Permanent Record Podcast: Depeche Mode

Depeche Mode - Violator (1990) Part 2

May 20, 2020

Episode 105: Depeche Mode - Violator (1990) Part 2

Brian and Sarah are back, and they're eager to continue their discussion of Depeche Mode's landmark album Violator, which turned 30 not too long ago. This is one of the most important albums our hosts own, and they have many memories and thoughts to share about it, so they're breaking up their analysis into more than just the usual two parts. This episode begins with a couple more album reviews before the hosts are finally ready to get into the song discussion.

Part 3 - Track by Track

Since Violator contains nine tracks, and Brian and Sarah know they're going to have a lot to say about most of the songs-- especially the four singles-- they come up with a game plan to cover three tracks per episode. So in this episode, two singles-- and two videos-- are discussed. Our hosts cover the typical topics of release history, chart history, reviews, and album art, and along the way they also share many personal memories from the time period when the songs were released. Also mentioned in this episode: a surprisingly controversial ad campaign, cheap bootleg t-shirts, human and animal posteriors, Johnny Cash, The Wonder Stuff, and (much to Sarah's dismay) The Mission.