Depeche Mode Sign Worldwide Deal With EMI, Plot April 2009 Album

Depeche Mode have reupped their contract with EMI Music, adding an worldwide exclusivity clause that will allow the major label to release the band's music in the U.S. for the first time. Depeche Mode has been on the roster of EMI's Mute label since their debut single "Dreaming of Me" for U.K. releases, but relied on labels like Warner's Sire Records and Reprise Records for their North American releases. Now, EMI will handle the worldwide release of the band's albums, starting with their new album expected out April 21st, 2009. "We are so pleased to be continuing our relationship with Mute, and we feel very positive about the new team and set-up at EMI. This is going to be an exciting new chapter," DM's Andy Fletcher said. The band also revealed the European leg of their upcoming Tour of the Universe 2009, which kicks off in Israel on May 10th. Depeche's re-signing with EMI bucks a trend started by Radiohead and Paul McCartney of artists fleeing from the beleaguered label.

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Song Stories

“Smells Like Teen Spirit”

Nirvana | 1991

"Smells Like Teen Spirit," named after a brand of deodorant marketed to girls, was Kurt Cobain's attempt to "write the ultimate pop song," he said, using the soft-loud dynamic of his favorite band, the Pixies. Cobain "had that dichotomy of punk rage and alienation," the song’s producer, Butch Vig, told Rolling Stone, "but also this vulnerable pop sensibility. In 'Teen Spirit,' a lot of that vulnerability is in the tone of his voice." Sadly, by the time of Nirvana's last U.S. tour, in late '93, Cobain was tortured by the obligation to play "Teen Spirit" every night. "There are many other songs that I have written that are as good, if not better," he claimed.

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