http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/video?id=6777711

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xlLsd4c5lpw

Picked up the basic $9.99 version at Target yesterday and finally took a listen to it today. Love it. A lot of folks seem to b very polarized by this release, but to me it sounds a logical step from PTA. I'm considering getting the box set just because they seemed to take a lot of care and pride in putting together some interesting extra tracks.

Nice article on their appearance in Hollywood in the LA Times Music Blog section.

I didn't like how Wrong sounded. They really need to fix it up for the concert. First, they should use the prerecorded chorus of "wrong" especially at the beginning which just kinda ruined it. Also, the drums didn't seem to help with the tempo.

THANK YOU! Those fucking live drums are going to ruin all these new songs. Well, most of them. Look, Christian is a fantastic drummer. And I like bands with drummers. Just not DM. It just completely changes the dynamics of their music. Do you remember "Black Celebration" from the Exciter tour? They destroyed the song.

About "Wrong". Yeah, the intro on Kimmel was odd. Maybe during their tour, they'll have visuals going on in the background and the stage is black until the actual song starts (?) Hope they view the tape to see how off it was.

I picked up the cd+dvd. Is there an easy way to rip the 5.1 audio off the dvd and burn that back to DVD Audio format?

I'm really shocked at the negative reactions to this album. I've listened to it about a dozen times now and have been consistently impressed by the songwriting, performances, and production. The melodies in particular are especially rich. I think the people dismissing it after one or two listens are missing out.

You really think Light is the most un-DM song they have done? It is electronic and different, but not that out of the ordinary. Have you heard "Death's Door"? That is easily the most un-DM song they have done.

"Death's Door" might be the most un-DM song they've ever done, but it's also one of the best songs they ever recorded.

I agree. I love Death's Door, especially the live version from the Devotional tour. But, "Light" sounds more like a DM song than Death's Door.

I think switching labels is going to pay off for Depeche Mode in terms of charting. "SOTU" debuted at #2 in the U.K. That's their highest ranking in 12 years. Fingers crossed it goes Top 5 in the U.S. It's already number #1 in like 10 countries. And that's just I've read. I'm sure it's more.

Unless sales tapered off really fast and someone else picked up... Hits Daily Double is predicting a #3 debut, their highest since SOFAD!

Even tho it's still sad that #2 ahead of them is a month old Miley Cyrus record. But oh well, in another ten years, Depeche Mode should still be able to score top 10 albums while Miley will be crossing her fingers her "comeback" album scores a #178 debut

In 10 years Cyrus will be doing porn.

And you want to hear something even sadder? The #1 album again this week in the U.K. is Dale Bozzio. Err, I mean Lady fucking Ga Ga!!

"Get on the floor, this beat is sick. I wanna take a ride on your disco stick" :lmao:

I'm glad the album is doing well tho, even if hacks who weren't even alive when Black Celebration came out are outselling it. For all the mixed reviews the album seems to be getting, at least people are buying it, which is more than we could say for the last album by The Cure.

The album is getting great reviews though. It's at 71% on MetaCritic with "Generally favorable".

Great news about the first week's sales though. Did you know that site said earlier it was selling in between 80-90K. And it's now over 99K. Final numbers are posted on Wednesday afternoon. Who know, it could go up. But these numbers are fantastic give how poorly music has been selling in general the last few years.

http://www.hitsdailydouble.com/sales/salescht.cgi


This chart is updated every 5 minutes (!!) on Mondays and Tuesdays.
Still sitting at number #3 for the week.




