Angst Column in NME

um, they had more success in america...and they consistantly put out records. that's the problem with the industry, if you aren't consistant in your output of material, people seem to forget about you.

sorry to offend anyone but my personal thoughts are depress mode are w***,

what are peoples thoughts on the bunnymen at the weekend ? the first band i ever saw in 1984

The Bunnymen are a great band. Seen them live a couple of months ago and they played all their classics like Killing Moon, Back Of Love, The Cutter and so on. Its a shame though because it seems like they have run out of ideas. Allways be remembered as a brilliant band to me.

yeah, the bunnymen early stuff does not sound dated one bit:D

The 6 or so songs they performed at MANCHESTER were EXCELLENT and that WILL S....i think it is him? played BRILLIANTLY. ie the 6 i heard...

I like both bands (DM and Echo) but there's something rich about Ian McCullough's vocals and Will Sergeant's guitaring that make Echo & the Bunnymen such an enjoyable experience.

I would say Will Sergeant is probably in the same class as Johnny Marr and John Squire (Stone Roses) for excellent guitarists.

Bunnymen have never been the same since Peter went off to meet his maker

I just listened to disc 2 of substance and could only find one sub-standard b side, Murder. Has Lamont got a different version? Echo and the Bunnymen were surprisingly good on Saturday, better than Doves in my humble opinion.

err yeah I kind of realised that but thanks anyway.

Originally posted by The Hacienda must be (re)Built Bunnymen have never been the same since Peter went off to meet his maker

Ij second that Mr Hac...besijdes - remember that fijne photo-shoot for their MONSTROUS 1983 album "Porcupijne"?? Well, didn't they shoot that (and film the video for "The Cutter") here in mij beloved homeland??

Of course they did! Respect indeed!!

depress mode???...oh my sides hurt....dont get me wrong, i LOVE New Order but they are way behind Depeche Mode....am i wrong in thinking that 80% of PCL isn't a bit gloomy??...chuck in Ruined In a Day and This Time Of Night and the whole catalogue of JD and i'd say that DM are positively uplifting....

Originally posted by stripper vicar depress mode???...oh my sides hurt....dont get me wrong, i LOVE New Order but they are way behind Depeche Mode....am i wrong in thinking that 80% of PCL isn't a bit gloomy??...chuck in Ruined In a Day and This Time Of Night and the whole catalogue of JD and i'd say that DM are positively uplifting....

The thing with NO is that even when they are in a depressed mood there is always a light at the end of the tunnel. Take "Ruined in a day" that you mentioned, is it a sad song? yes it is, but depressing it ain´t.

What fails DM is that they left you with the feeling that they are just posturing, being depressed fitting nicely with their black leather attire.

Well, that and the fact that any talent for songwriting seems to have abandoned them looks like forever.

oh come on...the black leather period was way back in 1986 when they released "black celebration"...are we to beleive that barney still wears the dodgy shirt/tie combo of the early years??...and as for their songwriting talent abandoning them i'd have to say that lyrically "get ready" didn't exactly pull up any trees did it??...NO as good as said that barney just finds words that rhyme...hardly award winning stuff is it??

Depress Mode are a pile of steaming bovine extraction. I rest my case.

Actually I quite liked the tie/shirt combo.

Anyway Get Ready is a far better effort than DM's last. We all know that Barney is not exactly Morrisey when it comes down to lyrics but it has always been like that. It is his approach to lyrics and he summed it up when he conceded defeat over WIM and had to draft in Keith Allen. He said "I am a musician, could not figured what to say about football" or something to that effect. On the other hand I honestly think that Crystal was the best song released in 2002. DM lasts singles do not even register there.

Black Celebration was an excellent album, however, the vinyl quality sounded like a crow scraping a nail over a dustbin lid. New Order, JD and Dependable Modular System are all depressing AND uplifting, which I think is the main appeal.

(NO are better, obviously).

i'd have to agree that DM's last effort was not their greatest but i feel the same about "get ready"....but martin gore is a far better songwriter than barney....:d

Originally posted by stripper vicar i'd have to agree that DM's last effort was not their greatest but i feel the same about "get ready"....but martin gore is a far better songwriter than barney....:d

Spotnick mate, we urgently need a tongue-in-cheek smilie for our Detutued Vicar, he´s having us on, saying all these otrageously funny things.

budvar my friend...i'm not trying to be outrageously funny...like i said i'm a massive NO fan...ever since i saw the video to "perfect kiss" on the old channel Music Box(remember that?)...i proudly own all the albums and play them constantly (much to the annoyance of my stubbornly un-converted missus(...i fell off my chair when they played the now closed coronet in my hometown of woolwich and was blown away when i saw them again soon after at wembley...BUT...i wouldn't say that Depeche Mode are any more depressing/gloomy...an accusation i've had to fight against in defence of both bands....and i still say that martin gore p*sses over barney in songwriting stakes...

