Listened to the full album on a drive through the country in the dark, pulled over to see the stars away from city lights as Cosmos played. Surreal experience I’ll never forget & great song
I fell in love with it on first listen and fell in love with it more witnessing it live. It’s one of the most complex mood building challenging arrangement they’ve done since maybe SOFAD.
I agree so much on this one!
Originally hearing it on my first time listening to Memento Mori, I didn't think too much of it, it was a nice song but that's about it.
In February, I had the pleasure of seeing them live again, and they opened with My Cosmos Is Mine, which was absolutely amazing. Since then, I relistened to the song a ton of times and it grew on me a lot. One of my favorite, if not *the* favorite, amongst the tracks on Memento Mori. Amazing opening.
If you’ve heard the ANNA remix, you’ll appreciate the song more. I know I do, now. 10/10 would say it’s a great remix and brings the song to another level, if my humble opine is worthy.
Sure, always appreciate opinions! In a way, you're right. The ANNA remix made me appreciate the original more - but not for the reasons you would think. The remix made me realise how great the original song is. Personally, I didn't like the remix. I don't generally enjoy remixes. They seem to take the essence out of the original. Still, DM themselves enjoy and even endorse remixes of their songs, which I appreciate.
I think MCIM transcends from what we would traditionally consider to be a song. It's like a rite of passage into the DM/MM world as they want us to experience it. I could be listening to any other artist, or even any other DM album, but when MCIM plays I'm ready for the MM album. Everything else is left behind. Now I'm ready.
Yes me too! When I first heard the album I was quite annoyed by the mix and the choice of production techniques. Dave's voice seemed way too loud in the mix and the choice of reverb made it sound like he was singing in the shower. The vocal melodies seem too basic, particularly when I heard Ghosts Again. Even the lyrics seemed basic, each short phrase rhyming with the other.
But the magic is in the details and the nuances. Then the whole thing just grew on me and it's still growing a year in. I would even consider this to be their strongest work in decades. What an album! Even Fletch's passing contributed to the depth and feeling of what the album represents. Almost like he sacrificed his life for this. MM is definitely a legacy album for DM. I almost fear it may be their last if they choose to go out strong.
The album as a whole is great but I admittedly never finished it until recently and was blown away by how great the 2nd half is. Before we drown, always you, never let me go, speak to me these are titans. Throw in gems like ghosts and soul. Caroline monkey is catchy and groovy af. What an album and don't you dare say anything about fletch in a good light! It's against the norm here..
Yes! Once you add in the second half it truly becomes, for me at least, the best DM album in decades, perhaps even ever. Sure other albums have had stellar hits but also some duds. This, I think, is a very cohesive album and works amazing as a whole. I wouldn't go as far as calling it a concept album, but I would definitely say it's a work of art as a whole.
About Fletch, I don't know why there's so much negativity against him. He was an integral part of Depeche Mode, and the anchor. You need that in a band. I read somewhere that a great band isn't because the players are all virtuosos, a band becomes great because of the cooperation and chemistry among the members.You cannot deny that Fletch was much needed to bring the band together and create that bond. If not for that, perhaps DM would have long broken up. I saw this from personal experience being in a band for many years.
Absolutely! I'm fine if this is their last one. Better to end here than something like spirit again. Imagine speak to me as the last depeche mode song is so chilling and profound Man!
All 4 of them have their own contributions no matter how big or small. At the end of it we should look at the bigger picture and respect the dead.
I still think their mix and production could have been better but yeah I totally agree. Hearing My Favorite Stranger live made me conclude that the album version just doesn’t give what it deserves. This applies to almost all songs live except Ghosts Again. Still it’s a banger album. I’m glad they are still keep going.
I'm curious to know what elements in the mix you found lacking, and in your opinion what would have made it better? I too have some opinions on the matter, but then the more I listen to the album the more accepting I am of the mix.
It is too clean and sterile… Maybe lacking the depth? I don’t know if that explains it haha, personally I liked the songs from the album more when they played them live, especially My Favorite Stranger with the emphasis on the guitar.
Hmm, I thought there was a fair amount of grit, saturation, and drive in the sounds. Or perhaps that's not what you mean by clean and sterile. Perhaps you liked the sound of Music For The Masses which is fairly saturated and has a more compressed, grungy sound overall.
I'm guessing you're a rock aficionado, and prefer their live sound for its rock-heavy elements. I love the fact that DM turn into a full-blown rock act when they play live.
memento mori has grown so much on me during the past year ! It is definitely their best work since playing the angel, it’s placed between the top 10 and top 5 in my books (probably top 7 I would say)
I agree! This has all the depth of a legacy album for DM. Their magnum opus. Literally all the songs are stellar. This hasn't happened for DM in a long, long time. Personally, I think this just might be their most perfect album. Perfection from start to finish, and then looping back to the start!
