One Song - Depeche Mode, Part 2: "Enjoy The Silence"

Episode Date: October 3, 2024

All you ever wanted and all you ever needed from Diallo and LUXXURY is here in this episode. Okay, well, not *everything,” but in Part Two of our Depeche Mode special, the guys break down band’s biggest hit, “Enjoy The Silence.” Get ready to learn Depeche Mode’s techniques for crafting moodier, darker, and more atmospheric sounds, why this song took them to global superstar status, and how they paved the way for countless bands to create synth-driven, danceable music. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hello, One Song Nation. This is Diallo, and this is part two of our two-part episode on Depechevo. So if you haven't already heard part one, we highly recommend that you go back before diving into this. In fact, we demand it because you won't understand this episode at all. We're not telling you what to do. It'll make no sense. No, go. Two parts, Depechevo, let's go.

Luxury. Yes, sir. On this episode, we are going to talk about another Depechevish. How lucky are we? How lucky are we? Definitely their biggest hit. Yeah. If you go by streams.

And popularity. If you care about numbers. If you care about numbers. It's certified gold and hit number one on the Billboard alternative airplay chart in 1990, as well as number one in Spain and Denmark, Depeche Mode going global. What we're going to talk about on this episode is how the band started to evolve and grow and bring new sounds into the fold and new people into the team. We're going to be talking about all of the above on this episode because there's no denying

that this song took the group to global superstar status. And all we ever wanted. all we ever needed was to be here in your ears telling you how much we love this song I love that you went there I'm almost sorry but not sorry that I'm It's one song and that song is Enjoy the Silence by Depeche Mode

I'm actor, writer, director and sometimes DJ Diallo Riddle And I'm producer DJ, songwriter and musicologist Luxury A.k.a. The guy who whispers interpolation on the internet And if you want to watch one song Please go to our YouTube channel and watch this full episode And please subscribe All right, let's start. We've reached part two.

In part one, we laid the groundwork of Depeche Mode's career from 1980 to 1984. This is well before Enjoy the Silence. So before we dive in, I wanted to ask you, luxury, do you like Enjoy the Silence? Are you excited to break down this song? I love Depeche Mode. I love there later this sort of series of records that come. This is actually for me the sweet spot of Depechevue. Yeah.

Some great reward goes into Black Celebration in 86. celebration we are agreed is underrated. Oh my God, it's so good. Underrated out. Music for the masses might be my favorite. Why later, maybe my third favorite record? Oh, no. Okay, so we have a disagreement because I will say, I come in on Strange Love. I said that in the previous part. Music for the masses, right?

Yep, but I became a fan of the band, not just you know, thinking they're making these cool singles, a fan of the band with Music for the Masses. Strange Love, to this day, one of my favorite Depeche Mode songs. Strange Love, Strange Love. And we were talking about on the earlier episode, on the People Our People episode, how we were making the connections,

specifically when we were listening to the isolated beats and bass lines. We could really hear that boogie influence and that funk influence. On this song in particular, I hear this influence. That is amazing. I never drew that. That snare sound is so specific, right? You're still right. And that is my favorite snare, I think.

You love 86 snares. Prince has a snare. Yeah, Prince has a snare that I love. But that is my easily, I think that might be my favorite snare. Really? In fact, any time that you and I have worked on music, and I'm like, what's the sound of that concrete slab hitting the ground? Like, that's that, I feel like that's that snare. I, it might be my least favorite snare sound.

It might be my least favorite snare sound. You know why? Because of this song, and it's, she drives me crazy by fighting on cannibals. You don't like that snare? That is the pinnacle of that snare sound to the umpickalowness degree. it's too high. It's too high.

It hurts my ears. I am a fan. We'll meet halfway. We'll meet halfway. Just to talk about music for the masses. It's not a song that DJs ever really mix in. I think it was a song that was popular at the time. I feel like it's almost becoming one of those weird songs that like, you know, if you

were there, you know it. But if you weren't there, you may not know it. I think Music for the Masses is an amazing record. Never let me down again. Strangely. Behind the wheel. Behind the wheel. But no, seriously, I love violator so much.

And when I found out that you had violator stems, you know, I was like, we could do the whole album. We could just change one song to one album. And we could just talk about my other. I know. It was this close. It was this close. No, it's true. I am not just excited.

I am excite her. Oh, that's for the, that's for the fans. I don't know about that. 2000 album, Exciter. It's okay. I love it. I love, listen, I think we, when we were preparing the show, I said I like early Depeche, mode. But to me, they were like, they were artists. They were what I would think of as like,

oh, I like that song. I like that song. I became a Depeche Mode fan. Because that's how we consumed artists back then. I think you really had to be the person who didn't just enjoy the song on the radio. You really had to buy the album to become a fan. And music for the masses, I think I might have bought it, but violator I definitely owned. I burned a hole in that CD. I just loved it from start to finish. We're going to talk a little bit about how that album starts off because I think it's one of those songs that gives me chills. I was so looking

forward to this episode. I will fully admit that the night before we recorded this, my wife and I just went down the rabbit hole on YouTube just watching clip after clip. You and me both, babe. Oh my gosh, so pleasurable. Admittedly, we had a bottle of wine like about an hour

in. My wife is dancing around the room to behind the wheel. I'm sitting up in my bed wearing sunglasses feeling like Dave. Yes. Like I'm just like, we all wish we were Dave. Yes, I am into this music.

I love to fish mode. This is a band that envelops you. It's the sound. It does. It's the recordings. It's the aesthetics as we were talking about. In this episode, we're going to talk a little bit about in this moment, what those aesthetics are and why a person that comes into their life that really

helps them establish this look and this feel we have for them. Listen, I have always felt a little bit like an outsider for a variety of reasons. I don't need to get into that here. I have a therapist. Actually, I don't have a therapist. I'm your therapist. You're my therapist once a week. No, it's my therapist. I have always felt a little bit like an outsider. And one reason I have always loved Depechevon, I've always loved those artists that felt a little bit like they were an outsider.

And they were, they were saying, hey, we're outsiders too. We're letting you in. I think that's one of the reasons why Depecheon is so freaking cool is that, you know, if you talk to people who feel like they're a little bit on the outside, there were, there are certain touch points. Yeah. There are certain artists and movies and things in the world that you sort of say, but that's mine. Depeche Mode found those people. Depeche Mode found those people through a combination of the songs and the album covers and videos and all the aesthetics.

I found a quote, I think this is from Martin. We spoke to people that felt a little different, the ones with way too much eyeliner, the ones in schools that were bullied or had to run home. We were the odd ones and we embraced that because that's kind of who we were as well growing up. And I think that shows in their lyrics, in the music and everything they do.

