[00:00:00] Speaker A: Foreign.
[00:00:09] Speaker B: Now Season 4 Bonus Episode 5 6.
Who's counting except my producer.
We're back with Laina Mallet of part two of our spiritual recovery of Depeche Mode. Elena, welcome back.
[00:00:44] Speaker A: Thanks.
I love talking about Depeche Mode with you.
[00:00:48] Speaker B: Yes.
So we closed out the last episode by discussing Ultra, but then we discovered we lacked a few notable songs. All thought descudging of my all time obsession, Songs of faith and Devotion, My Joy, which was beside and Mud See in you will start with Mud See in you because that's more easy song to talk about.
I told you via text this morning that the third several songs of Songs of Faith and Devotion are very spiritual in nature.
And mercy in you can describe seeking forgiveness and therefore mercy in either your part, your family are in God.
It's no coincidence. I think that mercy in you is preceded by Condemnation, which is another song we'll talk about in a later part of and followed by Judith.
I think the band was meticulous in how they structured the album and they'll follow up Ultra as well because everything flows in terms of the track leds leads in My Mind and I, I we were talking about before we started recording the seminal albums being in our opinion, Black Celebration songs. They then Devotion on Ultra and the newest one, Memento Mori, which we'll discuss later on.
But getting back to Mercy, it's very spiritual in nature and you can't really declare it too easily a love song.
Right. More than a spiritual song.
[00:04:17] Speaker A: I think. I think it really is a spiritual song. I, I think like you said, while it could be interpreted as mercy from somebody else, like a person, I. I do think that it's still in kind of a spiritual religious sense.
His whole lyric of I would do it all again, lose my way and fall again and just so I could pray again for the mercy in you. And I really think that is highly specific language about feeling so much from the higher power that why would you want to lose your way again? You know what I mean? Just to have the mercy of a lover scorned. Right. I think while that could be true, I think that mercy is suggested that it comes through the flood of a higher power. Right. That anybody who finds mercy for another is still being spoken to through the higher power. And that's how I interpret their lyrics. I don't know. Does that make sense?
[00:05:17] Speaker B: Yeah, absolutely. And I was also telling you before we started recording, I picked up, no surprise here, the collected edition of Songs of Faith and Devotion.
And at the end of the album it had two Bead sides.
One called Depth Draw which was remixed originally written for a movie soundtrack. Having seen the movie so have no idea.
But then the papa Bead side was my joy.
And upon listening to it, I would like this could have easily fit the album.
Not to take away from the great ending.
Not to take away from the great ending of the album, which is high Love.
But it's almost a coda to that song and the entire album as a whole. The lyrics are very simplistic but very straightforward and really encapsulate the spill jewel longing and beauty that the album hopes to find.
Yeah.
And so was not one of their modes.
So plugging in.
[00:07:32] Speaker A: It's not recognized.
[00:07:36] Speaker B: It's not recognized. And I don't think they played too often.
Sorry for the video for anyone watching this after the fact.
But I.
I mean not every song of theirs had to be a lyrical in musical complexity powerhouse that is in your room or the bottom line or inside or even combination.
Some of the modes powerful songs are very simple.
[00:08:30] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:08:30] Speaker B: And I think hearing it adds a bead side.
Like when you listen to Black Celebration with the added songs, it's called A Heart and Shake disease.
Those two songs feel and sound like they could fit very easily on the album proper.
And it's amazing that most of their beat sides that they did scarred in the proper album.
When you hear them years later on collected editions, they're ad. They're often as good as any of the album tracks. And when we discuss later playing the Angel, I will have more to say about that. And really the only time the band really pitched me off as a fan.
Martin, if you're listening, take note.
If they all legend I'm gonna die.
But anyway, so they get.
Yeah.
[00:10:19] Speaker A: If they are listening, they're gonna kill us for saying it's called A heart is a B side to Black Celebration. It's the B side to construction time again.
[00:10:29] Speaker B: Wow.
Okay.
