesus" doing pretty well too, but I was young then and could be misremembering...

If I remember correctly, DM have only had 5 Top 40 singles in the US since 1980.

--People Are People (1984): top 20
--Personal Jesus (1990): top 20. The biggest selling 12" single in Warner Bros. Records history.
--Enjoy the Silence (1990): Highest charting single in the US
--Policy of Truth (1990): top 20
--I Feel You (1993): First single off SOFAD. DM are one of only 7 British bands to debut an album at #1 in the US Billboard Top 200 (that of course being SOFAD). I believe "I Feel You" went as high as #38...it went Gold (over 500K shipped). Ironically though, 2 of the 3 members of DM now reside permanently in the US. Dave Gahan has since the early 90s.

15 albums (in the US). 5 Gold records (over 500,000 copies shipped), including their most recent release, "Exciter." 5 platinum records (over 1 million shipped), one of the them (Violator) over 3 million. 10 million albums plus in the US alone. A largely sold-out US tour 11 years past their "prime." Not bad for a band that gets little airplay on radio here.

Jesus...I am such a Mode whore.

That has got to be the sickest fucking thing I have ever seen. :)

Nah, just kidding. I'm a retardedly big Nine Inch Nails fan, so it's all good.

That's a neat little tidbit about Personal Jesus. What's the number, do you know?

Also... notice how 3 of those are off Violator. Which is their best album man :) though "Music for the Masses" is pretty tight too. I just don't see how you can argue that though :)

"Sweetest Perfect" has always been one of my favorites. I would think it would do well if it had been released as a single, but I could be wrong. Gotta wonder why Enjoy The Silence never made it to #1 though... what a great song.

And since I'm babbling about Mode again...
 

Depeche Mode--"Freelove" single: Just came out in the States Tuesday. Finally got my mitts on it today. First off, this damned thing cost $9. Granted, I got it at FYE (which is a ripoff), but it was covered by a gift certificate I got from there. Secondly, it seems like everyone is raising the price of CD maxi-singles to $8 now. It has been $5.99 or $6.99 for so long now.

In any case, this is one of their best single releases. I'd say in the Top 5 (out of the 35 or so they've released). It features a great remix of the song by Flood (NIN, Smashing Pumpkins, and of course, DM). But the best damned remix on here is the one done by DJ Muggs of Cypress Hill. Think of Cypress Hill's "Rock Superstar" mixed with DM. It is the "hardest" DM song I have ever heard. The purists are probably shitting on themselves, but it just kicks ass! There is also a b-side called "Zenstation," which is rather off the wall, and reminds me a bit of their 1982 b-side "Oberkorn." There are also 2 other remixes of "Freelove" and one of "Zenstation," which are also good.

Afraid I don't...the single is certified Gold. 12-inch singles are still rather popular in the club circuit, so I'd say it probably sold about 50,000-100,000 in that vein.

Quote:

Also... notice how 3 of those are off Violator. Which is their best album man :) though "Music for the Masses" is pretty tight too. I just don't see how you can argue that though :)

DM was simply unstoppable from 1984 to 1994. One great record after another. I tend to lean more towards MFTM being their best.

Quote:

"Sweetest Perfect" has always been one of my favorites. I would think it would do well if it had been released as a single, but I could be wrong. Gotta wonder why Enjoy The Silence never made it to #1 though... what a great song.

American musical tastes would be my response to your last statement. They're so fucking fickle. I can think of at least 2 singles that SHOULD have hit the Top 40 easily ("Home" and the new one). Most American music listeners probably think DM died off 10 years ago.

They actually made a promo video for "Halo." I have never seen it, but that is one of my 10 favorite DM songs, and I'm sure it kicked ass. ESPECIALLY if Anton Corbijn did it.

Man. How did I leave off the "ion" ? Sweetest Perfect. ha :)

I'd say MFTM and Violator are their two best, but I have to give the edge to Violator. To me, it's more listenable. Well. Without that fucking awful ending to ETS, anyway. :)

P.S. - have I mentioned how much I hate the original ending to Enjoy the Silence? :)

Jamiroquai--Synkronized: I'm not sure why I failed to buy this CD when it came out 2 years ago. But I finally bought it (via a gift certificate). Great CD. I can see that the progression from the funk-disco sound started with this CD. I want to put Jay Kay and Stevie Wonder side-by-side singing, just to see how many people get thrown off.

Incubus - Morning View. The new album. Pretty good. It hasn't grown on me like Make Yourself did, and it seems to lack the all-out goodness of S.C.I.E.N.C.E., but maybe I'm just biased. Anyway, it's definitely enjoyable and worth every penny you shell out for it (as long as it isn't more than 1,500 pennies or so). It's more laid-back and soft than anything else they've done. I guess it's all about whatever mood you're in. Anyway, I've seen them four times in the last year and a half, and I'll probably go see them another four in the coming 18 months. What I'm saying is, it's good enough that I'd pay to see it live, and you should go buy it too. :)

Danzig--4: I believe that Glenn Danzig is truly evil. Word around the campfire is that he is a complete asshole. Nevertheless, Glenn Danzig has been there, done that...from the Misfits to Samhain to Danzig. I think Danzig were underappreciated at first b/c they were considered "metal." But their biggest success actually came during the grunge era. 4 (released in late 1994) is probably the most diverse Danzig album, and the last featuring the original lineup. The production and use of keyboards on this album are damned near perfect, giving the album a nice sinister feel. The first line on the album, from the song "Brand New God," says it all: "I am a walking screaming hell."

For quite some time, I entertained notions of the Battle of Hate...where you gathered the most sinister characters in music and let them out-hate each other. The original lineup was Glenn Danzig, Henry Rollins, Al Jourgensen (of Ministry), and Trent Reznor (of Nine Inch Nails). I later added Doug McCarthy (of Nitzer Ebb) to the mix. I think Rollins or Al would take it. Glenn is too much of an oaf, and Trent is too much of a weenie (Sorry Dham). Doug could pull it off, but he really can't hold a candle to Rollins or Al Jourgensen. Al would probably take it in the end...he's been around way too long, done too many outlandish things...makes Rollins look like a choir boy.

I guess I'm a little late in joining this fray, but...

NP - "Merchant, Natalie - Tigerlily - 09 - Jealousy"

I've got >100 CDs of .ogg files here at work, so who knows what'll be on next. :-)

Speaking of DM:

I'm surprised that everyone's looked over "Songs of Faith and Devotion". (Maybe I shouldn't be?) I like "Condemnation" and my girlfriend really likes "One Caress". (My friend's wife likes that song too, but I'll never see her appreciation for it though. :) )

For the Battle of Hate: I think that Rage Agains the Machine's Zach de la Roche couldn't be left out. He'd get his ass handed to him in a split second, but the guy's got a lot of rage.

dhamsaic: Gotta agree with your large fan-ness of Trent Reznor! Woo! He comes off as pretty screwed up, but coming from his neck of the woods, I can see why.

NP - "Amos, Tori - Under the Pink - 04 - Past the Mission"

Mmm.... Sweet goddess...

"Past the Mission" is a great song. Especially with Trent singing in the background. hehe

Still Incubusing it up. It's all good though. Currently listening to "Mexico", which has quickly become one of my favorite songs on the CD.