![]() ![]() ![]() Similarly, “Caroline’s Monkey” points out the futility of existence, told from a third person perspective about a woman named Caroline. “I’m going where the angels fly / And I’m taking my soul with me,” Depeche Mode sings. ![]() “Soul With Me” is all about the beauty of death, and how it releases a person from all of the pointless worries of Earth. “Wasted feelings / Broken meanings / Time is fleeting / See what it brings,” Depeche Mode sings on “Ghosts Again.”Įveryone dies, Depeche Mode seems to be saying, and often, time brings nothing but pain.ĭeath is seen as an escape from the pain and suffering of life in the latter half of the album. “Ghosts Again” provides quite easy listening, though its lyrics are certainly no happier than “My Cosmos is Mine.” The band’s roots in the ’80s are quite evident in this song, and it is one of the only tracks that feels slightly more upbeat than the chaotic existentialism present in much of the album. “Ghosts Again” is a standout on the album. The awareness of death and the confrontation of mortality that are central to this album were certainly informed by Fletcher’s death, and it is clear that the surviving band members do not want anyone to forget him. There is a lot of pain evident in these lyrics, which is indicative of this being the band’s first release since one of the founding members, Andy Fletcher, died last year. “No war, no war, no war / No more, no more, no more, no more / No fear, no fear, no fear, no fear / Not here, not here, not here, not here / No rain, no clouds, no pain, no shrouds / No final breaths, no senseless deaths,” Depeche Mode sings on “My Cosmo is Mine.” The bridge is full of repetitive phrases, creating a sense of monotony that might overwhelm the listener: It immediately launches the listener into intense instrumentation accompanied by dark vocals and lyrics. “My Cosmos Is Mine” is a jarring yet fitting opener to the album. The synth plays a major role in transporting the listener to another place-whether that is heaven, hell, or somewhere in between. ![]() The entire album, which is 12 tracks long, feels otherworldly. It is almost impossible not to have an existential crisis listening to Memento Mori, a vast departure from the upbeat and love-centered “Just Can’t Get Enough,” one of the band’s most popular songs.ĭepeche Mode, currently made up of Dave Gahan and Martin Gore, does darkness well. The album explores death with all of its ramifications and the conflicting emotions it causes. The links contain my personal tributes to departed family, friends, and colleagues.“Remember you must die” is the English translation of Depeche Mode’s newest album title, Memento Mori-and what a fitting title it is. Memento mori engendered an opposite imperative - memento vivere - the Latin for "remember that you must live." Less common and of more recent vintage (according to the Oxford English Dictionary), memento vivere seems to imply that a preoccupation with death is perhaps unwise and unhealthy. For me, it holds a deep personal meaning that I can barely articulate, being bound up with my own bodily experiences and health, the passing of family and friends, and living in American culture. It serves to remind us of our own mortality, of our mistakes and failures, of the inevitable transformation of life into death. Memento mori means "remember that you must die" in the language of Latin. ![]()
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