[00:10:34] Speaker A: But. But. But not like Tonight and Christmas island and Shake the Disease or B Sides to Black Celebration.
[00:10:42] Speaker B: Well, I'm referring to. It's called A heart at the bead side because they put its Calder heart at the bead side.
[00:10:59] Speaker A: Right.
[00:11:00] Speaker B: To black on the Black Celebration collector's digit.
Yes, they did.
[00:11:11] Speaker A: All right, I gotta look this up. Maybe I stand corrected. I might stand it. You're right. I'm gonna look it up later. It just. It sounds so much like construction time.
[00:11:18] Speaker B: Oh yeah. No, and the reason why they did that, it's because they were in between albums needed to release their third gradient.
[00:11:36] Speaker A: Gotcha. Okay.
[00:11:38] Speaker B: Catching up with the bench mode. And they needed nude songs.
[00:11:45] Speaker A: All right, so they're gonna kill me, not you.
[00:11:50] Speaker B: I'm pretty sure they've heard really, really words from their Van Bates then, bud.
So they. They somehow make it through the Devotional tour.
Somehow make it through the recording of Ultra, which is a masterpiece of a album. And as I left off, the ending adds, I ended last episode.
I really think the final tracks of Ultra, namely Sin Stuff, Night Freed, State the Bottom Line and Insight, Taking as a whole, those four songs really tee up what they would release with their next album called Exciter.
[00:13:05] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:13:06] Speaker B: Not really thrilled about that album.
All the album cover, but it's a really good album if you.
If you isolated as a standalone experience and not try to compare it to their three albums before all the album they would release after.
Yeah, it's a terrible album name, Exciter.
[00:13:53] Speaker A: But really hung up on that one.
[00:13:57] Speaker B: Yeah. Yeah. But I mean, there are great songs on that album.
Even though they didn't choose their longtime collaborator, Anton Corbin for the music videos.
If you watch Dream on, it's a phenomenal video.
And I don't think even could have done a better job on that video.
I think alternative title tracks, they should have considered Dream On, Free Love, Our Good Night Lovers, because those are way better encapsulating moments.
[00:15:11] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:15:12] Speaker B: Than the name Exciter. If you're going to use a E word for the album name, make it Elixir.
I promise the legioner and the viewer that will be the only album title that I will get my panties in a bunch.
[00:15:45] Speaker A: I can attest to that. We've texted about your hatred of it multiple times now. So.
[00:15:53] Speaker B: So let me shut up and let you get to know your thoughts.
[00:16:01] Speaker A: I have no commentary on the title, you know. Okay. So I don't want to go down too much because we're trying to stick to religion, but I was, like, about to lose it when you said, I can't stand. And I thought you were gonna see the album because I was in driving lessons that year when Exciter came out and I put it in. I was like, can I play a cd? And my driving instructor's like, is this Depeche Mode? They think they're cool still. And he was like. He hated it. He, like, load that album. He had the most scathing review after we listened to it, driving for a few hours on the highway. It was, like, so funny. So I thought you were gonna go down that road. I'm like, wow, everybody hates Exciter. Like, but no.
So Exciter. I have no care for the type. I mean, when I was watching a documentary background on it, they intentionally chose a phallic, you know, cover.
And the name, I think is supposed to be.
[00:17:00] Speaker B: So glad you.
You mentioned.
[00:17:05] Speaker A: Yeah. And the photographer said he. They were posing and he saw the plant there and he's like, just stay. And then they just went with it.
And I think the name does somewhat match the album a little bit. It's a very.
It's not a religious album. There's one song we're going to talk about. I think it's pushing it on the religious symbolism.
I only actually felt just the other day that maybe it qualified.
The album's definitely about love, sensuality, grittiness of love sometimes. It's not a dark album. It's a very thoughtful and playful album at times, you know, I think they go, which.
[00:17:43] Speaker B: Sorry to interrupt.
Which Coming off their lads to albums songs in Ultra. Yeah, Ultra. Especially dark, gritty. And if you think about going through the stages of recovery.
