Depeche Mode “Violator” released 30 years ago today, March 19th, 1990. Their 7th studio LP and one of their most successful releases, hitting #2 in the UK and #7 in the US. I saw Depeche Mode on their World Violation Tour in the summer of ‘90 at Summerfest in Milwaukee. Nitzer Ebb opened that concert; Nitzer Ebb’s That Total Age (’87) was an album I had on constant repeat in the late 80′s. I wish I could remember more about that concert but it was 30 years ago: it was the summer between freshman and sophomore year at college and I went with some friends from UW-Madison – we had shitty lawn seats and illicit beverages were probably involved – and I suppose those are enough reasons for why my memory sucks.

Violator was the last Depeche Mode record I really made an effort for (I was waaayyy into them during the bulk of the 80′s). When “Personal Jesus” (#13 UK, #28 US) came out in late August ‘89, I was still super into going out dancing to new wave and industrial music and that track was on heavy duty rotation (the 12″ single became one of the biggest sellers of all-time). By the time “Enjoy the Silence” (#6 UK, #8 US) came out in February ‘90, I was more into the neo-hippie culture of Madison (ie lots of Grateful Dead – in fact, I’m pretty sure I was in Canada seeing the Dead the week that Violator came out) so I liked it – a lot – but was no longer going out dancing to DM. Too bad because “Enjoy the Silence” is a track that has not only stood the test of time but I think actually sounds better now: it’s a perfectly crafted synth pop song that has a beautiful streak of sinister rippling through it. I also really love “Policy of Truth” (#16 UK, #15 US) – the drawn-out rhythm slide of the synth hook still just gets to me in the best way. I also like the final single from Violator, “World in My Eyes” (#17 UK, #52 US) though it’s definitely not as strong as the other three.