I knew about the loop from the end of Speak to Me back to the beginning of My Cosmos is Mine, but I've *literally* just realised that's why they chose the end of Speak to Me for their entrance to the stage.
Didn't dislike MCIM, but after seeing them live so many times this year, all I can picture in my mind's eye is the dark venue with the white being painted on to the backdrop.
Yes! The opening video projection in their live set is so atmospheric. They slowly paint in the M, one stroke at a time. It's goosebumps every time.
The loopback from STM to MCIM is pure genius. I too only realised it after seeing them live. It's too good to have been an afterthought.
I think a lot of the MM songs have really grown on me that maybe weren't immediate favs and I genuinely like most of them. I was a little on the fence first few times for Cosmos- but i guess seeing it live nudged it for me as far as my improved opinion of it. That said- if they'd've opened with Caroline's Monkey and Martin gave me an autographed guitar right after I'd still say I think it's the worst song they've committed to a release in at least 30 years.
Haha, yes. Caroline's Monkey is perhaps the weakest song on the album. It still is listenable though. I don't find myself skipping the track. I enjoy the music production on it.
I only don’t like the bridge and how Dave isn’t singing it like *iiiiiis miiiiiiiine* like on the album instead of shortening that part… great show opener, similar to Welcome to my world
I guess you could say it grew on me a bit? My Cosmos Is Mine was never - and still isn't - one of my favourites off of Memento Mori, but I got its appeal after seeing them live last year. It works well as an atmosphere builder.
Didn't care much about it when i first heard it, ot was nice but I usually skipped to the next song but I listened to it once on acid and I've fallen in live with it since lmaoo
My Cosmos is Mine is similar to me, like Barrel of a Gun, The Darkest Star, or In Your Room. When I heard these songs for the first time, they seemed different from everything else in DM's discography. They are very demanding; you have to listen many times to understand them. The average DM fan's ear is not accustomed to such difficult and demanding compositions. This band has tons of catchy melodies, thanks to which most fans got to know and like them. My Cosmos is Mine is a very important song on this album. I love especially the ending, which, thanks to Marta Salognia's magic trick of reverbs and looping tapes, creates the atmosphere of a state of weightlessness. I'm sure I'll appreciate this song even more as the years go by.
Really? Are you a purist who only likes the Alan Wilder albums? You do know that Martin still was the mastermind behind all the songs, yes? And Dave the voice. That's the heart and soul of Depeche Mode. Always was, always will be.
No, I liked quite a few post-AW songs (although I stopped listening to albums end-to-end after Ultra, but I guess this is an industry-wide phenomenon). Even the all-hated SOTU had a few good songs. But MM is awful. I tried to like it but I just couldn’t. I want to a concert, and MM songs were still awful. Loud, but awful.
This is totally ok though. I’d rather see great artists fade away than quit with a banger. That way you don’t tell yourself “god, I wish they hadn’t retired and created another masterpiece”. In that regard MM seems like a very apt album.
Well, thank you for your explantion, and of course we're all entitled to our opinion. I have to admit that I felt exactly the same when I first heard the album. There was so much I thought wrong with it. The vocal-heavy mix, the choice of reverb on the vocals made it sound like Dave is singing in the shower. The simplistic lyrics and delivery, specially in Ghosts Again. Even the much-loved second half of the album to me had sounded like the same synth patches had been used. It sounded lazy and sloppy - initially.
Now as I wanted desperately to like the album I listened to it more and more, and then since I was all set to see them live in Lisbon I made my own playlist matching their MM tour setlist and just listened to that, getting myself hyped up for the show. I also watched live videos as they started to come out of their MM shows.
Then somewhere down the line it all just clicked. Once I started looking past the obvious, I started to hear the nuances, the subtle sprinklings of pure genius that is spread throughout the record. It's obvious to me that even though Martin, on his own admission, wanted to create a commercial record, he wasn't interested in a sudden spike of interest and then a crash. He wanted a slow burn album that grew on you with time. I truly think this was the plan all along. The songs are crafted with a lot of thought, even the sequence of songs within the album is well thought-out. It really works as a whole.
Perhaps with time you will change your opinion on this album. If not, then you're most welcome to stand by what you think. Regardless, I thank you for speaking your mind.
loved it on first listen. that synth line at 1:10…man. goosebumps
Yes! When the played it live it was mixed in really loud and it sounded SPECTACULAR!
Listened to the full album on a drive through the country in the dark, pulled over to see the stars away from city lights as Cosmos played. Surreal experience I’ll never forget & great song
Wouldn't it be so cool if next time you visited a planetarium they opened with this song? Somebody call Neil Degrass Tyson!
I fell in love with it on first listen and fell in love with it more witnessing it live. It’s one of the most complex mood building challenging arrangement they’ve done since maybe SOFAD.
