Depeche Mode Press Conference Thoughts

This last Monday, British music pioneers* Depeche Mode held a press conference in Germany to give [few] details about their yet-to-be-titled album due out on April 20, 2009, and upcoming tour that has been dubiously dubbed the Tour of the Universe.

The press conference was streamed via LiveNation and if you were fortunate enough to view it without getting some kind of error, you saw what could possibly be one of the most uninteresting press conferences in the universe.

After Fletch’s less-than-four-minute speech announcing the new tour and album, the conference was handed over to the media. And man, were those questions were lacking in substance.

Examples:

How will Anton Corbijn be involved in the project?
How Martin felt about his old days in Berlin
Have you ever gone through a creative crisis?

Wow. Seriously, is that the best you can do? A new album and tour and this is all they could come up with? C’mon.

On the plus side, the band looked excited to be there. Dave looked great, Martin appeared as if he lost some weight, and Fletch should really stop wearing leather jackets if he wants to still look like a member of the group and not Dave and Martin’s overbearing father figure.

Okay, okay. Maybe he should just go one size larger.

So lame questions aside, it seems that there was nothing in this press conference that the band just couldn’t announce on their Web site. It would have saved everybody time by not having to sit through the agony of the stupid media questions.

Here are a few more notes on the whole thing:

There is a video (link removed per band’s request) floating around the Internet of the song snippets that were played before the press conference started. While I’m glad the band is back at work, these clips sounded like rejects/leftovers from 2005’s Playing the Angel. Perhaps it will take some more listening, clear and in stereo, to appreciate them more.
A new tour is great, but I’m not cool with selling tickets the day it is announced, even before the album is titled or even has enough songs complete. Seems…weird.

Look, I’ve been a fan since the mid-80s. I saw them at the Rose Bowl, fer Chrissakes. I realize that none of this is the band’s fault and that they owe me nothing; I’m sure they have contractual obligations to fulfill and certain people to appease. But if fans can get upset over their country not being announced as being part of the first leg of the tour, then I’ve got every right to voice my displeasure about the press conference.

Summary: if you haven’t seen it yet, do yourself a big favor and skip it unless you just want to see how the band looks in 2008. Other than that, not a whole lot going on.

And even after all that I’ve just said, I look forward seeing behind-the-scenes videos and MP3 samples start to trickle onto their Web site, the possibility of listening to the album’s stream via MySpace (as was the case in 2005), patiently awaiting their new album reportedly due April 20, 2009, and seeing them live in 2009’s Tour of the Universe.

My name is Dave, and I’m a fan of Depeche Mode.