[00:18:08] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:18:09] Speaker B: And then reaching a new experience.
[00:18:19] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:18:20] Speaker B: The playful central experience when you. When you painted like that. It actually works very, very well.
[00:18:33] Speaker A: Yeah, it's a very central album. It's very like a new love discovered. It's very middle aged. They were hitting their middle age and it's extraordinarily this. Just kind of awakening this like new eye for life.
So it is a softer album. It's very unusual for them. There's no dark conflict on the album. All their albums have conflict with love, with religion. This album is very. Just much like I'm in love and love's kind of floaty and love's kind of this. And I think, you know, and you're like, okay. And then there's like a couple songs that are a little playful, a little more teenage boyish. Right. A little like Dead of Night is a very kind of nasty, nasty boy song. You know, they just kind of go for like. You know what.
When I was a teenager and I felt like fresh love, this is how I felt. It's like. It's a very kind of weird, exciting, strange feeling on that song.
[00:19:27] Speaker B: Yeah. And I love the bombastic music.
Like the breakdown in Sister of Night on Ultra is totally set.
And I.
Yeah. Pleading for the eardrums to.
And I think they carry that over and create a whole sonic music song of that bombastic nature.
It's very much a club song.
[00:20:14] Speaker A: Yeah. I feel like we've totally just geeked out to depeche men for 20 minutes. So I guess we gotta get back on track with Religion.
So I Feel Loved, I think is the only song on Exciter that qualifies as a mildly religious song. And despite it being a Super Uber Techno 2000 dance track, which is epically rushing. I think it's the epitome of Depeche. When I forgot how much I loved that song. And the other day in the car, I was like, you know, like, going to work.
It is. But it really feels like he's just kind of discovered a higher power. And the lyrics are very simple. It's I feel loved, you know, kind of repetitively. And then there's kind of some, like. In the dark darkness of my soul as temptations taking hold through the pain and the suffering I'm not caving in, you know, I Feel Loved. And so it really sounds like this man who has kind of overcome the demons, right? And he's just letting the energy flow in. And so I guess you could interpret that as a higher power. I don't think we need to dissect this song too much. I think a listener just. If you want a fucking banger. Sorry, Square. If you want a banger from Depeche Mode, I Feel Loved is a banger.
Like, that's the definition of what we call a banger. It's just a head. It's their one head banging song, which is just like, boom, boom, boom. And it's just. I love it. I wish they had done more like that in their career. But that's all I'm gonna say about it.
[00:21:40] Speaker B: Yeah.
And Undine the Nothing New than what Jude Said.
So they return to their rock roots in rockabilly album Soundscape with their next entry called Playing the Angel.
And there are several songs on this album that we're going to dissect.
First up, John the Revelator.
[00:22:24] Speaker A: Yeah, super cool one. I highly recommend anybody to give a good listen to. Playing the angel goes for, like you said, the rockabilly, the Elvis, the crooning.
John the Revelator is very gospel.
And it sings about a false prophet, right? It's John the Revelator, you know, taken up to the highest high.
And I. I think the lyrics that always stand out to me is he's claiming God as the only.
What did he say? As the only, Right? He's. He's stealing a God from the Israelites. He's stealing God from the Muslim, too. And there's only one God, through and through. And it's definitely this, like, indication of Christianity, right? And kind of, if we're tracing back to this kind of, you know, the. The spreading of, you know, like, European culture. Right. Spreading the belief that Jesus is the son of God and he's the true prophet. And it's like the story's been kind of stolen. Right. From these other, previous religions. And it's.
I think the song goes right for the kill with that one. It's. It's a very fascinating song, and I love that they did it.
You good?
[00:23:46] Speaker B: Yeah. So actually background on the song, because I found it fascinating, is the song we just geeked out over all that you gigged out of.
It's basically Based on a 1930s folk song of the same name.
[00:24:20] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:24:21] Speaker B: And I don't know if they've ever done that before.
I don't know many bands that would develop a song off another song that they themselves did not.
Right. And I just find that.