And on the outside, we both related from different backgrounds and different experiences to that. And I didn't wear the eyeliner. I didn't wear the eyeliner. I was too much. I was too scared. I didn't wear the eyeliner. I wish I had. I might start doing it now.

I wasn't even bullied. I wasn't even bullied in the traditional sense. Yeah. But I did feel like. What's traditional bullying? What? Traditional bullying? In other words, like I didn't have people slapping books out of my hands as a walk down the hallway.

Yeah, that's true. Hey, dude. Like, I didn't deal with any of that kind of stuff. I feel fortunate. I didn't have anything. Our family moved from, before my time, my family moved from California, from L.A. to Atlanta. It wasn't as cosmopolitan as it is now. And so we already felt like outsiders because we weren't Southern and we weren't, we just felt like a little bit like the Adam's family on our block, a little bit. And, you know, and I think that's, that's one of the

reasons why I gravitated to a group like Depechevna because it felt like they were like me. They they felt a little bit off-center, kind of cool, and they made being an outsider look really cool. Yeah. Well, let's talk a little bit about that. Let's talk about it. Because it's around Black Celebration, where they hook up with this episode's Unsung here. Which I might have got into that album thinking it was a totally different album. It was like, Black Celebration, I'm with both those words.

There's no Africa on the cover. There's no the sheikis. Not what I expected, but I like it. Because in every episode we bring in one of the unsung people, the heroes of the band that maybe not everyone knows about. In this case, it's Anton Corbin, who is the photographer. and videographer, and album cover designer, it should be said, who joins as kind of a creative director around the Black Celebration album. So around 86, 85, 86, he comes into the equation.

He'd already photographed them for an enemy cover. And it should be said that he is a world famous photographer that in the 80s is shooting every cool band under the sun. Depeche Mode gets their one shot with them, and then he never wants to work with them again, so they feel kind of like they're not cool enough for him. Why did they not get along? I mean, we don't really, no, it's not that they didn't get along.

It's just that the way they tell the story after the fact, like their first meeting with him was like, oh, we're doing a shoot with this cool, cool guy. Oh, and then four years go by and we never do another shoot with him. So we're like, I guess we're not cool enough. In this early phase, Depeche Mode, are not beloved by the press. They are not, quote, considered cool in their own hometown. So what they say about their fan base,

they are referring to themselves as well to a certain degree. So when they're photographed by the cool photographer and he doesn't want to work with them again, they feel they're rejected. But it turns out that it comes back into their world around the time of black celebration. He is a Dutch photographer and videographer, and quote, as Martin Gork describes him, he's the, quote, visual head of the band, which is huge. Because think about every video you've seen since the mid-80s, every album cover.

You think of the visuals of this band, and it is a thing. It has a real aesthetic to it. It's the black and white. It's the big, open American sort of landscapes in their videos. It's the famous one for this song, where Dave is wearing the king outfit. He's walking the grounds. walking through Denmark and the cold. It's clearly like the sad king who needed to get away from the kingdom for a little bit.

I want to bring you one more thing about music for the masses that stuck out to me. The leather coats. Yeah. The leather jackets. Yes. The vintage cars. Shooting lots of videos in the desert. In America.

In America. In the American desert. That is all thanks to Anton Corbyn who gave them a visual identity and gave them a kind of coolness that Depeche Mode literally at the 2020 rock and roll Hall of Fame induction, Dave said, I'd like to thank Anton Corbyn, who thank God came in at the right time and actually made us look cool. So Dave, these are four cool guys. Come on, they're making cool music. But to him, this last layer of aesthetic coolness comes from this Dutch photographer. You're talking about a really great album. And I hear you when you say it might be your favorite because never let me down again. I'm taking a ride with my best friend. I once was driving. diving down the road listening to that song and I called somebody.

I was like, I'm listening to Never Let Me Down Again. I'm realizing this song is like about cocaine. And my friend, she was like, no, honey, that song is about heroin. And I was just like, is that right? Oh, that kind of makes more sense. I mean, like, you know, but heroin is such a weird drug in terms of like my generation. You know what I mean? Like I feel like we just, but once you said that and I tied it in with Dave's, you know,

admitted use of that drug at that time. Now I hear it. Now I hear that. I'm so susceptible to like videos. I think they're in a car in the video. So I'm like, oh, it's a song about driving. They have a song called Behind the Wheel on music for the masses. There's a lot of cars imagery and lyrics. And I will also say that if you go back and watch 101, their documentary, they arrive at

the Rose Bowl. This amazingly beautiful Cadillac. It's a classic sort of 50s car. There's a lot of drive. iconography, but there's also sort of the coming of this guitar that almost has like a rockabilly sound to it. Yeah, very American, early

50s, I agree. And we've talked before that, like, if you visited Los Angeles in the 80s, like, rockabilly and 50s, you know, because the baby boomers were full on in their sort of nostalgia stage, like, they're ingesting this too, and I think that's one of the reasons why this band has the diverse fan that they have in LA.

They're bringing in, like, rockabilly like, that guitar on behind the wheel and some of their other songs from this period. People heard that. And it's sort of united like 50s car culture, specifically, you know, L.A. 50s car culture, with the sort of like German industrial sound that they had in the drums. I hadn't thought about that, but you're bringing up a really good point

because most of the guitar playing is sort of on the low string kind of twangy, kind of Dwayne Eddy. Yes. And it's not necessarily chords. It's almost rarely chords, in fact. I can't, I'm thinking in my mind. maybe there's a song that I've forgotten about. But for the most part, Martin is playing melodies on guitar that he might have played on synth.

And by the way, that comes into play in the song we're going to talk about today. But he may as well have played them on this enclaveur or on one of the synths, but he chose to play it on guitar to get that sound. And they tend to be one-note melodies. They tend to have that kind of early rockabilly flavor to it, maybe like an Eddie Cochran, if you will. I like that you brought up Dwayne Eddie, the white guy on Motown. Yeah. You know, rabble-rouser, wasn't that as big song?

Oh, he was on Motown? I didn't know that. So, like we said, there's this interesting connection with Depeche Mode and the city of L.A. in 1988, they do the music for the masses tour. It was their 101, first show, which is why that documentary is called 101. I always thought it was because of the 101 freeway. I think it's a double entendre. Yeah, 101 introduction to Depeche Mode, but also 101st show.

It just lines up. Yeah, just lines up. So many things with this group, it's like, it's perfectly lined up. It was the final show of the tour. I love that documentary because they're so worried. They're like, can we move the stage so it doesn't look empty? Right. And then, of course, they sell out the Rose Bowl.

60,000 people show up. 60,000. In California. More than 60,000. attend the show. Yeah. The second big American tour they go on is the violator tour. And this is, again, where I sort of come into the story.

