You Patriotic Junkies

February 10, 2017 2:50 AM

Depeche Mode ask the musical question: Where's the Revolution? It is the band's 56th single; they have been releasing records now for 36 years. Video directed by longtime collaborator Anton Corbijn.
posted by the bricabrac man (40 comments total)

Wow... with The US and Brexit... I think they've covered their bases to ensure that this song will get some serious play at protests...

I mean... it is undeniably Depeche Commode (Sorry, I like the song and band - but was way into the Dead Milkmen) is topical, is generic enough for reuse on a number of protests, and otherwise rocks.

It is as catchy as "We're NOT Going to Protest" from PCU.
posted by Nanukthedog at 3:48 AM on February 10, 2017 [4 favorites]

It's pretty much exactly what one would expect a Depeche Mode song titled “Where's The Revolution?”, with a video directed by Anton Corbijn, to be like, from the synth-bass figure to the hodgepodge of Marxist/industrial imagery in high-contrast black and white.
posted by acb at 4:09 AM on February 10, 2017 [1 favorite]

Its good. Though I have the unsettling feeling that, as they journey into elderly years (+1 for the tag btw), Depeche Mode and U2 are gradually morphing into the same visual aesthetic. (maybe one or the other needs to not work with Anton, good though he is, for a while)
posted by Wordshore at 4:45 AM on February 10, 2017 [3 favorites]

I like it, which is more than I can say of their output in the past 10 years or so.

(That leaves them with 20 years or so of music I adore. I guess that's not bad at all)
posted by lmfsilva at 4:52 AM on February 10, 2017 [2 favorites]

Depeche Mode seems to be the sound track of my life. My gosh, hard to believe they've been at it for 36 years. Hope they (and I) are around for another 36.
posted by james33 at 5:17 AM on February 10, 2017 [2 favorites]

I never imagined our dystopian future would include Depeche Mode and Nickelback fighting for the same team. #worsttimeline
posted by photoslob at 6:06 AM on February 10, 2017 [4 favorites]

Depeche Mode and U2 are gradually morphing into the same visual aesthetic.

You almost make it sound like Corbijn has more than one visual aesthetic :-)
posted by effbot at 6:32 AM on February 10, 2017 [5 favorites]

Hm. I'm not a fan of Depeche Mode post-Violator, but this isn't bad.

But then again, some will dance to anything by any bunch of Europeans who come over here with their big hairdoos, intent on taking their money, instead of giving it where it belongs, to a decent, American artist like Rodney Anonymous.
posted by SansPoint at 6:43 AM on February 10, 2017 [7 favorites]

(Though I won't really get excited about new Depeche Mode unless they hook back up with Vince Clarke. Speak and Spell is the best DM album. Fite me.)
posted by SansPoint at 6:48 AM on February 10, 2017 [2 favorites]

You've been kept down
You've been pushed 'round
You've been lied to
You've been fed truths
Who's making your decisions
You or your religion
Your government, your countries
You patriotic junkies

Where's the revolution
Come on people
You're letting me down
posted by fairmettle at 6:49 AM on February 10, 2017

I don't want to sound like a queer or nothin', but Depeche Mode is a sweet band!
posted by habeebtc at 6:50 AM on February 10, 2017 [1 favorite]

A bunch of old, rich, white guys are disappointed in us for not rebelling? Um, okay.

I had all the DM albums up to Music for the Masses. Lyrics have never been their strong suit.
posted by Slothrup at 6:55 AM on February 10, 2017 [4 favorites]

I'm angry and confused all the time and Depeche Mode is playing the anthems I most identity with, so apparently me at 42 years old in 2017 is a retread of me at 15 in 1990.
posted by MCMikeNamara at 6:55 AM on February 10, 2017 [17 favorites]

Hm. I'm not a fan of Depeche Mode post-Violator, but this isn't bad.

No, it's generic, which is worse.
posted by Beholder at 7:19 AM on February 10, 2017 [1 favorite]

A bunch of old, rich, white guys are disappointed in us for not rebelling? Um, okay.

I hear Joe Strummer was the son of a diplomat. Clearly all those songs were a waste of time.