And here is what Martin Gord said in a French interview, that the song talks about faith in God no matter what. It also denounces the belief in a God who punishes and damns. In the book of Revelation, John describes his vision of these seven angels descending from blowing into the seven trumpets and causing plagues, epidemics and floods that gradually exterminates a large part of humanity.
Only the true believers remain. I do not believe in all that.
[00:25:46] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah, yeah. I had read about that too, that he based it off of a false. A song about the false prophet. And like you said, all these facts. The seven angels that. I mean, their lyrics reference that. Right. Seven angels, seven trumpets.
So I do love that one. I. I think people should give that one a listen. I love Martin doing the gospel. You know, crowd in the background, John, the river later, you know, like, it's just. It's a. It's a banger as well. That's a good one. Yep.
[00:26:19] Speaker B: And so next up is actually the third song and single that we have from singer Dave Gann about his recovery or going through his trials and tribulations.
[00:26:48] Speaker A: Also filmed out in New Mexico while I was there. Yep. I don't think you were quite out there just yet. Maybe you just. Yeah, but they were just filmed right outside Santa Fe at one of the old western towns that, you know, they preserve out there for films that did.
[00:27:05] Speaker B: Not surprise at all.
[00:27:09] Speaker A: Yeah, I don't think while this one is always directly religious, I definitely think there's just that the language, like you said, kind of talking about, like you said, coming through something, the pain in life, overcoming something. And that, you know, as he says, I just hang on and suffer well and and so it's this kind of inevitability that there's pain, you know, to life, that there's mistakes. And I really think they just kind of keep it quite simple. He says things like, where were you when I fell from grace? It's kind of this question to God, right.
You know, or the angels, right. Of like, where. Where's my guardian angel? Why am I falling so hard?
And so I really think there's this kind of almost like, not only just question of where God is, but maybe even question of like the devil winning, right? It's. It's this definite kind of interesting song where there's no direct implication of those things. It just kind of toys with these ideas of like, isn't there supposed to be something here for me? You know, like, why am I suffering? And they're like, I guess if I'm suffering, I'm gonna suffer. Well, and so it's. It's a. It's a very interesting song. I think, again, it's a banger. It's a. Bizarrely, this album has a lot of dance bangers on them and not have very deep, heavy material.
I love playing the angel for that reason. But, yeah, I. I don't think I need to get hung up on that one. Great song. I highly recommend anybody go listen that to that. That would be the first one I'd listen to for this.
[00:28:41] Speaker B: So what about the Sinner in me?
[00:28:46] Speaker A: Also another one I debated. I had a question mark next to it, I think, as well, for a while.
Again, I don't think it's fully God referencing. I actually think the Sinner in Me is more about acknowledging our darker parts of ourselves. You know, the mistakes we make, the sins we. We commit. According to the Bible. Right. Whether you believe that or not, it's a sin.
You know, if poor behavior is a sin. And I think that's what he says. If I could just hide the sinner in me.
So it's really this kind of song about coping, you know what I mean? With. With kind of the aspects of him. And what does he also say? He's like. And you're always around, you know, like, it's, again, this kind of implication that there is a higher power. Maybe kind of always watch, like the angel on your shoulder, right. The. The conscience.
So it's not necessarily direct reference to God. I think it's more of a reference to the voice, the inner voice speaking to us and telling us we're not doing our best.
[00:29:49] Speaker B: Yeah, I agree with everything you said. How about macro?
[00:29:59] Speaker A: Macro Again, not fully religious. I think I'm stretching it with it a little. But it's.
It's about the universal cosmos, you know, being all one.
And it's ominous. And this is what makes me think it maybe is a little bit more about religion, is Martin screaming. I hate the verses, by the way. I think that song. I'll avoid that song because I'm like now when I hear the beginning. But when you get to the chorus, I'm like, oh, like, I am so hooked on that chorus.
[00:30:29] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:30:29] Speaker A: I wish they had gone a different direction with the verses. Yeah.