CHART DATE: 04/27/2009
LAST UPDATE: 04/27/2009 11:44:30
NOW IN: 31.77%


LW TW artist / album label power index
-- 1 RICK ROSS DEF JAM/IDJMG 77,383
DEEPER THAN RAP
1 2 HANNAH MONTANA: THE MOVIE WALT DISNEY RECORDS 31,692
SOUNDTRACK
-- 3 DEPECHE MODE MUTE 22,110
SOUNDS OF THE UNIVERSE
2 4 DAY26 BAD BOY/ATLANTIC 15,187
FOREVER IN A DAY
3 5 RASCAL FLATTS LYRIC STREET 14,545
UNSTOPPABLE
7 6 JADAKISS DEF JAM/IDJMG 13,841
THE LAST KISS
-- 7 ASHER ROTH SRC/UNIVERSAL MOTOWN 13,598
ASLEEP IN THE BREAD AISLE
8 8 LADY GAGA INTERSCOPE 13,271
FAME
12 9 KERI HILSON INTERSCOPE 9,888
IN A PERFECT WORLD
6 10 NOW 30 UME 9,367
VARIOUS ARTISTS
-- 11 LACUNA COIL CENTURY MEDIA 9,143
SHALLOW LIFE
16 12 THE-DREAM DEF JAM/IDJMG 8,937
LOVE VS. MONEY
19 13 KINGS OF LEON RCA/RMG 8,109
ONLY BY THE NIGHT
10 14 TAYLOR SWIFT BIG MACHINE 7,451
FEARLESS
4 15 TWILIGHT ATLANTIC 6,990
SOUNDTRACK
13 16 KEITH URBAN CAPITOL NASHVILLE 6,932
DEFYING GRAVITY
14 17 NICKELBACK ROADRUNNER 6,929
DARK HORSE
31 18 THEORY OF A DEADMAN ROADRUNNER 6,418
SCARS & SOUVENIRS
25 19 JAMIE FOXX J RECORDS/RMG 6,400
INTUITION
17 20 CARRIE UNDERWOOD ARISTA NASHVILLE 6,223
CARNIVAL RIDE
22 21 FLO RIDA ATLANTIC 5,558
R.O.O.T.S.
-- 22 CHIMAIRA FERRET RECORDS 5,497
INFECTION
18 23 U2 INTERSCOPE 5,418
NO LINE ON THE HORIZON
20 24 BEYONCE COLUMBIA 5,343
I AM... SASHA FIERCE
9 25 JASON ALDEAN BROKEN BOW 5,232
WIDE OPEN
27 26 UGK JIVE/JLG 4,874
UGK 4 LIFE
26 27 ZAC BROWN BAND ATLANTIC 4,843
FOUNDATION
30 28 T.I. GRAND HUSTLE/ATLANTIC 4,750
PAPER TRAIL
44 29 ADELE COLUMBIA 4,745
19
41 30 HOLLYWOOD UNDEAD A&M/OCTONE 4,612
SWAN SONGS
23 31 KELLY CLARKSON RCA/RMG 4,572
ALL I EVER WANTED
28 32 THE FRAY EPIC 4,481
THE FRAY
5 33 SILVERSUN PICKUPS DANGERBIRD 4,434
SWOON
11 34 DIANA KRALL VERVE 4,370
QUIET NIGHTS
33 35 P!NK LAFACE/JLG 4,269
FUNHOUSE
21 36 DARIUS RUCKER CAPITOL NASHVILLE 3,801
LEARN TO LIVE
29 37 JASON MRAZ ATLANTIC 3,790
WE SING WE DANCE WE STEAL THINGS
39 38 LADY ANTEBELLUM CAPITOL NASHVILLE 3,344
LADY ANTEBELLUM
37 39 3OH!3 PHOTO FINISH 3,316
WANT
36 40 TAYLOR SWIFT BIG MACHINE 3,249
TAYLOR SWIFT
24 41 SUGARLAND MERCURY NASHVILLE 3,217
LOVE ON THE INSIDE
38 42 BRITNEY SPEARS JIVE/JLG 3,086
CIRCUS
48 43 PAPA ROACH GEFFEN 3,051
METAMORPHOSIS
-- 44 MANCHESTER ORCHESTRA COLUMBIA 3,031
MEAN EVERYTHING TO NOTHING
45 45 DAVID COOK 19/RCA/RMG 2,829
DAVID COOK
50 46 LIL WAYNE CASH MONEY/UNIV MOTOWN 2,623
THA CARTER III
-- 47 SLIM THUG E1 MUSIC 2,374
BOSS OF ALL BOSSES
43 48 SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE N.E.E.T./INTERSCOPE 2,308
SOUNDTRACK
-- 49 ALL-AMERICAN REJECTS DGC/INTERSCOPE 2,051
WHEN THE WORLD COMES DOWN
40 50 JAMEY JOHNSON MERCURY NASHVILLE 2,042
THAT LONESOME SONG

Man I really want to like this, I bought the 4 disc deluxe box set ($60 shipped from Wherehouse w/promo code discount)... which, IMHO is the best release for a regular album (non re-issue) from any band in a very long time.

That being said I was expecting a lot, and sadly I am left pretty unimpressed. Most of the songs have a "preachy" feel to them, not the standard heart-broken-deppressed-longing-love songs of early Mode. Here I thought I was buying a DEPECHE MODE album and what I got in return was a ERASURE cd with a bunch of Michael Stipe R.E.M. lyrics thrown in. And musically I think the boys are suffering from the old "we have every tool at our disposal" syndrome. And in this case having more isn't always a good thing.