But does BARNEY take his clothes OFF in CHURCH? I rest my case for the DEFENCE M'LUD!

i don't suppose barney has...but then again martin gore doesn't try to dance..even though barney has as much rhythm as Steven Hawking...lol.....and although it has comedy value...can we really take lyrics like "every second counts when i am with you, i think you are a pig, you should be in a zoo" seriously??...see what i mean about songwriting??...the jury is out...

I call my next WITNESS...FAT LES aka KEITH ALLEN! :D

Originally posted by stripper vicar i don't suppose barney has...but then again martin gore doesn't try to dance..even though barney has as much rhythm as Steven Hawking...lol.....and although it has comedy value...can we really take lyrics like "every second counts when i am with you, i think you are a pig, you should be in a zoo" seriously??...see what i mean about songwriting??...the jury is out...

Oi you Vicar! That is my favourite New Order quote (cfr. my profile) I think it´s brilliant. Funny, witty, short and to the point.

You are dangerously close to the line now :;):

Paint Stripper has valid points, however, I doubt even Barney would claim he was an arresting lyricist. That said, the fact that we are all touched by his lyrics should not be ignored, and this in itself is an art form not many can achieve. Martin 'L' Gore is a fairly competent musician and an average lyric writer, I don't think he's one of the best by a long section of chalk. Vince Clarke taught DM to write songs then fucked off with his erasure to employ a male version of tha enormous girl he released 'Only With You' with. The remaining DM members (I think one is still missing) have never, not once, achieved what NO have ... they have never blatantly grabbed hold of your soul and booted it six foot in the air.

DM have tried, but have ultimately failed.

'But Not Tonight' is a good song though (shit lyrics mind).

Surely strippy you're a poor wind up? No-one could actually own all New Order's albums and even bother listening to Banned Word let alone claim they're way ahead or whatever you said. Are you an Everton fan? They use a similar logic and it spins my head the same way.

Originally posted by Huntsman The remaining DM members (I think one is still missing) have never, not once, achieved what NO have ... they have never blatantly grabbed hold of your soul and booted it six foot in the air.

Hats off to Huntsman. Wish I would have said that.

Make that TWO HATS ...say it FAST....hehehe

oh Mr Huntsman...although i am loathe to use the "charts" as a yardstick..we can't ignore the fact that DM have enjoyed considerably far more success in the lottery that is the top 40.....and i'm struggling to remember the last time our Macclesfield chums managed to sell out the Pasadena Rose Bowl let alone play to over 120,000 germans in two nights ala the "exciter" tour (hamburg and leipzig)...as for having my soul booted 6ft in the air, the closest i come with NO is "temptation" or "dream attack", DM manage to achieve this with one entire session of the fantastic "violator" album...and to Mr Wiseass@...i do indeed own all the albums, i just feel that they pale in comparison to what those Basildon boys have offered.... btw..love the bit about "that enormous girl" huntsman...pmsl

Originally posted by stripper vicar Mr Wiseass@...

Just as I suspected subtleties and nuances are lost on Banned Word fans.

I hate to state the obvious but that makes Jean Michel Jarre who once played in front of a million politely interested Chinese the best act ever.

Actually STRIPPER VICAR is correct in that it is his or hers,sorry i have not checked your profile yet,personal choice.I prefer DAVID BOWIE to NO sometimes and LED ZEPPELIN to DAVID BOWIE at others.I also prefer BIG MACS to KFC at times but come 3 in the morning it is the GODFATHER and kebabs ALL round. But i always go back to egg butties and JOY DIVISION/NEW ORDER. I just love em i do

BTW DM were NEVER invited to play CHORLEY.... GAME SET AND Fuckin' MATCH. ....sorry if i swore then peeps.

budvar...what has jean michel jarre got to do with the price of eggs??..i thought we were discussing the differences between the two greatest bands on earth....apologies to hank, the eyes did indeed let me down...rocket, if you can be arsed to scroll up you will see my reference to the missus, although in canal st i suppose this could mean anything....and mr jarvis, if DM represent accountants in Weybridge do NO fly the flag for van drivers from Knutsford.....oh and DM weren't invited to play at the commonwealth games either....although a baywatch type video may have increased their credibility....oops.....can i be in your gang now???

Glad we cleared that up,now make your PROFILE available,just fill it full of LIES.SHUGZV does! and welcome again.

Originally posted by Al Jarvis And where the fcuk's Knutsford?

