Oh, God, He’s At It Again, or, Hey, Look, I Covered Another Song
Posted on February 22, 2023 Posted by John Scalzi 9 Comments

If you been saying to yourself “Boy, I wish I could hear John Scalzi mangle an English accent while massacring one of Depeche Mode’s few cheerful songs,” then, boy oh boy, is today your day! Here’s me taking a whack at “But Not Tonight,” off of the band’s Black Celebration album. This was produced mostly to give myself an excuse to dig further into the nooks and crannies of my digital audio workstation, and also to let me (bluntly) get a grip on the various things I need to do to improve my production skills, which at this point are strictly amateur. Which is fine! I am strictly an amateur at making music and this will take me a while to get good at. But when I do… well, I will still probably keep my day job, it’s hard out there for musicians these days. Anyway, enjoy, or be horrified, or both! Both is good.
— JS
Make sure you pay the royalties for covering their song, because if the ticket prices for their upcoming tour are any indication Depeche Mode needs a lot of money to fund an expedition to Mars or a protracted war with a foreign power.
Yes, I’ve heard ticket prices for the upcoming tour are quite… something.
It’s wonderful!
Audio processing aside, you seem to have a decent set of pipes there! :) Nice work on the vocals.
That’s you? It’s pretty darned good.
Signed,
BA in Music, pink tassel and all.
You know about the Depeche Mode drinking game, right? You put on the Black Celebration album, and every time they sing the words “black,” “tonight,” “question,” or “time,” you drink. Warning: It’s not a game for lightweights. :D
That actually wasn’t that bad. :)
Nicely done, sir! I’m a trained first soprano, so I know a little bit about singing and music.
Not going to lie, this is good cover, says the guy that yes, has spent about a grand on DM tickets for just this tour (they’re still my all-time favorite band, so, shrug).
Also: I don’t know what effect you’re using to make your voice sound like you’re in your 20s, but if that’s your natural singing voice, well, DAMN.