Enjoy the Silence

Last updated

"Enjoy the Silence"
DepecheModeEnjoyTheSilence.jpg
Single by Depeche Mode
from the album Violator
B-side
  • "Memphisto"
  • "Sibeling"
Released5 February 1990 (1990-02-05) [1]
Recorded1989
Studio
Genre
Length
  • 6:12 (album version)
  • 4:15 (single version)
  • 7:18 (12-inch version)
Label Mute
Songwriter(s) Martin Gore
Producer(s)
Depeche Mode singles chronology
"Personal Jesus"
(1989)		"Enjoy the Silence"
(1990)		"Policy of Truth"
(1990)
Music video
"Enjoy the Silence" on YouTube

"Enjoy the Silence" is a song by the English electronic music band Depeche Mode. Recorded in 1989, it was released as the second single from their seventh studio album, Violator (1990), on 5 February 1990. The song is certified Gold in the US and Germany. [8] The song won Best British Single at the Brit Awards 1991. [9]

Contents

"Enjoy the Silence" was re-released as a single in 2004 for the Depeche Mode remix project Remixes 81–04 , and was titled "Enjoy the Silence (Reinterpreted)" or, more simply, "Enjoy the Silence 04".

Background and recording

Songwriter Martin Gore created a ballad-like first version of the song, which the band took into the studio in 1989. At band member Alan Wilder's insistence, the song was re-worked into the up-tempo version released on the album. [10]

Release

"Enjoy the Silence" was released as a single on 5 February 1990. [11] It was initially released as a 7-inch and 12-inch vinyl single as well as a cassette and CD single. There are two instrumental B-sides to "Enjoy the Silence". "Sibeling" (the 12-inch B-side) is a soft piano-tune while "Memphisto" (the 7" B-side) is a darker, eerier track. The title of "Sibeling" refers to Finnish classical composer Jean Sibelius. According to Martin Gore, "Memphisto is the name of an imaginary film about Elvis as a Devil, that I created in my mind", and is a portmanteau of "Memphis" (where Elvis lived at Graceland) and "Mephisto". [12] "Enjoy the Silence" was Depeche Mode's highest charting single in the United States, peaking at number eight on the Billboard Hot 100 in July 1990. [13]

Critical reception

In a retrospective review, Andy Healy from Albumism wrote that the song "combined much loved elements of lush synth beds, haunting melodies, and aching lyrics, which coalesced with house beats and slick guitar lines." He added, "Gahan's vocals are intimate and seductive as they draw you in, with lyrics that examine the quiet satisfaction of a relationship, those tender moments when silence fills the void and your lover is in your arms and the world ceases to exist. There was something inviting. Something powerful in those declarations. Something that you could latch on to and feel a part of." [14] AllMusic editor Tim Di Gravina stated that it is one of Depeche Mode's "greatest songs", with a "pristine and lush yet punishing musical environment", and "lyrics of violence and darkness". [15] Upon the release, Bill Coleman from Billboard called it an "engaging charmer" [16] and a "more radio-viable effort" than the group's last hit, "Personal Jesus". He noted further that the track "blends [the] quintet's recognizable techno-pop melodies with trendy house grooves." [17]

Simon Reynolds from Melody Maker wrote, "Depeche studiously keep their finger on the pulse of contemporaneity (the choral synths nod to the New Age thang, the guitars to New Order), but somehow the glum, earnest vibrato in the singer's gullet make this feel very dated: New Romanticism infected with C86 miserablism." [18] David Giles from Music Week commented, "The best Depeche Mode single in years heralds a return to the classic pop approach of their early Eighties hits like Everything Counts in contrast to the electro beat obsession of recent recordings. The song itself is heavily to the fore here, and strong enough, perhaps to furnish the band with their first number one hit." [19] A reviewer from People Magazine said the song is "enriched", "with a strong bass and percussive bottom overwhelming the band’s penchant for thin, ethereal synthesizer motifs." [20] Stephen Gore from Sputnik Music noted the juxtaposition on Violator between "Enjoy the Silence" – where the narrator wants silence from the world as words are "like violence" – and the next song "Policy of Truth", which argues that a successful relationship can only be based on lies. [21]

Music videos

Original versions

The Anton Corbijn-directed music video for "Enjoy the Silence" references the themes and storyline of the philosophical children's book The Little Prince from Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. Footage of Dave Gahan dressed as a stereotypical king wandering the hillsides of the Scottish Highlands, the coast of the Algarve in Portugal and finally the Swiss Alps with a deck chair is intercut with black-and-white footage of the band posing. Brief flashes of a single rose (which is also on the album cover of Violator ) appear throughout the scenes.

When Corbijn presented the concept of the video to the band, which at the time was simply "Dave dressed up as a king, walking around with a deck chair", they initially rejected it. They changed their minds, when he explained that the idea was that the King (Dave) represented "a man with everything in the world, just looking for a quiet place to sit"; a king of no kingdom. Andy Fletcher joked that he favoured the video because "[he] only had to do about an hour's worth of work".

The video uses a slightly different mix of the album version of the song (the most notable difference being a new and extended introduction) that has not been released in any audio format. The final long shots of the king walking through the snow are not Gahan but rather the video's producer, Richard Bell. Gahan had left the set, tired of the cold in Switzerland (recounted by Gahan in the intro to The Videos 86>98 and to the DVD of The Best of Depeche Mode Volume 1 ).

