Whenever I hear Depeche Mode, it always brings me back to one specific memory. Even though I've seen them in concert like, I dunno, 5 times since I was 13 it doesn't matter. I'm immediately transported back to the summer between my sophmore & junior year in high school. A friend of a friend of a friend's parents went to Europe for 2 months and left their two children aged 18 & 20 behind to watch the house during their absense. I know what you're thinking. Every kid in my high school was thinking the same thing. PARTY! I spent so much time at this girl's house that summer swimming in her pool that my parents thought I had joined the swim team or something. Anyway, back to my DM memories. Violator had been released that year and pretty much never left my stereo. Rinse. Repeat. Rinse. Repeat. You get the idea. But there was one night, after many bottles of Boone's Strawberry Hill, that I found myself laying on the front lawn with Ashley MacDonald, looking up at the stars. Drunk. We have this thing called "smog" here in So Cal, so when a clear evening sky presents itself us San Diegans are giddy. Nothing happened between me and the girl (shucks!) but the two of us lay beneath the the sky; looking like a blanket had been tossed on top of the earth. A blanket with millions of little tiny holes in it. Millions of stars. It was a night of such pure beauty that it has stayed with me all these years. So today, in honour of July's rapid arrival, here are some select Depeche Mode tracks for your listening (dis)pleasure:

Depeche Mode: Clean

Depeche Mode: World In My Eyes

Depeche Mode: Told You So

Depeche Mode: Get The Balance Right

Depeche Mode: Policy Of Truth

Depeche Mode: Now This Is Fun

Depeche Mode: Halo

Depeche Mode: Enjoy The Silence

Depeche Mode: Walking In My Shoes

Depeche Mode: Everything Counts