Entry Eighty-Seven.
Tuesday , 2009.02.24, 4:10 PM CST.
New Depeche Mode video... and the last "Late Night with Conan."

So, today, I decided to say home from my day job.  I have had an upper respiratory "thing" that has been troubling me for a while, and it flared up this morning.

I've been a little "iffy" in other ways too - just feelings kind of emotionally absent.  I don't feel very happy as of late - at least not very often.  I'll try to fix that.  It's not easy.

It's very hard to believe that it's been nineteen years since Depeche Mode released "Enjoy the Silence."  I still remember running out to Mohawk Music and picking up the imported 12" single as soon as it came in... soon followed by the limited edition, the extra limited edition (music on one side, etching on the other), and the domestic 12" as well.  The song went on to become one of their most well-known hits, and I associate it closely with my senior year of high school:  House parties, pool gatherings, and a particularly strong memory of loading the EKG van, the "Death Tank," with equipment on a beautiful February evening.

I'm getting older.  It's scarier than one might think.

So, anyway, Depeche Mode have now (digitally) released their latest single, "Wrong," and are set to release it in physical formats in early April.  "Wrong" has grown on me - it's very short, and it doesn't really have a chorus.  But, it's not a bad song by any means.  The video (which has been uploaded by a number of individuals onto YouTube if you'd like to see it) is unlike any Depeche Mode video ever before - twisted, violent, dark, and sadistic.  So, it should probably go without saying that I find it quite entertaining.  It's not my favourite dM video ever, but it's quite good.

Speaking of things that remind me of my older days...  My wife and I watched the final episode of NBC's "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" together a few nights ago.  It was really quite touching, because I remember watching the very first episode of it in early 1993.  I was at Northeastern State University, and my friend Tom ("Gilligan") and I got together after his shift at the NSU Jazz Lab to watch the series opener.  After it was over, we just sat there, not quite sure what to think.  I didn't like it.  I thought it was stupid, and I ignorantly thought of Conan as a no-name young guy who really didn't know what he was doing.  I told Tom that it would be off the air within a month or so.

Then, I kept watching out of curiosity, and I started liking it.  Eventually, Conan became one my favourite late night talk show hosts, and even though he'll be taking the place of Jay Leno on "The Tonight Show," it's still very sad to think that there'll be no more "Late Night with Conan O'Brien."

More later,

Badger