Depeche Mode ~ Stripped [1986]

disturbedByVoices

Mar 1

Martin Gore famously paraphrased co-producer Daniel Miller's shellacking of his demo tape, stating, "The songs aren't good enough, there aren't any singles and it'll never get played on the radio." That demo tape would become the basis of Depeche Mode's fifth studio album Black Celebration. Lead single, "Stripped", would be described as an "ominous and intriguing pop song", reaching the top ten in five European countries (Finland, Ireland, Sweden, Switzerland, West Germany) and climbing to number one on the UK Indie chart.

"Come with me, into the trees
We'll lay on the grass, and let the hours pass
Take my hand, come back to the land
Let's get away, just for one day"

Depeche Mode has been previously featured here, with single "Wrong", following the death of long-time band member Andrew Fletcher. "The idea of 'Stripped' is to get away from technology and civilization for a day and get back to basics in the country. It's about two people stripping down to their bare emotions. In the video, we're seen demolishing a car and taking a TV apart... it's a bit, er, symbolic," shared Fletcher. David Gahan would further elucidate, "It's not about sex. It's to do with having nothing except yourself."

It seems ironic that a track ostensibly about a "nostalgia for nature", could not have been made without extensive use of electronic musical instruments, primarily synthesizers and samplers, the bread and butter of early Depeche Mode. The beginning of the song samples the sound of the ignition of lead singer Dave Gahan's Porsche automobile, while the underlying beat is the sound of an idling motorcycle engine distorted and slowed. The ending also incorporates the sound of fireworks. [wikipedia.org]

"Metropolis, has nothing on this
You're breathing in fumes, I taste when we kiss
Take my hand, come back to the land
Where everything's ours, for a few hours"

In the midst of future-facing synth-pop, Depeche Mode's constant bleak pessimism looks back to romantic-era poets on "Stripped", a song lamenting that modern society has taken us away from nature, simplicity, and truth.

_{~ notagrgu on genius.com}

Depeche Mode would be one of the first groups to integrate industrial noise and sounds into their music in such a manner that attempted to blend with or accentuate their sound in a manner that resonated with those of us more cynical at the time. Trent Reznor, of Nine Inch Nails, would later cite Black Celebration as one of the most influential albums in the creation of his premier release, Pretty Hate Machine.

"Let me see you stripped down to the bone
(Let me hear you crying just for me)"

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