This past week
I saw the movie Control, which is a biopic about the
life of Ian Curtis, based on the book Touching From A
Distance by his widowed wife Deborah, who also helped
produce the film. I must say, it was a dark look into
the short life of Ian Curtis and Joy Division that was
extremely unsettling. I’ve always felt guilty
listening to Joy Division; the lyrics are essentially the
increasingly demented thoughts of a man losing control, on
the verge of suicide. To have listened to Joy Division
before Curtis’ death is different than listening to it now,
knowing that not long after most of these songs were
recorded, Curtis hanged himself in his own home.
While the movie is a little depressing because it
accentuates that feeling of guilt, but it’s also a very good
watch in its own right. The film was directed by Anton
Corbijn, who is famous for his work with the art direction
of bands like Depeche Mode and U2, as well as for directing
a number of music videos. As such, the film is very
artistic, shot entirely in black and white, and with each
shot carefully planned to highlight to varying degrees the
isolation of its main character, Curtis. An
experienced concert photographer, Corbijn also excels at the
recreation of Joy Division’s live shows, both the good ones
and the bad, which saw audience members hurling beer bottles
at the band while they waited for Curtis to work up the
nerve to come out on stage, still recovering from his first
attempted suicide.
With as many people as I see sporting shirts with the cover
to Unknown Pleasures on them, it’s sometimes hard to
imagine how the band has gained the popularity it has with
the release of only two albums, and barely 3 years of
existence. The band’s second album, Closer, was
even released after Curtis’ death. Not to be cynical or
anything, but it seems dying is the ultimate publicity
stunt; nothing gets you the kind of attention that hanging
yourself in your own home (or being found dead in a New York
City apartment) does.
Now that’s not to say Curtis intentionally hanged himself to
intentionally promote his music, I just find it unfortunate
that the ultimate act of desperation and isolation can be a
huge factor in one’s commercial success. I think the movie
separates the two well, showing Curtis’ increasing
detachment from the world, as well as his embracement of
music. And as I said, I would highly recommend it to anyone
who considers themselves a fan, or even a casual listener,
of Joy Division. It seems unfitting for anyone to enjoy
their music while remaining ignorant to the fatal
consequences it reflected in its lead singer’s life.
With that in mind, enjoy these two Joy Division tracks, and
then go check out Control.
:Joy
Division - Transmission:
- Off the 1979 album Unknown Pleasures
:Joy
Division - Love Will Tear Us Apart:
- Off the 1980 album Closer
Of course, you can’t talk about Joy Division without
mentioning New Order. Before Curtis’ death, the band
had agreed that if any of them ever left Joy Division,
they’d no longer play under the same name. Honoring
that commitment, the band reformed as New Order, with
Bernard Sumner taking over the role of vocalist. New
Order went on to be quite successful, despite their critical
inseparability with Joy Division. Here’s everyone’s
favorite New Order song:
:New
Order - Age Of Consent:
Thanks
for reading, and stay tuned for next week, when I
promise I’ll have a longer post with more insights,
owing to me hopefully being done with our big
website redesign, and fully recovered from a recent
illness that’s been plaguing me, as it were.
Until then, enjoy new music from John this week.
John Michael Cassetta keeps his own blog, Big
Diction, and writes for the local website Austin
Sound. Comments, complaints, and
solicitations may be directed
here.
- John Michael
Cassetta -
Unless
otherwise expressly stated, all text in this blog and any
related pages, including the blog's archives, is licensed by
John Laird under a
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