New Subscriber Playlist: “Keeping Up with Depeche Mode”

This month’s subscriber-only playlist and podcast episode highlight the synth-pop icons’ storied career.
A black-and-white photo of the four members of Depeche Mode from the early 1990s

On January 9, Netflix began streaming Depeche Mode: M, a concert film chronicling the synth-pop icons’ performances in Mexico City during their 2023 world tour. Thus, it seemed only fitting for January’s playlist — titled “Keeping Up with Depeche Mode” — to highlight some of the best songs from the band’s extensive catalog, which spans 45 years and 15 studio albums, not to mention numerous live albums, compilations, and singles.

This month’s playlist captures the band’s progression from a scrappy Basildon quartet to a chart-topping phenom capable of selling out arenas around the world, but also highlights the remarkable consistency of their career. In other words, within a few seconds of hearing Martin Gore’s melodies and Dave Gahan’s voice, it’s impossible to mistake Depeche Mode’s music for anyone else.

Accompanying the playlist is the latest episode of my “Playlist Breakdown” podcast, in which I spotlight one of the playlist’s songs and why it’s so special, interesting, and/or meaningful. This month’s episode focuses on “Halo,” a sleek and dramatic synth-pop exploration of desire and guilt from 1990’s Violator.

Both of these are little bonuses for subscribers who support Opus financially. If you’d like to get access to them (and more), subscribe to Opus for just $5.00/month or $50/year. (You can also subscribe for free and get my weekend newsletter.)

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