The (s)Wheat Spot!

#4: Depeche Mode - Violator/Heathers

Now, if you're looking closely, you'll catch my bending of the rules: Violator was released three months into the 90s, so it's not quite an 80s album. When you think about it though, it was recorded in the 80s, Depeche Mode was most popular throughout the 80s, and this album is more of a culmination of Depeche Mode's potential as a power-pop-alt-dance-synth outfit with heart.

The songs on Violator are intense, dealing with addiction ("Clean," "Sweetest Perfection," love, selfishness, God and even those awkward silences between lovers ("Enjoy the Silence"). In the songs of Violator, you find the lead singer Dave Gahan at his most intimate and personal. The result is an accessible but emotionally aware album with a wide appeal. Plus I used to rock it on my boombox at the pool every day of summer after 6th-8th grades.



Violator has the darkness, the depth, as well as the upbeat tempo that makes it a good match with the movie 'Heathers'. You could almost put Violator on repeat as the soundtrack to Heathers. Just as they have another slushie and place the bottles of mineral water in the hands of the dead jocks, you can almost hear 'Personal Jesus' blaring in the background. Heathers' wit has been copied many times (most notably with "Mean Girls"), and has served as the prototypical teen-revenge satire, but it's brilliance has never been repeated.

Violator, in the same vein, inspired many a band to come (Air, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Scissor Sisters, etc.) but none of these have the same widespread appeal and depth as the original.

Enjoy...

DJ Earworm Mashup of Depeche Mode's 'Policy of Truth' with Eurithmics' 'Sweet Dreams' [mp3]

posted by paul @ 9:45 PM