The chorus is so ominous. It's so like Martin's voiceovers becomes just frightening. Right. The reverb on it and. And just the like. Since, like ominously going in the background and him just shouting, see the microcosms in the macro vision. And. And so there's this kind of implication that there's a vision. Right. Like he kind of uses these distinct lyrics that.
And then he says the flowing overflowing rivers. And you know, he's talking about all these things and he's like rushing through me, thundering through my body.
I really think what he's just kind of talking about is that we're all connected. And there's kind of a question as to why.
[00:31:12] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:31:13] Speaker A: Why is it all a microcosm in a macro vision? Like, why are we such a small little unit here on Earth in this bigger vision, you know what I mean, of the world, this bigger realm? So it's interesting. I don't know. Do you have anything to add to macro?
[00:31:27] Speaker B: No.
So after this album they released another Gradient Heads, a more substantial collection called the Badge of the Patch Mode, Volume one. And the only nude song on that album was Beadside from Playing the Angel. That almost made the album called Martyr.
And another hard rock, good banger.
A banger.
And it's about getting rejected by love again and again and again.
And I really think it would have fit.
[00:32:26] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:32:28] Speaker B: On the middle part of the album.
[00:32:35] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:32:37] Speaker B: Very, very nicely.
And so that's the only mids opportunity that I think.
Because it could have come after pledges, which was the first music video I ever saw of the pens mode. And that video blew my mind open, like the concept. And then finding out later that it was about the painful divorce Martin and his wife, then wife were going through and how it was a amazingly personal song written to his at the time, young children.
And for the longest time that was the only song that he would say. Let me clear up the meaning about that.
And I really Respect him for that. And the middle part of the song, talking about his kids and how he hoped that God would seen through their eyes.
[00:34:20] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:34:21] Speaker B: That part in particular, it's my favorite part, not only because I brought it in to this episode, but the sentiment of it of a father witching that if there's any type of master plan, I hope God is seeing it through your eyes.
I always tear up and choke up because it's such a big, beautiful moment in a already captivating song that you wouldn't necessarily get from Judge the title.
[00:35:24] Speaker A: Right.
[00:35:25] Speaker B: And so I wanted to throw that in.
Should we go to what is undoubtedly the most philosophical album or should we.
[00:35:43] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah. Sounds of the Universe. I'm not a. You know, I'm gonna just throw it out there. I'm not a massive fan of Sounds of the Universe.
[00:35:50] Speaker B: Yeah.
I mean the only song it would the Verge album that I came in in on ads of fan and I mentioned vids to you last year. We've known each other a very long time and whenever I heard the song in Sympathy, I always thought of you and how you acted then.
But I mean that song won't nudge Spill Drew in any.
[00:36:38] Speaker A: Yeah, no, hey, no.
[00:36:42] Speaker B: It. It's a song about going through the motions and even if you don't agree with them.
But yeah, I agree.
I got the deluxe itunes pads which threw a bunch of extra remixes demos on it. And listening to the whole album when you texted me, I think this is more philosophical and cosmic album. I was like, yeah, it's absolutely very, very little concrete for us to talk about on this album.
[00:37:37] Speaker A: Yeah, I actually even kind of take back that the song that I put down.
I.
I mean I kind of like the album at the time. You know, I was excited for a new album, so I kind of forced myself to listen to it. And over the years I've really grown away from. I don't really have a lot of good memories associated with it or feeling to it. You know, that feels like the way their other albums hook Me and Funny Story about Sons of the Universe because I do think people should still give it a listen if they want to be down the Depeche Mode rabbit hole.
[00:38:08] Speaker B: Like Legend to it once.
[00:38:12] Speaker A: Yeah.
But quick story and then we should probably just move on the next album.
[00:38:20] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:38:21] Speaker A: I did say see them on the Sounds of the Universe tour. It was my second time seeing them and I actually was very relieved at kind of what transpired was they threw out the set list the night I saw them.
So Dave had been suffering gastro a serious bout of gastrointinnitis, was hospitalized, and they had canceled two weeks of their European leg.