Cheshire:D

al..i never just come on here "bigging up the mode"....i read this forum daily...i suppose i was a "lurker"...but i felt the need to pass on my opinion when i read the original post....you cant beat healthy banter....oh and knutsford is slightly north of Northwich...just used it as an example as you did Weybridge....perhaps i should fill in that profile...and your right.."one way conversations do not work somehow"....

well sort of north....profile is completed...i've been silent for 8 months perhaps i should join in more...i'm like the new kid at school....the one who's good at footy but too shy to ask if he can play...

AL read new thread above and no offence meant.

Originally posted by stripper vicar and i'm struggling to remember the last time our Macclesfield chums managed to sell out the Pasadena Rose Bowl let alone play to over 120,000 germans in two nights ala the "exciter" tour (hamburg and leipzig)...pmsl

You brought up the selling out reference yourself. If the capacity to fill out stadia is a reliable yardstick then it must be for all and in that sense nobody scores higher than Jean Michel Jarre (I could go there myself because of Charlotte Rampling) but the rocket is right and if you consider DM to be better than NO then fine, it could have been worse, you may have said The Cure are better than the Order. Chacun segun son gout! (Sorry for the misspelling).

I hope to see you posting more often, we welcome a little controversy (even with someone with such a poor musical judgement :;):

This is all so fucking funny!!!. And what's more - it's a guaranteed crowd puller every tijme!!

Simply put some people in a room together, set the brief, mention the names NEW ORDER, DEPECHE MODE and THE CURE (the other third of this endlessly-argued "Bizarre Cult Trijangle"), stand back and just watch the feathers fly...... !!!!!!

Someone's going to have to construct a purpose-made super-sized Three-Sijded Boxing Ring just for these regular spats to take place - then charge curious, masochistic punters to come and gloat over the frantic swinging-the-handbags-at-dawn action taking place within.... :D :D ;)

But then the sijght of a dishevelled 45 year old Robert Smith still wearing his crow's nest hair and smudged lipstick and looking just lijke Jo Brand's evil twin sister from Gothic Rocky Horror Show Hell may put the shits up ALL OF THEM - enough for even Hooky the Hard Vijking Rock God to beat a hasty retreat..... low-slung bass techniques or not!... Ha ha ha ha ha ha

Right, let me try and sort some things out. New Order, Depeche Mode and The Cure are all great but New Order are better than the others because they have been more adventurous musically (have Depeche Mode or The Cure ever produced anything like Blue Monday, Thieves Like Us or Fine Time?) and have made more great albums (Low Life, Brotherhood and Technique being the three most obvious choices). However, what Depeche Mode and The Cure do better than New Order is produce great singles that appeal to people who aren't loyal fans of the band (such as DM's "Just Can't Get Enough", "See You" and "People Are People" or The Cure's "Love Cats", "In Between Days" and "Friday I'm In Love"). Depeche Mode's and The Cure's singles compilations are excellent but you wouldn't really recommend buying all their albums (I haven't got any other Cure albums but I've got all DM's albums and I would only recommend buying "Violator" and "Songs Of Faith And Devotion" and the live albums). New Order release singles (or, more accurately, their record company releases singles and no one else is convinced that they know what they're doing) but they don't produce many singles that appeal to a wider audience and as a result are not as famous as DM or The Cure.

Leaving The Cure aside, I'll try to sort out New Order vs. Depeche Mode. New Order are a group of relative equals and they are at their best when they are all on the same wavelength and/or pulling in the same direction (which hasn't happened often since 1990) but that means that when they are at their best you can't really pick one member and give them all the credit. Whilst Depeche Mode were a four-piece and are now a trio two members of the band have always been more important than the others and they are the songwriter (first Vince Clarke and then after he left Martin Gore) and Dave Gahan (who has gradually developed from being the lead singer of a synth-pop band to being the frontman of a stadium rock band with synths). If those two are on form and working together well DM can make brilliant music but if one of them is off form or they aren't working together well they can't. However, what Martin Gore can do that no other member of DM and no member of New Order can do is take musical and lyrical ideas and hone them to perfection. Martin Gore can write gorgeous stripped-down ballads and huge storming anthems combining synths and guitars (I wonder who first thought of combining those two?) that ideally suit Dave Gahan, DM and huge stadiums full of screaming leather-clad Americans or Europeans who want to hear classic Depeche Mode. Like Noel Gallagher Martin Gore doesn't do many different things but when he's on form he does the few things he does do brilliantly.

To sum up, all three are great bands but of the three only New Order are a genuine group (DM are Martin Gore's band which Dave Gahan fronts and The Cure are Robert Smith's backing band) and can do what all the best bands in the world do which is become more than the sum of their parts.

I want Dave on H and Hooky together in a band. The music wouldn´t matter to me...