Because by this point, I'm like, oh, man. Like, I was too young, but if I was of the proper age and living in Los Angeles, two things that I wasn't. I would have probably been one of the, I believe it was something like 15,000. people who basically stormed warehouse records on La Sienica. For those people here in L.A., you know that the Beverly Center, you know, that's like a busy part of West Hollywood. You've got the Beverly Center is at the corner of Beverly and La Sienica. If you see footage of this, basically the kids filled up the entire street for like that whole block.

And by the way, the line to the warehouse records went out for 15 blocks. Like that's insane. Jesus Christ. It's an insane amount of people. And they thought it was going to be 100 people or 200 people or something. Yeah. Richard Blade, who was one of their old disc jockeys, he was like talking about it for the week. And so people started lining up days in advance.

And so by the time that it came about, like, all the news trucks are like, if you've heard about Dead Pesh Mode, they're mispronouncing the name. The crowd control problem in West L.A. tonight as thousands of teenage fans of the rock band DePesh Mode crammed the area near that shopping center for a chance to meet. But it's already newsworthy. The band arrived about 9 o'clock. They were supposed to be there until midnight. They only signed for like an hour because it's basically like a full on. It's like riot on the sunset strip, right?

Like right outside Pandora's Box, all these kids in the street. Pandemonium. This is about 20 years later and it's pure pandemonium. Like people are filling out the parking decks, once again, connecting to Peshmo with Los Angeles. Los Angeles, and then they ended up playing Dodger Stadium, right? They play Dodger Stadium. It's an insane concert, and thanks to the people who reached out to me on Instagram to tell me about what it was like to be in the stadium.

When they started off with this song, and I want to say something about this song on the other side, this is World in My Eyes. Dude, it gives me chills. This shows me how much I love The Violator album, because I think World in My Eyes is a special class of songs that start off an album, perfectly. There are some albums that start off freaking perfectly. And when you love the album and the band plays it first, you're just so satisfied. Listen. It's not a hard choice to make, but it's still so

satisfying. What in my eyes is like Sergeant Pepper's. It's like ambitions of a writer. It's like New York State of Mind. Like there's some songs that start off albums and you're just like, oh, they're going. I'm not moving for an hour. They're sitting right here and listening. They know exactly what they're doing. I'm sitting down and listening. This album, why is my voice cracking? They know exactly what they're doing, they are the one behind the wheel to coin the phrase, and they know exactly where they're taking us. Because I just freaking love this album.

World of My Eyes and these lyrics in all these songs are just, they're steering lyrics that go perfectly. We're going to talk about the production of the song, enjoy the silence, and the case I'm going to make is that there's no fluff. You know what I mean? Like from the drums to the keyboards to everything, it's just like, everything you hear is a little bit precision, a little bit perfect. I just love Depechevot at this point in their career.

And at this point, they've released six albums leading up to Violer, which is crazy to me. They're on their way to global stardom. After the break, the moment you've all been waiting for where we finally get into the stems from Enjoy the Silence. Don't go anywhere. Welcome back to One Song, Luxury. We're now walking in your shoes. Tell us how did Enjoy the Silence get made? So Violator, Peshmot's seventh record, they bring in a...

new producer, who they end up working with many times after this, but Flood, aka Mark Ellis, Flood. He loves that dude. Nomda producer, Numbda Plume. He worked with, he is one of the big 80s kind of in this genre of synth pop British bands that are making some of my favorite music, our favorite music. It's New Order. I think we brought him up when we've been from the Cabre-Boltair.

He worked with Smasian Pumkins. He's still working to this day, but he's also done Eurasia and U2 and Nick Cave. So they bring him in to work on this record. he's very hands-on with synths and samplers, like similar to Daniel Miller. So, like, he is another person doing the work. Remember, we were talking on the first episode, our first Depeche Mode.

And about how Martin tended to not want to necessarily be involved in the post-writing of the song process, the making of the sounds. That changes with this record. They have a new approach to songwriting where Martin's demos are a little bit looser. He doesn't take them all the way to the nth degree as he tended to be for.

His earlier demos tended to be, like, the entire song with all the bells and whistles, all the little melodies. He would have thought those through. With this one, he kept them looser, and I'm going to play for you the demo version of Enjoy the Silence. Oh, my gosh. I've never heard this. I'm so excited. That's kind of a...

Like a 16-8 field. Oh, wow. There's a berry. Unnecessary. Wow, that's deep. Kind of a 12-8, like it's like a three feel, not a four feel, too. It's interesting, right? I love that.

Yeah, so that's like a really, he did that, just him singing and the harmonium, that, like, keyboard sound. And that was a conscious choice to let the process of the production unfolding be more open-ended, like have more creativity for others to involve. We're going to talk a lot about lyrics in the song

because this is one of those songs and albums where I just feel like every lyric is, for lack of a better term, piercing. Yeah. But I love the, Don't you understand? Oh, my little girl. Like, as a boy who, you know, probably wanted more confidence with the ladies,

I was definitely like that guy who was like, wow, this guy sounds like an English professor, but he's got game. I need to be like that guy. It's funny. We relate to that. It does bring out in us that sort of vulnerable, like, why don't more girls like me? That's one thing that Depeche Mode song tend to bring out in the books. Yeah, he seemed like a nerd who actually had game.

And I think it might have been one of the reasons why I love this band so much. Wow, that is so cool. I have never heard that demo. So, as I was saying, he wanted to have a simpler, more loose demo. So there was more room to interpret it in the studio. So they did a lot less pre-production. And as Dave ends up saying about the record process, it was the first record where, quote, everyone pulled their weight in the studio.

I think he's talking about himself because on our previous part one of the People, our People episode, you know, Daniel Miller and Gareth Jones talk about how it was just the two of them with Alan, kind of doing the whole record. Yeah. And the rest of the band was sort of. do their own thing, go to the pub, have fun. This time around, they were a lot more involved. And God bless them, because there's seven albums in,

and they're peaking. Like, that's a hard thing to say. Yeah, it's true, the fact that Martin is letting go a little bit, letting go of control. He's kind of more trusting. He's obviously got six albums and Rose Bulls and Dodger Stadium experiences to indicate that. They could have easily fallen off with this album.

It's true. Seven albums in. Instead of grabbing hands grabbing more tightly, he let go. And he was like, let's do this together, boys. And what's interesting is I feel like the songs on this album, they're big. Like they're thematically and lyrically tackling big subjects. And the music sounds big. And it's just like everything's coming together just to, you know, create this, this big thing.

But, you know, as a person who creates music and we sometimes work together, like, if you, sometimes you create something and you're like, oh, this is actually turning out bigger than I thought it was going to be. You know what I mean? Well, they say it's the first, Fletch says, it's the first time in our whole career that as they were making. it, they were like, I think we might have a hit single on the last boys. As it made the transition, as we'll talk about next, from demo to actual production, they were feeling something happening in the room.

