Pop Classics #6 - Depeche Mode

[uwelang]

My last Pop Classics was Blondie where people told me they are not pop - ich sag nur @w74 - new wave ist für mich pop - Punk hmmm - aber für mich war es Pop weil eben populär - die Leuten fanden es gut, es wurde rauf und runter gepielt im Radio, TV Auftritte - von daher Pop. Es gab ja selbst Punk was Pop wurde - Tote Hosen mal als Beispiel, die weichgespülte Pop Musik machten irgendwann - aber Campino hatten, der in Talk Shows das Image versuchte weiter rüberzubringen (naja Fortuna Düsseldorf Fan sagt alles) und da wir alle wissen, dass ich Techno liebe und Metal - selbst diese Genres wurden in die Pop Ecke gedrängt - zum Teil berechtigt, zum Teil nicht.

Pop Classics 6 - Depeche Mode

Back to topic now - no matter if people pout them into a different genre - to me they are pop. Depeche Mode started as result of great producers in the UK from Visage and others (Vince Clark was mastermind first who I admire still) - in my youth i hated them during the metal phase.

Depeche Mode was in my youth the personification of POP - a sound we did not like, we called them and their suporters in a negative way popper stuff - nothing for the cool rock kids - folks with strange hairstyles playing synthi pop - so true pop (sorry @w74) - after years I appreciated some of their songs, even pop it was good pop, pop I liked (since People are People), pop i did move my body to, pop i bought, pop I still love to listen to nowadays (what I never expected in the 80ies).

I have to confess now they did good stuff for music - and even could play live - they even had their own scandals you usually only have with Rock bands - in a nutshell now I am not an enemy, not a fan either but appreciate what they did for electronic music.

But they changed a bit from pure synthi pop stuff to even a "darker" phase. Depeche Mode's status as a frontrunner or pioneer in electronic music, despite these other major contributors, stems less from being the absolute first (a title often reserved for Kraftwerk) and more from their*unique and sustained evolution, commercial success, and profound, cross-genre influence.

While Depeche Mode started in 1980 with bright, early synth-pop (like "Just Can't Get Enough"—which is the "poppy" side after Vince Clarke's departure, Martin Gore took over songwriting and steered the band toward a darker, more experimental, and emotionally complex sound also regarding text towards religion and topics about existing / life in general. Later they even incorporated industrial rock parts e.g. with "Personal Jesus".

In summary, Depeche Mode's genius lies in their ability to take the minimalist, machine-driven sounds of their predecessors (like Kraftwerk) and infuse them with gothic romance, pop hooks, and a stadium-rock scale making them one of the most commercially successful and cross-genre influential electronic bands of all time.

So as summary - they been more than just pop - kudos guys - they rocked and filled stadiums!

My final take - one of my personal favourite songs is this one (kind of reminds me of Metallica Sanitarium) - I like that title a lot:

Comments

[twinner]

Thanks Uwe for featuring DM. My all time favourite will be

And

, first Kiss at Schuldisco

Also "lookenswert" for the "jung folks here", since we partied 36th aniversary of fall of the Wall:

[reiseamateur]

DM ist super, aber das Arbeiten mit ihnen etwas ausbaufähig....
Meist Back to Back touren zb: heute Hanover morgen Paris , übermorgen Hamburg, am nächsten Tag Warschau, dann Moskau ..... Horror für alle die mit DM gearbeitet haben!
Einziger Wehrmuttropfen: Schlagzeuger ist aus Österreich ...
Lg 🤠 , hoffe alles klar bei dir und deiner Familie @twinner !!

[uwelang]

Aber gerne doch Meister :-)

[seckorama]

Thanks for sharing. It's nice to hear these incredible tunes from time to time. 😎🎶

[michaelreischer]

Ohhh. Depeche Mode in der Deutschlandhalle in Berlin… geile Erinnerungen, oder Tote Hosen im Alten Tempodrom wo sie die Texte teilweise noch vom Zettel abgelesen haben.

[acesontop]

I was a fan... I still listen to Strangelove while driving. Part of my all time favorites

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[rai-humair]

Depeche Mode truly changed the music scene with their unique sound. It’s interesting how their style evolved over time, and I agree that their influence on electronic music is huge. Sometimes it takes a while to fully appreciate how ahead of their time they were.

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[latinowinner]

the best songs are the Hymns to God