Tag: David Gahan

I Can’t Sing. I Will Never Pretend I Can

Years ago, I was in Durham and on the phone with my dad. I let him know I landed and was at my hotel. Even at my age, I have to let my parents know where I am. Sadly, my dad’s been gone for over a decade. Maybe he knows.

Anyway, I said, “You know I used to sound like John Lennon. Now I sound like Paul McCartney.” He retorted, “You make all the young girls cry.” He didn’t mean I sing like Barry Manilow. He meant my voice would make anyone cry. He’s right.

Sure, I wish I had the voice of Bono, Ian Curtis, David Gahan, Peter Murphy, Robert Smith, or the Moz. Oh, and the two Beatles I mentioned. They were gifted. There are many others in my boat. Far too many. But sadly, some of them think they can sing. I attend many events where we sing by the campfire or as part of our religious services. There was a guy there who used to like to sing and dance. He often said he was shocked that people didn’t recruit him from Lincoln Center to sing at the opera house or in the other theaters.

What do I do? I sing along or use their time up there as the time for a bathroom break. Some of them sing fast. Some drag it out. What should take 3-5 minutes turns into 45 minutes. That’s a lot of time in the bathroom. But it also gives you time to run over to the kitchen and get tea.

But then there are the personalities. The opera star had none. Some of the others are wonderful people. Some retired. Some working. They mean well. They want to sing. I still want to pitch for the Yankees. I blame my mother for never signing with the Bronx Bombers. That’s really a joke. Steinbrenner would have never signed me. Rightfully so. But these days, I might play and be better than whom Hal and Cash have signed.

How do I pick which “concert” I attend? There are places I go where those leading can carry a tune. But they are not friendly. In some cases, they are downright nasty and mean. I used to alternate. I recently decided I’d rather let my ears suffer with poor singing, as opposed to suffering unfriendliness.

101

DMEarlier today, I sat on the couch and watched my Depeche Mode 101 DVD. That’s the concert documentary that DM put out in ’89. It features the amazing tunes they played during the Music for the Masses tour.
As I heard Dave Gahan’s voice sing “Master & Servant,” I was blasted back to the day when life was simpler and in some ways more fun. In some ways, it was not. We still have our masters and servants.
Watching Martin L Gore’s solo of “Somebody” brings the same depression I had when he sang that tune, while I was wishing for somebody back in high school. It hasn’t changed.
Depeche Mode is one of the bands that will always remain honest and current. Their songs will always touch one’s heart and soul. Whether, you’re traveling down “Route 66”, worrying about “Blasphemous Rumors”, worried that “Everything Counts “ (I sure do) or “Just Can’t Get Enough”.
I remember listening to their cassettes nonstop and making Depeche Mode mixes for my car. In one of my autos, the tape deck was on its dying days. The only tape it played flawlessly was a Depeche Mode mix. The same thing happened years later in another vehicle’s CD player.
I remember wearing all black. Well, that hasn’t completely changed. I’ve seen them dozens of times. I once waited hours on a line at the now defunct Tower Records to meet them. That was in 2004. They signed one of their new releases.
I got about 90 seconds to talk to Andrew Fletcher, Martin and David. I remember begging Martin to play songs from Speak and Spell (even though) that was really a Vince Clarke album, a DM founder who left after their first release. He founded Yaz, ran and has thankfully found a home in Erasure. I discovered Erasure in the health lodge at Ten Mile River Scout Camps. I wasn’t the sick one. I was with one of my campers who needed to be in that awful place. We had some strange nurses.
Anyway, back to my conversations with DM. I continued to beg them to go back to around 1984. They just smiled and said we’ll think about it. I saw them a few days later at the Garden. They didn’t take my requests. But they dazzled us anyway.
While I was sitting outside of Tower Records, I chatted with a cute girl, who was at least 10 years younger than me. She was a 90s DM fan. I am an 80s DM fan. Well, I’m a fan of their music. But I gravitate to their 1980s tunes. This woman did the same for their 1990’s music. She was in love with Martin. She had a tattoo stating that. Her dream was for him to kiss her on it. Never happened. But she got to meet him and couldn’t have been happier.
Another thing that flashed into my mind was the great way we dressed back then. I already mentioned all black. But we cropped our hair as close to our heads as we could. I used to bring in pictures of them and O.M.D. to my haircutter. I called him Professor Joe. He tried his best to make me look like them.
Eventually, I made it up to New Paltz. Us New Wavers used to go Berties in Poughkeepsie. We all had to wear bracelets saying we were under 21. But we wore our black outfits and danced all night to Depeche Mode, the Cure, the Smiths, Echo and the Bunnymen, New Order and the other greats from the 80s. I wasn’t a good dancer. That hasn’t changed.
Man, I miss those days. If only we could all be “Stripped” down to the bone. In other words, speak just for me and make decisions without your television on.
So, “Now this is Fun”. “It is More than a Party”. As for me, I’m looking for a “Policy of Truth,” while doing my best to remember, “People are People”.
I cannot wait to see them at the Garden at the end of the summer. Funny, I just did the Facebook what 80s alt-pop band wrote the soundtrack of your life. I got Depeche Mode.