I've made it!

Yes, folks, it's happened. You know your blog has made it when you receive a "DMCA takedown notification‏"! In English, this means that some official record company bod has objected to me sharing an mp3 and gone crying to Blogger like the big baby that they are, DESPITE my little friendly disclaimer at the bottom. Some people, eh?

The problem here is the "offending" blog was my Top 10 albums list...with 10 mp3 links...and no specification which link it was. I said e-mail me directly - it's not hard, you know. I've got to bloody well guess now haven't I? And I'm guessing it was the Depeche Mode mp3, ironically enough. Favourite band they may be, but they will come with baggage. Namely being on a major record label in the USA with the sort of unforgiving attitude towards even the slightest bit of friendly sharing. I believe the same happened to The Vinyl Villain shortly after he posted his first and only DM mp3.

Consequently I've replaced the link with the video for Fragile Tension. Mainly because the vid for Hole To Feed is somewhat on the fucked-up side. All the other links are staying because I'm confident they're safe.

It amuses me as the RSS feed of the blog is already stuck in my Facebook note feed, so that mp3 is still there for folk on my friend list. Oh well. Never mind, etc.

What do you think about it, Jarvis?

Albums of the Year 2009

10) STEEL PANTHER - Feel The Steel (Island)


It's probably heresy to include such an album in a serious review of the year. There's no way anyone could possibly consider a full-on comedic pisstake of the idiotic excess of '80s glam metal in an end-of-year spotlight - it's bad enough it was enjoyed in the first place! Well, comedy or not, this is certainly one of the most enjoyable records of the year, both in daft, exaggerated lyrical output ("What'd you have to do for that backstage pass, 'cause I found a poisoned laminate inside of your ass..." - Girl From Oklahoma), to gloriously questionable song titles - Asian Hooker, Fat Girl (Thar She Blows) - to some of the best glam metal hooks heard in many a year. The sound of men old enough to know better, and doing it anyway 'cause they're bloody good at it.

Check Out: Eyes of a Panther

9) VITALIC - Flashmob (Citizen)


If there's one thing we've learnt in recent years, is that it's never a bad idea to give anyone of Gallic persuasion some synthesizers, samplers and all the rest as they'll probably get it absolutely right. Pascal Arbez's second offering under his Vitalic pseudonym picks up where debut OK Cowboy left off - subtle bleeps and beats juxtaposed alongside robotic lady vocals and introverted rhythms. With a sound more interesting than fellow countrymen Justice and Chromeo, the likes of Terminateur Benelux, Your Disco Song and the title track prove that Arbez is the natural successor in a line including Jean Michel Jarre and Daft Punk. French hands are good for something after all.

Check Out: Station Mir 2099

8) ALICE IN CHAINS - Black Gives Way To Blue (Parlophone)


There are rules in this business. Your first album after fourteen years should be a tepid and slack-jawed affair with only a hint of the fire that kept you going in your classic period, even if there has been a tragic event since. The last thing we should expect is such an assured belter that draws on history whilst adding something new. AIC's return effort takes that distinctive sound but applies it to an epic assurance where there was once utter despair. Check My Brain and Lesson Learned are righteous classics while the title track and Your Decision reminds us that a delicate touch was as much their forte as their riffs. A justified comeback.

Check Out: Lesson Learned

7) MANIC STREET PREACHERS - Journal For Plague Lovers (Sony)


If the headlines were a bit predictable ("The Holy Bible, the sequel", etc.), then the album wasn't. Yes, it was the most caustic and visceral they'd been after a lengthy period of daytime-radio friendly material, but it was by no means a complete retreat to a time when they were the UK's angriest rock band. If anything, delving into missing guitarist Richie James' remaining lyrics book allowed the band to tap into the unique catharsis that they had left behind and apply it to the maturity and assured grasp of songwriting they've developed since the mid-90s. As a result, tracks such as Me and Stephen Hawking and All is Vanity summed up all of the Manics' best attributes from the last 20 years.

Check Out: All is Vanity

6) FLORENCE + THE MACHINE - Lungs (Island)


As much as it's easy to disregard folk who blindly follow hyped artists like they eat cake, we shouldn't forget that those who purposefully avoid said artists are just as foolish. Now and then, there will be a damn good reason why there's hype and Florence is it. Even before the album's release, her live show with her band The Machine was getting justified good press for it's energy and great tracks - tracks which are kinda folk, but a bit rock, and very pop, and slightly dancey, and just plain unique. It translated to an album that was as breathtaking and beautiful as it was epic and hard-hitting. "Worth a listen" doesn't even come close.

