The Soundtrack of Shadow and Synth: Why Choosing One Depeche Mode Song is Impossible

To understand why a later 50-something Gen X kid who was there from the beginning can never give you a straight answer when you ask, "What’s your favorite Depeche Mode song?" you have to understand what the musical landscape looked like in the late 1970s and early 1980s. My world, like most pre-teens at the time, was built on a steady diet of late-70s and early-80s pop and classic rock radio staples. I was raised on the organic, analog warmth of Tom Petty, Dolly Parton, Kenny Rodgers, the Steve Miller Band, and the Eagles. It was comfortable, guitar-heavy, and familiar. And then in 1982, in the United States, out of nowhere, came "Just Can't Get Enough" by Depeche Mode. It made an immediate, jarring impact. It didn't sound like anything else on the radio. There were no dusty guitar solos or country-inflected harmonies; instead, it was a hyper-kinetic blast of pure electronic energy. To be honest, at the time, it reminded me of a hip take on the Disneyland “Electronic Parade” music. It stood out like a neon sign in a wood-paneled room. It was my gateway to my teenage years and “the 80’s.” But if "Just Can't Get Enough" opened the door, what followed was a rapid, thrilling evolution that kept me permanently hooked. However, living in a pre-Internet world and not having a job, I was not able to purchase an album or even find out what the band or artist looked like. The song came and went and on certain occasions, if I was lucky with my timing, the song would come on the radio from time to time. For those of us tracking their trajectory, Depeche Mode didn't just release albums; they mapped out our teenage years, track by track, mood by mood. Soon after, as a Southern California kid, I found myself listening to KROQ in 1982. In fact, I can still remember the first song I heard on KROQ. The first time I “turned the dial,” it was the opening bass line to the song Words by Missing Persons. That first year my favorite bands were Oingo Boingo, which floored me with “Gray Matter” and DEVO with their various synth-driven hits.  Then I found myself listening to the 12-inch single of "Get the Balance Right" in 1983. Hearing that track for the first time was so impactful, that opening bass line sequence was a revelation, the sound was growing up, becoming more sophisticated, heavier. Again, I liked the song, but my ability to purchase albums was limited, and I had spent my money on the first “real” albums I ever owned on Oingo Boingo’s “Grey Matter” and “Good for Your Soul” and DEVO’s “Oh, No! It’s Devo,” so at this point I didn’t own any Depeche Mode “records.” I would just listen to Depeche Mode from the radio or from a video here and there on MTV or maybe on MV3 in Southern California on channel 9.  By the time Some Great Reward arrived in 1984, and I heard the whipping, industrial metallic clank of "Master and Servant" pumping through my speakers, I knew this wasn't just a fleeting pop phase. This got my attention immediately!  Depeche Mode was building an entirely new sonic world. The timbre was unique as early digital sampling technology was now being layered with both analog and digital synthesizers and other studio tricks by the Depeche Mode production team of Alan Wilder, Gareth Jones, and Daniel Miller were creating such an unique, impactful, and yet mysterious musical experience underneath the uniquely brilliant vocals of Dave Gahan and Martin Gore. Martin Gore wrote the most brilliant and meaningful lyrics that spoke to me about life in general. In fact, I had to look up the meaning of the word “debauchery” due to its placement in the brilliant Some Great Reward track, "Somebody," as I wanted to know its meaning to help me understand the greater context of the song.  By now I was able to purchase music albums, cassettes, and eventually CDs and because of the brilliance of the Some Great Reward album, Depeche Mode became my favorite band, overtaking Oingo Boingo and DEVO for that title.  The absolute apex of my obsession hit in 1985 with the release of "Shake the Disease." Released on the compilation album, “Catching Up with Depeche Mode” That song blew me away so completely that it felt like Depeche Mode had achieved a sort of dark, infallible divinity. Every song felt like it should have gone number one globally to me. It felt like everything they touched, everything they released, was gold. They could do no wrong. Which brings me to the holy grail of “80s music” and of Depeche Mode to me personally: Black Celebration. I remember the day it was released like it was yesterday (specifically on March 31, 1986, via Sire Records). I bought it on day one. I left Cypress College and drove to the now long-gone, Tower Records on Beach Boulevard in Buena Park. I walked in and there it was, front and center, the first thing you saw when you walked into the store, stocked on an “end cap,” 3 shelves of the Black Celebration vinyl album right in front of me. I made my purchase and rushed home, and locked myself in my bedroom. It was late afternoon at approximately 4pm. The sun was going down, and my room was bathed in that specific, moody half-light of long, late-afternoon shadows. I dropped the needle, and laid down on my bed to soak it in for the first time. I was truly not sure what to expect, other than it was going to be brilliant. In theory, I was setting myself up for disappointment, I mean how could this live up to the previous brilliance? For the first few seconds of the song Black Celebration, I panicked. The opening of the title track was so incredibly low, so quiet and atmospheric, that I thought something was wrong with my stereo system. I was adjusting dials, checking connections, and then the dark, driving wave of the album washed over me. It was perfect. I spent hours in that semi-darkness, falling in love with "Black Celebration" and remembering at the time, the gorgeous, sweeping synth-pop of "Here is the House." I was once again, “over the moon,” about Depeche Mode and their sound, and with various video “TV channels,” their look, and the lyrics meant something to me as I was living my life.  Of course, being a purist meant that the relationship had its testing moments. When Music for the Masses came out, I was initially not a happy camper. I "liked" it, sure, but the open use of acoustic piano and guitar timbres felt like a betrayal. I didn’t want traditional rock instruments; I wanted the unique, alien, sampler-based textures they had spent years perfecting. I was never a fan of the track "Strangelove" because of that shift. Yet, even on an album that challenged my purist sensibilities, they won me over. I couldn't resist the haunting depth of "To Have and to Hold" or the driving synth-pop intensity of "Nothing" or the lock-step sequenced perfection of the “Never Let Me Down Again (Aggro Mix)” which was a bonus track on the CD release in the U.S.  And this is exactly why the question of a "favorite" song is a trap. To choose just one track is to try and pinpoint a single version of myself. Am I the kid who was shocked out of a classic rock slumber by "Just Can't Get Enough"? Am I the high school sophomore dancing to “Get the Balance Right” at Cloud 9 or Videopolis? Am I the high school senior enjoying the last couple months of high school being blown away by the brilliance of the timbre and lyrics of “Shake the Disease?" Am I the college freshman hiding in a shadowy bedroom experiencing the cinematic gloom of Black Celebration? Or am I the older fan learning to accept guitars in my electronic sanctuary? For those of us who were there from the very beginning, each song represents a monumental shift in our own personal history. Every track holds a distinct, irreplaceable impact. So ask me my favorite Depeche Mode song, and I will always have to ask you back: depends on my mood, which year of my life do you want to talk about? Hello, and thanks for listening to my podcast For years, my mission has been to foster a community around engagement, unique takes on interesting stories, and conversation. If you value what I do, please consider supporting me. 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