I mean, all these songs are good. We're talking about Enjoy the Silence. I mean, let's not forget, Policy of Truth is an amazing song. This album just goes hard. That might be my favorite on the record. Policy of truth? Yeah. No, it was done to the wire with this song versus that one. I want to see

truth. There's that bend again. There's that bend again. But I don't think that's like, that's a dark bend. That's a dark bend. That's like that bend on the, uh, it's all mysteries. Like the, you know what it is? You know, you mentioned the Americanness and the Americana. That is an American band. That is an American band.

That is a blues bend. That is the deep south. That is a lot in that band. That's American. There's some, it's American. There's some swampy black blues in that band. Every, that's what I mean by every element feels so intentional. Yeah.

On this, on this album in general and on this song specifically. And the addition of guitar is really important in that song, but also on this one, but also on the first single, which was Personal Jesus. So that song has a really crucial. So that song is a really crucial. I mean, like, I remember when that song came out, that was some controversial stuff. Yeah. And the fact that they felt comfortable making a song about televangelists, like, it was kind of like, hey, we've had a good relationship with the U.S. And now we're going to really challenge it.

They were worried that it would not be played on American radio. They were pleasantly surprised when it became a massive hit. It's a massive hit. Yeah. Can I admit, never my favorite Depecheon song. Yeah. It was never my favorite. Even as a kid, I was sort of like, clearly they're trying to make a message,

but it was never my favorite. I like the shuffle beat. It's one of those shuffle beat songs. Do you have a little triple feel to it, a little swing feel to it. And I didn't even have a problem with the message, but just from a listening point of view, not my favorite, but definitely a song that caused some waves. Yeah, cause some waves. So they're introducing the guitar in a completely new way.

It's, as we were discussing earlier, it's a single, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a, instruments as opposed to a chordal instrument. So it's playing a riff. It's playing a hook. So they're doing that on Personal Jesus. Oh, by the way, for the record, my favorite version of Personal Jesus is when they redid the song a few years later as I Feel You, which is almost the same riff. I love I Feel You. Na, no, no, versus da-da-da-da-da-da-da.

It's just two notes that are the same. But they're related. They're cousins. They're cousin songs. They are a band who knows how to start off a song amazingly. By the way, you just have to ask because we're talking about, What would be, what is your number one favorite, Depeche Mode song? Desert Island.

That's a really hard one because I have. I know. They have so many different periods. You kind of have to go by periods right in your mind because they're also different. I'll say what's up there. I don't know if I can say, what's up there, definitely off of the singles, 1981 to 85 is Shake the Disease. It is a chill, like you talk about chills.

Shake the disease is the best song. No, that's the right answer. That's your favorite? That's the correct answer. Shake the disease is damn near perfect. for me with my tongue in situations This song when I first started writing music This is one of the songs that I deconstructed

I sat in a cafe for three hours Listened and wrote down kind of every event that was taking place Because there are so many melodies and like there's pre-choruses and courses and post-courses and bridges There's like ten different events so from a songwriting perspective to fit that into three minutes To clam so much melody We just played a bit of the chorus and I will say that that, you know, that chorus, the way that it goes, like, there's... The melody.

The melody. It's so weird, and it shouldn't work, and yet it sounds twisted and perfect. You know what this band reminds me of? I was trying to think of... This band is basically a Power Pop band with synthesizers. Now, hear me out. Power Pop being like, you know, big star and the raspberries. One thing they have in common is, like, there are so many chord changes and melodies

happening in a compact space. This is go all the way by the raspberries. Just listen to how many changes it goes through. This is a two-minute, three-minute song. I won't play the whole thing, of course. Listen to how many. We just heard 10 chords in 10 bars. So many changes.

And it's another one coming up. And I just played you a little snippet. In this three-minute, this is a Depeche Mode song, or Depeche Mode is a raspberries band. I didn't know that song. But I do know that there are a lot of changes in, Here is a plea from my heart to you. Nobody knows me as well as you do.

You know how hard it is for me to shake the disease that takes a hold of my tongue in situations like these. Don't know, no, no, no, no, no. Understand me? See? How many song ideas did you cram into that chorus? There are 12 songs in that one song. There's power pop.

And then the post chorus. It's power pop. That is a crazy song. We're here to talk about, enjoy the silence, and let's get into the stems. Where would you like to start? Okay, so we heard the demo version. When that was played to the band, they heard what you just heard. It's that slow kind of ballady thing.

It's only a couple of verses. To me, I never noticed it until just now in the room, but it's got like a different feel. It's like a 12, 8, like a triplet feel, right? So they played it to the band. And as Martin tells the story, Alan Wilder and Flood suggested that they speed it up and put a beat to it. and he was dead set against it. He did not like that idea. He thought this was one of his ballads

because every album he gets a somebody or something. He gets one kind of slower, more heartfelt vulnerable song, and he thought this would be it. But it wasn't to be. Martin was dead against it. He thought it was against the aesthetic of the words and the meaning of the song.

So he was sulking about it, he says, I was sulking for two days. He was really mad until Flood said, look, just try playing some guitar along to this disco beat. So let's listen to the disco beat because that's what convinced him. because he wasn't convinced when it was just the disco beat. So Flood put up this basic disco beat.

It really was literally just that. There's kind of a snare in there, but it's hard to hear. It's really kicks in a high hat. Looks like violence. And what's crazy is that's the beat. That's a final beat. That's totally it. That's a demo-ass sounding beat, which is in the final version.

There's three beats. It starts like that for the first minute. And then in the second minute, we get this bigger snare gets added. I love those 86 shrubs. It sounds like you're playing. playing an 8-bit video game and you're punching something. That's what that snare sounds like. I agree with Alan Wilder, who he himself said,

our most successful single ever was one of the flattest, dullest sounding mixes with a snare drum, with a snare drum that sounds like sticky toffee pudding. So he hated the snare. I think it sounds like punching somebody on Double Dragon. He hated the snare sound, maybe as much as I do. But, boy, does it not matter?

Because this is a huge record that a sort of generic sounding disco beat that they never decided, they never thought needed much replacing or adding to, is what's in the final mix, what you just heard. The drums only do three things in the entire song. You've heard two of them. Here's the third thing. We have this breakbeat, and I'll play it for you in the mix, and then I will show you where it comes from.

Yes, the second I hear that, I know that that's enjoy the silence. That's crazy. It's funny because in the song, structurally, it's just two isolated bars of this breakbeat. The song's over here, the song's on this side. Oh, dude, what's the breakbeat? I feel like the second you tell me, I'll be like, of course it is. What's the breakbeat? It comes from this.

This is, that's the way love is, deep house mix, extended version by Ten City, 1989. Wow. So they just took that breakbeat. They put it in the song, added it to the song, added it to the existing beat. And for the last third or so of the song, you get that beat. So there's kind of a build. It starts with the simple one. It goes to the bigger snare.

