Songs of Faith and Devotion

My album of the month, I think. (Der Ring des Nibelungen is so end-of-year.) I will say again that I think Depeche Mode is one of the most adventurous groups I've ever listened to, at least in terms of what they were willing to explore with sound. (Not claiming any great expertise in popular music of the past ten years or so, but frankly, most of what I've heard is either rehashes of 70s and 80s soft rock or heavy metal; the German pop scene seems to be much livelier and more creative.)

I still think Black Celebration was the big breakthrough album for them -- that's the one where they turned into Depeche Mode.

Songs of Faith and Devotion is equally amazing, and somewhat more mature. The tunes are irresistible. Hands down favorite right now (and this is something that changes and that's one way I recognize a superior collection -- if I come away with new favorites on repeated listenings, I know I've got a winner) is "Walking in My Shoes." Everything -- vocals, instrumentals, melody, lyrics -- comes together in an exceptional song. Man, even the bass line is exciting. (I will admit that their lyrics could sometimes be better, in terms of being a little more transparent, but all things considered, I'm willing to make allowances. One expects a bit of murky inwardness in pop songs, anyway, particularly the "loaded with Angst" type.) On this one, which is true of a lot of their songs, there's a lot of anger, which is something I understand. Particularly in the US social climate right now, the message of this song (which echoes so strongly so many of Christ's teachings) is right on point -- don't judge me until you've been me, and even then, tread softly, because I don't have to justify my life to you. (That's also a big plus for "Halo" from Violator -- a big "in your face" to the moralists.)

Update: About lyrics: songs like "Stripped" from Black Celebration and "In Your Room" from this CD reach a point of intensity that is way too rare in pop music. The closest I can think of, aside from Sara McLachlan's "Fumbling Toward Ecstacy," is -- well, I can't really think of anything, except maybe Hans Hotter's rendering of the "Leb' wohl" at the end of Die Walkuere.

They're not all perfect. I'm not overly fond of "Condemnation" or "One Caress," even though in the former, at least, I can see what's going on very clearly. And some of them are really exciting, just the way they're using old standard devices in new ways -- the "uh-uh uh" backup in "Mercy In You," for example -- or going off in new directions with sounds and combinations that no one else quite had the guts to use -- like, for example, the arrangements for "Walking in My Shoes" or "Higher Love."

A sidebar, which is really a concept underlying this whole discussion: this is art. It has to be, no matter what you may think of its "seriousness" or quality (and I don't think there can be any legitimate disagreement that the quality in Depeche Mode's work is consistently high). It's vernacular art, but then, most art worth dealing with at all either is vernacular or started there. I've often maintained that the more "pure" art becomes, the less interesting it is, with some notable exceptions (Mark Rothko being one that comes immediately to mind, and I'm not sure how "pure" you can really call his painting; Minimalism, with its emphasis on formal considerations as the basis and, indeed, the raison d'etre, is pretty boring because it doesn't say much about the human condition -- except that art collectors can be talked into buying just about anything, and how much meaning does that have for most of us?)

In terms of music, I think it behooves us to remember that one of Mozart's greatest works is The Magic Flute, which was, after all, a Singspiel, a popular form like our musical. You can't hardly get more vernacular than that.

As for the next question -- will it be around in fifty years? -- well, cream rises to the top, so check back with me then.