(I'm not really a fan of Depeche Mode, and the song doesn't do it for me... but each and every political song released right now might just be waking some people up to the fact that we're in very strange times. I don't have a problem with that.)
posted by mushhushshu at 7:22 AM on February 10, 2017 [2 favorites]

"You almost make it sound like Corbijn has more than one visual aesthetic :-)" made me snort laugh when I clicked the link despite having a good idea of what was coming.

I've been listening to DM for 33 or 34 of their 36 years-I discovered them on college radio while home sick from school one day. I'm still a big fan despite a noticeable fall off in quality after Alan Wilder left - I swear he was the soul of the band after Vince Clarke left. This, this feels like a return to form of sorts (not as good as anything Wilder or Clarke were involved in, of course. Let's not be silly now.)
posted by brokeaspoke at 7:27 AM on February 10, 2017 [2 favorites]

I am exactly the right age for Depeche Mode to have figured heavily in my formative years, but ever since a friend back then pointed out that Dave Gahan only ever sings one note, I can't unhear it.
posted by soren_lorensen at 7:31 AM on February 10, 2017 [1 favorite]

Everything Counts was a million times better than this. I'm letting you down? Better to light a candle...
posted by LeafToe at 7:47 AM on February 10, 2017 [1 favorite]

Well, they are echoing, or perhaps pastiching, the elements of their classic sound (minor keys, analogue synth sounds, vague post-punk-era post-industrial ennui), which is presumably what those who buy Depeche Mode records would do so for. Expecting them to change direction could be as bad an idea as the Rolling Stones releasing a grime album.
posted by acb at 7:54 AM on February 10, 2017

Ack! Don't go after Anton! :(
posted by kevathens at 7:58 AM on February 10, 2017 [1 favorite]

To paraphrase someone else's comment, made after the results of the US November election, at the very least we are going to get an increase in protest/anti-government music again over the next 4-years... So far, I have heard 3-4 good tracks and this one will enter my playlist as well.
posted by jkaczor at 8:04 AM on February 10, 2017

ever since a friend back then pointed out that Dave Gahan only ever sings one note, I can't unhear it.

This is a problem I have with Smiths-era Morrissey, too. He fucking sits on the major third of every key (Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now is a particularly egregious example).

I love Depeche Mode, partly due to that formative years thing, but the thing about post-Violator DM is that they have maybe one or two great songs per album. Precious and Suffer Well, Wrong, I Feel You and Walking In My Shoes. Add to that the fact that they aren't really breaking any new stylistic ground and most of these albums are pretty superfluous. This one is pretty meh, unfortunately.
posted by Existential Dread at 8:05 AM on February 10, 2017 [2 favorites]

Oh my god I came to post that exact thing about Morrissey! A friend of mine does a killer vocal caricature of Morrissey, where you just sort of do a wordless, back of the throat honking note and rhythmically honk thirds with the occasional portamento. It has ruined almost all Smiths songs for me.
posted by Jon Mitchell at 8:58 AM on February 10, 2017 [5 favorites]

I like my electronic protest songs a bit more rough around the edges.

Then sometimes, someone, cracks down.
posted by Major Matt Mason Dixon at 9:16 AM on February 10, 2017 [1 favorite]

Heard this on WPKN this morning. :)
posted by ZenMasterThis at 9:22 AM on February 10, 2017

I like my electronic protest songs a bit more rough around the edges.

In which case, you might like Fatima Al Qadiri, or ANOHNI.
posted by acb at 9:34 AM on February 10, 2017 [1 favorite]

Major Matt Mason Dixon, acb: And you also might dig "Home" by Holly Herndon
posted by SansPoint at 9:45 AM on February 10, 2017 [1 favorite]

Violator is good enough for me to purchase all of their music from now until they retire. It's not good enough to get me to buy their solo stuff, though.
posted by infinitewindow at 10:00 AM on February 10, 2017 [2 favorites]

Hmmm. I've been a fan since I was 13, which is damned neared thirty years now, so I wish I could say I loved this, but I don't. There are elements of it that I like - Martin Gore's guitar accents, the vocal harmonies, and the filtered synth arps are all lovely, as are the unexpected chord changes on the bridge - but the weirdly judge-y lyrics coupled with the overdone tuning applied to Dave Gahan's voice keep this from really clicking for me...
posted by tantrumthecat at 11:15 AM on February 10, 2017 [1 favorite]

I used to listen to so much Depeche Mode in the 80s/early 90s.
My first thought was that they look so old.
My second thought was that I am so old.
posted by ActingTheGoat at 11:32 AM on February 10, 2017 [7 favorites]

Oh my god I came to post that exact thing about Morrissey! A friend of mine does a killer vocal caricature of Morrissey, where you just sort of do a wordless, back of the throat honking note and rhythmically honk thirds with the occasional portamento. It has ruined almost all Smiths songs for me.

