See You – Depeche Mode

Depeche Mode

Year: 1982
Artist: Depeche mode
Album: A broken Frame
Hit Songs: Somebody, People Are People, Strangelove, Master and Servants, 
Dreaming of Me, A Question of Lust

An English electronic music band formed in 1980 in Essex, England the band name was taken from a French fashion magazine, Depeche Mode meaning ‘hurried fashion or fashion dispatch’ composed of Martin Gore ((keyboards, guitar, vocals, chief songwriter), Dave Gahan (lead vocals), and Andy Fletcher (keyboard). They are in the music business for almost 30 years now and according to Q magazine “The most popular electronic band the world has ever known” and “One of the greatest British pop groups of all time” as per Sunday Telegraph. This was no surprise as there’s a lot of successful musician then and now considered DM as their influenced i.e., Cold Play, Linkin Park, a-ha, The Killers, Pet Shop Boys , even Colombian singer Shakira.

In my sophomore year, I used their band name as my code name in a secret Santa class activity. In my senior year, my teacher required us to submit a song that will best described the disposition we are in and I chose ‘Somebody’, also taught myself to play the keyboard because of this. I know DM has plenty of hits but my personal favorite was See You, I immediately liked it when I first heard it, I got lost in the lyrics and the melody. I felt the vocalist’s sincerity and nobility uttering these lyrics “…You can keep me at a distance if you don’t trust my resistance but I swear I won’t touch you, all I want to do is see you…”

They are the reason why I love new wave and the 80’s defined their music but when  90’s came I stopped listening. The band reinvented their sound and released Violator and never looked back,  but I forgave them. Artist should evolved into something new as era progressed not following the conventional path after gaining super-stardom, as  opposed to changing because they are selling out. I never saw them performed live but I guess I would happily spend that dough if there’s a guarantee they will sing their old songs. I heard one nasty rumor back in the 90’s, when they performed in my hometown,  they ditched their old songs and just sang their latest album and the crowd was frustrated.  I can’t blame the audience, I would not just be frustrated, I would felt ripped off and cheated if I was there. Don’t you guys know that consumers buy tickets because of  who you were not because of who you are. Oh well, so much for my brouhaha about Depeche Mode, I still like them and though their music moved on, I’m happy I got left behind because up until now… I just can’t get enough…

“Most modern stuff is creatively bankrupt, that’s the difference. Technically you can’t fault most of it, they can turn a fart into a hit today with all the technology but if you look at the creative content, virtually all of it is consciously or subconsciously rooted in the glory days of popular music.” – Comment in You Tube by flaxonx3