Konrad's brilliant ideas are always brilliant. So I've decided to explain my Nineties top 50 just the way he did. Call me a copycat if you want, I don't mind. So here we go, year by year, starting with the very beginning. And please be so kind and do not mock my English. Any corrections are welcomed though.
There was one and only band I loved before I really started looking for new music. Depeche Mode. It all began with Music for the Masses I suppose and it was love at first sight. Neverending. Everlasting. Just imagine, I've never seen them playing live. Shame on me. But let's get back to the end of the 80's. It wasn't easy to be a DM fan those days. I was a bit mocked at school, although I just used to wear Depeche Mode t-shirt – no fancy haircut or make up. Most of my pals were metal fans, masturbating over Iron Maiden's albums. The rest didn't listen to any particular kind of music. I'm sure Konrad remembers this as well – you had to listen to Lista Przebojów Programu Trzeciego or to Rozgłośnia Harcerska to know anything useful about music. Reading Non Stop magazine wasn't enough. And to tell the truth I didn't read it anyway. And there was ongoing war between metals and DM fans – there were even some casualties and a lot of collateral damage. Really. But never mind the metalheads. Everybody hated DM fans – and I mean everybody: punks, skinheads, probably even hippies.
Well, that didn't bother me much. I was like 13 years old when Violator was released, so I was no part in the subculture war. I just loved the sound of Depeche Mode, not knowing much about their cultural and social background. I tried to translate the lyrics using only a small dictionary, but I failed. Just imagine translating the title Never let me down (haters: I know it's from the previous album) without any knowledge about phrasal verbs.
So I didn't really know what Dave and Martin were singing about. But I loved them anyway. And Violator is still one of my all-time favourite albums. Personal Jesus isn't really my favorite track from this LP. I should mention Clean or Policy of Truth. But I decided to pick not my favourite but the most important for me. And when I think about it, Personal Jesus is probably the most important single track in my life.
I'd lie if I told you that I discovered Cyco Miko in 1990. I wasn't aware of a band named Suicidal Tendencies then. And I've heard this track (and the whole Lights... Camera... Revolution! album) a couple of years later. It was the first year of my secondary school, I was deep into grunge and then it came to me: punk/hardcore energy and funky groove combined with total anarchy. When you're 15 you do not demand much, I guess. Suicidal's were everything I needed – no more Seattle sadness, no more rain falling on my head, no more blood, sweat and tears! Fuck it, let's destroy something!
Well, the euphoria didn't last long, but I still love Suicidal Tendencies. And I've seen them live in 2010 – unbelievable but they're still alive and kicking.
I'm a heretic. Razor's Edge is my favourite AC/DC album. Probably because it was the first I've ever heard. And when you've heard one AC/DC album it's like you knew all of them. In 1990 I was still a Depeche Mode fan and I started to discover punk rock, but the Ozzies really impressed me. That was powerful, simple, ass-kicking. Pure rock'n'roll energy. (Funny, I write this text using Open Office and it doesn't recognize 'rock'n'roll' – it suggests using the words like Rockefeller, rockabilly, Breckenridge or generalship instead). I never became a huge fan of AC/DC, I respect them though. And I've seen them live in 2010 – unbelievable but they're still alive and kicking. Oh, crap, I repeat myself.
I'm afraid to write anything about The Sisters. You know, there is The Biggest Sisters Of Mercy Fan Ever around. I'll stick to the point. Vision Thing is great. More is awesome. Every time I listen to this album, I want more. Unfortunately, I never got anything more. Mr. Eldritch, it's over 20 years now, could you consider releasing something new? And something fast?
1990 was the year I discovered punk, as mentioned above. I used to listen to many primitive bands, but I always preferred something a bit more sophisticated. Like The Clash. Or The Jam. Or Bad Religion. These guys will never grow old. Probably they will never die – they are still full of energy, good and simple ideas, angst-driven. And when I hear Greg Graffin singing 'I'm the 21st century digital boy/I don't know how to live but I've got a lot of toys', I feel a bit ashamed. This song was, is and probably always be about me.
Punk rock again. Bit more primitive than Bad Religion, but I don't care. This song was used in a commercial for – I believe, Konrad may correct me – Jarocin festival in 1990 or 1991. Simple energy, pure anger (the whole text is: 'Hey, forward march, proletariat!'). For many of you (maybe for all of you) the song like this doesn't deserve to be placed in top 50 of the nineties. But hell, why not? Still, after 20 years, it gives me sort of creeps. And makes me feel much younger. That's enough for me. And the band still exists, although it's music changed into something more metalish. But as you may assume, I don't mind.
Let us break it down a bit then. Depeche Mode, huh? God, I DO remember the times when being called a DM fan was far worse than being called a puff. And that was in the country in which homosexuality was illegal. Bloody hell, times change, huh? But there was something very special about the DM fans. You can't see it at first, you need to, sort of, ponder a second or two on it and then it leaps out at you. What did the punks listen to? Punk. What did the metalheads listen to? Metal. What did the DM fans listen to? Depeche Mode. Logical, isn't it?