And then we have the breakbeat mixed in with it for the rest of the song. It goes back to what we were saying before, like, you introduce elements, and then by the end, you've got all the elements. That's right. Right. And that's it. The drums don't really do anything else aside from having this one fill. Here's the only fill I could find in the song. That's it. That happens here. It's right before that last chorus. Yeah. Pretty simple stuff. You know, it's good to not overthink it. Let's talk about the bass. All right. Here is the bass line, apparently programmed on Flood's Roland 700 modular. and it sounds a little bit like this. You like the gurgling synth. Gurgle.

I don't think I noticed till this listening how there isn't a snare in the song until that first minute. Really the first minute of the song is just booms. I love it. I freaking love it. There was a song called Lazy by Express 2 featuring David Byrne

that blew up around 2000. It was a dance song. And my favorite version of that is ironically called the Acapapagos. which it isn't, but it's basically the entire song with all the drums stripped out of it. Really? There's something about that. Even as a drummer, I feel like a traitor saying it, but there's something about the drumless version of my favorite songs that just, it hits different.

Yeah, Daft Punk did a whole drumless version of Random Access Memories a couple years ago. The white cover. Yeah. Okay, so that's the base in the A section. There's an A, a B, and a C section. So another thing about this song... I'm noticing because, like, our drums had an A, B, and C. Yep, exactly right. And another, one thing that's happening with this song, and sort of from here on out, is there is a simplification. And from this point forward, we don't not have a lot of melodies, but there are fewer, and there are fewer sections. One thing they start emphasizing, though, and I'll explain it a little more when we get to the synth in a second, is harmonically they're doing some really interesting things with the chord changes. But for now, I will play for you what's happening in the bass in the B section, which is the verse, basically. And in fact, and then here is the chorus. And birds are very unnecessary. They can only do harm. And one thing I wanted to point out there is that there's this extra bar. There's this like ninth bar in the chorus that sort of extends the duration and gives you a little more

tension before we get into what comes next, which is first two with that little drum break we we played earlier. So that's an interesting thing going on in the bass. That gurgling thing goes through the whole. thing. Those three parts are kind of all that we hear the whole time. We've been talking about the guitar becoming more prominent in this period of Depeche Mode and moving forward. So what are the guitars doing in this song? So in the recording studio, Martin hears what we've been hearing in the room. He's hearing the drums, he's hearing the bass. Everyone's kind of stoked about how the song is

taking this direction. It's a little faster. It's got more of a groove to it. And Martin's still not feeling it. But he goes to the synth. He's a team player. He comes up with some melody ideas. And Alan said, great melody, what else can you play it on? Meaning he didn't like the sound, but he was being diplomatic about it. So Flood suggested, producer Flood suggests, that Martin pick up the guitar. And play it on the guitar. And play it on the guitar. And he's not into it.

He's like, we're a synth band. I've just been making the case to all these reporters that electronic music is music. Right. He's just not, he's like, why would I play guitar? We're a synth band. So they spend half a day trying out different ideas. And again, they're playing guitar sonically more than like for the part, because he has the part. He has the melody that he found on keyboards. He's just transferring it to guitar. And Flood

is being producer guy, finding an interesting way to sonically treat it. So it sounds different from your typical guitar. And that's when they find it. And that's the moment that the magic comes together. And when Martin starts to be like, oh, I get why you guys like the song so much, he even goes on to say, I could in that moment hear that this song had crossover potential. And I have to say, I was sulking for two days for no reason. He's saying in a later interview. And I'd like to take this moment to apologize to Alan and Fleck. Oh, that's so cute. So let's, without further ado, listen to this iconic guitar melody.

It's almost like when Dylan decides to go electric. It feels like he's selling out. He's like, this isn't our brand. I can't be playing guitar. But again, you know, this is less rockabilly than some of the other songs that we talked about, but it is that guitar that probably makes it all the more popular in the United States. Yeah, I think you're totally right.

I think that they maybe had a subconscious feeling of Americanness that came from all these Anton Corbin shoots and Rose Bulls and such. And so it finds its way into the guitar. And again, the sound, the melody was already there. But for Martin, it was finding the sound that was unusual. That wasn't your typical guitar sounds. I like that reverb on it. Yeah, the delay on there. Really sweet. Let's talk about the sense. Okay, well, we have to start with the famous choir sound. Now, I can hear what sounds like somebody on a microphone. I think this is definitely a layered thing. I think there's three or four things happening at once. There's definitely a keyboard part. I think there's a sample vocal. Now, I've gone down to rabbit hole. There's some, like, deep

Depeche Mode nerd sites, and some of them are incredible. But some of them, the verification, I just wasn't sure. Some people are saying this is coming from a sample of the Bulgarian state television female choir from 1987, also known as Le Misteur de Voiebaud-Bulgare, a record I remember coming out. And... Don't we all? No, I... We all bought that record. I really do remember that record, but I don't... I could not find the exact moment, but it It might have been from that, whatever it was.

It would only take a sliver of one syllable to create that. Yeah, and with the Sinclavia or whichever sampler they're using in the moment, may not be the Sinclaviour anymore. You can pitch it up, pitch it down. And again, with the layers, there's also the sort of classic Farolite vocal sound that's in the mix. However, they made it, they made it. And they made it their own by layering it. But we don't think that they brought, like, a choir or even a singer into the studio that made that sound.

I will say 99.9% certainty not. But in the listen just now, there might be. a layer of Martin or Dave just going, ah. Okay, so here's a little combination of gurgly and choir, as I put in my notes. I love that sound. I love that. And here it is with the bass and the guitar. So this is all the activity that's happening before the vocals come in besides the drums.

It's a lot simpler than earlier Depeche Mode. I say that, and then I listen back, and I'm like, but there are like, four. Four melodies happening. There's a lot happening, isn't there? By the way, you brought the bass back, and I'm like, damn, I'm just a bass guy. I'm just a bass guy. You're always happy when the bass is there. Once that bass comes in, I'm like, oh, it's going to be all right.

You know, don't worry about that thing you were worried about 10 minutes ago about, you know, you and luxury going your separate ways. The bass is here. I rescind my previous comment about the reduction of melody, too, because there's a lot of melodies. There's a lot of melodies. There's a lot of melodies in there. Do we have any more sense you want to play? We sure do, my friend. Let's listen to the choir pad that happens in the, the,

chorus. Now we're about to get to that ninth bar and there's an interesting chord that happens here. An interesting thing to notice when you listen to the song is there's a couple of really interesting chords and I'm going to point them out to you. So at the very beginning of the song, the A section, as we've been referring to it, there's the one to the three basically, which is C minor to E major. And then it just repeats that again. But when we come around to the verse, that second chord changes. And you've noticed this your whole life, but this time I'll explain why it's happening. The second chord goes from being major, which is normal for the Dorian mode. It goes into minor.

