My son Dominic has very eclectic taste in music for a four year-old. His playlist is pictured below, and consists of songs he has either heard and liked from the music my husband and I listen to, from movies or TV shows, and from his cousin, Mei-Lin. Blue and Iron Man are obvious favorites (both from Iron Man movies). He has loved (Keep Feeling) Fascination by The Human League since he was two, and the Royksopp version of Depeche Mode’s Puppets was on repeat during many a car ride, much to my delight!
Deon’s mom was in town last weekend for a conference, and to see Dominic. After a crazy Sunday of fun, we ended up at Bloomingdale’s for some late afternoon shopping. While we were all browsing upstairs, Dominic asked if he could play with my iPhone, which isn’t unusual when he’s bored. After I handed him the phone, I noticed he didn’t play with it right away because he was really grooving to the music piping in through the store speakers. I asked him what he was doing, and he said, “Mama, I really like this song…who is it? Can we download it?” We “Shazamed” the song and discovered it was called Doused by DIIV and added it to his playlist. Later I listened to Doused in its entirety, and I must say, I quite like DIIV (pronounced “dive”). The music is very reminiscent of Joy Division (especially the baseline), and I still can’t believe that it was my son who picked up on this fantastic musical find (yes, he’s too cool). Below is the video for Doused, to take us into the weekend. Cheers and enjoy!
Here is another recap of the “record a day” photo project I’m participating in on Instagram. Have I mentioned just how much I’m loving this?!
Collage 1 (top photo, clockwise from the top left): 1) Day 5: Compilation/soundtrack – I bought “The Exposed 2” compilation because of The Hitmen & OMD. The Hitmen was a group Alan Wilder was once in; 2) Day 6: Picture Disc – “Fantastic Day” by Haircut 100. This is from my sister’s collection (which is at my house); 3) Day 7: Any 7 inch – Oblivious by Aztec Camera, one of my faves; 4) Day 8: An album from the 80’s – “Mange Tout” by Blancmange from 1984.
Collage 2: Day 9: Transparent colored record -“Closer” by Joy Division, purchased from Third Eye Record Shop during Record Store Day last year (post here).
Day 10: Any 10 inch – “Backwards and Forwards” by Aztec Camera. I thought I lost this!
Day 11: Collection of an artist – My largest vinyl collection is by far that of Depeche Mode. These are just the singles (not yet pictured are my 12 inch records, albums and special editions).
Day 12: Artist that starts with J – Japan. “Gentlemen Take Polaroids” is my favorite song by them.
Last week, I discovered a cool Instagram “photo a day” project. I was posting a picture of one of my many Depeche Mode records, with the hashtag #vinyl and #record, and received a like from Noble Record Store (a record store on ebay). After checking out some their pictures, I found a list for the January Record A Day that started on the forums of The Vinyl Collective, a community for vinyl collectors. I love this photo a day project because it allows me to share my vinyl collection, and see the collections of many record enthusiasts out there.
If you’re a collector of vinyl, join in the fun by following the themes above and hastagging #januaryrecordaday on Instagram. Hopefully, they carry this on throughout the year! I’ll post recaps throughout the month. In the meantime, below are my first four days of photos. Cheers!
Clockwise from the left: 1) Any record you want: “Love in Itself” by Depeche Mode, 5 track 12″ single, numbered limited edition with texture and goldfoil sleeve, signed by Alan Wilder; 2) Guilty pleasure: “When Will I Be Famous” 12″ single by Bros; 3) Colored record: Some Great Reward by Depeche Mode, import from Germany in grey vinyl, signed by Alan Wilder; 4) “Nite Romantics” by Duran Duran, import from Japan
Back in the beginning of October, I saw the Pet Shop Boys at Copley Symphony Hall, with my husband, my sister and best friend Janice. Later, we met up with my friend Merrick and his friend Alan. After checking out Facebook that night, I saw that 80’s DJ extraordinaire, Richard Blade was also in attendance! I finally have a chance to share some pictures and a video of the fantastic night of hit music by this iconic band. When I think of “Godfathers of EDM”, I think of Depeche Mode, New Order and certainly Pet Shop Boys. They have been successfully marrying thoughtful lyrics with perfect dance music for decades, and this concert was a culmination of everything they were and still are. The audience sang many of the lyrics word for word, and you can tell so many of us have waited for this night for a long time. Yet another band to cross off from my “bucket list” and they did not disappoint. I heard everything I wanted to hear, with the exception of “Love Comes Quickly”, but that’s ok because hearing “Rent” more than made up for it (the line “I love you/you pay my rent” is one of my all time favorite lyrics). We were most impressed with the lighting, which truly was a show in itself. In addition to the pictures, I’ve included the set list from SetList.fm, and a video I recorded of “Suburbia”. Enjoy!
