It’s time to get back to my favorite decade. For the month of March, I’ll be looking back at some of my favorite jams from the 80s. These songs often came to me via MTV or the radio. NYC-area stations WDRE, WPLJ, WNEW, K-ROCK and Z100 introduced me to everything from irresistible pop confections to under-the-radar post-punk anthems. I would not be who I am today if it weren’t for the 80s. It was the decade when I discovered music can be a truly powerful thing. #31DaysOf80sSongs
Some bands have a way of becoming our life soundtracks. We don’t just love the way the songs sound, we love the way they make us think. The way they make us feel. They way they make us move. For my high school years, Depeche Mode – among other bands – was that soundtrack. I was a bit of a late bloomer. I started with the record and documentary release of Depeche Mode 101 – and then went backwards from there, discovering Music For The Masses, Black Celebration and Some Great Reward. But 101 was the game-changer. I never heard a synth pop outfit hold its own as an arena rocker. Depeche Mode rocked Pasadena and the whole nation – and the album closer just completely sealed the deal for me as a fan: “Everything Counts”.
Listening to the song on its original album release – Construction. Time Again – it’s evident that the band struck gold in a couple of key spots, but they were still forming their identity. As one of the standouts on the album, “Everything Counts” showcased the iconic persona of Depeche Mode: hook-laden, danceable, infectious, and, often at times, dark. Written by Martin Gore, the song went on the offensive, calling out corporate greed with a somewhat satircal approach. The bass synth part is utterly sinister, lurking with precision from beginning to end. Wilder’s synth hook – sometimes played on a xylophone – sounds like a music toy possessed by an evil spirit, which is flanked by quirky instruments that go beyond DM’s typical keyboard decks, including a melodica. Then there’s Gahan. With his signature bass vocals, Gahan is the narrator and antithesis of Gordon Gekko.
“The grabbing hands, grab all they can.”