People don't listen to Morrissey for his voice. Just like people don't listen to The Smashing Pumpkins for Billy Corgan's voice. The problem with Morrissey is that he never released another solo album that matched the sheer wonder of Viva Hate. He just gave up. Sad!
posted by Beholder at 5:09 PM on February 10, 2017

I hoped to like this, but yeah... despite being a huge Depeche Mode fan, I'm really bristling at an old white guy saying we're letting him down.
posted by Deoridhe at 5:49 PM on February 10, 2017 [1 favorite]

"Violator is good enough for me to purchase all of their music from now until they retire. It's not good enough to get me to buy their solo stuff, though." [infinitewindow] .

YES, Violator is one of the best albums OF ALL TIME! W/re solo stuff, have you heard Gahan sing for Soulsavers? Their album 'The light the dead see' is absofuckinglutely gorgeous. Seriously.

This was my first listen to the song...I have to admit to having been a bit afraid to hear the new album. When they are great, they are bloody fantastic, but - as others have noted - the miss:hit ratio on their albums since (to my mind) the late 90s has been less than stellar. That being said, if you ever get a chance to see them in concert, I implore you to go. They are SO good live. Their music will always have a special place in my heart. And this one? I thought it was pretty good/catchy. I don't mind if their music has a 'samey' quality to it. I love the combination of dark themes, layered textures of guitar and electronica, and Gahan's lovely, deep voice mixed with Gore's harmonies. Why should they (or anyone else) change the basic ingredients for the sake of 'variety' alone?

P.S. Long-time DM fans may recognise my username. :)
posted by Halo in reverse at 6:43 PM on February 10, 2017 [2 favorites]

Just like people don't listen to The Smashing Pumpkins for Billy Corgan's voice.

Says you!!


(DM fan since age 11, SP fan since... almost a decade after. Shutup.)
posted by elsietheeel at 7:43 PM on February 10, 2017 [1 favorite]

Dammit, I've had Behind The Wheel stuck in my head all day
posted by Existential Dread at 7:46 PM on February 10, 2017 [2 favorites]

I'm really bristling at an old white guy saying we're letting him down.

Eh, I didn't take it as a personal indictment, but a call to arms. I think that because it's in the present tense, it implies there is still time, and they're with us to sing us to melodic victory. YMMV.
posted by greermahoney at 12:51 AM on February 11, 2017 [2 favorites]

Gotta say that Dave Gahan is owning his age in a pretty compelling and sexy way. As someone who has just crested the proverbial hill, that's pretty exciting and, to be honest, all I really paid attention to while watching this.
posted by treepour at 9:43 AM on February 11, 2017

I don't think it's quite fair to knock der Mode for being old white men. They came from a hard place in hard times and did some amazing things on their own terms. I know their music liberated people along the way, too.

Not a bad score card for a bunch of Essex lads.
posted by Devonian at 9:51 AM on February 11, 2017 [1 favorite]

I like some of DM's classics, but I thought this was pretty mediocre.

Then again, I can't abide "political" art which just gestures vaguely in a revolutionary direction, without identifying the problem or committing to any particular kind of revolution. It just feels like empty posturing.
posted by escape from the potato planet at 9:52 AM on February 11, 2017 [2 favorites]

Then again, I can't abide "political" art which just gestures vaguely in a revolutionary direction, without identifying the problem or committing to any particular kind of revolution. It just feels like empty posturing.

True; OTOH, the pop-song form falls down when conveying any sort of political programme beyond, say, “fascism is bad” or “think of the children/pandas”; at best, you get emotive schmaltz like Phil Collins' “Another Day In Paradise”; at worst, you get emotive schmaltz that works and overwhelms rationally-debated decisions. Plato had a point when he banned poetry and music from his Republic.
posted by acb at 2:18 AM on February 13, 2017