So it's just a really subtle thing, but it's a surprise. And it darkens it because you've got two minor chords in a row. And the second one is technically it's a borrowed chord. It, quote unquote, shouldn't be there. It isn't the same notes of the scale as the first chord was. So we're borrowing some chords there. And it happens again a second time. And again, this has been the thing, as you've been listening to the song all these years,

one of the reasons why that ninth bar I mentioned in the chorus is so special and weird is it's another borrowed chord. So I can't even find technically what the music theory term for that would be, because it's the one, but it's a flat one. It's the C minor goes to a B major. That's what's happening there. It's a half step down. It's really eerie and crazy sounding.

It's an eerie note. It's an eerie note. And just those two. little substitutions, these borrowed chords that aren't technically in the key of the rest of the song, are why we have these wonderful surprises happen in the sections. I love it. I love it. This might be my favorite sound. Whoa. So satisfying. That was great. That's, literally that sounds like da-punk, circa, you know, human after all. Well, here it is with a couple of sense layered. I love it. Like, it makes me want to punch my, like, punch my fist. I don't know. Like, it's just like,

it's so hard. Why is that one sound so p. It's angry. It's a very aggressive sound. It's a very aggressive sound. does sound a little bit like, human after all. You're right. Very doff. Very doffed. Very doff. That's in the second chorus. That enters in the second chorus.

That's like just a new element that gets added. And at the end, we have this sort of build situation. Right? Yes. Can we talk about our vocals? Why I talk about Dave's vocals? I want to talk about Dave's vocals. I didn't know if that was important.

Listen, I love Dave Gans' voice. This band would not, it just would not. be the same without it. So can you play us some vocals from Dave Gann? And maybe, if I may, just give me the beginning of verse number one, because that is a way you start a song. Words like violence,

break the silence. Come crashing in, into my little world, painful to me, pierce right through me, can't you understand, oh, my little girl. All the reverb

too, bathe the neighbor. It's like you're singing in a church. No, there's so much religious stuff happening in this, right? You know, there's a lot of stuff going on with that voice. But at the end of the day, those words are just beautiful and tragic. Words are very unnecessary. I mean, again, I'm a writer. Words are very unnecessary.

They can only do harm. Even worse is words are meaningless and forgettable. Yeah. What do you think it's about? He says feelings are intense and words are trivial. What does it mean to you? I have debated internally whether I wanted to say what I think the song means and what, you know, where it's coming from. Because, look, there are a couple of ways to interpret it.

There's a literal way, which is like he's in a, you know, in a relationship. And, you know, he's saying, like, the words that we say are not as important as what is here in my arms. That's the literal way. As with all things, Depeche Mode, there's a drug interpretation. Right. That goes through all this, which is, like, once you're high, the words are meaningless and forgettable. It could also be very Buddhist, though, about just being like,

peace with oneself. Yes, I think I prefer the way that it's not about a relationship or drugs. All I ever wanted, all I ever need. I don't need anything. I think it's more existential. What I am is all I need. Yes. And even when he's walking around that king outfit,

you get the sense that it's deeper than just a drug or a person. It's more him. He might be singing about his relationship with fame. You know what I mean? Like, because by this point, he is freaking the head of one of the most famous bands on earth. But, you know, all I ever wanted is here in my arms. Now channel that through the, like, fact of him singing, not being who wrote it. Like, how does that doctor into this?

Now that you mention it, right. He didn't write it like, is. Is Dave, Dave is saying this because he and. Is this, is this the flea with that thing where somebody puts words in your mouth? Because that's how they feel about you. You know what I mean? Oh, I see. Like, I mean, that's another.

other way to interpret it. Like, that's kind of a confrontational way. Who knows? Who freaking knows? But Martin is writing about Dave and Dave is singing Martin's words. That is a relationship, a very interesting. It's, what's the name of the guy? Yeah, I think you're talking about Serenone. Yeah. Serenot or Burjardt. But there's a, but there's a, but he loves this woman, but he has a handsome guy who he can just funnel his words through. Right. There's something. She falls in love with this man through. He falls in, she falls in love with this man. man, but it's another man's words. And you could even go so far as to say that Alan Wilder, up until this moment especially,

has been at the end of that Serino chain. It's like Serenot to Serenow to Serenow, where what you're hearing on the record and where Martin goes to Dave goes to Alan for the sound of what you're making the recording, the choices of synth patches and chords. Can I hear that chorus, that classic chorus? All ever wanted, all ever needed is here in my arms. I think that's Martin. Like harmony.

Words are very unnecessary. They can only do harm. At first I was like, that could be Dave going the octave, which I don't know if he can do. He probably is a great singer. He probably could do it. But then at the very end of it, you hear that kind of wavering. That is so Martin, the way that note ends. I'll just play that again.

Listen to how that harmony, that octave above. And by the way, it's not a harmony with like a third or a fifth. It's just the octave. Listen to that, and it sounds like Martin to me. they can only do harm. There's like a little shake to it. I hear that. I don't think we would do our listeners justice.

If we didn't hear a little bit of that second verse, Islay, can you play us that? The vows are spoken verse. Vows are spoken to be broken. Feelings are intense. Words are trivial. Pleasures remain. So does the pain.

Words are meaningless and forgettable. I mean, I feel like I just got punched in the stomach. It's so beautiful. Pleasures remain. So does the pain. Can we do something interesting because I actually have the dry vocals, too. What? Oh my gosh.

You've been holding out. Let's listen to the second chorus. All ever wanted. All ever needed is here in my arms. It's like being in the room with Dave. Words are very. unnecessary They can only do

hard That's so interesting to hear the contrast Hit me with the second verse dry like that Can you do second verse dry? Oh you're in the second verse try, okay So different Verse two dry Vows are spoken

To be broken Feelings are intense Words are trivial Pleasures remain So does the pain Words are meaningless And forget gets a bull.

It's always kind of crazy to me that you can hear like really sad or dark things and yet and feel those things but also feel great joy and happiness in those sad and dark moments. Isn't that weird? It's so interesting and also hearing the contrast between the reverb and

the dry, what you hear is so much more vulnerable and strip back because the power, the Dave in front of the audience with the reverb, he's empowered by the reverb in many ways, but then he sort of seems just human and Seems as vulnerable as us, so to speak. Right.