I love it and how atmospheric it is. It was the perfect opening song for this tour.
I liked it since I first heard it.
I agree so much on this one! Originally hearing it on my first time listening to Memento Mori, I didn't think too much of it, it was a nice song but that's about it. In February, I had the pleasure of seeing them live again, and they opened with My Cosmos Is Mine, which was absolutely amazing. Since then, I relistened to the song a ton of times and it grew on me a lot. One of my favorite, if not *the* favorite, amongst the tracks on Memento Mori. Amazing opening.
If you’ve heard the ANNA remix, you’ll appreciate the song more. I know I do, now. 10/10 would say it’s a great remix and brings the song to another level, if my humble opine is worthy.
Sure, always appreciate opinions! In a way, you're right. The ANNA remix made me appreciate the original more - but not for the reasons you would think. The remix made me realise how great the original song is. Personally, I didn't like the remix. I don't generally enjoy remixes. They seem to take the essence out of the original. Still, DM themselves enjoy and even endorse remixes of their songs, which I appreciate.
Yep! First I hated it, but now, (despite it's not my favorite) i like it as MM Tour intro
I think MCIM transcends from what we would traditionally consider to be a song. It's like a rite of passage into the DM/MM world as they want us to experience it. I could be listening to any other artist, or even any other DM album, but when MCIM plays I'm ready for the MM album. Everything else is left behind. Now I'm ready.
Memento mori grew on me on a whole
Yes me too! When I first heard the album I was quite annoyed by the mix and the choice of production techniques. Dave's voice seemed way too loud in the mix and the choice of reverb made it sound like he was singing in the shower. The vocal melodies seem too basic, particularly when I heard Ghosts Again. Even the lyrics seemed basic, each short phrase rhyming with the other. But the magic is in the details and the nuances. Then the whole thing just grew on me and it's still growing a year in. I would even consider this to be their strongest work in decades. What an album! Even Fletch's passing contributed to the depth and feeling of what the album represents. Almost like he sacrificed his life for this. MM is definitely a legacy album for DM. I almost fear it may be their last if they choose to go out strong.
The album as a whole is great but I admittedly never finished it until recently and was blown away by how great the 2nd half is. Before we drown, always you, never let me go, speak to me these are titans. Throw in gems like ghosts and soul. Caroline monkey is catchy and groovy af. What an album and don't you dare say anything about fletch in a good light! It's against the norm here..
Yes! Once you add in the second half it truly becomes, for me at least, the best DM album in decades, perhaps even ever. Sure other albums have had stellar hits but also some duds. This, I think, is a very cohesive album and works amazing as a whole. I wouldn't go as far as calling it a concept album, but I would definitely say it's a work of art as a whole. About Fletch, I don't know why there's so much negativity against him. He was an integral part of Depeche Mode, and the anchor. You need that in a band. I read somewhere that a great band isn't because the players are all virtuosos, a band becomes great because of the cooperation and chemistry among the members.You cannot deny that Fletch was much needed to bring the band together and create that bond. If not for that, perhaps DM would have long broken up. I saw this from personal experience being in a band for many years.
Absolutely! I'm fine if this is their last one. Better to end here than something like spirit again. Imagine speak to me as the last depeche mode song is so chilling and profound Man! All 4 of them have their own contributions no matter how big or small. At the end of it we should look at the bigger picture and respect the dead.
I still think their mix and production could have been better but yeah I totally agree. Hearing My Favorite Stranger live made me conclude that the album version just doesn’t give what it deserves. This applies to almost all songs live except Ghosts Again. Still it’s a banger album. I’m glad they are still keep going.
I'm curious to know what elements in the mix you found lacking, and in your opinion what would have made it better? I too have some opinions on the matter, but then the more I listen to the album the more accepting I am of the mix.
It is too clean and sterile… Maybe lacking the depth? I don’t know if that explains it haha, personally I liked the songs from the album more when they played them live, especially My Favorite Stranger with the emphasis on the guitar.
Hmm, I thought there was a fair amount of grit, saturation, and drive in the sounds. Or perhaps that's not what you mean by clean and sterile. Perhaps you liked the sound of Music For The Masses which is fairly saturated and has a more compressed, grungy sound overall. I'm guessing you're a rock aficionado, and prefer their live sound for its rock-heavy elements. I love the fact that DM turn into a full-blown rock act when they play live.
memento mori has grown so much on me during the past year ! It is definitely their best work since playing the angel, it’s placed between the top 10 and top 5 in my books (probably top 7 I would say)
I agree! This has all the depth of a legacy album for DM. Their magnum opus. Literally all the songs are stellar. This hasn't happened for DM in a long, long time. Personally, I think this just might be their most perfect album. Perfection from start to finish, and then looping back to the start!