Check Out: Howl

5) BETWEEN THE BURIED AND ME - The Great Misdirect (Victory)


I have no idea where to start. Is it the Grand-Guignol-organ inspired madness that permeates through the lurching death metal of Disease, Injury, Madness? The jazzy honky-tonk that underpins the ragged hardcore of Fossil Genera..? The sublime bliss of the Western-tinged semi-acoustic Desert of Song? Or do I go with the truly epic brutal prog that is Swim To The Moon? What I will say is this is as good and awe-inspiring as previous effort Colors, and that enough is all you need to know.

Check Out: Desert of Song

4) DEPECHE MODE - Sounds Of The Universe (Mute)


If anything, SOTU is a relief. Previous album Playing The Angel was solid but seemed to tread water and felt frequently uninspired. While nothing on their twelfth album can be described as a radical departure, there's definitely some newly-discovered life in these synthesized bones. The likes of Fragile Tension and Peace are respectful additions to their established canon, but it's tracks such as the grandiose Wrong and disturbing Corrupt that prove that something a bit different is still in reach. There's also the likes of Come Back, which could be their most impassioned offering since Condemnation in 1993. The best thing is, there's nothing to suggest they should call it a day just yet.

Check Out: Come Back

3) LA ROUX - La Roux (Polydor)


It's guaranteed that duos and synthesizers are winners. Soft Cell; Eurythmics; Yazoo; Pet Shop Boys; Erasure; La Roux. Granted, the final name may be twenty-odd years too late, but Elly and Ben are worthy additions. At worst, they're a fantastic '80s tribute act. At best, they're a talented partnership that have mastered the art of colourful songwriting in one shot. Such a triumph will always yield the obvious classy singles (In For The Kill, Bulletproof) but will throw up more aggressive fare in Tigerlily or something as dreamy as Armour Love. Debut of the year, but only just.

Check Out: Tigerlily

2) CONVERGE - Axe To Fall (Epitaph)


British metal fans will probably be a bit fed up with the ignorant criticism "It's just noise" after recent events in the national singles charts. However, it's always been a compliment with Converge, as they have spent the last fifteen years taking the concept of noise and twisting and fucking it into something uniquely primal. The applause that Axe To Fall justifies is not that they continue to do it so well, but that a cleaner, more pristine sound still results in one of the harshest things they've done. Dark Horse, Reap What You Sow and Cutter are relentless bouts of the kind of calculated-but-unhinged savagery we've come to expect, but better. However, it's the unsettling one-two climax of Cruel Bloom and the disturbing ambiance of Wretched World where Converge prove that whatever they do, they are rarely bettered. The other argument of its comparison to the legendary Jane Doe is not one I want to get into right now, but give me a couple of years.

Check Out: Reap What you Sow

1) METRIC - Fantasies (Last Gang)


Simplicity is the key. Stripping rock music to its core and just nudging the vitriol away with a bit of warmth and reason. Taking the bare elements of pop music and adding some epic flourish. You could end up with Fantasies, but it's unlikely now as it's been done and probably won't be done again. These Canadians continue to confuse logic by not being bloody huge already. This is rock music without the headache. Pop music without the feeling of a saccharine overdose. Dance music without the established boundaries. There is no question that this band should be loved and adored by everyone, but they're not. And maybe that's part of their mystique and appeal.

The whole thing is proof that with the right ingredients, magic can be conjured up. Help, I'm Alive is epic beauty without an epic touch. Gold Guns Girls is what a driving compilation really craves. Satellite Mind and Front Row are perverse little bastards that you know you want more of while Sick Muse and Gimme Sympathy are very different but still the two best pop songs you'll hear all year.

Whether they'll be as effective without Emily Haines' dreamy vocals is worth a debate, but there's no denying this is a fantastic group effort. Beautiful, inspired, sexy, magic and pretty much every other positive adjective you can think of - Fantasies should be the album to convert you to this stunning and individual band.

Check Out: Satellite Mind

Depeche Mode week - Day 6: Walking in Clarke's shoes

In what has evidently been a very long week and thus a completely failed experiment, day 6 of this brief guide to Basildon's finest brings us closer to the bloke that scarpered - Vince Clarke.

Having knocked up the first LP Speak and Spell succesfully, Clarke decided Depeche wasn't for him. No animosity but it almost single-handedly had the music press wiping this new lot of the board straight off. We know that turned out to be a false move, but what happened to 'ol Vince? Well, if the name isn't familiar for whatever reason, then you do actually know.

First off, he tapped up a mate from Basildon by the name of Alison Moyet, a fairly streetwise lass that scared the crap out of the Depeche lads, all told. Taking the name Yazoo, (or Yaz to you American lot) Clarke kept the synths and went along with Moyet's belting voice for a few pop nuggets including Nobody's Diary, Only You and this catchy little gem:



Alas, this didn't last long. They parted ways, although it did allow Moyet to gain some respectable success as a solo artist. Have a dig, but I recommend this first off. Don't ask me about the video, I have no idea...



