#I'd write out what bands im talking about but i dont want any fans of australian electropop to come after me

[shapeshyft]

you ever hear a song from a band you've never heard before that makes you fall in love her second you hear it?

So you spend all day listening to it, you've got the lyrics memorized by nightfall, you've got little choreo steps you can hit when you need to, already know which notes you can bridge and which you'll break trying to stretch toward, right?

You're obsessed with the fucking song and you don't know why, but that's okay, because it's a great song and music is the answer. But you're curious, so you go listen to some other songs by the band. Their most popular songs, older ones, newer ones, whatever they've got on the net! But 20 songs later you're disappointed and wondering 'how is it they only made ONE song I like? That seems like an anomaly... not even a chorus on one of these other ones??'

But you can't find whatever answer you were searching for, so you decide to leave the gift horse un-surveyed. Instead you go on streaming website (name redacted because they're not sponsoring this post), load the song up, and - wait, whats the first comment say?

[ God, I miss (seemingly unrelated musical act) already ]

??? What? I mean - I'll admit the sound is kinda similar, but - Well the vibes are alike too, actually. Very similar to a big song (unrelated act) released a few summers before this song... and I do love THAT song just as I do this one. Is - Mother fucker, did they copyright infringe (unrelated act)?!

Do a small google. Turns out (unrelated act) produced this song for the 'new' band, and as such this was their last musical act together before disbanding.

This song was their final auditory gift to the world, and it feels like them. It sounds like them. It's been in my mind all day, I've listened to it 3 times since I started writing this post.

I didn't expect to be actually tearing up a little about legacies & how music is the answer, but I'm so glad I'm here. This really brightened my whlle outlook on things.

[h7p3r4ct1v3-h0rn3t2]

2 family, 14 goals and intentions, 21 fears, 29 quirks and personal habits, and 34 feelings about themself for spencer nkotr

this is really scary . anyway

Despite being the first item on the list, i am writing this paragraph last . because i don't. know!!! I don't have, like, any solid headcanons on spencer's family . The wikipedia article for hipster (contemporary subculture) says that "A running theme of hipsters is having parents who are supporters of former President Ronald Reagan." so yeah that's my headcanon. her parents were reagan fans. fuck,

So... 14 for goals let's talk about goals. Spencer strikes me as kind of directionless . yknow considering the whole 'How can we be expected to actually do anything' sentiment she expresses in that one scene. However ☝️If i had to guess I'd say she probably wants Some kind of Thing in the film/acting industry. considering the fact that she got that job from Plymouth Rock Studio, the Film Studio that employed the new kids on the rock. so

21 for fears i love fear . So I talk about that one line at 4:50-something in which she expresses the opinion that thinking about an action is morally equivalent to performing it and how that's pretty much the textbook definition of thought-action fusion which is a symptom of ocd yadda yadda we all know. considering this i have decided that she can a little moral scrupulosity ocd. as a curse. So Therefore i think a lot of her fears have to do with like. What if she is uniquely evil and a danger to those around her and stuff . which sucks for her ig .like rip

Let's Get Quirky up in this bitch with number 29 . first thing that comes to mind is i think she's weird with idioms. not in the sense that she doesnt get them when other people say them because she does! she understands. but also she's kind of on some unabomber shit when She says them . she's out here talking about Eating your cake and having it too . also this is, like, canon but she does air-quotes weird. as demonstrated in that one scene where they are filming and she;s like "So what should i be doing in this, Quote, [left air-quote] Video, Unquote [right air-quote]" which isnt how youre supposed to do them, you do both at once and you don't say them phonetically because youre already DOING THEM WITH YOUR HANDS

Number 34 for Feelings about themself. [cracking my knuckles as if in preparation for a fight] i think that , due largely in part to reasons previously stated, Spencer harbors a lot of self-loathing. which is typical for, like, most 20-somethings, especially ones with the Worrying Youre A Bad Person disorder. However rather than doing, like, anything healthy to fix that she channels it into gatekeeping shitty indie bands and making various statements about how [X] is the new [Y]. (those are variables i am not talking about the letters) . Of course, we're talking abt John Repression over here so this is all hidden behind a very thin layer of a pseudo-superiority complex . you'd have to waterboard the whole self-loathing thing out of her

this is probably missing certain elements of things but erm.. thog dont caare im gonna go make myself some hashtag ramen . thankl you mondayu for asking me abt the spence

[delta-magnetic]

aight SO a little bit ago i asked if anybody wanted to see my longass ranking/ramble of dm albums

so here it is (with only part of it above the cut)! i should probably go back over the ones i didnt say much on but ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ i wrote this like a week ago?

original template had from God Tier - Shit Tier but i couldnt bring myself to call any of these shit (or even give an F to)

(note: the order within the ranks is purely chronological)

S tier

Music for the Masses (1987)- obligatory "my favorite song of all time is on this album". the other songs on here are also incredible (notably Strangelove, Behind the Wheel, and Nothing). arguably my favorite bonus tracks of any of the albums. this album has the essential dark tones/vibes but probably in the most beautiful way of any of the albums. 9/10 (not 10 purely because i do not like I Want You Now. the breathing makes me v uncomfy jdknfbs)

