Tag: quarantine

By Posted on Posted in Depeche Mode Tagged with , , , ,

I know, I know… This website already has some tumbleweed rolling in the background. In fact, there are a few post in the making. I’m just never 101% satisfied with them to hit “publish”, but I’ll eventually say to myself “if you do it, they’ll come”.

Moving on, our main story tonight is the 2nd anniversary since “Spirits in the Forest” was screened all over the world. Yes, by now only me and my mom watch it on a regular basis. Just kidding, no we don’t. I didn’t get nominated for that Oscar. And just two years ago, life was completely different.

At one point in the film, I say I can only hope things are changing for the better. That statement was caught on camera in 2018 in the context of LGBT rights in Brazil. Since then, I can’t quite say my prophecy materialized as expected. And not just in the intended context, but in several ones. However, as we approach the holiday season of what feels like the 24th month of the year, I hopefully predict 2022 cannot – must NOT – be worse. There can be no worse. 2016 was tough already and we got out if with a new Depeche Mode album and tour.

By Posted on Posted in Depeche Mode, Depeche Mode Facebook Takeover Tagged with , , ,

Remember when you were celebrating the new year, some 11 months ago and now it’s almost Christmas time again? Along came Covid-19 and cancelled everything in it’s way. 2020 will enter history as “the year that never happened”. Something our children will learn about in history books (if people still read books by then) and imagine it was like when months were renamed during the French Revolution, or how the Russian October Revolution took place in November, or when they simply skipped 11 days of October in 1582. Except now it will have been 11 months instead… if we’re lucky.

At least we have our lovely internet and zoom calls to make up for all the social distancing and make time pass us by in a split second. Thanks to that, I got to have a second chance the “Depeche Mode Jeopardy Holiday Special”, promoted by Ron Rohm from the Depeche Mode Global Fan Group coordinated with the always incredible Jenna Robbins, and competing against two strong participants: my fellow “Spirits in the Forest” co-star Dicken Schrader of DMK and Brent Meyer from Strangelove the Depeche Mode Experience. And while we’re at it, the Home website now also has a group along with the already existing FB page. Yes, it seems like a lot of us have a lot more time to spend on the internet these days. So tune in for an hour of Depeche Mode trivia. I hope you enjoy it as much as we did.

By Posted on Posted in Life in General, Music Tagged with , , , , , ,

I know I’ve been absent from here and for the most contradictory of reasons: the partial lockdown which I turned into my own self quarantine. I’ve just reduced my trips outside to the essential. But like every sane and insane person in the world, this is obviously affecting us on a psychological level. Even being at home longer made me less productive. But moving on…

Umberto Tozzi (along with Laura Branigan, of course) must be my own personal frequency illusion bias (aka Baader-Meinhof phenomenon). One line from a Brazilian cover version of his 1982 hit song “Eva” got stuck on repeat on my head these days. The cover is not a word by word translation, but the lyrics follow the same apocalyptical idea. It translate into “it’s the end of the human adventure on Earth”. That’s when I reached to my Spotify to find out it was the name I had given to the very first playlist I put together on that platform a few years ago and never finished it (a playlist is never finished, is it?).

So I crawled out of my inertia and continued with the end of the world theme. I dropped the title in Portuguese (and couldn’t find an equally dramatic in the Italian original). I just went a bit more poppy and came up “It’s Pandemonum!” taken from the 2009 Pet Shop Boys song (here in a live version interpolated with “Can You Forgive Her?”). I tried to not overkill it with too many obvious choices (including Depeche Mode). I went for some covers or alternate versions instead of originals. I also had to make some concessions given what was available on my end. After so  many versions, I settled with this, which is more uplifting than when it started. I hope all 30 songs are available everywhere. Well, give it a try. “Don’t worry. I won’t hurt you. I just want you to have some fun.”  ;^)

Also, feel free to drop a suggestion in the comments below.