There are three edited versions of the Corbijn-directed video. The "official alternative version" begins with a group shot of the band, then Andy Fletcher looks towards his right as the song begins. Shots of Dave Gahan dressed as a king singing directly to the camera are intercut with scenes of his walking through the Scottish Highlands, the coast of Portugal and the Swiss Alps. The video ends with Gahan singing the last line, "Enjoy the silence", then putting his finger in front of his lips as if to quiet the viewer. [22] [23] The "official version" begins with a group shot of the band, but this time it is Martin Gore who looks to his right as the song begins. This version omits the shots of Gahan singing directly to the camera. The only verses Gahan is shown singing are "Words are very unnecessary/They can only do harm." The video ends with Gahan sitting on a deck chair in the snow while the last line, "Enjoy the silence", is sung. [24] There are also differences in the group shots of the band standing together between the two versions. The "alternate" version is similar to the "official alternative version", except it omits entirely the outdoor shots of Gahan walking through nature and includes even more group shots of the band, including one of Gahan and Fletcher breaking into laughter and smiles.

Promotional video

On 2 December 1989, "Enjoy the Silence" was performed live on Peter's Pop Show in Germany. [25] On 19 December 1989, a promotional single for "Enjoy the Silence" was pressed. [26] In 1990, a promotional video for "Enjoy the Silence" was shot by French TV (for the TV Show "Champs-Élysées" with Michel Drucker) featuring Depeche Mode lip-synching the song while standing on the observation deck atop the South Tower of the original World Trade Center in New York City. [27] [ unreliable source? ]

Impact and legacy

Pitchfork Media ranked "Enjoy the Silence" number 15 in their list of "Top 200 Tracks of the 90s". [28] Rolling Stone included it in their list of the "500 Best Songs of All Time" in 2021 at No. 415. [29]

Track listing

Charts

Certifications

RegionCertification Certified units/sales
Denmark (IFPI Danmark) [80] Platinum90,000‡
Germany (BVMI) [81] Platinum500,000‡
Italy (FIMI) [82] 2× Platinum200,000‡
Portugal (AFP) [83] Gold20,000‡
Spain (PROMUSICAE) [84] Platinum60,000‡
Sweden (GLF) [85] Gold25,000^
United Kingdom (BPI) [86] Platinum600,000‡
United States (RIAA) [87] Gold500,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

"Enjoy the Silence 04"

  1. ↑ "New Singles" (PDF). Music Week . 3 February 1990. p. 38. Retrieved 26 August 2024.
  2. ↑ Cranna, Ian (April 1990). "Insidious". Q . p. 77.
  3. ↑ "The 25 Best Synthpop Tracks Ever". Synthtopia. 7 September 2015. Retrieved 26 January 2020.
  4. ↑ Cinquemani, Sal (29 September 2003). "Depeche Mode – Violator". Slant Magazine . Retrieved 1 April 2014.
  5. ↑ Billboard Staff (19 October 2023). "The 500 Best Pop Songs: Staff List". Billboard . Retrieved 11 February 2024. 80s veterans Depeche Mode capping a decade's commercial growth with a truly singular synth-rock song that absolutely nobody could deny.
  6. ↑ Pollock, Bruce (1993). Hipper than our kids : a rock & roll journal of the baby boom generation. New York: Schirmer Books. p. 273. ISBN   0-02-872063-6. OCLC   27010539.
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  9. ↑ "1991". BRIT Awards. Retrieved 20 March 2015.
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  16. ↑ Coleman, Bill (17 March 1990). "Dance Trax: The Beloved's 'Happiness' Breaks Out All Over" (PDF). Billboard . p. 31. Retrieved 14 October 2020.
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  31. ↑ — (1990). Enjoy the Silence (UK cassette single sleeve). Mute Records. C Bong 18.
  32. ↑ — (1990). Enjoy the Silence (UK 12-inch single sleeve). Mute Records. 12 Bong 18.
  33. ↑ — (1990). Enjoy the Silence (UK mini-CD single liner notes). Mute Records. CD Bong 18.
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  41. ↑ — (1990). Enjoy the Silence (US maxi-cassette single cassette notes). Sire Records, Reprise Records, Mute Records. 4-21490.
  42. ↑ — (1990). Enjoy the Silence (US maxi-CD single liner notes). Sire Records, Reprise Records, Mute Records. 2-21490.
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  45. ↑ "Depeche Mode – Enjoy the Silence" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
  46. ↑ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 1264." RPM . Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 4 February 2019.
  47. ↑ "Top RPM Dance/Urban: Issue 7929." RPM . Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 4 February 2019.
  48. ↑ "Top 3 Singles in Europe" (PDF). Music & Media . Vol. 7, no. 11. 17 March 1990. p. VII. Retrieved 22 March 2018.
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"Enjoy the Silence 04"
Enjoythesilence04.jpg
Single by Depeche Mode and Mike Shinoda
from the album Remixes 81–04
B-side "Halo" (Goldfrapp remix)
Released18 October 2004 (2004-10-18) [88]
Genre Electronic rock
Length3:32
Label Mute
Songwriter(s) Martin Gore
Producer(s) Mike Shinoda
Depeche Mode singles chronology
"Goodnight Lovers"
(2002)		"Enjoy the Silence 04"
(2004)		"Precious"
(2005)
Mike Shinoda solo singles chronology
"It's Goin' Down"
(2002)		"Enjoy the Silence 04"
(2004)		"Petrified/Remember the Name"
(2005)
Studio albums
Live albums
Compilation albums
Singles
1980s
1990s
2000s
2010s
2020s
Video albums
Tours
Tribute albums
Related
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