tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8010473.post-26245585310373542642008-05-09T00:40:00.000-07:002008-05-09T02:03:57.732-07:00<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp1.blogger.com/_Q0GTBT8HzCc/SCP_nf4vjYI/AAAAAAAABF0/X8DgPFDnu1Y/s1600-h/d.g.a.h.a.n.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp1.blogger.com/_Q0GTBT8HzCc/SCP_nf4vjYI/AAAAAAAABF0/X8DgPFDnu1Y/s320/d.g.a.h.a.n.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5198279448955161986" border="0" /></a>It's way after midnight in LA and I just looked at the date, May 9th.<br /><br />May 9th? Oh my goodness, that means it's Dave Gahan's birthday! WHOO HOO! Another excuse to go Depeche Mode crazy on a Friday!!! Love it!<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">If you've never been here before, let me bring you up to speed: <br /><br /></span>1) I'm a <span style="font-style: italic;">huge </span>Depeche Mode fan. How huge? Well... I have a Depeche Mode poster on the inside of my front door. How's that?<br /><br />2) <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Gahan">Dave Gahan</a> is the lead singer of Depeche Mode and today's his birthday! He's 46! Happy Birthday, Dave! (like he's reading this blog, right?)<br /><br />3) If you don't know who Depeche Mode is, I feel bad for you. Really, really bad.<br /><br />In honor of one of the best front men in rock, let's take a fun little trip down memory lane. How about a little listen to "Photographic" from their very first album, "Speak and Spell"? It's not their first single but it's the first song DM ever recorded together.<br /><br />This particular performance of "Photographic" is from when Dave was just 18 years old and Depeche Mode was just starting out on their journey to being the Best. Band. Ever. And in case you're confused, Dave's the very innocent and shy-looking young man with brown hair:<br /><br /><object height="355" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/1v5DSdeAF8w&amp;hl=en"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/1v5DSdeAF8w&amp;hl=en" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" height="355" width="425"></embed></object><br /><br />It's sooo cute, it makes my heart melt!<br /><br />Fast forward 25 years to April 30, 2006. I got to hear them perform "Photographic" at their show in Vegas!!! You can read all about that adventure right <a href="http://www.losangelista.com/2006/05/bright-lightsdark-room.html">here </a>if you want! I was like three rows from the stage going NUTS when they played it and it was a total surprise to hear it because it's not a song that gets played a whole lot. It was cute to see them go back to their pure synthesizer roots.<br /><br />There is some Vegas footage on YouTube but it's not that great, so instead, here's footage from a show in Berlin. I <span style="font-style: italic;">really </span>like this footage because you can see how much fun Dave is having performing, especially between the 1:16 and 2:29 marks:<br /><br /><object height="355" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/AYStfBS4OLs&amp;hl=en"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/AYStfBS4OLs&amp;hl=en" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" height="355" width="425"></embed></object><br /><br />Yeah, rock it out, birthday boy! Bright lights! Dark room! Love it!<br /><br />So in honor of Dave's birthday, I hope you go and do something to celebrate it being such a beautiful day today. You're alive and you've been blessed with another day! Use it wisely!Los Angelistahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17794296990587989214noreply@blogger.com