So they were set to start in Boston again. So they. You know, I saw them in Boston and they.
I think he just had a like, holy crap, I'm alive still moment.
And they just, like, went full blast with, like, Question of Time and like, all these eight. And the audience was mostly European. That's what was wild was a lot of them had flown over. I was looking at their shoes and clothing. I'm like, these aren't rp. These are not people from New England.
And once you started hearing their voices and they all smelled good, and you're like, what is going on?
People had flown in to see Depeche Mode, and so it was sold out. Unlike the first time I had seen them, you know, 10 years prior or like about eight years prior on the Exciter tour.
And I'm really kind of relieved they did not do the full set because I just am not that into Sounds of the Universe. So I. I had.
I had a blast that night. They did enjoy the silence twice. They just ran it a second time because the audience was going so mental for it. And he just looked back at the, like, the band and start. You could see him laughing. And he was like. Again. And they're like.
And they just started right from the beginning.
It was so funny. We were all like, the audience is just screaming. So it was like 15 minutes of enjoy the Silence. It was so. Because it's a sep. As, you know, the concert version, if you listen online, is seven minutes long.
[00:40:12] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:40:13] Speaker A: And that's kind of their typical. They typically do the same version. And so it was like twice in a row. And people. And I was like, man, he's on a new Lisa Life Tonight. Like, I was so happy. I didn't want to hear anything from Sons of the Universe. They did like, two songs from it.
[00:40:31] Speaker B: Wow.
Wow. Which ones? I mean, who the.
[00:40:36] Speaker A: They did In Chains.
[00:40:38] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:40:40] Speaker A: And was it Comeback?
[00:40:48] Speaker B: Yeah, I.
[00:40:51] Speaker A: Because I remembered the Moon Man. I was trying to remember. I was like. There was like, a slower one. It was. Come Back. They did some kind of. And I. You know. That's a sad one.
[00:40:59] Speaker B: Yeah. But what I like about them. And they've been on the record about this several times.
That particularly the third single of every new album sounds different.
[00:41:21] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:41:22] Speaker B: In Than anything they've released before.
That's why they released Wrong as the third single of that album. And.
Oh, my.
You watch the music video to that.
It is born drawing it's almost like a horror movie for times.
[00:42:02] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:42:04] Speaker B: And Dave was really into it. Andy hated it. Oh, he would like that makes no sense. We're not in it. We've never not been in a music video.
[00:42:25] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:42:26] Speaker B: Put arts in it and they make a cameo.
[00:42:31] Speaker A: Yeah. They're just featured watching the car go by. And Slow.
[00:42:35] Speaker B: Yeah. It's. It's a two hour horror film condensed into five minutes.
[00:42:46] Speaker A: Yeah. It's disturbing. Yeah.
[00:42:47] Speaker B: Yeah. So moving on.
[00:42:50] Speaker A: Moving along is to Delta Machine to.
[00:42:54] Speaker B: Album that when it came out, you really enjoyed.
[00:43:02] Speaker A: No, I hated it when I. Yeah.
[00:43:04] Speaker B: No, I strike it.
[00:43:06] Speaker A: Oh, you're being sarcastic.
I was like, nope, strike that in reverse. And I hated that one.
[00:43:12] Speaker B: No, no. I still remember the Facebook post, your review of that album. And I would like hold ra.
They've finally broke.
Broke fandom.
[00:43:34] Speaker A: I had another Depeche man friend who was like, what? When he saw the Facebook post too, he's like, what's right? He like lived 15 minutes away. He's like, what is wrong with you? This album's amazing. And I was like, there's not one good thing on this album. I. I've since grown fond of quite a few songs on it, but I really struggled when it came out. It was such a departure. Like Exciter. A very big departure.
[00:43:56] Speaker B: Yeah. Before we get into the two songs we're going to talk about Slow had to be mentioned. Even though it is not direct or indirect.
Spill Drilled song.
I. It.
It's a love song. It's about sex. I mean, let's be real.
Yeah. Yeah.