These guys need to go waaay back to their roots... strip this shit down and move back to England! (At-least for a little while) soak in the gloom. With Martin living in one of the most beautiful cities on the California coast, Santa Barbara, 365 days a year of constant sun, surf & pampering have washed all the "true" gloom away. And Dave living in some Penthouse in New York, the city that never sleeps has taken some of (if not all) the edge off. Go home, reclaim that hunger, that days of yore angst... Not this "we're millionaires" working in plush studios having to force this fake tripe on SOTU.

The 1980's Depeche (R.I.P.) would be spinning in their graves and saying "bullocks" if they saw a picture of the Depeche of the 2000's studio set up. That's great, so they can give us the most polished and calculated album of their careers.

Playing The Angel succeeded with that renewed "we're DEPECHEfuckingMODE! and we're here to sleep with your daughters!" Read: Black Celebration, Music for The Masses, Violator.

On the flip side, Sounds Of The Universe... meh, "we're Depeche Mode, and we're here to talk to your sons about cross-dressing." Read: any song by Erasure or The Pet Shop Boys.

I want to sing along so bad, but sadly 'Wrong' is the only song that allows the listener to do this. You know what I mean... "Let me see you strip down... Let me take you on a trip... Cleeeeean, the cleanest I've been [yeah you do know what I mean]... You're own personal..." Come on Depeche... "around the world and back!"

I want, so give.

My .02 cents.

I disagree with most of the negativity in this thread. The new album is absolutely stunning. It will go down as one of the strongest pieces of a catalog already full of masterworks.

As far as not being able to sing along...as if! This work has some truly catchy tunes and contains some of the best vocals, especially where M&D are singing together, of any DM work to date. The previous post mentioned going back "to their roots". What on earth do you think this album is? It's exactly what you just asked for!

Please do not compare this album to PSB, SOTU wishes it was 1/10th as good as their new album.

seriously, no disrespect...but your post made me

oh, and Hal9000, you're a brilliant, brilliant man

you said everything I've wanted to as a journalist but couldn't articulate succinctly...

thank you sir

And please don't speak on SOTU's behalf. I've heard both albums. Both are good. And both bands should be proud of their new achievements.


And hal9000, I would KILL for Depeche Mode to go back to their "Some Great Reward" through "Music for the Masses" type sound and misery. Nothing would please me more. Sadly, until/unless Alan Wilder rejoins the band, that just ain't gonna to happen. However, I respectfully disagree that you can't sing along to any of the songs on "SOTU". I think you can to most. It's just a different pain that we're used to.

Diehard Depeche Mode fan here...Few quick thoughts.

(1) Not near as good as Playing The Angel, but not as bad as Exciter. It's somewhere in the middle. Songs like "Wrong", "Ghost", "Come Back" are all classic Depeche Mode, that I think will end up being consider constant stables in their catalog.

(2) After watching the studio sessions, I would kill for a cd of "bare" versions of classic songs. They done "Stories of Old", "Clean", "Come Back", "Wrong" and "Corrupt". All of them translated so well. They really need to just throw together a bare bones cd of songs like "Enjoy the Silence", "Stories of Old", "Blasphemous Rumors" and other great songs. I guarantee it would be an instant success among the fans.

(3) Can someone answer this question - what was the original version of "Come Back"? A demo? There is one, I have from awhile back that sounds ten times better than the over produced one on the album. Didn't know if it was a demo that was leaked or an alternate take? Either way, I prefer it to the album version.

(4) There album really doesn't lend along to singing alone. I will agree with this. It just doesn't have the hooks, minus a few songs ("Wrong" being the stand out). Still, I enjoy the album, just not in the same way I did "Playing The Angel" or earlier albums.

I think a lot of people are underestimating "Corrupt" off of the new album. It is pure classic Depeche Mode. And it's possibly my favorite track on it. Sure, it's no "Enjoy the Silence" in terms of melody and hooks. But I find myself singing a long to it. "In Chains" too.

Well I resent the guy calling PSB a bunch of **** that teaches kids to crossdress and acting like being in the same league with them as a bad thing. There is nothing off SOTU that merits the same repeat play that All Over The World, The Way It Used To Be, Did You See Me Coming, etc... gets.

Where did anyone call the PSB's ****? Or that being compared to them is a bad thing? The crossdress remark.... Hal9000 said that "SOTU"'s message was "talking to your sons about crossdressing". Just like Erasue and the PSB's. I just think he was being "cheeky". Because there is nothing on any DM, Erasure or PSB album that says any such thing. I know it doesn't exist on any DM release! But to the best of my knowledge, not on any Erasure or PSB album either.