Violator (1990)- the depeche mode album. there were "hits" on other albums, but literally every single one of their BIGGEST hits was on this album (Personal Jesus, Enjoy the Silence, and Policy of Truth). and those hits do a good job of showing you what depeche mode is about, and what violator is about, but listening to the whole thing is another experience. 10/10 whether you only passively care about dm or you're a huge fan you should absolutely give this one a listen

Songs of Faith and Devotion (1993)- notice how i didn't say the best album on violator? thats because this one is. hands fucking down. dave's best vocal performances are on this album, which even he himself has said (on Condemnation). following up violator was tough but i say this did so very well. it went in another, slightly bluesy direction, but was still undeniably dm. 11/10 holy fuck

Ultra (1997)- now i know i gave sofad an 11, but i still consider this one to be my favorite dm album. imo it combines the aspects of the previous two wonderfully, a similar groove to sofad but wouldn't be out of place on violator. being the first album after alan left, there is the slightest hint of "things are going to evolve once again", and that's completely okay. 10/10 ily ultra

A tier

Construction Time Again (1983)- i'd say this is the album where they finally hit their groove. very synthy, but it's not just bright and poppy now. this is also when they first really started sampling sounds, and they did well with it. a while ago richard spencer, known far-right bitch, called dm the "band of the alt-right" and dave famously told him to fuck off, and "has he even heard our music??". he cited some songs from music for the masses i think, but i'd say really this album is probably what dave was talking about with that statement. there is literally a song on here called The Landscape is Changing. anyways 10/10 there are sounds on this one that also make me a little uncomfy (namely the whispering in Told You So) but this album is just so good

Sounds of the Universe (2009)- so i said cta was when they hit their groove, i'd say sotu is when they hit it again after alan left (ultra was kinda like when you let go of a kid on a bike, and they're doing pretty good at first). dave actually contributes some songs on this album, and specifically Miles Away/The Truth Is is pretty great. has both the most hopeful dm song (Peace) and arguably the most up-frontly depressed dm song (Wrong). 9/10 it's a bit longer than the typical album but still a fantastic listen

Delta Machine (2013)- they went bluesy on sofad, and they REALLY did here. where sofad was more of a slow boil, this one goes in this direction with a bit more force. uhh tbh don't have much else on this one except i have yet to listen to Happens All The Time (a bonus song) w/o crying lol. 9/10 sound can get a teensy bit muddied at times but still very solid album

Spirit (2017)- most recent album! and oh boy if you thought they were disgruntled at the world during cta, they are pissed here. first album where theres swearing. some ppl think this was written in response to richard spencer but this existed before that, just happened to release pretty soon after which is still amazing. sound is beautiful here, dave's voice is still very strong (and even carried over some of that soul from delta machine), and i'd even say it's one of martins best performances. 10/10 this is modern dm and i love it

B tier

Black Celebration (1985)- this album is pure concentrated dm vibes. dark tones, industrial influence, synths. a bit too hyped up imo, but still very deserving of some hype. the best transitions of any dm album. dave and martins voices are great here, but especially when they're singing together (a really good example being Here is The House), some of the best harmonies between them on this album. 9/10 an essential dm album. literally if you somehow made it this far but stop reading here the one thing i ask of you is to listen to Stripped

Exciter (2001)- so that bike analogy about ultra? this is where the kid eventually falls over. definitely a different sound. like sofad and delta machine went in different directions than previous albums, but something about exciter's vibes were REALLY different without necessarily feeling like it was heading towards a different genre. BUT! this is still a super underrated album. this is a very good "i want some quieter dm vibes to listen to" album (ofc save for Dead of Night which is very loud lol). 8/10 not super up there for me but i do find myself listening to this album quite a bit

Playing the Angel (2005)- ok i didnt have much to say on delta machine but i like, really dont immediately here. first album in which dave contributes songs! and all of the ones he wrote (Suffer Well, I Want it All, Nothing's Impossible) are pretty solid. Macro is also an incredible song like holy shit. 8/10 sound (balance especially) is a little worse than delta machine's but oh MAN are there some good songs on here.

C tier

Speak and Spell (1981)- alright now we're lower down the list. i know i cant/shouldnt be too mean to the very first album, so i won't. but man is this as poppy as synthpop gets (which i know can be mostly attributed to vince, who then left after this album). i have not listened this album very much because of that, but i do listen to a good number of the songs off of it on the regular. 7/10 vocals are kinda drowned out at times, but cant hate baby dave and the lads too much. it's very sugary sweet, but in a fun way

Some Great Reward (1984)- i really don't listen to this one as much as i should tbh. this album i actually like almost all the songs off if it even! but i just don't listen to the whole thing together often. i'd put more eloquent thoughts and feelings on this one but i'm writing this shortly after having taken a zquil sO my brain has kinda run out of steam now lol sorry. In Your Memory and Set Me Free (Remotivate Me) are very good tho omg. 8/10 if there was a letter between C and D i'd have put this in that spot

aaaand finally, D tier

A Broken Frame (1982)- i did these as S-D and not S-F because i couldnt be that mean ndjkfsb but im srry something had to be at the bottom still. actually had this and Speak and Spell switched at first but then i realized I liked more songs off of the sas. (again would put more but zquil REALLY tryna take me down now, think i'll actually attempt sleep now). 6/10 just not one i super vibe with. the sound here is REALLY off balance a lot but hey this was mart kinda on his own and he gave it his bestest shot