But the reason why we're mentioning it is it was actually considered four songs of faith and devotion.
[00:44:44] Speaker A: Really?
[00:44:45] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:44:45] Speaker A: It had been around that long.
[00:44:47] Speaker B: Yes. And they held it back.
Now why they released it on a album.
I don't even know the length of time between those two albums. But it is the Orient beach side that we know of.
That depends Mode has.
Which blows my mind. Could. When you listen to that song. Yeah. You can totally place it on songs like you can My Joy. I mean, why did those two songs get caught? But then what transpired for them to drag that song and it's a good song out for Delta Machine.
That's the unanswerable question.
It's rhetorical.
Now let's get back into the two songs. Will discuss Angel. What do you have to say about that?
[00:46:18] Speaker A: Angels. Really? Again, we go back to Dave's crooning, you know, and it's kind of Elvis style singing.
And I love when he does that. I think he's really good at it, and he does. I think the song's really about, like, redemption.
[00:46:34] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:46:34] Speaker A: You know, kind of finding love and peace. And it's a very interesting one. It's very piano driven, which Dave doesn't typically sing on. Usually that's Martin on the piano songs and, you know, so it was interesting to hear.
No, sorry. Oh, my goodness.
I'm talking about Heaven. Heaven is the piano one.
[00:46:57] Speaker B: Oh.
[00:46:58] Speaker A: But Heaven's not about redemption.
Angels about redemption. I'm just mixing the two up.
No, angel, he does sing like. Yeah, he is gritty on that one, too.
Angel's a little more gritty and electronic and. What do they call it? Industrial. It's very edgy. But he does do that Elvis see thing with it on the whole album, actually. And so I think it's about redemption, loving peace. It's not my favorite. I'm not a fan of the way Dave kind of.
This reminds me of Macro Vision, where, like. Yeah, it becomes two different songs. There's like this weird rhythm to the verse that I'm not a fan of, but I think, like, the breakdowns are soft in the chorus. You know what I mean? It's a. I have mixed emotions about angel, but it's a. It's a good song if you need to.
If you're feeling on the edge of pain and you're kind of getting through, you know, I mean, you're seeing the light. This is a good album.
[00:48:00] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:48:01] Speaker A: Good song.
[00:48:02] Speaker B: Yeah. The band said it's much more personal, written from a personal point of view.
And, I mean, I won't say the opener, welcome To My World, which, again, is not spiritual by any means, but I love that track because it has violin.
It reminds me of One Cross Sucker for Strings.
[00:48:43] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah.
[00:48:45] Speaker B: Chewed My Soul. Which, again, it's not the banger spiritual.
And it's very dark in what it's about.
You can even get.
[00:49:04] Speaker A: Similar to slow.
[00:49:06] Speaker B: Yeah. This album goes interesting.
Plague Sids.
But you have to be ready for it.
So we discuss Angel. What about Heaven?
[00:49:27] Speaker A: Kind of already described it. It's piano. It's a soft, sad song. Opposite of Angel. Angel is not soft and sad. My bad. Heaven is soft and kind of sad. It's about life's challenges and inevitable mortality.
I think it's about, like, kind of transcendence, like discovering yourself. But there's kind of this.
There's joy, but pain to it. Right. Again, this is a common theme with Depeche Mode, is joy doesn't come easy.
You know what I mean? And I really think Heaven is kind of about that. Is this acceptance of the reality of life and then finding the meaning behind it and the joy behind it.
[00:50:10] Speaker B: Yeah.
Yeah.
And so the song Slow Getting Back to that was originally written by Gore as far back as the early 1990s, but songs of Faith and Devotion was pushed aside into the Delta Machine sections, taking on a much more blue bluesyed song.
[00:50:47] Speaker A: It works.
[00:50:49] Speaker B: Yeah, it really, really works.
[00:50:54] Speaker A: And I'm just gonna say Soothe My. Soothe My Soul is my favorite on that album that I cranked. That one Going to Work this morning. That's. It's a total rager. I love that one.
I love the dirty lyrics.