All of the costumes were fantastic, but we all wanted to take this disco ball hat home!
Did I mention there were stunning visual effects?
The lighting was so spectacular and made the stage larger than life.
Photo 1: Wearing my Dextrose shirt by designer Dexter Simmons (Styled to Rock participant); Photo 2: Selfie with my husband, Deon.
With Rholnna and Janice after the concert. I opted to buy just one item at the concert. I was SO glad I bought the program, because it is not available online (the tour shirt is currently available on their online shop here).
I hope you don’t mind the interruption to what should be all about Fashion Week San Diego. I just attended the Pet Shop Boys concert last night at Copley Symphony Hall in Downtown San Diego, so I couldn’t finish editing all of my pictures for day two of the runway shows. In the meantime, I’ll post a couple of teaser pictures of the concert. The Pet Shop Boys were AMAZING and the concert was a sweet and constant assault on all of my senses, and I couldn’t be happier to add them to my concert bucket list. I guess you could kind of count this as a bit of a runway show because there were several costume changes, and some of their wardrobe pieces were fabulous! I will resume with Fashion Week San Diego on Friday and next week, followed by a post about this visually stunning concert, including a couple of videos of my favorite songs (which will be a surprise). If these EDM masters come to your town, I highly, highly recommend catching the Pet Shop Boys in concert!
I thought I would just close out this week with one last Depeche Mode bit, while I’m still on a concert high from their show this past Sunday. In a post last week, I took a picture with some of my Depeche Mode concert ticket stubs (original post here). Well, I decided to scan all of the ticket stubs that I could locate, which makes me a bit sad because I’m usually so diligent about keeping all of my ticket stubs. I’ve been to nine Depeche Mode tours (although I attended two shows of the Exciter Tour). Not pictured are my stubs for the Devotional Tour (November 16, 1993), Exciter Tour (August 11, 2001 and either August 14 or 15, 2001) and Touring the Angel (November 19th, 2005) ticket stubs. I also attended Dave Gahan’s Paper Monster tour and Recoil with Alan Wilder. I’ve only missed one tour ever, and that was the Tour of The Universe (August 14th, 2009), due to cancellation. I have the unused tickets for that tour as well, although it may be lost with the others.
Lastly, I’ve also included the very first newsletter I received when I joined Depeche Mode’s fan club, known back then as The Depeche Mode Info Service (I joined in 1986 and hand wrote the date on the newsletter). When a new member joined, you had to send six self-addressed stamped envelopes, and you were sent a simple tri-folded newsletter all about Depeche Mode. It then turned into a mini-magazine and other goodies would come with the subscription, such as post cards and flexi discs (as seen in my post here). I kept the subscription through the Violator album, then I stopped subscribing. But I do have the newsletter where the Info Service held a contest to change the name, and the final choice was the Bong Magazine (I’m unsure if it’s still being produced). It’s always fun to go back and look at those, because it was initially run by Dave Gahan’s then girlfriend and now ex-wife, Jo Bailey. Once their fan base grew, it then turned into the magazine format. I’m sure this shows you the depth of my love of Depeche Mode, but I’m sure you had no doubt about that, right?
