The X Factor

It's very unlikely that I'm going to write something completely new and revolutionary about a TV show that's been going for 12 years now, but luckily no one is forced to read it, and I find it a fascinating subject.

Just to make it clear: however frequently it is referred to as a "talent show", The X Factor (just like every other similar programme) is primarily a reality TV show, talent comes second (or possibly third). You have a much better chance of making it into the broadcast by being "interesting" rather than just singing well. Reality shows are all about the casting: if the format isn't completely ridiculous, you only have to fill it with the right characters, and lots of people are going to watch it.

Thirteen

Despite my fondness for both the character and the actress, this is not about Dr. Remy Hadley, better known as "Thirteen" from the great TV series called House M.D., it's in fact a follow up to Twelve, posted here a year ago.

Depeche Mode: Black Celebration era

The album. The singles. The songs. The tour.

Cinderella, are you happy?

Nicola Roberts, whom I called "the coolest popstar on Earth" a year ago, turned 30 today. She's still cool, but I'm not entirely sure she still qualifies as a popstar.

High Speed Train

Around The Sun is often ranked at the bottom of R.E.M. album lists, and I don't think it's their best work either, but it's still R.E.M., and even at their so-called worst, they're mostly OK, with some excellent and absolutely wonderful songs hidden amongst the not-so-good ones, like this particular song.

Tourfilm

Today marks the 25th anniversary of R.E.M. releasing their first ever live video, Tourfilm, which - I think - captured them at their peak.

Depeche Mode: Some Great Reward (+ Singles) era

The album. The singles. The songs. The tour. The compilation album.

The best year ever

If we wanted to, we could use the 1987 calendar this year, as each day fell on the exact same day of the week. (Obviously, if there's one match and the years in question are both "normal" years or both leap years, all the other days have to match as well). Anyway, 24th August was also Monday back then, which is when new releases come out in the UK, and those included the Depeche Mode single "Never Let Me Down Again" 28 years ago - one of the best songs ever. I wouldn't say that such a treat appearing today is completely impossible, but I do feel that particular year was quite special, and it's not (just) nostalgia, as I was actually too young to appreciate it at the time.

Control freak

Exactly 20 years ago, on his 36th birthday, Alan Wilder announced his departure from Depeche Mode. He played a very important part in the band in multiple ways: he was the only trained musician, who was also great at production, arrangements and creating atmospheres, he was the one who enjoyed working endlessly in the studio until every single sound was in its right place, he was a perfectionist, and obviously his taste and opinion also influenced the end result. No wonder that fans weren't happy to see him leave, and since then he (unwillingly) plays a very odd part in Depeche Mode: whenever something's not up to fans expectations, it's because "he's no longer there". Although he issued a statement that made things quite clear, some people aren't sure why he left, so I'll take a look at that (I have to point out that I have no special insider info, just observations and assumptions), and briefly at what happened since.

The impossible princess of pop

Probably since first setting eyes on her (on a TV screen) in 1988, I've always liked Kylie Minogue. Not only because she's such a pleasure to see every single time (of course I have to admit that I do find her very attractive), but she's got such an irresistible charm that makes people warm to her, even when they don't particularly like her singing or acting. I also really like her voice, it's nice to listen to even when she just speaks, and over the years she's turned herself into a truly great  performer and a really good singer. I only wish she had better songs.

Depeche Mode: Construction Time Again era

The album. The singles. The songs. The tour.

The Cure, going nowhere

There are varying opinions about when The Cure stopped being great - some say they're still great, some say they peaked with Disintegration and are on the way down ever since, some say they couldn't really recover after Pearl (known as Porl at the time) and Boris left, but I truly enjoyed Wild Mood Swings (not a flawless album, but definitely not as bad as people usually think), I really liked Wrong Number and then the Bloodflowers album, and even Cut Here was really good (let's forget about Just Say Yes for a moment), so I was quite happy with their output until they left Fiction. I'm not suggesting that leaving the label was what caused the decline, but something went wrong after that.

The best album ever

I'm cheating a bit, because it's not a proper studio album but a live one. Anyway, 101 by Depeche Mode is my ultimate desert island disc (cheating again, it's 2 discs on both vinyl and cd), the one I can never get tired of, the one I listen to the most, simply put, the best album ever.

Violation

The period between 1986 and 1994 is largely considered as "the golden age" of Depeche Mode, the era of their creative and commercial peak. Even the band members seem to agree with that, given that their tour setlists heavily rely on material from those years ever since. They released 4 studio albums during that time, and 3 of those came out in mid-March, so last week was filled with opportunities to look back: Black Celebration turned 29 on Tuesday, Songs Of Faith And Devotion became 22 years old on Sunday, but a quarter of a century mark seemed more interesting, so most of the attention concentrated on Violator's anniversary on Thursday.

What kind of man loves a song like this?

The kind I am, for example. And the song in question is "What Kind Of Man" by Florence + The Machine.

Imaginary setlist for Cinderella's Eyes

Unfortunately, Nicola Roberts' excellent debut album wasn't promoted by a long series of live gigs, so I came up with an imaginary setlist for a tour that never was.

Depeche Mode: A Broken Frame era

The album. The singles. The songs. The tour(s).