I’ve talked before about how little exposure I had to pop music growing up. With no radio and only my Astor Piazzolla and Baroque cassette tapes to listen to, most of the music that got heavy radio play went unnoticed for much of my childhood. Which means that Depeche Mode might have been the first “pop” band I ever listened to. Because, while I didn’t listen to the radio, every now and then my parents would let me stay up late watching Saturday Night Live, and after SNL a local tv station would play reruns of the infamous 80s Cable music/variety show Night Flight. Depeche Mode were featured heavily on this show (at the time I somewhat incorrectly thought they were called “Depress Mode”), and even at 10 years old, I knew it was music for myself (and, I suppose I must begrudgingly admit, the masses).
While my favorite Depeche Mode era is their earlier, even gothier stuff like Black Celebration, I’ve come to realize that their breakthrough poppier era is fine music as well (though I still don’t particularly like “Personal Jesus”). Today’s song, “World in my Eyes,” wouldn’t have been one I heard on Night Flight, but is quintessential Depeche Mode, and a towering work of new/synth/pop/goth/wave:
The Kraftwerkian intro quickly morphs into something much slicker as the immaculate production, strong vocals, tasteful synths, and the mother of all synth pop melodies show just how delightful synth pop of this era could be. It’s a triumph of atmosphere, all clove cigarettes, dark nightclubs, and ridiculous hairdos.
The album this song opens, Violator, was Depeche Mode’s big breakthrough, leading to the even more massively successful album Songs of Faith and Devotion. And while my interest in Depeche Mode wanes after Violator, there is something about this kind of music that is universally appreciated. If a tango-loving ten-year-old and his free-improvising jazz musician father can come together to appreciate their music late at night in Wichita, KS…then maybe it really is music for the masses after all.
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Great song from a great album (probably their best, though I prefer A Broken Frame and Some Great Reward). Have you heard Shouldn’t Have Done That? Seems up your alley.