In this episode, we're joined by Depecheez to discuss Black Celebration, the album that defined the 80s and 90s in terms of electronic music. We discuss the songwriting, the record scratching, and the genius of the album's opening track "I Feel You."
00:02:49.000I think, just the combination, you know, I think, for me, what it is about this album is the combination of having this programmed electronic music, but also, like, these live rock and roll, kind of grunge, bluesy aspects as well to the music
00:03:05.000And it's all blended into a coherent album
00:03:09.000I mean, that's another thing that I recognized, listening to the vinyl
00:03:14.000I've listened to it a number of times, actually, now
00:03:17.000And I would say this, as I was saying, like, listening to Exciter, I'm afraid to say, or I'm ashamed to say, felt a bit like homework
00:03:28.000And this one, it really draws you in, you don't want to do anything else, and it is an amazingly coherent album, probably their best, I agree
00:03:43.000It's right at the midpoint of their career, they've brought in rock, grunge, a little bit of record scratching, and they've somehow made it all work
00:03:57.000I remember the first time I heard the album, so I, I mean, I was a fan, as I've said many times, even when I was quite young
00:04:05.000And I was in high school, I would imagine, yeah, I was a freshman in high school in 1994
00:04:11.000I remember hearing I Feel You on the radio
01:27:19.620Hanging on your words, living on your breath, feeling with your skin, will I always be?
01:27:49.620Even the Favorite Slave. I mean, again, you could write that off as like, you know, once again, Martin Gore is interested in SM or something. I think it's so much deeper than that.
01:28:05.120I have a quote here that Martin actually, I thought was pretty interesting that Martin was talking about. He recalls filming the music video.
01:28:14.880The worst memory about In Your Room is the making of the video. We spent a whole day in the studio filming and I probably had lunch at some point, but it was just something really small, like half a sandwich.
01:28:25.460We finished filming at about eight o'clock and went back to the hotel and I forgot to eat. We went to the bar and I didn't eat.
01:28:31.200We went out to a club, met some guy who gave me some stuff. So I was up all night until probably nine or 10 in the morning.
01:28:37.400We had a band meeting at 12 o'clock and I managed to sleep for about an hour. Then I got up and I've never felt so dreadful in my life. I managed to literally crawl to this meeting.
01:28:46.720I had to lay on the floor just saying yes or no. That was all I could muster. And that was when I went into a seizure. So whenever I think of this video, I just think, oh God, it brings back terrible memories.
01:28:58.480So yeah, he was in hell while doing it. That's interesting.
01:30:08.160I like it, but it doesn't quite fit in my interpretation of the album as this little passion play of...
01:30:15.780No, I agree. I think it's about when I come up, I rush for you. I get high for you or get high with you or head rush, something like that.
01:30:27.680But I think it's kind of intentionally confusing a drug experience for a religious experience.
01:30:33.760And it's definitely a banger of a song. Like, that is such a great song to listen to them play live. I mean, it's a great song in the studio version as well. But to hear them play this live is like, oh man.
01:31:00.300And I pray to the only one who has the strength to bear the pain, to forgive all the things that I have done.
01:31:11.180Oh girl, lead me into your darkness when this world is trying its hardest to leave me unimpressed.
01:31:26.540Just one caress, you and I am blessed.
01:31:34.540One caress, it's interesting. This reminds me quite a bit of Little Fifteen in terms of the orchestration, the strings.
01:32:00.480But I think it, I remember you mentioned a couple podcasts back of this, this almost like dark female figure who's taking you away to death, like kind of almost like a female grim reaper or something.
01:32:15.500I think that is in here because, you know, well, I'm down on my knees again. So he's praying. So you could, you know, kind of think of the mercy in you and things like that.
01:32:26.980And I pray to the only one who has the strength to bear the pain, to forgive all the things that I've done.
01:32:32.420So very similar sentiment to mercy in you. There's almost these like companion aspects to it.
01:32:37.880But I think it's a little bit different. Oh girl, lead me into your darkness when the world is trying its hardest to leave me unimpressed.
01:32:46.420Just one caress from you and I'm blessed.
01:32:49.040It almost strikes me as like the depressive song. The world is nothing. It leaves me unimpressed.
01:32:58.880And there's almost like a theme of this dark female figure, maybe death that will take you out of it.
01:33:17.720But you know, a different song on Black Celebration that this reminded me of is It Doesn't Matter 2.
01:33:23.200They're both very stripped down ballads, but they both do this tritone jump from A minor to E flat.
01:33:36.160Well, in the case of It Doesn't Matter 2, it's E flat to A minor.
01:33:40.860But yeah, I mean, this kind of jump that is a pretty big lift, you know, in songs that you can tell that A minor and E flat don't belong together.
01:33:53.200As I lay here with you, the shame lies with us.
01:34:14.040We talk of love and trust that doesn't matter.