Niki N. Phaser

Do you get depressed when you’re drunk ? If you are one of those persons, then you really shouldn’t listen to this feel-good/feel-drunk/feel-high hit. The Canadian collective Bran Van 3000, composed of a lot of hands and voices, have certainly did their job in the history of music by giving us this magical “put your hands in the air and a joint between your fingers” chillout piece. Constructed on a what could be a hip-hop beat, Drinking in L.A. could very well be the anthem of the slaker culture of the 90′s, the musical version of a Richard Linklater underground cult movie. It’s a weird mix of guitars and background wailing choral voices and spoken lyrics that generates a special kind of brand of Hollywood bohemianism. It’s quite a reflective ballad. The chorus (“What the hell I am doing drinking in L.A. at 26 ?”) is the question that every confused ex-teenager might ask himself, of course changing L.A. to whatever his location is. It’s about seeing your life melting away, but still not finding the ambition to start doing something, despite plenty of false beginnings (“But we did nothing, absolutely nothing that day”). It will get you a bit melancholic, but it will also make wanna light a new one and enjoy the weather. At least, for today. If it means anything to you, it’s one of Moby’s favourite tracks.

MUSIC VIDEO FOR Drinking in L.A.

At the time of its release, Playing the Angel (2005) was a bit of a comeback for Depeche Mode, considering that it had been four years since Exciter. Nonetheless the album confirmed once and for all their status as a lasting band and as a legend-to-be. Precious, the first single had a lot to do with this, but the singles that followed were rather odd choices.

The real stand-out track of the album was The Darkest Star, which, as the title states, is an unique combination of light and darkness. It is, for sure, the most hypnotic song ever written by Martin Gore. It has everything that Depeche Mode “copyrighted” in music: uncomfortable perverse vocals by Dave Gahan, weird electro-effects filling every space, ambiguous lyrics about needing (or using ?) someone. Maybe the timing, almost seven minutes, severed all chances for The Darkest Star to be released as a single, but it remains a treasure within a treasure.