Damn, I'm so glad that we did this episode because I love and enjoy the silence. And I bought all eight of the first Depeche Mode records on vinyl, two very fancy, expensive books, and I have been spending the last four days just embersing myself in Depeche Mode, Depeche Mode, Depeche Mode. So you went down your rabbit hole with the YouTube and the wine. Yeah. It's been glorious. It's been such a fun week in preparing for this episode. What do our splits look like on this?

song. Oh, they're always 100% Martin Gore. There's only nine songs in the catalog that aren't, I mean, up until the 9th or 10 record. A hundred percent? Martin Gore is a hundred percent songwriter. He only makes money on the Masters? So we talk about this a little bit on the People Our People episode, but just to clarify, this Depeche mode through these seven records, the first eight records at least, it is Martin Gore is the sole songwriter who gets songwriting and publishing credit. And then Dave is the singer, but he hasn't written a word or melody that he's singing, and Alan Wilder, up until this record,

is mostly... I mean, he's an amazing act. Can I just say doing production? Use Hollywood terms. That means that Dave is an amazing actor because I would never know that he didn't write these things. He's reading from the script, but it seems natural and lived.

He did an amazing job. You know, they tell the story, interestingly, on another interview I saw with Martin and Dave, on their first record, Vince Clark was the sole songwriter. So when they brought to their first publisher, when they brought, just can't get enough to their first publisher,

they brought the song. The publisher was like, boys, this is a huge hit. And when he learned who wrote the song, Vince Clark exclusively, nobody else made a contribution, he was like, this is going to buy you or Rolls Royce, while the rest of you are going to be riding around on bicycles, basically. So that was the day they learned what publishing was. And obviously Martin took this to heart

because he started writing all the songs on the second record. But interestingly, through the years, I can only imagine behind the scenes there wasn't a lot of tension about Martin, because the level of money is 10 to 20x potentially versus the splits of course. Between the rest of the bandmates

on the master's on the record. That only makes sense. I mean, you know, Alan leaves the band. Alan leaves the band. It doesn't specify. I mean, like, let's just also, Dave's been very honest. He had a crippling addiction around that time.

And then you throw money into the mix and global fame into the mix. It's not the best recipe for getting along. It's tricky. I mean, the fact that they're still together all these years, they put out a record last year, Memento Mori.

really speaks to their ability to keep it together, but you're right. Behind the scenes, I can only imagine there's been a lot of ups and downs about this imbalance based on the publishing splits. I'll tell you what else is hard. Moving on from the album Violator, because we love it so much. But I do want to take some time and talk about the albums that Depechevo released after Violator, because Violator is not the end of their story. It's not. And I think that as we... Violator is 35 years ago, and they're still making records. And they're still making records. And they're still making great songs. I want to call out two albums in particular. One from the 90s, songs of faith and devotion. This was the follow-up to

Violator. You know, it didn't do the business, so to speak, that Violator may have done, but if you look at the track list, there's some amazing songs on there. It has a top three song for me. I think I feel you. That's a top three song. I feel you. And it's got one of my

favorite songs. Here's a little bit of walking in my shoes. Because you know what? You'll stumble in my footsteps. Great album. I actually want to call out another favorite album of theirs of mine. Exciter from 2001, I believe it was. There's some great songs on this record.

If you don't know the song already, Free Love is an amazing oral experience, so you have to absolutely dig that one out and listen to Free Love. It was a great, great song. One of their slower songs, not danceable at all, but I think if you blast it in your car, you will feel something. you will remind yourself that you live.

And then, of course, there was the single Dream On. And the cool thing about Dream On, I think it just further cements that idea that once Martin picked up his guitar, he could do a song that almost sounded country in its influences, but it's still definitively Depeche Mode. Yeah, they really found a way to weave the guitar into the music and have it not feel like a guitar band. Like it's a synth band, an electronic band that has guitars in it, but the guitars are mostly kind of acting like another synth. It's another sound with a different palette, basically. But it is also something that allows Martin to play guitar on stage,

which he's talked about being far more fun than standing in front of the keyboard. So it's worked out well for everybody. And actually, on Songs of Faith and Devotion, just to point it out, they have a live drummer. Alan is playing drums. He's playing drums in the studio, but also on stage. So they start to kind of... And, of course, that was the last album that is.

had Alan, he surely thereafter left the group. Yeah, so they're loosening their grip on this. We have to be a synth band in this moment with these two records. Yeah, you know, listen, they started off as a synth band, but obviously to last as long as they've lasted, they have to make some change. They have to change somewhat. They can't just be locked in, locked in that tight. And I think that their longevity speaks to the fact that they made changes that their fans wanted to go along the ride with. Yeah. And maybe their American fans maybe drove a little bit of that, too, of the sound change. But playing, Playing the Angel has a great song called Precious,

which I guess it's like one of maybe the fifth most popular song on streaming. And that song is what, maybe 24 years after they've debuted. And they're still cranking out. I mean, like without calling out any names, there are many other bands that come out when they came out that would love to have a song in the 2000s do what Precious did. But Precious still a hit. Need special hand.

And you just reminded me that there's actually a song on Ultra for the 1997 record. Yes, good album. Which is between songs of faith and devotion and Exciter. They slow down their pace. So every four years they make a record, almost literally, like mathematically. It's only because of the pandemic that they slow down that pace. That is nuts. I'm looking at the dates right now, and it's about every four years after 1990.

Ultra. Ultra had a song that I discovered because of the remix. It worked for me because I heard Ultra. in every shoe store in New York, as we were talking about before this episode, because in 1997, when that amazing Kruder and Dorfmeister K&D Sessions record came out,

it was a remix on there, and I love that song. That's useless. I broke down and spent $100 a day in Discogs buying the K&D sessions on vinyl because it is so good. It sounds good to my ears again. Let's play a little bit of that.

These guys were pioneers of remixing we should talk about, right? We should talk about that. Not everyone remembers this, but in the early 80s, Not all remixes were associated with... Sometimes it just said remix. It just said remix.

No, that was more common than not. Yeah. That you would get a 12-inch record and it would say the remix. But it wouldn't say like the Justice remix or the Daft Punk remix wasn't a thing yet because these remixers didn't have names. They weren't coming from being known nationally, like international DJs. Totally. Yeah.

You might get a jelly bean Benitez every now and then. Exactly. I was going to say there were a couple who broke through the glass seal if there wasn't. It wasn't zero, but it was rare. Shepetabone is somebody who like he did the Petropey. He was one of those people who, like, when I saw it, I was like, oh, Shep did a remix. It's got to be good. So we were probably that first generation that actually cared, like, who did the remix.

Right. Behind the wheel. Yeah. Amazing track. The Beatmaster's remix is a classic, the Shep Petabone remix. Yeah. Remix. Got a lot of spins.

Depeche Mode were really early to the idea of having a lot of remixes to extend the life of any given song, of any given single. So, like, to this day, they will put out a song and they'll have so many remixes. In fact, I think I did like a playlist. recently, and there were five, I didn't get to all of them, but on this playlist that I made before I gave up, there were 500 official remixes that are available on these streaming platforms of Depeche Mode songs. Of just Depeche Mode. Yeah. So they obviously considered it an important tool for them, but they were early to recognize that. Yeah, I think, you know, they were early to recognize that dancing and what I guess you'd have to call rock music didn't have to be separate categories. Right. They also make the big case over and over that electronic music is real music because, believe or not, that was obviously a thing in the way. the 80s. And I do believe that they also saw the importance of having that killer remix, like you said, that can move the dance floor in ways that their original production, you know, maybe didn't.