Back to Clarke, who had tinkered with the idea of a project whereby he teamed up with someone for one single then moved on for another. This brainstorm yielded Never Never under the banner of The Assembly with Feargal Sharkey, he of The Undertones teenage-kicking fame.



And that was it. Lord knows what his relationships were like in those days.

Then something happened. He met a lad called Andy Bell, a kind of cross between Alison Moyet and Jimmy Somerville. It worked, big style, and Erasure was born. Mind you, it wasn't instant. 1985's debut album Wonderland was pretty much a commmercial disaster and went quite unnoticed in a pop landscape that was overkill in new acts. It wasn't until the year after, when this baby's chorus hit the radios:

Erasure - Sometimes

What followed was a string of uber-camp synthpop hits that lasted well into the 90s. Blue Savannah is widely regarded as one of the best pop songs ever:

Erasure - Blue Savannah

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Although, for my money, Drama! remains their high point:

Depeche Mode Day 3 - Just Couldn't Get Enough

Keith Richards. Jimmy Page. Nikki Sixx. Rock monoliths, the lot of them, with the common theme being that they were all one-man narcotic factories. Overdoses didn't stop them, and in the case of Motley Crue's Sixx, went home to overdose again after being released from the ER. Impressive, but let's be fair, twattish. Should such a pub conversation ever take place about these drugged-out rock Gods, the same names will always pop up. But not Dave Gahan's, mainly thanks to Depeche's outsider profile.

There was nothing special about Dave's drug use. It's more a case that it took a decade to get to it and then perfect immediately. The first ten years of Depeche featured regular, but restrained, casual drug use. It was only after 1990's landmark Violator album hit paydirt that it all hit the fan in many ways.

A quick recap: Following the Black Celebration tour, Depeche served up Music For the Masses in 1987, offering up a less claustrophobic affair that also widened their symphonic and rock scope. Only a bit, mind. It also resulted in a bigger world tour that saw them sell out California's Rosebowl Stadium, an event documented in their "101" live/album/vid/DVD/whatever, and something that no-one from Basildon had ever done before or ever will again. It was probably as good as it was going to get.

Except it didn't, because 1990 saw the release of the critically acclaimed Violator and a little incident in West Hollywood:



Insert "LA couldn't organise a signing in a record shop" joke here. Whether it was a riot is open to speculation, but it probably gave the Fuzz good practice for two years later. It also proves that Anericans can find 10 defferent ways of saying "Depeche".

So, Violator, then. Big album, big tour, bigger success. The only way to cope with all of this is to become a bona fide Rock Star, do lots of drugs or go a little bit nuts. Or all of the above if you fancy, with gallstones. It was probably bad luck that the everyman Rock Grunge scene kicked in just after, giving Gahan access to new tattoo ideas and a case-load of heroin. I blame it on the Janes Addiction PR girl becoming Gahan's second wife. What follows is a generalised transformation:

1981:



1990:



1993:



Granted, the latter photo doesn't give the impression of a heroin addict, but it's not the cherub from 1981 either. Either way, there are a couple of pix hidden here and there that give a better idea of Gahan's lifestyle at the time.

This makes 1993's Songs of Faith and Devotion a painful listen looking back. A great record that leapt a huge distance from previous efforts, it was a quasi-goth-rock-gospel-techno beast with Gahan entering into full Rock God status.

In Your Room, (Songs of Faith and Devotion, 1993)

By spring 1996, Gahan had become a complete Junkie, had all contents of his house nicked during a second stint in rehab, slashed his wrists on at least two known occasions, and had one major overdose that was only avoided thorugh a Nikki Sixx-friendly "Kickstart My Heart". This may sound all very normal in the field of rock excess, but it just seems bizarre and surreal when you consider they happily managed without it for a decade previously. As for the rest of the band, Martin Gore drunk too much but found it easy to quit. Andy Fletcher feel into depression and missed four months of a tour for a pleasant stay in hospital, while Alan Wilder got the aforemetioned gallstones. He then quit the band shortly after. Well, wouldn't you?

I'll come back to this little history at the end. Album reviews tomorrow - Yay!

Depeche Mode Week - Day 2: Peroxide and Bondage

I've heard it said in the past that while the UK is focused on singles, the US market is more concerned with the full studio album. I have no idea why there should be a difference in mentality, but it seems true. The US will measure success over time on album sales, with singles as a pleasant addition. Perhaps us Brits just have a short attention span and can only focus on ooo, cool, new Wolverine Trailer! Brilliant.