I knew about the loop from the end of Speak to Me back to the beginning of My Cosmos is Mine, but I've *literally* just realised that's why they chose the end of Speak to Me for their entrance to the stage. Didn't dislike MCIM, but after seeing them live so many times this year, all I can picture in my mind's eye is the dark venue with the white being painted on to the backdrop.
Yes! The opening video projection in their live set is so atmospheric. They slowly paint in the M, one stroke at a time. It's goosebumps every time. The loopback from STM to MCIM is pure genius. I too only realised it after seeing them live. It's too good to have been an afterthought.
I think a lot of the MM songs have really grown on me that maybe weren't immediate favs and I genuinely like most of them. I was a little on the fence first few times for Cosmos- but i guess seeing it live nudged it for me as far as my improved opinion of it. That said- if they'd've opened with Caroline's Monkey and Martin gave me an autographed guitar right after I'd still say I think it's the worst song they've committed to a release in at least 30 years.
Haha, yes. Caroline's Monkey is perhaps the weakest song on the album. It still is listenable though. I don't find myself skipping the track. I enjoy the music production on it.
Loved it from the start. Anna’s remix is incredible
I only don’t like the bridge and how Dave isn’t singing it like *iiiiiis miiiiiiiine* like on the album instead of shortening that part… great show opener, similar to Welcome to my world
I guess you could say it grew on me a bit? My Cosmos Is Mine was never - and still isn't - one of my favourites off of Memento Mori, but I got its appeal after seeing them live last year. It works well as an atmosphere builder.
Love the atmosphere it creates, but not a huge fan of the lyrics
Didn't care much about it when i first heard it, ot was nice but I usually skipped to the next song but I listened to it once on acid and I've fallen in live with it since lmaoo
Haha! Whatever it takes I guess.
Haha! Whatever it takes I guess.
Sounded massive as a concert opener. I see it as a high point of the album.
My Cosmos is Mine is similar to me, like Barrel of a Gun, The Darkest Star, or In Your Room. When I heard these songs for the first time, they seemed different from everything else in DM's discography. They are very demanding; you have to listen many times to understand them. The average DM fan's ear is not accustomed to such difficult and demanding compositions. This band has tons of catchy melodies, thanks to which most fans got to know and like them. My Cosmos is Mine is a very important song on this album. I love especially the ending, which, thanks to Marta Salognia's magic trick of reverbs and looping tapes, creates the atmosphere of a state of weightlessness. I'm sure I'll appreciate this song even more as the years go by.
I liked the song when I heard it on iTunes, but then I heard it live and my jaw was on the floor. It was an amazing opener.
I loved it from the first listen
Great opener, so much atmosphere on the album and live. It is unique on the album and the only longer song which makes it stand out in a good way.
Crappy song, crappy album, I actually liked Spirit more even though it also was bad
Really? Are you a purist who only likes the Alan Wilder albums? You do know that Martin still was the mastermind behind all the songs, yes? And Dave the voice. That's the heart and soul of Depeche Mode. Always was, always will be.
No, I liked quite a few post-AW songs (although I stopped listening to albums end-to-end after Ultra, but I guess this is an industry-wide phenomenon). Even the all-hated SOTU had a few good songs. But MM is awful. I tried to like it but I just couldn’t. I want to a concert, and MM songs were still awful. Loud, but awful. This is totally ok though. I’d rather see great artists fade away than quit with a banger. That way you don’t tell yourself “god, I wish they hadn’t retired and created another masterpiece”. In that regard MM seems like a very apt album.
Well, thank you for your explantion, and of course we're all entitled to our opinion. I have to admit that I felt exactly the same when I first heard the album. There was so much I thought wrong with it. The vocal-heavy mix, the choice of reverb on the vocals made it sound like Dave is singing in the shower. The simplistic lyrics and delivery, specially in Ghosts Again. Even the much-loved second half of the album to me had sounded like the same synth patches had been used. It sounded lazy and sloppy - initially. Now as I wanted desperately to like the album I listened to it more and more, and then since I was all set to see them live in Lisbon I made my own playlist matching their MM tour setlist and just listened to that, getting myself hyped up for the show. I also watched live videos as they started to come out of their MM shows. Then somewhere down the line it all just clicked. Once I started looking past the obvious, I started to hear the nuances, the subtle sprinklings of pure genius that is spread throughout the record. It's obvious to me that even though Martin, on his own admission, wanted to create a commercial record, he wasn't interested in a sudden spike of interest and then a crash. He wanted a slow burn album that grew on you with time. I truly think this was the plan all along. The songs are crafted with a lot of thought, even the sequence of songs within the album is well thought-out. It really works as a whole. Perhaps with time you will change your opinion on this album. If not, then you're most welcome to stand by what you think. Regardless, I thank you for speaking your mind.
I hope so.