But I was just going to say to that point, I think they recognized early on that they could free themselves from having to think about the dance floor if they focused on the song for their original version. And then they could bring in people who are experts in the field, like DJs, the ears on the dance floor. Because it's different. As you, as we both know, like, I know for a first-hand experience if I'm making a song, at some point I have to make a choice. The more sort of different chord changes and melodies it has, the less it's going to be a dance floor banger. Yeah. So it took me a long time to recognize you can't really be a radio or headphones song and a dance floor song. Those are all different. You might get lucky and hit the nail on the head.

Sometimes you can have a danceable song that has all those elements. But for the most part, focusing on the song and the dancing is secondary was strategic on their part. Hence all the remixes. And I found a quote where Alan Wilder talks about how he's so surprised whenever they get name-checked by dance floor luminaries, like the Frankie Knuckles of the world who would praise Depeche Mode as being an influence. Because he'd be like, I didn't know that we were making dance music. I mean, I'm telling you, it doesn't surprise me that Frankie Knuckles and the early house guys were listening to this man. They love Depechevon. All the technical guys. This is danceable music. All the Detroit guys. Instrument-wise, it's the same as what was happening in R&B.

Frankie's Chicago, but also all the Detroit guys, the Belleville three. Yeah. Well, you know, I mean, In doing research for this episode, I saw them continuously referred to at the time as techno pop. And I think that they filled a musical niche and a void that was later filled by dance music. You know what I mean? Like, in other words, like, it wouldn't be weird to create a Swedish House Mafia song in the same style that Depechevo was creating their songs. You know, they're making dance songs with lyrics. And at the time, to be fair, as I think about it, in the mid-80s, if you go to like a goth club or a synth pop club, whatever it might have been called at the time, an alternative club.

You would definitely hear dead or alive right round with its disco kind of stockache in Waterman four on the floor. But you would definitely hear master and servant. You would definitely hear people or people. So they were being played in the clubs. It's just sort of more of the underground, more of like legit house kind of that dance, the loft. Those kind of clubs may or may not have played, you know, the non-remix versions of the Depeche songs. As we wrap up this episode, what would you say is the legacy of Enjoy the Silence? I love that Enjoy the Silence is. their biggest song, it took what was already an open door to America and the world and just exploded it. Because the fact that these guys are 30 years later still able to tour and make

records globally to this degree and keep changing their sound and keep making incredible music is a testament to, I think, this moment too, because it was the moment that Martin let go a little bit to his writing process. If I can jump in on that, I want to say about Enjoy the Silence. Two things. One is that lyrically, there are a couple of songs where I'm just like, how did they pull that off. Hip hop is a little different because you have to say so much that lyrics take on a different importance. But in song lyrics, lyrics that you sing, dig, if you will, a picture of you and I engage in a kiss. Like, that's one of those like lines. It's like, it's poetry just to say it. And for Enjoy the Silence, you know, we've talked about

the lyrics. There's some lyrics that I'm just like, how did they get that into a pop song? Yeah. How did they squeeze that? That is poetry. It's poetry. On the radio. Poetry on top 40 Poetry on Top 40 Radio. Seven million coffees. And so to that point, it leads me into the second thing I want to say about Enjoy the Sons and also about Depeche Mode writ large. They make

me want to create, whether that's try a little bit harder on a script, try a little bit harder in prepping my lines when I act, or working with you on some music. Like, it's one of those things where like if I'm in the right mood and I'm receiving what they're giving, I'm just like, wow, I

am so grateful and thankful that we get to bring beauty into this world. And even if it sounds really sad and dire as some of the lyrics and enjoy the silent sound, it ultimately brings happiness into people's life and maybe even chills. There is also something about the bandiness, which reminds me why I love bands so much. I love music. I love songwriting. I love listening, all the things about it. But there's something special about bands that I'm reminded of sometime when you just love the band. There is something about the complete aesthetic package of what the music is, how it feels, the lyrics, the sounds,

what they look like, what the videos are like, what I think I know about them, but the mystery behind them too. Literally, Martin Gore, I've been told throughout my life in various stages that, like, I remind people of Martin Gore because of the hair, maybe my wife the other day said I looked a little like an early Dave gone. Like, they are me, I am them, like I identify with them. I want to be them. I want to be as cool as them. I want to look like them. I want to wear, I want to be in black and white photographs

on the American like landscape wearing leather jackets like them. They really appeal to that. Clearly, I don't. Exactly. They really appeal to that part of me that really just loves the band part of music. And I also love how many people they've influenced. They've influenced so many bands. I can't imagine nine inch nails without Depechevost.

There would be no nine inch nails. And even radio head, you know, like I feel like there's a radio head influence in the sense that like that is a band that has grown and changed their sound over time. And sound is a big part of it too. their exploration of sound. And some of the courts change stuff I was talking about. And bringing in like those fringe, weird experimental sound. And figuring out how can we, not necessarily get to the radio, but how can we make it even,

you know, just a little bit more palatable for our thing? I think that's a great comparison. You're right. I hadn't thought about that. I think Radiohead in a way is sort of like if Depeche Mode is electronic music adding guitars, it's radiohead might be guitars adding electronic music. Absolutely. I'll admit, most people love OK computer.

I think my Radiohead album is K-A. And that is another album with an impeccably beautiful song that opens up. Everything in its right place. Perfect opening to that album, every bit as much as World of My Eyes. I think that's the cool answer for Radiohead. I think the like, I would give the basic answer, which is OK, Computer. But I do appreciate kidding. I love kidding.

Well, that was a show, quite a show. One Song Nation, thanks for coming on this journey with us. For the Depeche Mode Heads, we hope that we've given you much to discuss some stuff that you didn't know before. and we hope we hit the mark. And for you, Depeche Mode, Newbies, what you're waiting for? Check out Depechebos, amazing discography,

all the documentaries on YouTube. It's all out there, and we just enjoyed ourselves. As always, you can find us on Instagram and TikTok. You can find me on Instagram at Diallo, Dialo, and on TikTok at Diallo Riddaloril. And you can find me on Instagram at luxury, L-U-X-X-U-X-U-Y, and on TikTok at L-U-X-U-X-U-X.

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It really helps keep the show going. Luxury, help us in this thing. I'm producer, DJ, songwriter, and music college is luxury. And I'm actor, writer, director, and sometimes DJ, D'all O'Riddle. And this is one song. We'll see you next time.