My song of the day is “Shake the Disease” by Depeche Mode.
This ditty came out in 1985, when I was all of 11. I got into “DeMode”–as Richard Blade of KROQ fame insisted on abbreviating the name–big-time at age 15. I remember having all their albums on CD and playing on repeat sen-soo-al songs like “Here is the House” and songs of uplift like “But Not Tonight.”
Considered I’d only tried drinking once, and made myself sick in the process, it’s strange I would identify with a song about someone who’s been engaged in “constant debauchery.” So much so that, as he shares, “When my eyes have been so read, I’ve been mistaken for dead.” That’s next-level.
I remember as a teenager hanging out with my best friend Kate, a fellow Depeche Mode fan, and listening to DeMode nonstop.
“Shake the Disease” remains one of my favorites. There’s a poignant moment when Dave Gahan softly begs the listen to “Understand me.” Boy-crazy me inevitably would reply, “I understand you, Dave!”
Years later, Kate and I were at Knott’s Berry Farm when we saw a woman just our age with a prominent tattoo featuring the words “Depeche Mode”and the distinctive rose that graces DeMode’s Violator album. (You’re right, Richard Blade. It does save time.)
I admire the tattooed stranger’s taste and commitment, but the tattoo did seem a bit dated. There was nary a hint of judgement in our discussion, though. Kate and I both had the same response to the gal’s ink: “There but for the grace of God go I.”
–Sarah Torribio
Listen to more songs of the day HERE
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