I know I have other posts to put up of events that I’ve attended. Before I post those, I must indulge a little more in my love of Depeche Mode, as I have just seen them in concert over the weekend at The Sleep Train Amphitheatre in Chula Vista through Live Nation. That long awaited night was more than worth the wait, because it has been eight years since I have seen them live. I went with my husband, my sister and her husband. We then met up with my best friend Janice, and friends Angi and Suzanne, and we all sat together on the lawn. Eileen, who saw Depeche Mode with me for the first time back in 1985, was also supposed to attend, but she couldn’t make it due to work obligations. When did we grow up? I also got to see my friends Shirley, Rene, Tifany and Merrick (he is pictured below in the third shot), and I want to say hi to Suki, Kirsten and Suzi, who I didn’t get to see, but I who I know were there. I love that so many people I know share the same love of such an influential band.
When we arrived at the gig, my sister and I left our men to “jump” the long line by making $10 donations each to the Sleep Train Foster Kids charity program. This allowed us to get some good real estate in front of the lawn area. Unfortunately, we happened to be right behind a speaker post, making picture capturing challenging, but still doable. Crystal Castles opened up, and my husband described them as Garbage, but darker. I can see why they toured with Depeche Mode, as they definitely are in the same genre of music. I’m afraid that I was way too anxious about Depeche Mode to fully pay attention, so I won’t attempt to review their performance. I’ll have to give them a listen when I’m off of my Depeche Mode high.
As it started to darken, I felt my anxiety rise. And the moment the lights went out and the first few notes and lights began to emerge, I leapt up from my seat and lunged forward. Everyone laughed as they have never seen me move so quickly. I think I scared my poor husband, thinking he had to save me from falling down to the walkway below. Although I knew I was in full control of all of my faculties, I felt my heart nearly beat out of its chest hearing my all time favorite band live again.
I enjoyed every second of this concert, because I am a fan in every sense of the word. I have loved this band for more than half my life, and I felt I have been with them through everything. I can assign a Depeche Mode song to every important event in my life and create a soundtrack that would describe the very essence of who I am, and where I have been. This is why I wanted my husband to attend this show with me because he is a part of the soundtrack of my life. If you ask my son who my favorite band is, he will tell you resoundingly that it is Depeche Mode. Their music has permeated every part of my existence, down to the name of my blog.
It really is difficult to choose any one favorite part, but if I was made to choose, I would say hearing But Not Tonight live was amazing (I think Janice enjoyed what we called the porn intro to Personal Jesus, and my sister enjoyed Black Celebration because of memories of the “curtain drop” and A Question of Time because Dave brought back his spinning from days of old). I have always enjoyed that song, specially the extended version, and I even bought the soundtrack to Modern Girls just because that song is in the movie. It really summed up everything I felt that night, because there wasn’t a night quite like that night.
My first concert was the Some Great Reward tour, and the evolution of their show is quite astounding. My husband and I watched The World We Live In And Live In Hamburg video cassette yesterday (yes, you read that right) and we just marveled at just how young they were, and I was when I saw them in concert so long ago. They played to half of The Sports Arena back then and it was sold out. Here they are now, larger than life, still selling out, but bigger venues. They sold out The Rose Bowl at their beginning of their ascend in 1988, and look at them 25 years later.
In reviews I have read, and opinions I have heard about the song choice, I feel like I should step in here and remind those who are more casual fans that I think omission of the incredibly popular older songs like People Are People, Strangelove, Everything Counts and Master and Servant were by design. Their song library is 23 albums deep. How can you possibly fit years of hits into a two-hour set without including your most current music? You can’t. If you have been along for the ride as long as I have, you would have heard songs live that you will never hear again, and I think that’s how it’s meant to be (check out my post about some of the shows I have attended and the set lists from those concerts to see what I mean). They’ve been around, they’ve played it all, and now they’re going to play what they want to, in the style they choose. Enjoy it while you can.
My husband said he enjoyed the concert because he got to hear his two favorite songs, Policy of Truth and Enjoy the Silence, but also because he has never attended a fully sold out show. During Never Let Me Down Again, he was stunned at the sheer volume of people following Dave Gahan, knowing exactly when to sway their arms (I explained this is because of the 101 concert). He truly was impressed, and was very glad we experienced this together. I have included the set list below from Setlist.fm, and also the video I recorded of But Not Tonight. I know this isn’t quite a concert review, but more of the experience of a true fan, expressing how happy I was to see my band. In the words of Martin Gore, I felt like I was home.