[00:51:06] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:51:07] Speaker A: I think it's a worthwhile listen.
[00:51:10] Speaker B: Yes, absolutely. Couldn't agree more.
So Spirit, the next album, which they couldn't know at the time, would be their final album with original band member Andy Fletcher.
You had so much love as a possible song to discuss.
[00:51:47] Speaker A: Yeah, I changed my mind on it. Same with, like, Sons of the Universe, where it was Little Soul. I think we're pushing it with those two. I think if you're going back to Sons of the Universe, Little Soul is just kind of out leaving a footprint on life, I think. I think, again, that's a very philosophical. And I think so Much Love is very similar on Spirit, where it's really just about a person who's got energy flowing through them, you know, and ready to give it to others. And Spirit is really about humanity.
[00:52:15] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:52:16] Speaker A: And politics and the state of the world currently, like, literally current state of events in the last decade, when it was made in 2017, 2016.
And I think that it is kind of a flyover for this subject matter, for this. But I think the album has some really, really good stuff on it. I think the first few songs on the album, like Pull the Trigger or no, hey, Scum is the title of it, I think. Where's the Revolution?
You know, those are great songs. I think there's some.
[00:52:54] Speaker B: Scum is actually the fourth song, the opener. It's going backwards.
[00:53:02] Speaker A: Yeah. Yeah. I like all. I like the whole opening of the album. I like all of those. I think the later half gets a little wonky, but for viewers who want to or listeners who want to give it a listen, Scum is my favorite. I think it's just epic. But I also love Words of Revolution. I crank that one a lot. I love, again, Martin's chanting. They kind of go back to this weird old style of music making. It's very interesting. So, yeah, I don't think there's Any religion on that album. It's. It's really a commentary on just our BS that we create as.
[00:53:36] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah. And so now we get to the most recent album, which is a favorite of both you and mine, so I.
[00:53:51] Speaker A: Had to convince you to give it another listen.
[00:53:53] Speaker B: Yeah, and I'm really glad you did, because I. I have to be honest. I listened to Mental Moy once, and then I put it aside. I. I also listened to Spirit once, Put it aside.
Listened to Delta Machine once, was horrified by your Facebook post.
[00:54:25] Speaker A: Everybody was you and the whole world.
[00:54:28] Speaker B: And I put it aside.
But some personal tragedy made me pick it up again, and now I have not stopped listening to it at all. It's become.
You closed out the response to my pun, calling all friendship some great reward, which, let's be honest, lame.
Well, yeah.
Yeah. But you said you cherished our friendship, which is very happy. Right back at you.
But to me, it's a album that I am, remark, Remarkably close to. It's a album that I cherish listening to now. And so we have several songs on this album that are spiritual in nature and as they should be.
Why don't you start it off with Soul with me?
[00:56:12] Speaker A: Yeah, I know we. I know we're probably going to go over a few minutes on this one. I felt like we could have done a whole episode on Memento Mori. Honestly, I was ready to leave a cliffhanger for the audience. Me, like, you know what? Let's cut it off. Let's do a third one.
I think we can get through it because, you know, I'll get to Soul with Me. But I think Memento Mori, as. As you're already hinting at, is a really, like, thoughtful album on. On the End of Life, you know? And that is what Memento Mori means, is all things die.
And it's an Italian. You know, it's Italian and Soul with. So I guess if, like, if viewer discretion. Listener discretion is.
[00:56:55] Speaker B: Sorry, Elena, I have to cut you off. My producer told me we just ran out of time, so there will be a part three.
What?
[00:57:12] Speaker A: Cliffhanger?
[00:57:13] Speaker B: Yeah, cliffhanger.
So join us next time when we talk about the whole album and probably a few more whole albums that we cannot stop listening to or talking about. And we'll tease the next miniseries will be doing together, because just like this music, we can't get enough of it.
[00:57:55] Speaker A: Is this where I just end it and don't say goodbye?
Thanks for having me.
See you next time.
[00:58:05] Speaker B: See you next time. Bye.
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