Weird how that all works out in the wash, isn't it?

Anyway, that amounts to roughly 36 years of fandom and, even though I was crazy for the songs from those earlier albums, My Favorite Song by Depeche Mode is far more recent. Like 2005, about 18 years after I started listening to them. 

That song? 

"John the Revelator" from the album Playing the Angel.

While that album often catches a lot of flack from longtime fans for not being an Alan Wilder-era album, it marked a turning point for me.

2005 was the year I got into blogging (using blogware instead of static HTML). It was the year I met Dave2. It was the year I commented on one of his blog posts where he complained about not being able to see the Depeche Mode tour in his home state of Washington and I said something akin to "Well you should see if their tour has a show here in Chicagoland when you're here on business."

I'd never met Dave2 before. We only recently started following each other on our blogs (and still do). So, for me it was just an offhanded comment.

For him, though? He took it much more seriously and discovered that their tour was, in fact, here in Chicago at the same time he would be. So he picked up tickets for himself, me, and my wife, Katie, and the three of us made it a night. 

2005 thus became the first time I ever saw Depeche Mode live. And, so far, it's the only time I've seen them live.

Yes, Playing the Angel and, by extension, Touring the Angel, were very important to me musically. And "John the Revelator" became the soundtrack of that fandom with its steady thrumming bass line and hard-hitting vocals. It quickly made its way onto many workout and driving mixes.

The song still gives me chills to this day. I heard it on Spotify the other day when I was going through a Depeche Mode playlist and it literally gave me goosebumps. That's the effect it has on me more than 17 years after its release.

I replayed it immediately afterward. The bumps on my arms and neck came back. And then I danced through Meijer's.

I truly cannot explain the effect this song has on me.