ReplyDeleteSo, let us try again.
What was the punks' favourite band?
Now you see what I mean?
And yes, with all that hatred from absolutely everybody, it was not an easy thing to like Depeche Mode. It was as bad as masturbating when knowing that on Sunday you'd have to go to confession and tell the priest all about it. Well, never stopped anybody, did it? :> But hell, was it embarrassing. Up to some point, that is. I remember seeing a goth near my school at some point with badges of different bands on his rucksack. There were Sisters there, there was The Cure and lo and behold! there was Depeche Mode. And suddenly it all clicked for me. DM was OK for goths. I was saved. And you know, when you're fifteen, a difference between cool and uncool is life and death if not worse.
Obviously then, I'm not going to slag off Personal Jesus as such but for me, Violator is somehow too easy and too obvious of a choice. It did get me hooked (while 101 made me fall in love unconditionally) but the two albums that made me to really respect DM were definitely Songs of Faith and Devotion and then, even more so, Ultra. So, yes, it's a bit of a DM puppy song. Seasoned salty dogs prefer later albums :P
I agree that Songs of Faith and Devotion is a better album than Violator. (Ultra I'm not sure). But I had to choose something. So I did.
ReplyDeleteAnd you know, I never thought about what you said: DM fans these days would not admit that they listen to anything else...
And funny thing is that today everybody likes Depeche Mode. You're a metalhead? No problem, DM are cool. You listen to electro and dancepunk? It's OK, DM were first. And so on. Times, they are a-changing.
It's either us bing older and dare I say, wiser, or it has changed indeed and it is much much easier just to be a music fan in general. I must admit, I really enjoyed my subculture years (as low profile as they were...) but my taste has broadened since then and it would feel weird to discard an artist only because of particular genre. And since even The Wife won't say no to Rammstein, the pressure is not as prominent either.
ReplyDeleteSee, and you thought there would be nothing to discuss, but... what do you mean 'Ultra, I'm not sure'??? Songs of Faith and Devotion is a fantastic album. It's the first time DM seem to be 'for adults'. There is an incredible maturity gap between it and Violator. But they still don't seem to realise themselves just how good of a band they are. On Ultra that last step has been made. Songs are a tremendous album but there's only one track to surprise you - I feel you. On Ultra, almost every track can stand on its own. And when you see the video for It's No Good, with Dave looking like Mark Almond gone wrong, you know that the lads reached the point where they have enough confidence now not to treat themselves seriously. I just find it much more matured, accomplished, thought out. Well, to put it simply, better :)
'Ultra, I'm not sure' means that I just prefer Violator and Songs... And I still believe that the best DM's albums are Black Celebration and Music For The Masses. But they belong to the Eighties, so we do not discuss them now.
ReplyDeleteAnd I agree, Ultra is for the adults. But I'm not an adult yet. Maybe I have to grow up a bit more to discover it's beauty. I like it, but I'm not crazy about it. That's all.
And moving swiftly on :)
ReplyDeleteI have very nearly included Thunderstruck myself. When I was down to 69 songs it was still there but when I had to hack them down some more, it just fell victim to trimming down.
And you know, don't feel too bad about yourself, Proletaryat is a fantastic band and as for Bad Religion, if we did 100 songs not 50, the Punk Rock Song would be in my selection :)
I wonder if anyone (at least any homo REALLY sapiens) who grew up in the 80's must admit that punk rock was that way or antoher important for him/her. You know, everybody's a rebel at some point. And even if not, there are still bands like The Clash or The Jam or the postpunk bands like KJ or NMA. My theory is that almost everybody used to listen to punk bands. Not everybody admits it.
ReplyDeleteI don't actually see how could anyone deny the impact the punk rock had on rock music in general. It must have been the greatest revolution since white boys used electric guitars and incorporated elements of black music in their rock and rolls. Let's not forget how stagnant, pompous and overblown was European rock music after the psychedelic and progressive steam rollers flattened every last bump of energy and joy out of it. And then comes that revolution from America, the music that everyone can play. Not only that, you didn't even have to know how to play and you still could be proud of it. The only reason, why today kids grab guitars and monkey around in their bedrooms is because punk rock allowed them to do that.
ReplyDeleteAnd then, there's the family tree. What happened with heavy metal was just a fragmentation of heavy metal. Punk, on the other hand, was more like that primordial alga that in course of evolution gave origin to all sort of species today. Goth and darkwave, grunge, post-punk, ska and hundreds more. Just like you've been tracing back the origins of all modern music down to the fifties rock and roll, a lot of today's genres and styles would merge on this journey back in time into the common punk stem. There are a lot of people out there, even from our generation, who are fans of bands which could never exist if it wasn't for the punk. And many of them don't even realise it.