The week has arrived where I can now count down the days to when I will see Depeche Mode in concert. I feel like it’s been ages since I saw them live, and that’s only because they had to cancel their San Diego date back in 2009 due to Dave Gahan’s strained throat. Although the following year meant that I got to meet Alan Wilder (posts here and here), I still longed to see my all time favorite band in concert. In “preparation” for the concert, I have surrounded myself with everything Depeche Mode. Delta Machine has only left my car CD player a few times to listen to First Wave on Sirius XM and Cy Curnin’s latest album. Currently I have Violator playing, and I’m probably going to pop in Black Celebration, Some Great Reward, or a greatest hits album at some point this week. Even as I type this, the excitement is rising in me, higher and higher. I’m sure there’s no doubt about my fandom (most of my post titles are either songs or lyrics of Depeche Mode songs). Still, I’m just going indulge myself a little more until Sunday and put up this gratuitous post about my love for Depeche Mode. How much do I love the boys from Basildon? It’s all in the name…of my blog!
One of my favorite dresses by Idil Vice (original outfit post here). You can purchase your own from Idil Vice here!
I entered a contest on KROQ recently to win tickets for one of their sold out LA shows. Contestants had to prove their fandom by submitting photos with old ticket stubs, the older the better! I’m holding a few Depeche Mode ticket stubs from concerts I attended over the years, and below is a close up of the oldest one. Check out the date: April 1, 1985. In the picture above, I’m wearing the shirt I bought at that concert.
This is one of two Depeche Mode shirts I bought for our son. Soon, my husband will have one, too!
These last few pictures are tidbits from my personal collection. This is the “Live at Crocs” on 12 inch vinyl.
“Dreaming of Me” 7 inch single.
“A Broken Frame”, the full album on vinyl.
“The World We Live In and Live in Hamburg” on VHS.
“Strange” and “Strange Too” on VHS; “Strangelove” 7 and 12 inch; “A Strange Hour in Budapest” on DVD and USB.
Just a quick little post about one of the nights during our trip to Anaheim last weekend. My mother-in-law purchased tickets for us to go to the Disneyland Resort, which included a park hopper between Disneyland and California Adventure and marked Dominic’s first time at Disneyland. But before we ventured into the lands of Disney, Deon’s mom watched Dominic while we snuck in a date night by dancing the night away with none other than DJ extraordinaire, Richard Blade! My 80’s bucket list definitely included seeing Mr. Blade deejay live at some point, and it just so happened he was hosting a New Wave Dance Party at the House of Blues in Downtown Disney last Friday. Richard is such a nice guy, and even played Joy Division for me because of my shirt! More pictures of our trip to come!
This photo is from Richard Blade’s official Facebook page. If you enlarge the picture, you can see me and Deon on the upper left hand side (Deon is wearing a hat).
This is Larry & it was his birthday. Needless to say, it was a quite the blurry evening because I forgot about this picture. I found it on my phone, sent by my hubby!
Just a little shot of part of what I wore (other than my Joy Division shirt): My new studded bomber jacket and mid-rings from SwayChic (the Recoil ring is by Suki Bijoux). Nail polish is Fuzzy Coat by Sally Hansen in “All Yarned Up”.
I’m still putting together some posts for next week. In the interim, I thought I’d post about a cool event happening this weekend: The 2013 Depeche Mode Convention at The Avalon in Hollywood. Had I known about this earlier, I would most definitely be there on Sunday. But alas, my lack of knowledge of the event has put me at a sad disadvantage, and I must just report about it, in hopes that other Depeche Mode enthusiasts can attend. The illustrious DJ extraordinaire, Richard Blade, will be hosting and the ultimate Depeche Mode tribute band, Strangelove, will be performing. I have yet to see Strangelove live, but I vow to see them soon…and maybe feature them with an interview on my blog? One can only hope! Fans, get hyped up before Depeche Mode embarks on their US tour, and attend this fun event!
“So Cy, have you ever been to a Depeche Mode convention?” Funny you should ask…I may have been to a couple. Have a great weekend!
(Top photo courtesy of MusicConventions.com. Photos 2 & 3 are from my personal collection.)
