Dream On
| 1. Dream On List of Exciter songs |
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"Dream On" is a song from the 2001 album Exciter by Depeche Mode. It was released as a lead single on 23 April 2001.
Dream On
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| Song | Dream On |
|---|---|
| By | Depeche Mode |
| Songwriter | Martin L. Gore |
| Produced by | Depeche Mode Mark Bell |
| Recorded at | RAK and Sarm West (London) Sound Design (Santa Barbara) Electric Lady Sony Music Studios (New York City) |
| Length (mm:ss) | 4:19 (album version) 3:39 (single version) |
| Tempo | 128 BPM |
| Time signature | 4 4 |
| Key | B♭ Minor |
| Engineered by | Gareth Jones |
| Engineering assistance | Boris Aldridge Andrew Davies Andrew Griffiths Nick Sevilla Lisa Butterworth Jonathan Adler Alissa Myhowich James Chang |
| Pre-production | Gareth Jones |
| Additional production | Gareth Jones |
| Mixed by | Steve Fitzmaurice |
| Mastered by | Mike Marsh |
| Art direction | Anton Corbijn |
| Photography | Anton Corbijn |
| Sleeve design | Form |
| Recorded | June 2000 - February 2001 |
| Originally released | 23 April 2001 |
| Live performances as Depeche Mode | 87 times * |
| Total live performances | 108 times * |
Notes
Dave Gahan told Entertainment Weekly in 2017:
"Mark Bell who produced [Exciter] — he actually died a couple of years ago, he’s not with us anymore, unfortunately — but he taught me some interesting things about using my voice because he had been working with Björk before that, and he brought in a lot of the things she was doing with her voice into the studio. I learned how to [whispering] sing very quietly and very close to the microphone, to use all the noises in my voice to be able to create this creature, this thing, and “Dream On” was one of those songs lyrically where it was a character that I was becoming, that I could be without all the misery. I could step into it, and step out."[1]
Martin Gore and Andrew Fletcher in the EPK for Exciter in 2001:
Andrew Fletcher: "We worked on 'Dream On' first and it was probably the first or second song Martin wrote for the album. But I think it's the real defining track of the album: the mixture of electronic beats with acoustic blues guitar and some really good lyrics and a great catchy chorus. So it was great that we recorded that song first and I really think it was important and set the way for the rest of the album."
Martin Gore: "I don't know [what the inspiration was behind 'Dream On']. I always hate explaining away songs, because for me they mean something and for other people they'll mean something absolutely different. But I'll tell you about the atmosphere of the song and the way it was created. We were going to take the original demo I just played to Gareth [Jones] and Paul [Freegard]. I just played it on the guitar and the idea was to not use a guitar at all, just to take it off in a totally different direction. And after we'd been working on it for about four days, we had this real kind of edgy electronic percussion going on in the background and we just cut the original guitar that I'd played in and it just sounded really good, because it was just so different to everything else that was going on in the track."
Martin told Associated Press in 2001:
Martin Gore: "I've said a million times that I don't really like talking about the songs that much, but what I can say is it's about a lot of people that I know and me. The songs are never about one thing in particular. It's a song about loathing other people and self loathing for me. How have I destroyed that?! "Here's our new single, it's all about self loathing.""
Andrew Fletcher: "I'm glad you've told me that. I'm going to use that."
Martin Gore: "Don't ever use it as your wedding... for a wedding song."
Dave Gahan: "They will, Mart, don't worry."
The late Mark Bell told Keys Magazine (translated from German):
"'Dream On' consists mainly of two guitar lines. We used nylon strings for the first and steel strings for the second line. Both lines were recorded very close to the microphone to receive a lot of noise and this special "pump effect". When you play acoustic guitars very softly, you get a lot of strange tones and noises, which make it sound almost electronic. We had one guitar line with the right groove. And we worked with it as if it was a loop. We adjusted the other line with the PlugIn Vocalign. It was like a live performance, but with a very tight timing."
Mark Bell continued in the May 2001 issue of Keyboard magazine:
"We treated the electronic sounds in 'Dream On' with the same respect as the acoustic ones. I find it really boring when electronic things are treated as if they're from the future, with all that phasing and bouncing silly shit all over the place. This one was really honest with the complete live performances intact, with decorative electronics adding to the pace and the narrative of the song."
In the same magazine, Andrew Fletcher and Martin Gore are asked by Robert L. Doerschuk:
Doerschuk: "On your single, 'Dream On', there's one detail that caught my attention: Right before you go into the verse and after the bridge, two little synthesizer blips pop up. Why was it important to drop them into the arrangement?"
Martin Gore: "They're hooks."
Andrew Fletcher: "They're strange, and oddly melodic. They were created on the Nord Lead and the Synthi, I believe."
Lyrics
Dream On
As your bony fingers close around me
Long and spindly
Death becomes me
Heaven can you see what I see
Hey you pale and sickly child
You're death and living reconciled
Been walking home a crooked mile
Paying debt to karma
You party for a living
What you take won't kill you
But careful what you're giving
There's no time for hesitating
Pain is ready, pain is waiting
Primed to do it's educating
Unwanted, uninvited kin
It creeps beneath your crawling skin
It lives without it lives within you
Feel the fever coming
You're shaking and twitching
You can scratch all over
But that won't stop you itching
Can you feel a little love
Can you feel a little love
Dream on, dream on
Blame it on your karmic curse
Oh shame upon the universe
It knows its lines
It's well rehearsed
It sucked you in, it dragged you down
To where there is no hallowed ground
Where holiness is never found
Paying debt to karma
You party for a living
What you take won't kill you
But careful what you're giving
Can you feel a little love
Can you feel a little love
Dream on, dream on
Songwriter: Martin L. Gore
Publishing Information: ©2001 EMI Music Publishing Ltd. London WC2H 0EA. Assigned by Grabbing Hands Music Ltd. All rights Reserved.
Music video
The music video for 'Dream On' was directed by Stéphane Sednaoui and released on March 27th, 2001. The video features several classic American cars, including a 1973 Lincoln Continental Mark IV and a 1974-1976 Cadillac Coupe DeVille.
Live performances
- Main article: Available recordings of "Dream On"
- Main article: List of dates where "Dream On" was played
Trivia
- 'Dream On' is featured in season three episode twenty-two of The WB television series Charmed. Notably, 'I Feel Loved' also features in the same series, appearing in season one episode four.
- 'Dream On' is also featured in the pilot episode of Fox television crime drama Fastlane.
References