So, where was I? Yup, The US market, which also gives a lot of oomph to the tours as well. Think of the big British groups that have had big US success. They normally are the ones that disappeared across the Atlantic for weeks on end and slogged it out. They don't appreciate people wandering over there and forcing a single down their throats without working for it, something you can get away with in the UK and only just in Europe. It's this thinking that explains Mode breaking the US a good seven years after Just Can't Get Enough.

OK, let's backtrack. It was all going fairly well in Blighty for Depeche. They survived after Vince Clarke's departure, roping in Alan Wilder to tour with them and eventually record as well. Martin Gore's songwriting improved over the next three albums, and the Top 10 got a few more hits. In addition, there was much experimental jiggery pokery with the advancing electonica thanks to a German industrial fetish, and a sudden cascade of Socialist jabber. A few examples while we're here:

See You, (A Broken Frame, 1982)

Aaaa, doesn't ickle Dave look cute in his little bow tie? Come back, leather bondage look, all is forgiven! Incidentally, It may be worth noting that wandering round Selfridges singing this doesn't result in the cashier drones spontaneously finding cool Moog sounds out their tills, and will more than likely result in your sharp upending through the front doors by a large man named Biff.

Everything Counts, (Construction Time Again, 1983)

In which Dave's voice breaks and they go to the beach via a really, really, really long flyover.

People are People, (Some Great Reward, 1984)

In stark contrast to the British Leyland factory, the sounds of machinery and drilling are backed up by people talking about how we should be nice and all that. Can't argue with the sentiment, but a bit too obvious even for me. Perhaps we should go for something more subtle from that album, like Master and Servant?

Ok, maybe not.

So that takes us to 1986, just after a quick "Best of" and a small break. It all culminated into the album "Black Celebration", or as it was cheekily referred to in the album's recent documentary, "The songs aren't good enough, there aren't any singles and it'll never get played on the radio".



Grossly unfair, but not surprising. Even considering Depeche's more quirky use of electronica than their peers, it still needed work on the listener's part. While the title track nodded towards the period's movie soundtracks from the likes of Tangerine Dream, the likes of It Doesn't Matter Two and Dressed in Black were stark, drum-less offerings of neoveau cabaret. As well as the magnificent Stripped (see later this week), we got A Question of Time, the boys first video with Anton Corbijn. More on him later:

Overall though, it felt like an album as a piece of art, as opposed to collections of songs like previous albums. It just all clicked, and remains a fantastic piece of work. Even with their fanbase, UK sales merely regarded it as a new Depeche album. On the continent and the US, though, it went further. Depeche's more punchy electro and lack of yacht-sinking stood them apart from their British new wave peers, and the alternative radio stations started to take notice. A lengthy US tour followed, and phase 2 started big style.

Depeche Mode Week - Day 1

This is a bit of an experiment, I'll be honest. Not so much writing about the mighty Mode, but managing to do it every day for a week. Still, worth a go.

Yes, Depeche Mode, a band who, depite their longetivity, still seem to exist outside of the mainstream. The biggest cult band ever? Possibly, depending on your viewpoint of the word "cult". The fact remains, despite 28 years of pulsing dark electronic pop, iconic videos and a herculian drug intake from vocalist Dave Gahan, they are still just an 80s Pop group to most of the general public, at least to those who have heard of them. Just can't get Enough, their first big hit from 1981, and just before they'd hit their twenties, is still the only track most people could hum, a fact exacerbated by idiot DJs at horrific 80s chain clubs like "Reflex" who remain oblivious to the fact that they had plenty of other Top 10 hits in that decade, let alone after. As a result, I wouldn't be surprised if some folk think of them as "One Hit Wonders".

To be fair, though, this is probably due to the quality of the song. In pop terms, it is a classic, and probably songwriter Vince Clarke's best. A hook, a chorus, a simple catchy melody, all done in a Casio-friendly format that fitted right into it's time. You can't really hold anything against it. However, you can say whatever you like about the ickle leather Village People look. Be my guest.

Depeche Mode - Just can't get enough
Uploaded by bebepanda

It's because of the song's inherent POP-ness that I welcomed the news that new chart fitties The Saturdays would cover it for Comic Relief. Ok, I couldn't slag the news off as it's for charriteeee, but I could have been left unhappy by the end result. In the end, I'm not, mainly because it would be quite the achievement for any chart act to cock it up. I've heard better versions, certainly, but this is a respectable turn, as are the ladies in the video, homina homina. It keeps the original vibe, sounds good, fun and helps a few needy folk at the same time. Ok, I'll raise my hands - I like The Saturdays anyway, but I still would not want them touching any of Mode's later material. Not without a full vamp-out anyway.



Next: Why Depeche Mode are better than U2. No, really.

Incidentally, if you're reading this on my Facebook note stream, go to the original Blogspot as videos don't transfer over, it appears. Rubbish.